Conclusions: Towards more nuanced understandings of fathers’ care

In the last chapter of this book, the editors review the key themes of the book and the ways in which a more nuanced understanding of contemporary fatherhood and fathers’ care has been achieved. The editors highlight how chapters from various parts of the world, analysing data from differently positioned men, their co-carers and their children, reveal the diverse ways in which fathers may engage in care. They argue that a discourse of caring, intimate and emotionally engaged fatherhood has a global reach, extending beyond the normative, middle-class, white Anglo-European contexts in which such theories were first developed. The chapters also show the diverse ways in which such care may manifest itself for differently positioned fathers and families. However, several constraints, such as gender ideologies and father-exclusive policies, also exist in many country contexts that limit fathers’ further involvement in care, and some fathers reject a more ‘caring’ and intimate form of fathering. Finally, the chapter identifies key gaps in current sociological fatherhood research that should receive greater attention in future studies.