Beyond “Traditional” and “New”: An Attempt of Redefinition of Contemporary Fatherhoods through Discursive Practices and Practices of Care

Abstract

In this article, I use thirty-five interviews with heterosexual Italian fathers to problematize the distinction between “traditional” and “new” fatherhood. Adopting a performative approach to gender, masculinity, and fatherhood, I pursue my objective showing the existence of several contemporary fatherhoods, combining two dimensions: men’s discursive practices of self-positioning with respect to fatherhood and the actual practices of care performed with their children. By creating a taxonomy, I identify a third hybrid model of fatherhood and clarify the features that characterize new and traditional fatherhood, respectively, while exploring the interactions between practices.