Prison Dads: Incarceration, Masculinity and Fatherhood among Imprisoned Men

• In Event: 4155 - Section on Crime, Law, and Deviance Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 3. Criminal Justice (Identity) Work

Abstract

Media narratives and popular dialogues around incarcerated fathers frequently rely on stereotypes of “deadbeat dads.” These narratives suggest that incarcerated fathers are inherently selfish and have little interest in making life changes which would impact and help their children. Many authors (Haney, 2018; Edin & Nelson, 2013) have challenged this stereotype, pointing to the massive structural problems which create "deadbeats." However, these authors are unable to describe how fatherhood and narratives about children and masculinity impact the way prisoners live and exist while incarcerated. I draw on 580 semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted in four Canadian provincial jails to demonstrate the important role fatherhood plays for many prisoners. The majority of my participants were racialized and disadvantaged men, and many of them had strong ties to informal economies. They frequently used masculinized narratives to describe the actions which had landed them in prison. Single men discussed crime as a “manhood act” (Schrock and Schwalbe, 2009; Connell, 1996); however, men who had children often employed provision narratives. In other words, they described crime as a way to “provide for my children”. The men I interviewed were deeply aware of the impact their incarceration had on their family and expressed considerable shame—not about breaking the law or any sort of social norm, but rather, about their inability to take care of their children due to their incarceration. Overall, my participants discussed family—especially children—as the largest motivation they had for changing their lives and “going straight.”

Authors

• William James Schultz, University of Alberta

• Sandra M. Bucerius, University of Alberta

• Kevin D. Haggerty, University of Alberta