Man blir pappa. Föräldraskap och maskulinitet i förändring

The theme of this dissertation is the way in which the process of becoming a father is experienced, constituted, and constructed in Sweden in the 1990's. From the perspective of cultural analysis, I seek to discuss what men who become fathers today see as important in the constitution of themselves as parents and what is important in the eyes of other people; what occasions and actiona are significant, what procedures one can or should gp through, and how they are perceived; and how these men differ from fathers in previous generations and how they view this.

On the basis of images of men and fathers in adverising, I discuss ideas about and interpretations of masculinity together with what I call a normative masculinity. One channel through which the prevailing norm is expressed is the literature intended for parents-to-be. With these images of fathers and fatherhood as a background, the focus is then shifted to the father's own experiences. The book deals chronologically with the process of becoming a father, starting with pregnancy followed by childbirth, confirmation, and the organisation of everyday life.

Throughout the dissertation I show that a father is not something one IS, but something one BECOMES through training and involvement. Becoming a father is a process which has as its goal a close and intimate relationship to the child, and there is a difference between becoming and being a father (Swedish FAR) and becoming and being a dad (Swedish PAPPA).