PI: Mitchell Duneier Co-PI: Aasha Abdill Princeton University
This dissertation research investigates whether men of low-income urban communities are uncovering the potential benefit of loosening translations of fatherhood. Recent academic attention to fatherhood emphasizes the concept of "new fathering," a modification in the fathering identity which includes a focus on emotional attachment to the child. This trajectory of inquiry leads to a set of motivating research questions which will reveal fathering looks like and feels like to black men and their families while ideologies of manhood, masculinity and fatherhood are rapidly changing. Is embracing fatherhood becoming a more viable option due to the removal of the breadwinner mandate from its definition? If so, what now does being a father entail? How are new ideas of fathering roles communicated and understood within low-income urban communities? How are fathering beliefs and behaviors being impacted? Employing primarily an ethnographic research strategy, with some quantitative components, this research captures the change of fathering beliefs and behaviors in the urban neighborhood of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn NY. Additionally, research will be conducted at the local Head Start, which has been embedded in the community for 40 years, in order to provide some information on fathering behavior over time.
Broader Impact: In addition to the social and structural disadvantages that often operate in low-income urban communities, such as high rates of unemployment and incarceration, local interactions within urban communities may also be influencing the involvement of low-income fathers with their children. This study will investigate how values, beliefs and norms of fatherhood are transmitted within an urban community context. If changes in public ideas of fathering are influencing the beliefs and behaviors of fathers in low-income communities, then a greater understanding of how and in what ways can have significant impacts on practical understanding as well as policy implications. Organizations, including Head Start and schools, may be able to support and take advantage of burgeoning changes in role definitions.
Recent academic attention to fatherhood emphasizes the concept of "new fathering," a modification in the fathering identity which includes a focus on nurturing and emotional attachment to the child. This study presents the landscape of what fathering looks like and feels like in a longtime low-income black community as ideologies of masculinity, fatherhood and family are rapidly changing. In addition to the social and structural disadvantages, such as high rates of unemployment and incarceration, which often operate in low-income urban communities and disproportionately affect black men, local interactions are influencing the behaviors of fathers with their children. Based on findings and insights from four years of fieldwork in an urban neighborhood, this dissertation details the day to day obstacles and strategies of black men with children as they try to reconcile contradictions in beliefs about what makes a good father, what makes one a man, and how aspects of each should be displayed. Despite the growing body of evidence in scholarly literature that black men are as likely, and in some cases more likely, than other men to be involved with their children when controlling for residence, I find there is limited public knowledge of this. Why is there a huge disjuncture between what scholars in the field of family have known for at least a decade and what many believe to be true? And, what explains the variations in people’s perception of black fathers? An immediate explanation lies in the role of the media in producing long-standing stereotypical images of largely absentee, deadbeat, and lazy black fathers (Cole, 2012; Edin & Nelson, 2013). Another explanation may lie in the uncertainty as to whether black fathers have always been as involved with their children as are fathers of other races, or if their involvement has recently increased. This gap in knowledge can be attributed to the fact that academic study of fathers is of fairly recent origin (Goldberg, Tan & Thorsen, 2009). Shifting mainstream norms of fathering and family forms are influencing the beliefs and behaviors of fathers residing in low-income communities. While African American fathers have long served as the prototypical image of the deadbeat father, they are at the forefront when it comes to maintaining involvement in non-intact families. This interesting dynamic points to the need for deeper insight into unique fatherhood experiences in urban black communities. To carry out this project for four years, I recorded observations and conversations in ethnographic fashion. In 2011, I began a relationship with a large child care organization in Brooklyn. While there I interviewed fathers, families, and employees. My work highlights the ways in which diverse, and at times conflicting ideas and values are enacted and exchanged between family and community members. I focus on how people and organizations in one urban community shape the behaviors of fathers and families through informal and formal practices. A community study focusing specifically on black men in their efforts to be fathers was missing from the scholarly literature. By embedding the actions of fathers within the context of their families and community, my project contributes a focused investigation of the mechanisms through which race shapes such a distinct experience for African American low-income fathers. I find that longstanding negative perceptions of black inner city fathers, performances of masculinity, matriarchal and extended familial kin, family forms, and the female-dominated sector of family and child service provision uniquely shape the behaviors of black fathers. My study offers detailed examples of how the changing public face of fatherhood within a community is influencing community perceptions of fathering behaviors. By supplementing the experiences of fathers with the voices of extended family and community members, I provide detailed examples of the factors that facilitate and inhibit father involvement. In 2014, the opportunities for low-income men to embrace fatherhood are greater than ever. Organizations and institutions are gradually establishing formal means to ensure the rights of fathers. Society is becoming more accepting of roles of fatherhood that do not prioritize breadwinning, and non-intact family forms are increasing among the mainstream population. At this point it may be too early to say what these changes may mean for the future of black children and families. Still, many men of urban communities are uncovering potential benefits of loosening translations of fatherhood. Nonetheless, their behaviors and involvement are vulnerable to what is verbally and non-verbally communicated by family, peers, community members, local organizations and the public media.
