According to official statistics, about half of the male prisoners in Norwegian prisons are fathers. At the same time, just over three prisoners in 10 are foreign nationals. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a Norwegian remand prison, this article will discuss some of the problems imprisoned ethnic minority fathers are facing, and detail some of the solutions they employ. I will focus particularly on two narrative problem-solving strategies. One is the promotion of parental values based on a strong (paternalistic) version of the pater familias combined with narratives about the sorry state of Norwegian parenting. The other is a form of symbolic resistance through narratives about violent revenge taken on responsible state agents. Finally, I will show how the imprisoned ethnic minority fathers reposition themselves as both real men and good fathers in the process.
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