Some feminists have seen sex role theory as limited, even dangerous; others see it as useful mid-range theory. This article sheds light on this debate through an examination of the discourse of the men's liberation movement of the 1970s. Men's liberation leaders grappled with the paradox of simultaneously acknowledging men's institutional privileges and the costs of masculinity to men. The language of sex roles was the currency through which they negotiated this paradox. By the late 1970s, men's liberation had disappeared. The conservative and moderate wings of men's liberation became an anti-feminist men's rights movement, facilitated by the language of sex roles. The progressive wing of men's liberation abandoned sex role language and formed a profeminist movement premised on a language of gender relations and power. The article ends with a discussion of the implications of this case for debates about sex role theory, and urges the study of contemporary organizations whose discourse is based on the lang...

The Limits of “The Male Sex Role” An Analysis of the Men's Liberation and Men's Rights Movements' Discourse

In this article, we as the question: What is the place of feminism in family studies? Scholars often take stock of their discipline. They search for what is there and what is missing, what concepts, theories, questions, and methods are at the center and margins, and what directions for future scholarship hold the most promise. Taking stock is an essential practice for feminist scholars who want to work at the center, yet retain the right to be critical, of their discipline. They need to know how they fit into the discipline as a whole. Family scholars who do not think of themselves as feminist ought to know how feminism shapes their discipline, and how their discipline accommodates and resists the contributions of feminism. Ten years ago, we wrote a "state of the field" article about feminism and family studies (Walker & Thompson, 1984). We searched for evidence of feminism in family studies journals, coded articles as feminist or not feminist, and charted the progress of feminism with a tally. We also considered whether feminism was compatible with positivist social science, A decade later, we wanted to revisit feminism and family studies, but the landscape had changed so much that we could not use the same markers to find our way. We had to find new ways to approach the place of feminism in family studies. The field of family studies is changing, feminism is changing, and both of us, as scholars, are changing. We are in the midst of a transformation. In the middle of such change, it is hard to find the place of feminism in family studies. In 1984, we thought we could chart the progress of feminism in family studies with categories, counting, and strong conclusions. A decade later, we find it useful to think about challenges, contradictions, tensions, and themes. In the midst of transformation, we cannot make straightforward statements about whether feminism is at the center or margins of family studies. Our answer depends on where we stand, at a particular moment, and where we look. Family studies is moving into an era in which many scholars recognize the contextualism of our knowledge (Doherty, Boss, LaRossa, Schumm, & Steinmetz, 1993). Scholars who advocate a contextual approach emphasize diversity among families and consider how their knowledge of families is limited by their own values and context. As Doherty and his colleagues (1993) noted, feminism helped push family studies toward this postpositivist stance. They also noted that journals may be the last stronghold of positivism in family studies, the most resistant to change. At the same time, feminism is changing. It is opening up to a wide range of ways to be a feminist and to do feminist scholarship. The boundaries between scholarship that is feminist and scholarship that is not feminist are blurred, making it perilous to classify a given piece of work. The category of feminism changes historically, and what we do to-make a feminist contribution to scholarship changes. Rapping (1994) noted that, at one time, feminists could talk of "we" and "them." "We" meant a common feminist voice who spoke for the good of women, and "them" meant a hostile and ignorant world. Those days are gone. It is no longer we and them, and there is no common feminist voice about how to study and accomplish what is "good for women," including women in families. Family studies and feminism are more diverse and inclusive in 1995 than they were a decade ago. Diversity and inclusiveness create new tensions in out discipline and make it difficult to draw unequivocal conclusions about the place of feminism in family studies. How, then, did we go about analyzing the place of feminism in family studies for the present article? We approached the question in a spirit of diversity and inclusion. Between the two of us, we considered every article published in Journal of Marriage and the Family (JMF), Family Relations (FR), and Journal of Family Issues (JFI) in the decade spanning 1984 to 1993. …

The place of feminism in family studies

Little research has been done on antifeminism, whether from the perspective of the sociology of social movements or even of women's studies. Yet, a particular form of antifeminism has been at work for a number of years, more specifically, masculinism. Its discourse claims that men are in crisis because of the feminization of society and it mobilizes primarily around issues pertaining to the interests of fathers and spouses (divorce laws, alimony, child custody, violence). This article examines two alternative explanations of the masculinist phenomenon: (1) men have real problems, and masculinists scapegoat women and feminists instead of targeting the true causes of their problems, such as the transformation of the labor market; (2) masculinism is openly opposed to feminism and is thus the result of countermovement dynamics. While referring to other contexts (UK, the USA, etc.), our paper takes the situation in Quebec (Canada) as a case study. The feminist movement and masculinism are dynamic there and sta...

Masculinism and the Antifeminist Countermovement

The principal aim in this thematic essay is to identify and discuss three central foci that have influenced the direction of contemporary sociological scholarship on fatherhood issues in North America. These foci include commentaries on the meaning and changing nature of cultural images of fatherhood, efforts to conceptualize and study the social psychological dimensions of fatherhood, and empirical studies that examine resident and nonresident fathers' conduct as it pertains to their children. Discussion of the linkages between these foci is informed by symbolic interactionism and identity theory. The article concludes with suggested avenues for future theory development, research, and social policy relevant to fathers.

Contemporary Scholarship on Fatherhood Culture, Identity, and Conduct

Making Men into Fathers: Introduction: making men into fathers

Family law reforms brought about a new social movement and lobby group—fathers' rights. This article, based on a 2-year study involving participant observation, ethnographic interviews, and document analysis examines the contradictions between the public and private rhetoric of fathers rightists. Thirty-two members from four fathers' rights groups were interviewed about their postdivorce parenting experiences, their personal troubles with family law practices, and their posturing on the fathers' rights' platform. The fatherhood project of family law reform, although viewed as serving all fathers, is primarily driven by fathers' personal stake in the issues and the hope of changing their current situation. The fathers in this study presented a uniform voice in support of the fathers' rights' public image of caring fathers who want men to be recognized as fathers and who are requesting equitable treatment in matters of child custody, support, and access. However, the interviews revealed that individual memb...

The Fathers' Rights Movement Contradictions in Rhetoric and Practice

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The Fathers' Rights Movement Contradictions in Rhetoric and Practice