The persistence of stoicism in New Father masculinity: A case study of first time parents in Sweden
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Studies have demonstrated Swedish fathers are conscious of the importance of sex roles, and aspire to a gender-equal, childcare-oriented model of manhood. Among gender traits not well examined is stoicism, or reluctance to communicate openly about personal stress and anxiety. The aim of this study is to locate stoicism as a gendered trait in Swedish definitions of fatherhood-masculinity through an examination of individual ideologies, and the infrastructure and practices of parental leave in Sweden. The data come from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 20 fathers, 4 mothers, and 4 professionals who work with parents. Interview data were analyzed using a grounded qualitative approach. Evidence suggests fathers have stoic dispositions by default, but they are not analytical about stoicism like they are for other gender traits. Fathers seem to value stoicism but also avoid acknowledging it, suggesting a potential incongruity with idealized Swedish father masculinity. I suggest practical barriers to fathers developing emotional openness due to the nature of public resources available for fathers on leave.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | May 2014 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Pitt, David |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Wotipka, Christine Min |
Subjects
| Subject | Parental leave |
|---|---|
| Subject | Sweden |
| Subject | fatherhood |
| Subject | masculinity |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Pitt, David (2014). The persistence of stoicism in New Father masculinity: A case study of first time parents in Sweden. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/df389rk6581
Collection
Undergraduate Theses, Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Stanford University.
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- dpitt1@stanford.edu
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