The myth of Black father absenteeism—exploring attachment theory, gendered racism, and the "breakdown of family"

Abstract

I explore the myth of Black father absence and its deleterious effects, by critically reflecting on attachment theory, gendered racism, and the idea of family breakdown. This myth makes sense within a culture that emphasises the exclusive importance of biological mothers and fathers. Building on intersectionality theory, multidimensionality theorists argue that Black men are also discriminated against by virtue of being Black and male. Gendered racism therefore pathologises Black men, Black women, and the Black family as a whole. In particu- lar, as part of the "family breakdown" narrative, "single Black mothers" whose children "do not have a father present in their lives", are a problem to be resolved and a set of problems waiting to happen. Such narratives uphold the political peddling that encourages us to focus on individual behaviour, and not on social context. In contrast, I argue for the importance of an attachment to the world, not just one caregiver, and explore the ways that racism posi- tions some people as belonging, whilst others have their secure base or "epistemic home" (Kinouani, 2021) constantly undermined. Alternatively, developing more social awareness would lead to an appreciation of Black men, Black women, and the Black community as an attachment network.