Fathering Through Sport and Leisure

INTRODUCTION

Fathers, sport and leisure

Tess Kay, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

The introduction establishes ‘fathers’ as a topical focus, drawing attention to the prominence of popular, academic, policy and media discourses surrounding contemporary fatherhood. It highlights the contested nature of these and refers to the supposed crises surrounding both masculinity and ‘the family’, and the corresponding need for greater understanding of the practices and meanings of fatherhood. It moves on to discuss why research into sport and leisure has a contribution to make to this enhanced understanding, emphasising the long tradition of sport and leisure activities being central to fathers’ relationships and interactions with their children. It particularly highlights the relevance of these aspects of fathering for students and analysts in family studies and gender studies. The introduction concludes by outlining the content of the book, emphasising the breadth of its perspectives and its geographical scope. It comments on the many facets of fatherhood that are under examination, including ideologies of fathering and contemporary policy contexts; father relationships with children; father relationships with partners; fathering in different circumstances – in dual-earner families, as non-resident fathers, as gay fathers, as fathers in a faith community; and grandfatherhood. The introduction concludes with a short account of the focus and contribution of each chapter.

 

CHAPTER 1

Where’s dad? The missing father in sport and leisure studies

Tess Kay, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

This chapter considers the absence of fathers and fatherhood as an ‘absent presence’ in Leisure Studies and the sociology of sport, and argues for the need and value of incorporating this subject matter within these fields. It initially examines the underplaying of fathers and fatherhood in leisure studies, referring particularly to the leisure-related literatures pertaining to leisure and gender and leisure and family. The absence of fathers and fathering as specific foci in social science research are next be reviewed. The chapter draws on an international multi-disciplinary literature to map out developments in fatherhood and in the study of fathers which illustrate the growing prominence of this social issue and the associated response by scholars in cognate disciplines. It examines why for the most part, ‘fathers’ have not been recognised as a subject of enquiry within leisure and sports research, and the complexity and diversity of family situations within which fatherhood is practised have also been neglected.

The chapter discusses how the study of fatherhood ‘through’ sport and leisure has contributions to make to both fields which can contribute to established traditions of research including those addressing gender and masculinity, the work-leisure construct, and family leisure. The chapter concludes by suggesting that studying fatherhood ‘through the lens’ of sport and leisure also offers the opportunity to demonstrate the wider contribution that sport and leisure research can make to social enquiry into fatherhood and contemporary family life.

 

CHAPTER 2

‘Until the ball glows in the twilight’: fatherhood, baseball and the game of playing catch

Ralph LaRossa, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA

(This chapter has recently appeared in Marsiglio, Roy and Fox’s (2005) edited collection ‘Situated Fathering’. It will provide an important historical dimension to our volume, strengthening the association between sport leisure and fatherhood by reminding readers of the long tradition of fathers’ involvement with their children’s sport and leisure and the centrality of this to their parenting. Ralph LaRossa is happy for the chapter to be included in our volume and has encouraged the editor to seek approval from the publishers to reprint the chapter. The following description is based on the chapter opening).

It has been said, "Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball" (Barzun 1954). It may also be said that whoever wants to know the heart and mind of American fatherhood – the pattern of meanings associated with fatherhood – had best be familiar with the symbolism connected to a father teaching a child how to catch and throw a ball. In certain segments of the population, the game of playing catch not only is indispensable to learning the fundamentals of baseball, but also is instrumental to being defined as a caring dad (Rosenblatt 1998; McCormack 1999-2000).

How did baseball and the game of playing catch come to be associated with fatherhood? Drawing on a range of written and iconographic texts (e.g., newspaper and magazine articles, books, cartoons, films) this chapter documents the historical link between the institution of baseball (America’s ‘national pastime’) and a fleeting but important component of father-child interaction. Focusing on the question of who, where, when, how and why, it shows how ecological contexts (backyards and sunsets) and gender-specific meanings (definitions of fatherhood and athleticisms have transposed a seemingly mundane activity into a sacred and memorable moment; and how the moment itself is constructed through a combination of talk (or silence) and geometry (distance between the players). Ultimately I aim to demonstrate, via the game of playing catch, how physical and social realities are intertwined.

