Rethinking Family Practices

Fathers on Leave Alone in Portugal: Lived Experiences and Impact of Forerunner Fathers

“…Drawing on family research, particular emphasis is placed on fathers' accounts of their own meanings and actions, as well as how they interpret and negotiate the latter in light of other actors' expectations (Finch and Mason 1993 ;Morgan 2011 ). Two major contributions from men and masculinities scholarship stand out.…”

The New Roles of Men and Women and Implications for Families and Societies

“…This accountability, in turn, influences the social constructions of roles such as husbands and wives, mothers and fathers. Rooted in the concept of doing gender, the 'doing family' approach, looking at practices resulting in gender differences (Morgan 1999(Morgan , 2011Smart 2000;Nelson 2006), takes into account the fact that social habits are reproduced through everyday interactions. It argues that family life is not a given per se, but rather a social construction, because families embed their everyday family lives in internal daily routines, practices, and external social activities interlinked with changes in gender roles and family relationships.…”

“…Indeed, the family can no longer be described simply as a set of well-defined roles; it is negotiated on a daily basis, constructed by interactions between partners at the micro-level (Morgan 2011), and influenced by macro structures of the political and economic spheres. Work and family lives are increasingly influencing each other as both women and men engage in earning as well as caring activities, often reinforced by the labour market developments with specific skill demands, together with increasing employment instability and precariousness.…”

Friend-like’ Intimacy Qualities in Family: A Case Study of Malaysian Students’ Close Friendship

“…There were no findings in this study that showed that the Malaysian students were having fun and doing "friendship activities" especially with parents. Most of the intimate acts that are perceived by the students as "friend-like qualities" -loving, caring and sharing, with their selected family members, are actually happened within family practices or the idea of "doing" family as described by Morgan (2011b). Nevertheless, this raises a question whether intimacy in nonkin close friendships are similar to "family practices" or beyond than that?…”