Caring Fathers in the Global Context - by Petteri Eerola & Katherine Twamley & Henna Pirskanen & Pedro Romero-Balsas (Paperback)

About the Book

This collection offers a rich exploration of how men become 'caring fathers'. It connects fatherhood studies with care scholarship to provide new insights into how care is shared, negotiated and made meaningful in everyday life.

Book Synopsis

Despite growing recognition of fathers' involvement in family life, dominant narratives still marginalise men's caring roles. Caring Fathers in the Global Context addresses a pressing gap in our shared understanding: how care is practised and experienced by men across diverse cultural, social and policy settings.

Drawing on wide-ranging, international research, this timely edited collection offers a rich, comparative exploration of how men become 'caring fathers' and the pathways leading to this. It connects fatherhood studies with care scholarship to provide new theoretical and empirical insights into how care is shared, negotiated and made meaningful in everyday life.

A vital and interdisciplinary resource for anyone studying families and social change, this book invites readers to rethink care, masculinity and intergenerational relationships in a rapidly changing world.

Review Quotes

"A remarkable book in both depth and scope - each chapter written by a truly international expert who has provided insights into caretaking by fathers in diverse contexts. An 'open access' publication, Caring Fathers in the Global Context is a 'must read' for anyone interested in this important topic with which, as is increasingly acknowledged, both child wellbeing and gender equality are closely intertwined." Adrienne Burgess, The Fatherhood Institute

"Based on international comparative research, this book provides new important knowledge about fathers' caring practices in different cultural and policy settings." Elin Kvande, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

"Caring Fathers in the Global Context provides a unique and nuanced understanding of fathers' caring practices, identity work and parenthood. This extensive volume contributes to a well-needed update on global and diverse fatherhood in contemporary times. Combining empirical case studies in different countries, with a reflexive theoretical approach, the volume advances our knowledge of contemporary families and fathers' caring practices. It presents an excellent contribution to family studies as well as to critical studies on men and masculinities." Thomas Johansson, University of Gothenburg

"An impressively wide-ranging book that provides fascinating new empirical material on fathering practices in many different national contexts. Its focus on the experiences of minoritised fathers is particularly compelling." Rachel Brooks, University of Oxford

About the Author

Petteri Eerola is Senior Lecturer of Education (Family Research and Qualitative Methods) at the University of Jyväskylä and Honorary Associate Professor at the Social Research Institute, University College London.

Katherine Twamley is Professor of Sociology at the Social Research Institute, University College London.

Henna Pirskanen is Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Lapland.

Pedro Romero-Balsas is Associate Professor of Sociology at the Autonomous University of Madrid.