When Men Seek Support and Comradery: Fathers’ Rights Groups and the Complexities of Manhood

Abstract

Research suggests that men and masculinity are in “crisis,” because men’s historically unquestioned privilege and patriarchal power are being challenged through advances toward equity for other groups. Through in-depth interviews, this research examines the experiences and beliefs of fourteen (14) men who were part of a Canadian rights-based social movement, also known as the fathers’ rights movement. The resulting analysis highlights the barriers perceived by the participants as hindering men’s fulfillment of ideal manhood and concludes with a consideration of these men’s attempts to garner support for their movement and (re)claim more traditional masculinity and patriarchal social order. In sum, this research demonstrates the existence of a contradiction between situating these groups as a platform for men’s advocacy and support and, in reality, their normalization of, and engagement in, anti-women/feminist rhetoric through participating in and upholding hegemonic masculinity and patriarchy.