 

CHAPTER 3

THE GOOD FATHER: PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS AND YOUTH SPORTS

Jay Coakley, Colorado Springs, USA

Family life and expectations for parents have changed dramatically over the past two generations. In the United States these changes have been fuelled by a combination of factors, including a conservative emphasis on traditional family values and fathers as heads of households, a neo-liberal emphasis on individualism and the need for fathers to take responsibility for the development of their children, a liberal feminist emphasis on gender equity in family life, and progressive ideas about the meaning of gender and sexuality. As a result of these factors mothers and fathers today are held responsible for the whereabouts and actions of their children 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. This standard, never before used in any society as a baseline measure for good parenting, serves as a foundation for linking the character and achievements of children to the moral worth of parents. Because sports are activities in which a child’s success is visible and objectively measurable, and because fathers are more likely than mothers to have or claim expertise in sports, the development of athletic skills among children is often monitored by fathers who act as coaches, managers, agents, mentors, and advocates for their child athletes. Therefore, the involvement of fathers in youth sports is grounded in complex cultural changes and it has implications for families and father-child relationships. These implications are discussed in light of new expectations that connect the moral worth of parents to the success of their children.

 

CHAPTER 4

SPORT AND LEISURE AS CONTEXTS FOR FATHERING IN AUSTRALIAN FAMILIES

Maureen Harrington, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

 

The relationships that fathers have with their family in leisure contexts are reflected in their leisure and sport repertoires and identities. Family based leisure relationships are one significant mode through which they express connectedness with their children. This chapter builds on feminist studies of gendered leisure relations in families, and rejects approaches that conflate mothers’ and fathers’ experiences and meanings of family leisure into that of "parents". In contrast it focuses on fathers’ gendered experience of family leisure to further our understanding of what ‘playing’ with children means in relation to the identity construction of fatherhood. It considers the nexus between fathers’ own leisure and sport repertoires, their understanding of their children’s identities and leisure needs, and their involvement in shared family leisure and their children’s leisure and sport activities.

The chapter is based on a larger qualitative study of mothers, fathers and children in 28 Australian families. Both parents in each family were interviewed about their leisure involvements, children’s leisure activities and what they felt was the meaning and importance of family leisure. At least one child ten years and older in each family was also interviewed. In addition a seven-day diary was also used by parents (most usually mothers) to record the leisure activities of all family members prior to the interviews. Four themes emerged in the analysis of the interviews with fathers in the study. These themes were: the importance for fathers of being with children and doing leisure as a family; the family paradigm and fathering through the generations; sport as a dominant, but not the only cultural context for fathering; and other leisure contexts in which non-sporting fathers construct their fatherhood identity. The study suggests the possibility that for some Australian fathers, sport and leisure contexts as both physical and social spaces enables men to do the identity work of being an involved or ‘generative’ (i.e. guiding the next generation) father.

 

 

CHAPTER 5

LEISURE AND FATHERHOOD IN DUAL-EARNER FAMILIES

Liz Such, formerly of Dept. Work and Pensions, Sheffield, UK

This chapter explores the relationship between fatherhood and leisure in the context of dual-earner families in the UK. A gender constructivist theoretical framework is first described then applied to data gathered from interviews with 14 dual-employed couples with dependent children. Leisure is revealed as a key component of men’s role as fathers that sits alongside the much-discussed notion of breadwinning. The structure, nature and meaning of leisure is shown to be crucially altered by the onset of parenthood. While leisure still retains meanings of autonomy and personal pursuit, it becomes a context for parenting during child-rearing.

The discourse of ‘leisure-based parenting’ contrasts sharply with mothers’ discussions of both parenting and leisure. Data from interviews with both partners are used to highlight the different ‘hierarchies’ of employment, family and leisure that co-exist within families. The chapter also outlines the interactions between mothers’ and fathers’ experience of (paid and unpaid) work, family life and leisure that act to construct and reconstruct gendered lifecourse trajectories. The impact of each partners’ leisure orientations on the behaviour of the other is presented as an example of the way gendered leisure mediates the lifestyles of fathers, mothers and families.

