Stories of the “good father”: The role of fatherhood among incarcerated men in Mexico

Abstract

This study examines the role of fatherhood for incarcerated men in Mexico, based on repeated life-story interviews with twelve men. We distinguish between their descriptions of fatherhood in the past and present and how they imagine the future, and explore how fathers describe their relationship with their children. The incarcerated men idealize the past with their children or tell stories of how they have changed from being “bad” to “good” fathers. They emphasize how they are still able to protect and educate their children from prison, reflecting widespread values of fatherhood. They admit that fathering while incarcerated is difficult and hope that things will be better in the future. In line with previous research on fathers in prison, we argue that storytelling of being “good fathers” is a way of projecting “normalcy”, using one of the few gendered resources available, and is an escape from the harsh realities of prison life. Following insights from narrative criminology and desistance studies, we further argue that their stories of fatherhood can be a resource for reintegration into society. Finally, we suggest that inmates’ emphasis on involved fatherhood might reflect diffusing narratives, ideals, and norms of parenting.

“I have to be a man for my son”: The narrative uses of fatherhood in prison

“…Criminologists have dedicated considerable attention to studying incarcerated parents. The scholarship on incarcerated fathers has foregrounded the social, relational, and economic challenges that incarceration poses for fathers and families (Grundetjern et al, 2019;McKay et al, 2019;Sandberg et al, 2020;Turner, 2017). However, fatherhood is not merely a set of biological, financial, or familial relationships; it is also a symbolically rich social identity, performed and made understandable through personal narratives, and deeply intertwined with masculinity (Connell, 1995).…”

“…In a similar vein, Sandberg et al (2020) demonstrate that incarcerated men in Mexico narrated extensive stories of being a "good father," which enable them to hold onto a prized and socially-acceptable identity despite their imprisonment. They suggest that narratives of parenthood represent a normalcy project of sorts, allowing incarcerated people to engage in pro-social identity work by referencing their status as loving and caring parents (Frederick, 2017).…”

“Not Anybody can be a Dad”: The Intergenerational Transmission of Masculinity Among Incarcerated Men

“…In the American context, attention to how incarceration disrupts fathering identities is unsurprising given that, as of 2010, the 1.1 million incarcerated fathers constituted the vast majority of the 1.2 million incarcerated parents with children under the age of 18 (Pew Charitable Trusts, 2010). Both within and outside the U.S., research on fathers’ experiences in prison has explored these fathers’ efforts to perform different versions of their masculine selves across different interactions (Bartlett & Eriksson, 2019); their narrative framing of themselves as “good” fathers (Sandberg et al, 2020); how fatherhood identities and practices in the prison setting are influenced by race/ethnicity (Curtis, 2019; Ugelvik, 2014); and how the prison environment reinforces traits associated with “unfit” fatherhood (such as aggression and emotional detachment) (Curtis, 2018). In her study of the impact of imprisonment on men’s family life, Comfort (2007) also found that women visiting their incarcerated partners valorized prison for quelling their partners’ aggressive and criminal behavior, and they credited prison for making their partners more emotionally expressive and receptive.…”

“…MFTs should work with incarcerated men to bolster these alternative fathering scripts in efforts to replace the scripts that the men inherited from their own fathers. However, given the damaging effects of incarceration on men’s marriages (Massoglia et al, 2011), fathering practices (Bartlett & Eriksson, 2019; Sandberg et al, 2020), and employment prospects (Pettit & Lyons, 2009), MFTs should be aware of the structural challenges that these men must surmount to embody their preferred models of masculinity. In encouraging men to pursue models of masculinity that are authentic and less oppressive, MFTs must thus also be prepared to assist men in developing realistic ways to enact these models, given the very real material and structural impediments incarcerated men must confront in performing adult masculinity.…”

“…Prison researchers have also explicitly connected incarcerated men's masculinities to their familial relationships, focusing in particular on these men's attitudes toward fatherhood and on the impact of imprisonment on men's abilities to perform their roles as fathers (Bartlett & Eriksson, 2019;Curtis, 2018Curtis, , 2019Sandberg et al, 2020;Ugelvik, 2014). In the American context, attention to how incarceration disrupts fathering identities is unsurprising given that, as of 2010, the 1.1 million incarcerated fathers constituted the vast majority of the 1.2 million incarcerated parents with children under the age of 18 (Pew Charitable Trusts, 2010).…”