Browsing by Author "Rosalén, Anu"

The aim of this study is to investigate how fatherhood is perceived from the perspective of separated men. Special attention is given to the way in which these men negotiate their fatherhood after separation, and what kinds of fatherhood identities and positions are made possible, constructed, or excluded through these negotiations. In addition, the feelings which are associated with the construction of fatherhood after separation are explored. The theoretic-philosophic framework of this study discusses research into social construction of reality, parenthood and fatherhood after separation, and the various dimensions of cultural, social, and institutional contexts in which fatherhood is constructed. The empirical data of this study consists of 11 nonresident father interviews, 7 of which were conducted via e-mail. All the fathers chosen to participate had experienced some difficulties in the co-parenting relationship with the mother of their children. The theoretic-methodological approach, and simultaneously the underlying assumption covering the entire research process of this study, is discursive approach, mainly grounded in the work of Michel Foucault, and particularly his understanding of the concept of discourse: discourses are discursive practices, which are seen as not just elements of language but as multidimensional networks of relationships and rules, which combine the elements of knowledge, power, and politics in a process of constructing subject positions and identities. The analysis revealed that separated men construct their experience of fatherhood negotiating discursively in a relationship with various intertwined practices, which are conceptualized as: 1) discursive practices of gendered parenthood, 2) cultural narratives, categories, and stereotypes of fatherhood and masculinity, 3) economic-juridical practices of shared parenthood, 4) institutional discourses and practices of family professionals, and 5) practices of everyday parenting. Gender (particularly exclusive mothering), the emphasis on the economic-juridical parenthood, the power of the family experts and professionals to define and evaluate parenthood, and the relationship with the mother of the children are seen as significant factors in opening or closing fatherhood possibilities after separation, and leading to diminishing fatherhood, and the fathers locating themselves in the position of the "other", not a mother. Three categories of context bound fatherhood identities or positions were formed on the bases of the fathers' interviews: excluded fathers, fathers holding out, and survivor fathers. Negative and conflicting feelings, particularly frustration, are stressed in constructing fatherhood after separation. Positive feelings and experiences are mainly associated with the time actually spent with the children, and with the fact that it also gives the fathers an opportunity to realize their own kind of parenthood separate from the mother of the children.