Tensions between Fatherhood and the Social Construction of Masculinity in Italy

The article examines how fathers’ attempts to establish intimate relationships with their young children (0–3 years) bring to light tensions between prevailing models of fatherhood and hegemonic masculinity. The result of these contradictory negotiations is a complex redefinition of what it means to be a father today, whereby aspects of both past experiences and new social expectations are accepted and rejected. The article approaches gender as a relational concept and so incorporates the perspective of mothers. By way of biographical-narrative research conducted with Italian new fathers and new mothers, the article shows that some aspects of cultural models of masculinity can obstruct the process of building intimate relationships with young children because such relationships need to be grounded in precisely those aspects that dominant forms of masculinity repress: emotions, affectivity and physical closeness. However, the visceral contradictions between gendered social norms, individual desires and men’s discovery of the pleasures of care can entail the learning of a different embodiment, and so hold the potential for a transformation of intimacy in father–child relationships. The article reflects on whether new fathering practices can change the hierarchical relationships that mark the contemporary social construction of masculinity and femininity.