Finland

Paternal masculinities in early fatherhood: dominant and counter narratives by Finnish first-time fathers

In this article, we seek to extend understanding of the role of gender in early fatherhood by examining narratives of paternal masculinities, that is, the social and cultural constructions of gendered practices and conventions produced by men on their roles as male parents. The data comprised interviews with 44 Finnish first-time fathers (aged 20-42 years) living in a heterosexual relationship. The narrative of the “decent father,” was identified as the dominant narrative of paternal masculinity in early fatherhood. Although the narrative was characterized by some important gendered differences, it was also in line with the well-known concept of the “new father.” Two counter narratives, la…

Fathers’ narratives on support and agency : a case study of fathers in a Finnish child welfare NGO

In Finland, one of the Nordic countries, shared parenting is widely supported through, e.g. family policies and legislation. This is also evident in daily parental practices, as fathers’ share in childcare has increased notably since the late 1980s. Unfortunately, this is not the whole picture of Finnish and Nordic fatherhood: practitioners in child welfare also encounter many fathers with various problems in parenting and life management. In this article, we examine the narratives of fathers who have sought and received support from a Finnish nationwide child welfare NGO. Our research question is: What types of narratives on seeking and receiving support and on their agency do fathers prod…

Responsible fatherhood : a narrative approach

Nuorten aikuisten käsityksiä tulevaisuuden perheistä

Nurturing, breadwinning, and upbringing: paternal responsibilities by Finnish men in early fatherhood

In the Nordic countries, including Finland, gender-balanced distribution of childcare is both the goal of family policies and nowadays also a cultural norm of parenting. Thus, in most families, the father, along with the mother, plays a considerable role in handson care. This study captures and analyzes paternal responsibilities as narrated by Finnish fathers. It draws on 32 interviews with 16 fathers conducted during the first three years of their fatherhood, and applies the method of narrative inquiry, in which narratives are understood as constructors of knowledge. The analysis yielded nurturing, breadwinning and upbringing, framed by the levels of everyday duties and comprehensive commi…

Can fathers' leave take-up dismantle gendered parental responsibilities? Evidence from Finland

Objective: This article reports on the associations of fathers' leave take-up with parents' care responsibilities when their child is around four years old. Background: In families with small children women continue to do more parental care work than men. Several studies, however, have suggested that fathers who take up parental leave also take more responsibility for childcare. Method: We applied logistic regression analysis to Finnish survey data collected in 2019 from the mothers and fathers of four-year-old children to find out whether father’s take-up and length of leave is related to fathers taking equal or more responsibility for different dimensions of parental responsibilities, inc…

Maskuliinisuuden myötä- ja vastakerronta haastattelupuheessa

Miehistä ja miehenä olon kysymyksistä puhutaan tällä hetkellä poikkeuksellisen paljon niin mediassa, politiikassa kuin arkipuheessakin. Samaan aikaan kulttuurisesti hyväksyttävät miehenä olon muodot ovat moninaistuneet. Tässä artikkelissa kuvaan kerronnallisen tapaustutkimuksen, jossa analysoin kolmekymppisen Teemun haastattelupuheessa tuottamia toisistaan poikkeavia ja jännitteisiä maskuliinisuuden kertomuksia. Tutkimuksessa hyödyntämieni myötä- ja vastakerronnan käsitteiden avulla kuvaan, miten Teemu tuottaa rinnakkain kahta toisistaan poikkeavaa maskuliinisuuden kertomusta. Hän kertoo elämästään hyödyntäen useita erilaisia ja toisistaan poikkeavia kulttuurisia malleja ja puhetapoja. Arti…

Negotiating parenting practices: the arguments and justifications of Finnish couples

This article explores Finnish different-sex couples’ (n = 12) negotiations on their parental division of labour. Theoretically, the article is based on the literature on gendered parenting practices and relational negotiations. Our discourse analysis reveals how the couples produced ‘togetherness’ and ‘our family’ by representing their care practices as agreements, irrespective of whether the care was described as equally shared or distinctly gendered. Disagreements reflecting more individualistic tones, and mainly resulting from the mothers’ sense of unfairness, were especially foregrounded when the distribution of household duties was discussed. The analysis also revealed how men cited in…

Sateenkaarevat perhe- ja läheissuhteet yksissä kansissa

Annukka Lahti, Kia Aarnio, Anna Moring & Jenni Kerppola (toim.): Perhe- ja läheissuhteet sateenkaaren alla. Helsinki: Gaudeamus, 2020, 335 s, I S B N 978-952-345-085-1

Metanarrative of the "New Father" and Narratives of Young Finnish First-Time Fathers

The metanarrative of the "new father" has become well-established in both the public and academic discourses on families. This study analyzes the narratives and storylines about fatherhood told by young Finnish first-time fathers, and examines the interrelationship between these narratives and the metanarrative of the "new father." Three different narratives were identified—the modern, the transition and the postmodern narratives of fathering. Although constructed differently, all three narratives engaged with the metanarrative of the new father by reflecting on it and by drawing a distinction between their perceptions of fatherhood and the narratives of the past. In conclusion, the idea of…

”Kodittomasta nististä vastuulliseksi perheenisäksi” : isyys kriisin varjossa

Miesten tutkimisen menetelmät

Kirja-arvio teoksesta Barbara Pini & Bob Pease (toim.) 2013: Men, Masculinities and Methodologies. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire, 259 s. nonPeerReviewed

Vankeusaikana isyydelle annetut merkitykset ja jännitteiset tunteet isien kertomana

