New fathers and mothers as gender troublemakers? Exploring discursive constructions of heterosexual parenthood and their subversive potential
Journal
Feminism and Psychology
ISSN
0959-3535
ISSN-Digital
1461-7161
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2008-05-01
Author(s)
Research Team
Alexandria Link
Publikationen
Publikationen
Abstract
Current constructions of heterosexual parenthood in western societies seem to be trapped in a change-retention dilemma. Many elements have changed, but many others have stayed the same. Although ‘new fathers' do change diapers, the mother is very often seen as the ‘main parent'. Parenthood is still constructed along the heterosexual gender binary that equates women with mothers and men with fathers. In this article I analyze four different scenarios of parenthood that were discursively constructed in 21 qualitative interviews in Switzerland. I focus on the discursive construction of the subject positions ‘mother' and ‘father', the discourses drawn upon, and their potential to subvert the gendered construction of heterosexual parenthood when justifying certain versions of parenthood. Drawing on Judith Butler's concept of ‘gender trouble', I explore the possibilities for change and the dangers of reifying the gender binary, and critically discuss the possibilities and limitations of gender trouble in this context
Language
English
Keywords
gender trouble
performativity
subversion
discourse
new mothers
new fathers
gendered parenthood
binaries
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Sage
Publisher place
Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Volume
18
Number
2
Start page
207
End page
230
Pages
24
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
42966
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Name
Nentwich_2008_GenderedParenthood.pdf
Size
391.65 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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