Exploring Townsend’s "Package Deal" among Disadvantaged Fathers: Integrating Mainstream Sociological and Critical Gender Theories of Masculinity on Fatherhood

Bart Stykes, Bowling Green State University

I use the Fragile Families data to examine multiple forms of masculinity at a key life-course event: the transition into fatherhood. My theoretical framework integrates the work of mainstream sociological scholars with critical gender theorists to develop a new typology highlighting three forms of masculinity: generative (showing children love and teaching about life in addition to providership and caregiving), traditional (favoring providership over caregiving or generativity), and marginalized (valuing caregiving over providership and generativity). I employ multinomial logistic regression techniques to compare men’s socioeconomic, demographic, and attitudinal characteristics across the three forms of masculinity. I find significant differences across key variables such as relationship status, educational attainment, and personal income as well as demographic and attitudinal characteristics. I find greater differences in comparing traditional and either generative or marginalized men. The few differences between generative and marginalized men become nonsignificant after controlling for demographic characteristics (primarily Hispanic ethnicity and age).