Miten vankeusrangaistusta suorittavat miehet kertovat isyyden merkityksestä ja isyyteen liittyvistä tunteista? Isyyteen liittyvät tunteet jakautuvat miesten puheessa voimaa antaviin ja voimaa vieviin tunteisiin. Haastattelututkimuksen tuottama isyyskerronta kietoutuu tiiviisti laajempiin isyyden kulttuurisiin ihanteisiin. Research on fatherhood among fathers serving custodial sentences Finland is a neglected topic. In this article we contribute to flling this gap by investigating the meanings imprisoned fathers attribute to their fatherhood and the emotions evoked by the combination of imprisonment and fatherhood. Interviews (N=14) were conducted in a Finnish closed prison and in open custo…

Hegemonista maskuliinisuutta etsimässä

Masculinities / R. W. Connell. Berkeley, CA : University of California Press, 2005. 324 pages. ISBN 978-0-520-24698-0

Fathers’ Leave Take-Up in Finland : Motivations and Barriers in a Complex Nordic Leave Scheme

Despite being the first country in the world to introduce paternity leave in 1978, Finland’s current national leave scheme is complex with regard to incentivizing fathers’ take-up. Taking the unique Finnish leave scheme as a case example, this article examines fathers’ motivations and barriers to leave. Although research on fathers’ take-up of leave in divergent leave policy contexts has increased dramatically, fathers’ motivations and barriers to leave have remained underresearched. The article reports on a survey sample of 852 Finnish fathers of infants who were taking paternity, parental, and other forms of leave, drawn from the Population Register Center. Results show that less than 20%…

‘Ordinary’ and ‘diverse’ families : A case study of family discourses by Finnish early childhood education and care administrators

The increased family diversity is a major global trend. Although family configurations are also diverse in contemporary Finland, it has been argued that Finnish family policies and institutional understanding of family life continues to focus on the heteronormative two-parent family with a native Finnish background. To address this issue, we analysed Finnish family discourses through qualitative interviews with early childhood education and care administrators (n = 47), applying a discourse analytic framework. Our results suggest that families are discussed through two divergent but interwoven discourses, i.e. the discourse of ordinary families and that of diverse families. The former focus…

Unravelling conceptualizations of (in)equality in early childhood education and care system

Early childhood education’s role in increasing equality in society has been highlighted by international organizations. However, it is unclear what is meant by the concept of equality in different situations, as the meaning fluctuates and reflects the cultural political contexts in which it is embedded. In this paper, we analyse the equality discourses of local early childhood education and care (ECEC) policymakers in Finland, drawing on different conceptualizations of equality and social justice. In doing so, we show that the way in which equality is conceptualized differs – along with the suggested remedies – depending on whether the subjects of equality are adults, children at the border…

Lapsikeskeisempi isyys - kolme tarinaa nuorten koulutettujen miesten astumisesta isyyteen

Isyyden muutos on kulkenut viimeisten vuosikymmenten aikana kahden toisistaan poikkeavan kehityskulun mukaisesti. Tätä muutosta on kuvattu isyyden vahvistuvana ja ohenevana kehityksenä (Huttunen 2001, 153). Isyyden vahvistuvan kehityskulun mukainen osallistuva hoiva-isä esiintyy nykyään usein niin lehtien palstoilla kuin myös asiantuntijapuheessa, mutta ohenevan isyyden mukainen, lastensa elämästä esimerkiksi avioeron seurauksena häviävä isä jää usein huomaamatta. Valtamedioiden ja asiantuntijoiden isyyttä kohtaan lisääntyneen kiinnostuksen lisäksi myös tiedekenttä on viimeisten vuosikymmenten aikana ollut yhä enemmän kiinnostunut isyydestä. On syytä tarkastella, miten laajentunut, huomions…

Lasten kotihoito ja sen taloudellinen tukeminen: kunnallisten luottamushenkilöiden näkökulma

Artikkelissa kysytään, miten lasten kotihoidosta ja sen tukemisesta keskustellaan paikallisesti. Kun-nat tuottavat lasten kotihoidon merkityksellistämiselle erityisen kontekstin. Kunnat vastaavat niin varhaiskasvatuspalvelujen järjestämisestä kuin lasten kotihoidon tuen rahoittamisesta kuitenkin niin, että oikeus kotihoidon tukeen syntyy palveluun kytkeytyvän oikeuden käyttämättä jättämisestä. Analyysi pohjautuu 32 kunnallisen luottamushenkilön haastatteluun. Haastattelut toteutettiin kym-menessä kunnassa keväällä 2016. Analyysi paikantaa aineistosta kehysanalyysin keinoin kaksi lasten kotihoitoa merkityksellistävää tulkintakehystä: talous-rationaalisen ja kulttuuris-normatiivisen tul-kinta…

Isänä vankilassa

Esittelemme käynnissä olevan tutkimuksemme ensimmäisiä havaintoja vankilassa olevien isien haastatteluista. Mitä isyys merkitsee näille miehille ja miten se näkyy miesten tulevaisuutta ja vapautumista koskevissa pohdinnoissa? nonPeerReviewed

Rationalizing early childhood education and care in the local context : a case study of Finnish municipalities

In this chapter, we focus on local early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy discourses by scrutinizing the rationalities given for ECEC in ten Finnish municipalities. The empirical data comprise qualitative interviews with local politicians and ECEC administrators (n = 78) and the analysis applies a discourse analytic framework. As a result, we highlight three interpretative frames – local, economy and function – through which the organization and provision of ECEC is discussed. We conclude our analysis by constructing three local rationalities – investing in education in a diverse environment; a personal service conditioned by working life; and the best possible quality of ECEC wit…