This study explored how 14 grandfathers living in a rural area in the East of England understood becoming and being a grandfather. Grandfathers were recruited through snowball sampling and loosely structured interviews were employed to enable participants to talk about issues they felt important. Using constructionist grounded theory the analysis positioned grandfathering within the life histories of participants, with three main organising elements: becoming a man; maintaining masculinity during fatherhood; and the potential repositioning masculinities of the grandfather as family man. This study provides evidence of grandfathering being an individualistic experience which offers the potential to counter the notion of hegemonic masculinity which defined the participants' collective experience of fatherhood.
AndersonE. (2005). A different kind of provider: The negotiation of masculinity and primary ceregiving for at-home fathers. Paper presented at The American Sociological Association Annual Meeting.
2.
ArberS.DavidsonK., & GinnJ. (2004). Gender and ageing: Changing roles and relationships. London: Open University Press.
3.
ArcherL.PrattS., & PhillipsD. (2001). Working-class men's constructions of masculinity and negotiations of (non) participation in higher education. Gender and Education, 13(4), 431–449.
4.
Attias-DonfutC., & SegalenM. (2002). The construction of grandparenthood. Current Sociology, 50(2), 281–294.
5.
BeckU. (1992). Risk society: Towards a new modernity. London: Sage.
6.
BengtsonV. (1985). Diversity and symbolism in grandparental roles. In BengtsonV. & RobertsonJ. (Eds.), Grandparenthood (pp. 11–25). London: Sage.
7.
BengtsonV. (2001). Beyond the nuclear family: The increasing importance of multigenerational bonds. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 1–16.
8.
BramwellK. (1998). Supporting families: A consultation document. London: HMSO.
9.
BroadB. (2004). Kinship care for children in the UK: Messages from research, lessons for policy and practice. European Journal of Social Work, 7(2), 211–227.
10.
BrooksG., & GilbertL. (1995). Men in families: Old constraints, new possibilities. In LevantR. & PollackW. (Eds.), A new psychology of men (pp. 252–279). New York: Basic Books.
11.
BurgessR. (1988). Conversations with a purpose: The ethnographic interview in educational research. Studies in Qualitative Methodology, 1, 137–155.
12.
CabreraN.Tamis-LeMondaC.BradleyR.HofferthS., & LambM. (2000). Fatherhood in the twenty-first century. Child Development, 71, 127–136.
13.
CalasantiT. (2007). Gender, and aging. In RitzerG. (Ed.), The Blackwell encyclopedia of sociology IV (pp. 1840–1843). Oxford: Blackwell.
14.
CharlesN., & HarrisC. (2007). Continuity and change in work-life balance choices. British Journal of Sociology, 58(2), 277–295.
CooperN., & BurnettS. (2006). Using discursive reflexivity to enhance the qualitative research process: An example from accounts of teenage conception. Qualitative Social Work, 5(1), 111–129.
19.
Cunningham-BurleyS. (1984). ‘We don't talk about it …' Issues of gender and method in the portrayal of grandfatherhood. Sociology, 18(3), 325–338.
20.
Cunningham-BurleyS. (1986). Becoming a grandparent. Ageing and Society, 6(4), 453–470.
21.
DenchG., & OggJ. (2002). Grandparenting in Britain: A baseline study. London: Institute of Community Studies.
22.
DenhamT., & SmithC. (1989). The influence of grandparents on grandchildren: A review of the literature and resources. Family Relations, 38, 345–350.
23.
DeyI. (1999). Grounding grounded theory. San Diego: Academic Press.
24.
DuckworthJ., & BuzzanellP. (2007). Performing fatherhood: Masculine and caregiving identity-(ies) in work-family contexts. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of The International Communication Association, San Francisco.
25.
EisenbergA. (1988). Grandchildren's perspectives on relationships with grandparents: The influence of gender across generations. Sex Roles, 19(3), 205–217.
26.
EriksonE. (1982). The life cycle completed. London: W.W. Norton and Company.
27.
FergusonN. (2004). Grandparenting in divorced families. Bristol: Policy Press.
28.
FinchJ. (1989). Family obligations and social change. Cambridge: Polity Press.
29.
FontanaA., & FreyJ. (2005). The interview: From neutral stance to political involvement. In DenzinN. & LincolnY. (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 695–728). London: Sage.
30.
GlaserB., & StraussA. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
31.
GrayA. (2005). The changing availability of grandparents as carers and its implications for childcare policy in the UK. Journal of Social Policy, 34(04), 557–577.
32.
GrossmannK.GrossmannK.Fremmer-BombikE.KindlerH.Scheuerer-EnglischH., & ZimmermannP. (2002). The uniqueness of the child-father attachment relationship: Fathers' sensitive and challenging play as a pivotal variable in a 16-year longitudinal study. Social Development, 11(3), 301–337.
33.
GutmannD. (1988). Reclaimed powers: Towards a new psychology of men and women in later life. London: Hutchinson Education.
34.
HarperS. (2005). Grandparenthood. In JohnsonM. (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of age and ageing (pp. 422–428). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
35.
