Arnfinn J Andersen
PhD, Sociology

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How men create space for family and parenthood
Fatherhood and its conditions in a heteronormative culture
Doctoral project completed in November 2003
Institute of Sociology and Political Science, Faculty of Social Science and Technology Management, NTNU

The goal of this study is to gain insight into the ways in which heteronormativity, that is cultural norms for heterosexual marriage, influence everyday life also for those parents who do not live within marriage or in a shared home. A study of families that are not centred around a heterosexual marriage provide insight into the norms that structure family and parenthood. In particular it points out how the child has become a central focus for these norms.

The study is based on interviews with two groups of men: heterosexual fathers who are primary caretakers of their children after a divorce and homosexual men who have chosen to father a child together with a lesbian couple who are the primary caretakers.

To gain a better understanding of how families are constituted the study uses a perspective on space as one of its theoretical approaches. All social activity is constituted in space and by the help of space. We create order in our lives by establishing different rooms that provide space for different social relations. Thus, family and parenthood are established by the means of physical, social and mental spaces. The question of who belong, what place they have and the importance of particular spaces provide important insights when we study how families are constituted as "space".

One of the findings of this study is that both groups of fathers make the child their starting point when defending their role as parents. However, due to their different life situations, they find different ways to provide care for the child. Fathers with primary responsibility for the child emphasize the importance of the home and the care that they themselves provide, and limit their contacts with their former wife. For these men their home represent the primary space for the family, and sets the boundaries around the family. These fathers also play down the importance of their relationship with the mother of the child, and in general, the mother-child relationship. Homosexual fathers who have a child with a lesbian couple, emphasize much more a fellowship in parenting, with the three parents cooperating to create a shared space for the child and its upbringing.

Thus, the study shows a higher importance of the child in the new ways of organizing family and parenthood. Moreover, the increased emphasis on care for children in order to secure their development creates new ways of being a father.