 

CHAPTER 6

FAMILY AND PERSONAL LEISURE PERSPECTIVES FROM LDS FATHERS

Birgitta Baker, Pennsylvania State University, Patti Freeman, Brigham Young University, and Ramon Zabriskie, Brigham Young University

Examining the meaning of leisure from an ideological perspective opens the way for more research discussions not only about women but also men (Henderson, Hodges, & Kivel, 2002). Religion is one factor that may shape one’s ideological perspective of life and priorities. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) is a religion that shapes not only the spiritual aspect of its member’s lives but also provides a clear ideology by which to live and prioritize life. The purpose of this study was to examine the leisure perspectives of LDS fathers. The sample consisted of 13 married men. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Four main themes emerged from the data. First, these men had a strong commitment to their family and experienced an ethic of care similar to women. Second, leisure occurred in the context of home and family. Third, family and spouse recreation was seen as a way to strengthen their families. Fourth, most of the men felt little entitlement to personal leisure.

 

 

CHAPTER 7

FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS: NEGOTIATING GENDERED RELATIONSHIPS IN SPORT

By Nicole Willms, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA

As the traditional keepers of the sports culture, fathers play a role in fostering their children's interest in sports.  This can become a source of bonding, cemented by the bridge it creates between the child and a (usually more distant) parent.  When it comes to father and daughters, however, the sports relationship has the potential to take on a new dimension: it becomes a site of negotiation where gender ideals must be reexamined, questioned, and possibly transformed.  In a paradox of gender-relations, girls and women are exploring new frontiers in sport, but often under the control, guidance, and discourse of an ever-persistent male-dominated sporting world.  The chapter will explore how these tensions are negotiated within father-daughter relationships that embody the precarious position of women's sports today - do they represent social change or reconstitute old systems of dominance in a new context? Interviews with 22 female college athletes reveal that fathers who play an integral role in developing their daughter's interest in sports can act as both a liberating and dominating force in their daughter's lives, both challenging and reproducing the gender order in sport.

 

 

CHAPTER 8

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE: FATHER’S ROLE IN THE NEGOTIATION OF COUPLE TIME

Vera Dyck and Kerry Daly, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada

In order to understand the relationship between fatherhood and leisure, we believe that it is important to take a systemic perspective that examines the way in which relationships within the family affect leisure choices. Although the literature on gender and free time offers important insights into the different individual entitlements that women and men have to use time, they put less emphasis on the relationship negotiations that occur within families. We were particularly interested in the way that men in families negotiate couple time with their partners. In this analysis of 14 dual earner couples with young children (3-12 years old), we looked at the role that men play in the negotiation of couple time. Specifically, we examined the processes of initiating and scheduling couple time, dealing with expectations of spontaneity and romance, and arranging childcare. We found that in creating couple time participants faced many challenges including uncertain social support, the stressful demands of daily living, unclear couple time preferences and meanings, and ambivalence regarding their desire for traditional courtship in the context of egalitarian parenting. Fathers played an important role in instigating couple time whereas mothers played a significant role in its implementation; our discussion explores various power dynamics at play in this co-construction of couple time.

 

 

CHAPTER 9

NON-RESIDENT FATHERS’ LEISURE WITH THEIR CHILDREN

John Jenkins and Kevin Lyons, The University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

Increasing instances of divorce, de-facto separation and non-marital childbirth in westernised have led to growing numbers of fathers living separately from their children. In Australia these non-resident fathers now number approximately 400,000. Despite increasing evidence that fathers can be central to their children’s education, health and well-being, and that for many non-resident fathers’ contact with their children is important and highly desirable but inadequate, research on non-resident fathers, fatherhood and family as aspects of contemporary western society and family life is lacking. In particular, few investigators have explored the qualitative dimensions of non-resident parent-child contact and the role of leisure within this.

This chapter establishes parameters for investigating the levels, nature, meanings and impacts of leisure involving non-resident fathers and their children. Drawing on an international literature and with particular emphasis on the Australian context, it critically analyses the context of non-resident fathers’ leisure with their children. It examines the problematic terms of ‘father’ and ‘non-resident father’, describes the models of contact that occur between non-resident fathers and their children, and summarises the factors affecting that contact. The chapter then turns to research into family and leisure, drawing attention to the salience of leisure in non-residential parenting while also highlighting the lack of substantive research into this area. Particular attention is paid to the trivialising of ‘leisure’ as a parenting activity in this context, and the underplaying of the positive qualities that leisure-based interaction may contribute. The chapter concludes by suggesting directions for research into the role of leisure within non-resident parent-child contact.

