Nurturing Masculinities: Constructing New Narratives of Fatherhood

Abstract

Despite a relatively short history of direct research on male experiences of fatherhood, practices and patterns of parenthood have varied and continue to meaningfully vary by gender. As the contemporary field of fatherhood studies has grown, it has shown fatherhood to be a complex and moving target. This essay considers both the Catholic moral tradition and social scientific research to consider how human relational potentials are encouraged or limited by narratives surrounding fatherhood today. While both American society and Catholic teaching continue to develop and contain significant diversities in their conceptions and presentations of fatherhood, these narratives remain similarly limited in important ways regarding diverse expressions of paternal care. Nonetheless, Catholic moral commitments suggest an obligation to promote narratives that support more expansive understandings of male capabilities in childcare and domestic life. This essay explores such a commitment in light of contemporary experiences of fatherhood. It seeks to identify ways in which male parental experiences are truncated by prevailing narratives and offer pathways to support fuller realization of human capabilities in male caregiving.