Asian values in Confucian masculinity: A discourse analysis of parenting advice to fathers

Abstract

This article examines parenting advice to fathers published in the state-regulated English newspaper, The Straits Times, in Singapore. In November 2020, The Straits Times introduced ST Smart Parenting, with articles written as instruction guides for parents and autobiographical narratives. What is distinct about ST Smart Parenting are the articles written by and for fathers. Fathers are rarely the focus of parenting guides, as mothers have historically and in the present been positioned as having primary responsibility for childcare. Moreover, The Straits Times launched ST Smart Parenting amid two significant developments in Singapore – the publication of the White Paper for Singapore Women's Development as well as constitutional challenges to and the subsequent repeal of Section 377A. I argue that gender essentialism and heteronormativity is entrenched in parenting advice to fathers. As feminist critiques of gendered expectations make their way into public discourse, it is no longer tenable to criticize women per se or blatantly espouse practices that subordinate women and reinforce gender inequality. Consequently, parenting advice to fathers articulates the importance of fathers as benevolent providers of the family, gender differentiation in the family, and the conflation of marriage and parenthood.