 

 

CHAPTER 10

DIVORCE AND RECREATION: NONRESIDENT FATHERS’ LEISURE DURING VISITATION TIME WITH THEIR CHILDREN

Alisha Swinton, Patti Freeman, & Ramon Zabriskie, Brigham Young University

This chapter examines the experiences of non-resident fathers when engaging in leisure during visitation time with their children. It reports on a study to determine the leisure patterns of non-resident fathers with their child(ren) as well as to identify constraints on and facilitators to their family leisure involvement. A second focus was to determine a non-resident father’s satisfaction with family leisure in conjunction with the leisure constraints and leisure facilitators he experienced during his visitation time with the child(ren). Four instruments were used to collect the data. The sample consisted of 129 non-resident fathers from 36 states in the U.S. Findings indicated that leisure constraints affected non-resident fathers’ satisfaction with family leisure involvement, and his family leisure patterns. The data did not determine, however, that leisure facilitators affected fathers’ satisfaction with family leisure involvement or leisure patterns.

 

 

CHAPTER 11

LIFESTYLES, LEISURE AND QUEER DADS

Angelia R. Wilson and Jeremy Davis, University of Manchester, UK

Shifting socio-political spaces within the UK in recent years has given opportunity for more fathers to ‘come out’ as gay men and for more gay men to enjoy the opportunity to become fathers. Set alongside this somewhat new social phenomena, are stereotypes of gay men as those who make particular ‘lifestyle choices’ and prioritize ‘leisure’ over traditional masculine responsibilities to ‘the family’. This chapter considers the social and discursive construction of fatherhood in light of such socio-political shifts and within the context of changing conceptions of masculinities, families of choice and new reproductive technologies. The paper utilizes original research with gay fathers to highlight the normalcy of being both a father and a gay man, as well as to articulate the pain of those denied the opportunity to express both identities at once. The conclusion suggests that the while the ‘leisure’ activities of gay men have historically been seen as a threat to society, the way in which gay men ‘do’ fatherhood and family offers insight into the confines of traditional fatherhood and into future opportunities to reconstruct the relationship between men and parenting.

 

 

CHAPTER 12

LEISURE AND GRANDFATHERHOOD

Sheila Scraton & Samantha Holland, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, UK

This chapter explores the meanings and values attached to grandfatherhood for a range of older men who have recently retired from paid employment. It focuses on the spaces of grandfatherhood and the meanings they attach to time spent with grandchildren. The empirical study involved twelve semi-structured interviews with grandfathers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The data is examined from a theoretical position that recognises the significance of unequal gender relations within families in determining choice and autonomy and also the potential of leisure in the construction of identities that have the potential to challenge gender expectations and contribute to personal enrichment. This exploratory piece of work demonstrates the tensions, ambivalences and complexities of grandfatherhood for these men. The research suggests questions for future research that take into account differences across ethnicity whilst exploring shifting gender relations within families.

 

 

CHAPTER 13

UNDERSTANDING FATHERHOOD THROUGH SPORT AND LEISURE

Tess Kay, Loughborough University, Loughborough

This concluding chapter reviews the contributions which the preceding chapters have made to the understanding of fatherhood. It highlights in particular how a focus on sport and leisure can uniquely reveal aspects of parenting and fathering that are crucial to broader understanding of men’s parenting experiences at a time when these are under scrutiny, and emphasises the value of sport and leisure research in complementing mainstream social science perspectives. It suggests avenues for further development of fatherhood research within both leisure studies and the sociology of sport, encourages great cross-fertilisation between the two, and reiterates the value of such work to the wider community of social science research into families and parenting.

Biography

Tess Kay has undertaken extensive research into sport, leisure and family life in the UK and internationally. She is a Director of the Institute of Youth Sport, one of the largest research centres dedicated to the study of young people, sport and leisure.