Resisting the commodification of intimate life? Paternal love, emotional bordering and narratives of ambivalent family consumerism from Scottish and Romanian fathers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13009656 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alexandra Macht (Oxford Brookes University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 303-319 |
| Publication date | 2018-11-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Families Relationships and Societies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2046-7435 • E-ISSN: 2046-7443 |
| Publisher | Policy Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1332/204674318x15384702551202 |
| OpenAlex | W2899187729 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 26 |
Romantic love has been conceptualised as an emotional resource that promotes consumerism, by deeply affecting the creation of the modern self (Illouz, 2012). Simultaneously, both research and media discourses present the modern ‘good’ father’s role as one of enhanced intimacy (Dermott, 2008), and one in which fathers’ experiences of paternal love are routinely overlooked. I argue that paternal love as a different form of love than romantic love can resist commodification to a certain extent. Based on data from 47 qualitative interviews with Scottish and Romanian fathers, I argue that involved fathers have an ambivalent relationship to consumerism. Far from uniformly adopting it, data reveal that fathers resist it by focusing on the emotional value of gifts and developing their children’s warmth and confidence (încredere in sine).1 This happens in a social context where fathers shift emotionally between love and stoicism as they flexibly adopt either an intimate or provider role according to different contexts. Exploring paternal love is important in understanding how fathers, in relation to their children, not only participate but can also resist the commodification of their intimate lives, and can contest the general discourse of the commodification of love
Ambivalence · Art · Commodification · Consumerism · Context (archaeology · Literature · Narrative · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Romance · Sociology · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · History · Psychology · Social Psychology
The ‘good father’
Modernity at large
Qualitative Researching
Gender Equality and Conflicting Attitudes Toward Women in Post-Communist Romania
The Gentleman and the Soldier
Fathering, masculinity and the embodiment of care
Globalized Fatherhood
Consumption Rituals in the Transition to Motherhood
Developments In Gender Equality Policies In Scotland Since Devolution
Men, masculinities and children
Emotions and social relations
The Consumer Society
Longing and Belonging
Research Note
Work, Employment and Society
Gender, age and ageism
Hegemonic Masculinity
Embodying Risk
Falling back into Gender? Men's Narratives and Practices around First-time Fatherhood
The Emotionalization of Reflexivity
The Commodification of Intimacy
Life Course Transitions and Housework
Does Fatherhood Matter for Men
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.57 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2026 (8) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |