Fathers and daughters construction of fatherhood in one low-income, semi-rural, Coloured community

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Fatherhood literature in South Africa agrees that a look beyond the absent father phenomenonis necessary and that the focus should rather be on the potential of biological and socialfathers who are present in their children's lives. Although fathers are important in the healthydevelopment of both boys and girls, the fathering of adolescents daughters has receivedlimited research attention. For these reasons, this study focused on fathers and theiradolescent daughters in one low-income, semi-rural, Coloured community in the CapeWinelands district of the Western Cape, South Africa. The objective of this exploratory studywas to investigate fathers' and adolescent daughters' constructions of fatherhood. The studywas informed by social constructionism and utilised a social constructionist informedgrounded theory methodology. Forty-two interviews were conducted with fourteen fathersand adolescent daughters. They were interviewed separately and 29 hours and 47 minutes ofinterview material were obtained. Data collection, transcription, and analysis took placeconcurrently. Five conceptual categories were identified: Both the fathers and the daughtersfocused on the importance of the provider role and daughters' obedience. Their relationshipwas spoken of in terms of having an understanding, while the expression of affectionappeared to accompany special occasions only. Fathers also emphasised their wish for theirdaughters to have a better future and spoke at length about their efforts and strategies forensuring this. Lastly, fathers' expected daughters to do as they were told and not to followfathers' bad examples (e.g. alcohol abuse). The core category focused on the underlyingassumptions inherent in the dynamic of the relationship, namely an hierarchical and patriarchal gender order. There seemed to be evidence of both affirmation of and resistanceagainst the patriarchal gender order. Although it seemed that the traditional masculine andfeminine ideology continue to hold sway, the presence of New Father discourse suggests thebeginning of a shift towards more equitable gender relations and therefore the possibility of change. Recommendations for future research and interventions based on this analysis werealso discussed.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University