Father Figures and New Masculinities in Contemporary U.S. Literature: Hegemonic and Counter-hegemonic Strategies of Paternal Representation

Abstract

This chapter addresses the complicated relation between masculinity and fatherhood in contemporary U.S. culture and literature. In particular, it focuses on the gendered dimension of fathering as more practices traditionally associated with mothering have been adopted by fathers over the past years. Drawing from Michael Kimmel, R.W. Connell, and Kelly Oliver, this chapter reviews the relation between fatherhood and hegemonic models of masculinity in American history and then turns to examine the way in which father figures have been portrayed in a handful of contemporary narratives. In doing so, this chapter examines whether these “new men” and their alleged rupture with past models of manhood and gender roles represent a subversion of hegemonic masculinity or, rather, its continuation. It also assesses the different narrative strategies used to represent fatherhood that could potentially generate alternative representations of fatherhood, thereby contributing to undo the conflation between paternity and patriarchy.