Single, Straight, Wants Kids: The Emergence of Intentional Single Fatherhood

• In Event: 091 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Paper Session. Families that Challenge and are Challenged by Our Times

Abstract

The new reproductive technologies (NRTs) such as in-vitro fertilization, egg donation, and gestational surrogacy have made possible various postmodern family forms. Here I highlight another emerging family form that has received little attention from sociologists: single fathers by choice (SFCs). This demographically small, but growing, family form is created by single men—both gay and straight—who become fathers with the assistance of egg donors and surrogates. Here, I focus more specifically on heterosexual men who choose single fatherhood. This raises several important questions for gender and family studies scholars: How are these families viewed relative to other family forms--especially the ideologically dominant “traditional” family? Where do SFCs fit in terms of existing cultural types of masculinity and fatherhood? How do we culturally understand heterosexual men’s desires for children and fatherhood without a female partner? I analyze media framing of intentional single fatherhood to explore cultural sense-making of this family form. I identify three core themes or frame sets used: 1) viewing men and women as similar, but ultimately different, 2) addressing the tension between bachelorhood and fatherhood, and 3) representing the gender of paternal desire in multiple and conflicting ways within and across different time periods of media coverage. Overall, I argue that further investigations of intentional single fatherhood can help us explore issues about the changing norms and practices of men as fathers.

Author

• Katherine M. Johnson, Tulane University