Being a Traditional Dad or Being More Like a Mum? Clashing Models of Fatherhood According to Swedish and Polish Fathers

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to document how Swedish and Polish fathers understand their parental roles in the times of changing gender relations. An important question is how they deal with two conflicting models of fatherhood—the traditional model based on breadwinning and the new model of involved fatherhood. I argue here that fatherhood is a highly contextual phenomenon and the way men engage in parental roles is strictly connected with the social expectations and people’s assumptions about parenting and gender roles. The focus of this paper will be on the links between three elements: (1) the institutional context, in particular the family policy systems, (2) a conflict resulting from the coexistence of two different models of fatherhood, and (3) men’s parenting behaviour. The article consists of two parts. In the first one the family policy systems of Sweden and Poland are described. The second part is based on 52 in-depth interviews conducted with Swedish and Polish middleclass and heterosexual fathers. A thematic analysis revealed that the experience of fatherhood is firmly embedded in in a family policy system. Depending on the definitions of parental roles adopted by the welfare state, the particular mechanisms of family policy can sustain or reconstruct the models of fatherhood (and motherhood) and consequently have an impact on the gender inequalities.