From Fatherhood to Fathering: Transmission and Change among British Fathers in Four-generation Families

Abstract

Drawing upon biographical-narrative research involving case studies of British families in which four generations were alive at the same time, the article examines change and continuity among fathers and sons, focusing in detail upon one family.The article examines the scheduling of fatherhood in the life course of three generations; the ways in which they talked about ‘fathering’ and fatherhood when their children were young; and the transmission of fathering within families. The particular case, a family of low-skilled men, demonstrates how structural changes and cultural resources combine in the negotiation of a model of ‘hands-on fathering’ in the current father generation. The article draws out some theoretical aspects of the analysis; in particular, how structural and cultural changes and gender intersect differently for different social classes.The theoretical insights depend upon a biographical approach which emphasized the changing context and the ways in which each generation acted upon that context.