Paternidade solitária: limites e possibilidades

Abstract

Demographic indicators reveal the increasing diversity of family arrangements. In an brief look on the contemporary family phenomenon a crescent number of divorces, of reconstituted, monoparental and women-led families is to be found, among others, the diminution of numerous families. However, such modellings of the family structure are not enough to understand, for instance, how the social places of a father, mother, son are changing, in terms of intrafamiliar relationships. The monoparental family composed only by the man is still rare compared to that of the lone woman. Thus, these men subvert in a way the social order where the feminine is synonymous with taking care of children. There is no expressive national literary production regarding the effective participation of the man as the children's only caretaker. Thus, this work intended to put paternity in the calendar of discussions about diversities of family types, investigating how the man lives (and manages) the confrontation among the historical memory of what is to be a father and the new expectations for his role. Given the complexity of the paternity theme concepts of Sociology were mobilized, in particular those of reflexive Sociology and of the Psychossocial Theory of the Personality regarding the concepts of paternal function. It is a case study in which four fathers, only caretakers (single, widower and divorced) were interviewed in depth as for: life history in what concerns taking care of the family, the former marriage, to know how home chores were accomplished, the man's social representation and his support net. The results showed that the lonely paternal care possesses a diversified repertoire, sometimes looking for requirements in the traditional (family of origin) other times a ressignifying the "new father's" aspects, mainly in the type of affectionate bond.