Gender norms an impact on Father involvement

Gender norms : An impact on father involvement

2007

In this I intend to explore how cultural expectations about men and their masculinity have affected their role as fathers . Within this discussion I aim to raise three main points (1 ) men have been socialized to act in a `masculine ' way that distances them from the caring role (2 ) this masculinity is embedded in culture and as such difficult for them to identify outside of and (3 ) their roles as fathers have already been predetermined which restricts them from engaging with their children

in a way that is not seen as the norm

Historically , men have been dominant in the public sphere where the private sphere has been seen as a woman 's domain . Within this sphere men were stereotyped as breadwinners , providers and front line soldiers in war . This classed them as strong , independent and owners of property (Marxism (Alsop et . Al , 2002 . As such men were not `allowed ' to be seen as weak , have emotions or engage in any role that would be seen as female (or homosexual

Within Western culture masculinity and femininity have been embedded These discourses have socialized children regarding the `right ' and `wrong ' way to act . For example , when boys cry they are told to stop being such a girl and when girls fight they are told that only boys behave like that . It is acknowledged that other cultures , such as those explored in Anthropology , have different understandings of what it means to be a man /masculine or a woman /feminine but just like in Western Culture these ideals are embedded

As fathers , men have already `learnt ' what is acceptable behaviour and what is not . Father 's , within Western Culture , provide support to their family predominantly in a financial way . Father 's may also take time away from work to play /engage with their children but this is primarily (historically ) seen as a woman 's role

Contemporary Western society , although has a tradition in these ideals explored above , is embracing the twenty first century , multiculturalism and diversity . Thus these roles are not as fixed as they once were and people have much more room for negotiating their identity and role as men /women and as fathers (Alsop et al , 2002

In conclusion , although this has been limited in space I have raised and begun to explore the main issues that are central to men fatherhood and Western culture

Bibliography

Alsop , R , Fitzsimons , A and Lennon , K (2002 ) Theorizing Gender Cambridge : Polity Press

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