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‘You can Spend Time. . .But not Necessarily be Bonding with Them’: Australian Fathers’ Constructions and Enactments of Infant Bonding

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2016

MICHELLE BRADY ,
EMILY STEVENS ,
LAETITIA COLES ,
MARIA ZADOROZNYJ  and
BILL MARTIN
MICHELLE BRADY
Affiliation:
School of Social Science, Michie Building, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia email: Michelle.brady@uq.edu.au
EMILY STEVENS
Affiliation:
School of Social Science, Michie Building, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia email: emily.stevens1@uqconnect.edu.au
LAETITIA COLES
Affiliation:
Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Long Pocket Precinct, 80 Meiers Rd,| Indooroopilly, QLD 4068, University of Queensland email: l.coles@uq.edu.au
MARIA ZADOROZNYJ
Affiliation:
Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Long Pocket Precinct, 80 Meiers Rd,| Indooroopilly, QLD 4068, University of Queensland email: m.zadoroznyj@uq.edu.au
BILL MARTIN
Affiliation:
Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Long Pocket Precinct, 80 Meiers Rd,| Indooroopilly, QLD 4068, University of Queensland
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Abstract

Governments are increasingly implementing policies that encourage early father-infant bonding. However, to date, research has not systematically examined fathers’ perspectives and experiences of early bonding. Using a social constructionist embodiment perspective we argue that paternal bonding is best conceived as a process of repeated, embodied performances that are shaped by gendered parenting discourses. Drawing on 100 semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of Australian fathers of young infants, we argue that most men believe they are capable of developing early strong bonds. They assume that bonding is a product of spending sufficient time with a child, irrespective of the parent's gender. In contrast, a sizable minority of fathers assert that physiology means fathers are ‘largely useless’ to very young infants, and tend to remain distant in the early months. We conclude that social policies promoting early paternal bonding must engage with and challenge gendered/physiological discourses.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 46 , Issue 1 , January 2017 , pp. 69 - 90
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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