Feminist Fathering/Fathering Feminists

Nicole Willey is Professor of English at Kent State University Tuscarawas, where she teaches literatures and writing and serves as the Faculty Mentoring Program Coordinator for her campus. She authored Creating a New Ideal of Masculinity for American Men: The Achievement of Sentimental Women Writers in the Mid-Nineteenth Century, and co-edited the collection Motherhood Memoirs: Mothers Creating/Writing Lives. Dan Friedman studied music at York University, and got interested in feminism while learning about cultural theory from Ioan Davies in grad school.

“This is the collection feminism needs. This collection demonstrates how important fathers are in the lives of the children, including how fathers have shaped their children’s feminism and thoughts on gender. Fathers, like mothers, can work toward dismantling patriarchy through the way they father/parent and this collection explores that so perfectly. This collection makes a significant impact on the study of fatherhood and motherhood and opens to the door to continue exploring this important topic.” - Heather Jackson, MA, MPH – Mental health counselor, birth doula, freelance writer and editor (Rhode Island, USA)

• Introduction - Nicole L. WilleyYour Father - Donna J. Gelagotis LeeOpening Poem Section 1: Fathers in Popular Culture and LiteratureDads Can Cuddle, Too: Feminism, `60s Sitcoms, and the Making of Modern Fatherhood - Debra MichalsWhy Are Stay-at-Home Fathers Viewed as Feminist Progress? - Steven D. FaroughFeminist Fathering in the Shadow of 9/11: The Lessons of Laila Halaby’s Once in a Promised Land - Jeff Karem“I’m the back-up parent. The understudy.”: Postfeminist Fatherhood in The Descendants - Katie Barnett“We Raise Our Children to Believe that They Can Be Anything”: Analyzing the Feminist Fathering Possibilities on Black-ish - Nancy BresslerChoose Your Own Fathering Style: Neil Patrick Harris and Feminist Fathering - Nicole L. WilleyCaring Masculinities and Feminist Fathering in Contemporary Spain - Marina BettaglioSection 2: Fathering in Personal ContextsCo-Parents Who Share Family Work: Feminism, Co-responsibility and “Mother Knows Best” in Spanish Heterosexual Couples - Bruna AlvarezFrom Air Base to Home Base - Ginger Bihn-CossFather Figure - Lee KahrsObservations and Ramblings of a Feminist Father - Stuart LeeksCan a Recovering Sexist Raise a Feminist?: Preparing a Boy to Thrive Post-Patriarchy - Josh ChaffinTo My Son - Jed ScottAfterword - Dan Friedman