Traditional and insecure masculinities are not the best allies of caring fatherhood

Abstract

The development of the “new father” figure, an increasingly popular identity of fathers involved in the care of their young children, can be considered as a manifestation of the emergence of a more inclusive hegemonic masculinity. However, it can also be considered a mere complicit adaptation of a traditional masculinity that has barely experienced change. To investigate this question, we drew on data from a sample of 415 heterosexual male wage earners between 25 and 45 years of age residing in Spain, obtaining data on the constructs of masculinity, attitudes towards fathers who care for the baby and on self-esteem. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis showed that men who had a more traditional masculine identity tended to maintain a less favorable attitude towards the new father figure. Furthermore, in line with the precarious manhood approach, we showed that the degree of rejection of the ideal of the new father was even more intense among men who, in addition to having a traditional masculinity, had low self-esteem, which led them to experience this traditional masculine identity with greater fragility. This result points to the fact that the new father figure has not been fully internalized by men with more traditional masculinities. In other words, it seems that the development of the new father ideal is one of the ways through which the emergence of a more inclusive hegemonic masculinity may be taking place. These findings highlight the importance of policies that promote change towards more egalitarian gender roles and attitudes.