Baba - Men and fatherhood in South Africa
Edited by Linda Richter and Robert Morrell What do we know about fathers in South Africa? What fatherhood roles should we be trying to encourage? These are some of the questions addressed in this, the first book to focus specifically on fathers and fatherhood in South Africa. The volume contributes to an emerging international literature on fathers, making the case, among others, for men to make a greater contribution to the wellbeing of children. Many people equate a father with the man who makes the biological contribution to the creation of the child, but one of the central challenges facing researchers working on this topic is to distinguish between fathers and fatherhood. Around the world the term father is used to refer to many people who take on the role of father with respect to children, families and the wider community. This is fatherhood. In this book the authors argue that biological fathers should be encouraged to be close to their children and responsibly take on the fatherhood role. However, other men need, can and should do this when the biological father has died, abandoned or fails to recognize his children. The authors all argue that children benefit from the love, care and attention of men and that fatherhood should be given more social credibility. Baba - Men and fatherhood in South Africa demonstrates the centrality of fatherhood in the lives of men and in the experiences of children. It argues that fathers can make a major contribution to the health of South African society by caring for children and producing a new generation of South Africans for whom fathers will be significant by their presence rather than their absence. In developing that connectedness and particular kind of protective and respectful relationship between a younger and older person as the term baba implies, South African men can also go a long way towards healing themselves. Download a free copy or buy the book
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