Do Men Mother?

by Doucet, Andrea

• ISBN13: 9780802085467
• ISBN10: 0802085466
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-20
• Publisher: Univ of Toronto Pr

Summary

More and more, fathers are deciding to stay at home and care for their children rather than work full-time outside of the home. More and more, Canadian families are lead by single fathers. Shining a spotlight on the lives of stay at home dads and single fathers, Do Men Mother? provides groundbreaking evidence of dramatic changes in mothering and fathering in Canada.Using evidence gathered in a four-year in-depth qualitative study, including interviews with over 100 fathers - from truck drivers to insurance salesmen, physicians to artists - Andrea Doucet illustrates how men are breaking the mold of traditional parenting models. Doucet's research examines key questions such as: What leads fathers to trade earning for caring? How do fathers navigate through the 'maternal worlds' of mothers and infants? Are men mothering or are they redefining fatherhood?Do Men Mother? illuminates fathers' candid reflections on caring and the intricate social worlds that men and women inhabit as they 'love and let go' of their children. In asking and unravelling the question 'do men mother,' this study tells a compelling story about Canadian parents radically re-visioning child care and domestic responsibilities at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Author Biography

Andrea Doucet is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction: Do Men Mother?	3	(14)
Part One: Corning to Know Fathers' Stories	17	(90)
1 Studying Men, Mothering, and Fathering	19	(27)
2 Knowing Fathers' Stories through Gossamer Walls	46	(28)
3 Understanding Fathers as Primary Caregivers	74	(33)
Part Two: Do Men Mother? Fathering and Responsibilities	107	(106)
4 Fathers and Emotional Responsibility	109	(28)
5 Fathers and Community Responsibility	137	(37)
6 Fathering, Mothering, and Moral Responsibility	174	(39)
Part Three: Conclusion and Postscript: Men and Fathering	213	(33)
7 Conclusion: Men Reconstructing Fathering	215	(31)
Postscript: Revisiting an Epistemology of Reception	246	(6)
Appendix A Who Are the Fathers?	252	(14)
Appendix B Interviewing: 'Coaxing' Fathers' Stories	266	(12)
Appendix C Data Analysis: The Listening Guide	278	(7)
Notes	285	(18)
References	303	(30)
Index	333