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Baby entertainer, bumbling assistant and line manager: discourses of fatherhood in parentcraft texts.

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Baby entertainer, bumbling assistant and line manager: discourses of fatherhood in parentcraft texts. / Sunderland, Jane.
In: Discourse and Society, Vol. 11, No. 2, 04.2000, p. 249-274.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

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Sunderland J. Baby entertainer, bumbling assistant and line manager: discourses of fatherhood in parentcraft texts. Discourse and Society. 2000 Apr;11(2):249-274. doi: 10.1177/0957926500011002006

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@article{091e6d104981441aa611d7123f6b1826,
title = "Baby entertainer, bumbling assistant and line manager: discourses of fatherhood in parentcraft texts.",
abstract = "In this paper I report on an investigation of discoursal asymmetry in parentcraft texts, in terms of the ways in which the father is represented and backgrounded. In particular, I suggest that it is possible to see one dominant, overarching discourse: `Part-time father/mother as main parent'. This dominant discourse can be seen as being `shored up' (as well as, to an extent, challenged) by other, usually complementary, discourses: `father as baby entertainer', `father as mother's bumbling assistant', `father as line manager', `mother as manager of the father's role in childcare', and `mother as wife/partner'. These discourses are characterized by recurring and non-recurring linguistic presences - and, importantly, absences (Van Leeuwen, 1995, 1996). Looking in particular at the following linguistic items from three different semantic fields - mother/father/wife/husband/partner; play/fun/help; and share - I illustrate how different discourses, with their salient linguistic presences and absences, can organize a text in supporting and potentially destabilizing ways.",
keywords = "discourses • fatherhood • gender • textual organization",
author = "Jane Sunderland",
year = "2000",
month = apr,
doi = "10.1177/0957926500011002006",
language = "English",
volume = "11",
pages = "249--274",
journal = "Discourse and Society",
issn = "0957-9265",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Baby entertainer, bumbling assistant and line manager: discourses of fatherhood in parentcraft texts.

AU - Sunderland, Jane

PY - 2000/4

Y1 - 2000/4

N2 - In this paper I report on an investigation of discoursal asymmetry in parentcraft texts, in terms of the ways in which the father is represented and backgrounded. In particular, I suggest that it is possible to see one dominant, overarching discourse: `Part-time father/mother as main parent'. This dominant discourse can be seen as being `shored up' (as well as, to an extent, challenged) by other, usually complementary, discourses: `father as baby entertainer', `father as mother's bumbling assistant', `father as line manager', `mother as manager of the father's role in childcare', and `mother as wife/partner'. These discourses are characterized by recurring and non-recurring linguistic presences - and, importantly, absences (Van Leeuwen, 1995, 1996). Looking in particular at the following linguistic items from three different semantic fields - mother/father/wife/husband/partner; play/fun/help; and share - I illustrate how different discourses, with their salient linguistic presences and absences, can organize a text in supporting and potentially destabilizing ways.

AB - In this paper I report on an investigation of discoursal asymmetry in parentcraft texts, in terms of the ways in which the father is represented and backgrounded. In particular, I suggest that it is possible to see one dominant, overarching discourse: `Part-time father/mother as main parent'. This dominant discourse can be seen as being `shored up' (as well as, to an extent, challenged) by other, usually complementary, discourses: `father as baby entertainer', `father as mother's bumbling assistant', `father as line manager', `mother as manager of the father's role in childcare', and `mother as wife/partner'. These discourses are characterized by recurring and non-recurring linguistic presences - and, importantly, absences (Van Leeuwen, 1995, 1996). Looking in particular at the following linguistic items from three different semantic fields - mother/father/wife/husband/partner; play/fun/help; and share - I illustrate how different discourses, with their salient linguistic presences and absences, can organize a text in supporting and potentially destabilizing ways.

KW - discourses • fatherhood • gender • textual organization

U2 - 10.1177/0957926500011002006

DO - 10.1177/0957926500011002006

M3 - Journal article

VL - 11

SP - 249

EP - 274

JO - Discourse and Society

JF - Discourse and Society

SN - 0957-9265

IS - 2

ER -