HigateP., & HoptonJ. (2005). War, militarism and masculinities. In KimmelM.HearnJ. & ConnellR. (Eds.), Handbook of studies on men and masculinities. London: Sage.
36.
HockeyJ., & JamesA. (2003). Social identities across the life course. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
37.
HowardJ. (2000). Social psychology of identities. Annual review of sociology, 26(1), 367–393.
38.
HughesE. (1971). The sociological eye. Chicago: Aldine.
39.
JohnsonC. (1985). Grandparenting options in divorcing families. In BengtsonV. & RobertsonJ. (Eds.), Grandparenthood (pp. 81–96). London: Sage.
40.
KidderT. (1994). Old friends. London: Granta Books.
41.
LambM. (Ed.). (2004). The role of the father in child development. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
42.
LaRossaR. (1997). The modernization of fatherhood: A social and political history. Chicago: University of Chicago press.
43.
LeidnerR. (2006). Identity and work. In KorczynskiM.HodsonR. & EdwardsP. (Eds.), Social theory at work (pp. 424–463). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
MorganD. (2005). Class and masculinity. In KimmelM.HearnJ. & ConnellR. (Eds.), Handbook of studies on men and masculinities (pp. 165–177). London: Sage.
50.
NeugartenB., & WeinsteinK. (1964). The changing American grandparent. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 26, 199–204.
51.
O'BrienM., & ShemiltI. (2003). Working fathers: Earning and caring. London: Equal Opportunities Commission
PatersonB.GregoryD., & ThorneS. (1999). A protocol for researcher safety. Qualitative Health Research, 9(2), 259–269.
56.
PlattJ. (1971). Social research in Bethnal Green: An evaluation of the work of the Institute of Community Studies. London: Macmillan.
57.
ReitzesD., & MutranE. (2004). Grandparenthood: Factors influencing frequency of grandparent-grandchildren contact and grandparent role satisfaction. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 59(1), 9–16.
58.
RobertoK.AllenK., & BliesznerR. (2001). Grandfathers' perceptions and expectations of relationships with their adult grandchildren. Journal of Family Issues, 22(4), 407–426.
59.
RussellG. (1986). Grandfathers: Making up for lost opportunities. In LewisR. & SaltR. (Eds.), Men in families (pp. 233–259). London: Sage.
60.
SankarA., & GubriumJ. (1994). Introduction. In GubriumJ. & SankarA. (Eds.), Qualitative methods in aging research (pp. vii–xvii). London: Sage.
61.
SchafferR. (2006). The mutuality of parental control in early childhood. In HandelG. (Ed.), Childhood socialization (pp. 45–64). New Brunswick: Aldine Transaction.
SelwynN.GorardS.FurlongJ., & MaddenL. (2003). Older adults' use of information and communications technology in everyday life. Ageing and Society, 23(05), 561–582.
64.
SimpsonR. (2004). Masculinity at work: The experiences of men in female dominated occupations. Work, Employment & Society, 18(2), 349–368.
65.
SmartC., & ShipmanB. (2004). Visions in monochrome: Families, marriage and the individualisation thesis. British Journal of Sociology, 55(4), 491–509.
66.
StraussA., & CorbinJ. (1998). Basics of qualitative research. London: Sage
67.
ThieleD., & WhelanT. (2006). The nature and dimensions of the grandparent role. Marriage & Family Review, 40(1), 93–108.
68.
ThompsonE. (1994). Older men as invisible men in contemporary society. In ThompsonE. (Ed.), Older men's lives (pp. 1–21). London: Sage.
69.
ThompsonE. (2006). Images of old men's masculinity: Still a man?Sex Roles, 55(9), 633–648.
70.
ThompsonE. (2007). Older men as invisible men in contemporary society. In ArrighiB. (Ed.), Understanding equality: The intersection of race/ethnicity, class and gender (2nd ed., pp. 289–298). Maryland: Rowan and Littlefield.
71.
TizardJ.MossP., & PerryJ. (1976). All our children: Pre-school services in a changing society. London: Temple Smith.
72.
TolsonA. (1988). The limits of masculinity. London: Routledge.
73.
TownsendP. (1957). The family life of old people: An inquiry in East London. London: Routledge.
74.
TrollL. (1985). The contingencies of grandparenting. In BengtsonV. & RobertsonJ. (Eds.), Grandparenthood (pp. 135–149). London: Sage.
75.
TrollL.MillerS., & AtchleyR. (1979). Families in later life. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
76.
WaldropD.WeberJ.HeraldS.PruettJ.CooperK., & JuozapaviciusK. (1999). Wisdom and life experience: How grandfathers mentor their grandchildren. Journal of Aging and Identity, 4(1), 33–46.
77.
WilliamsS. (2008). What is fatherhood?: Searching for the reflexive father. Sociology, 42(3), 487–502.
78.
WiltonV., & DaveyJ. (2006). Grandfathers — Their changing family roles and contributions. Wellington, NZ: Blue Skies Research.
79.
YoungM., & WillmottP. (1957). Family and kinship in East London. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
