Book Report: Andrea Doucet's 'Do Men Mother?' - Gender Roles

This report provides a comprehensive review of Andrea Doucet's book, 'Do Men Mother?', examining the evolving landscape of gender roles in Canadian society. The report delves into Doucet's sociological analysis, based on extensive interviews and surveys, exploring how fathers are increasingly taking on parenting responsibilities traditionally associated with mothers. It highlights the differences in parenting styles between fathers and mothers, emphasizing aspects such as playfulness, risk-taking, and the promotion of self-dependency. The report discusses Doucet's identification of six distinct aspects of emotional responsibility in fathering and concludes that the growing number of fathering men allows for maternal equality and promotes gender equality in domestic care. The report acknowledges the distinct importance of both fathering and mothering in child development, highlighting the unique contributions of each parent in fostering various aspects of a child's growth and well-being.

Running head: GENDER ROLES
GENDER ROLES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
With the growing pace of globalization and it effects in the socio economic environment
the reversing of gender roles is becoming a common practice. The stereotypic notions of job
roles and social responsibilities have been gradually changing with the changing responsibilities
and gender equality conflicts. The world has now started to see gender roles out of their
stereotypic perspective and more men are taking up responsibilities of parenting by staying at
home, which has been one of the most confined gender roles since the age of time.
The book ‘Do men mother?’ by Andrea Doucet explores the changing social scenario of
the role of mothering from women to men. As she explores that increasing number of fathers,
mothering their children she allegorizes the concept of men mothering their children, a role
distinctive to women only. Andrea Doucet travels around the Canadian provinces to collect
information that reflects the lives of the mothering men and provides groundbreaking evidences
of fathering and mothering men in Canada. The book provides a deep insight into the social lives
of Canadian parents and the way they are creating a new wave in the domestic responsibilities in
the 21st century. The paper will revolve around the review of Andre Doucet’s revelation of
changing gender responsibility across Canadian society.
A sociological analysis
Andrea Ducet has done extensive surveys and interviews with the parenting fathers and
their wives in order to understand the various attributes that might differ from a father to that
which are generally included as instincts in mothers. In the course of her research she reveals the
astonishing facts that she collected over the course of her study and research. Over the course of
her research she has interviewed over 100 fathers from various sections of the society including

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physicians, artists and salesmen to truck drivers. The whole scenario had been critically
evaluated and Andrea Doucet puts in several queries to understand the social restricting in the
changing gender responsibility in the country. She tries to figure out the answer through her book
‘Do men mother?’ creating an allegory in the title itself by attributing parenting to mothers only.
Though she has explained that the emotional relationship of the children with their
mothers is exceptionally different and cannot be defined in terms gender roles only, yet fathers
also have a connection that cannot be minimized. The book travels throughout finding answer to
the queries that have been made by the author and sustains on the interviews and peer researches
that have been done in relevant social issues. The necessary revelations that Andrea Ducet has
made in her book is in the different qualitative traits that a father and mother apply while
parenting their children. The general difference that is mostly seen with fathers is in their
approach to caring and nurturing while parenting. The way a mother nurtures and parents their
children is different to the way a father does that. It has been observed that fathers are generally
playful and parent their children in a more fun filled way and promotes risk taking in their
children while the children are growing up. The most common differences are seen the way the
fathers handle the children and their stress situations and make it more action oriented rather than
the way mothers handle it in way a more caring or emotionally attached. The interviews taken by
Andrea also reveal that most fathers take their children out and promote risk taking activities that
do not create possible harm but allows the children to learn from risky situations and taking
risks. The parenting facets of fathers also include the encouraging self dependent attributes. As
stated from one encounter, Andrea Ducet reveal that the fathers allow the children to prepare
their own lunch, pack their bags and perform chores that makes develop sense of responsibility
and independency in their later lives.

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Throughout the course of her study and research Andrea Ducet finally identifies the
parenting difference between fathers and mothers in six distinct aspects of emotional
responsibility that define the parenting of fathers or rather fathering. The first being that both
parents agree that fathering and mothering have different impact in the children in their lives.
Secondly aspect that Andrea relates to is the strong conviction that fathering and mothering are
two different attributes and neither one can make up for the two. She also revealed that the third
aspect that goes on into fathering attributes includes the emphasis on physical embodiment,
mostly relating to physical contacts between boys and boys along with girls in teen and pre teen
phases of their lives. Fathers also recognize the importance of mothers in coping with the
emotional quotient of the children in domestic care. Fifthly she states that parentings by fathers
are mostly reflectance of masculine hegemony which is reflected in their perspective of
traditional qualities of femininity and masculinity. The sixth point that the author puts in here is
the question that whether fathering be related to ‘maternal equality’ or ‘paternal difference’
(Doucet, 2018).
Andrea Ducet an over view
The book “Do Men Mother?” penned by Andrea Ducet brings her in the limelight with
regards to the sphere of sociological sciences which she tries to decipher with her own
understanding and research. Andrea Ducet is a professor of Sociology at Women’s and Gender
Studies at the Brock University, Canada. She is currently holding the Tier 1 Canada Research
Chair in Gender, Work and Care, one of the most prestigious research programs in the country.
She has been working on care giving, domestic responsibilities and fathering
(Andreadoucet.com, 2018). She generally follows a qualititative research procedure mostly from
narrative accounts and interview and quantifies them to understand the social scenario. She had

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been awarded the John Porter Tradition of Excellence Book Award book ‘Do Men Mother?’
from the Canadian Sociological Association. Her contribution in the field of sociology has been
immense whereby she has made notable contributions in aspects that were long unrecognized or
undermined as sociological subjects.
A reflective analysis
‘Do men mother?’ is brilliant reflectance of the changing sphere of domestic
responsibility. Andrea Ducet has put it beautifully while explaining the different traits in
parenting by father compared to that of a mother. After an initial reading of the text, it gave me
utter pleasure to see a literature that so lucidly explained the complex reversal of gender roles in
domestic care. The book exactly connects to my experience from the surrounding and my
personal experience with my parents. The way fathers parent us is way different from how we
connect o our mothers. The distinct nature of caring and parenting has been narrated so vividly
through the personal narratives that would connect any individual reading the book. In my
personal experience I have experienced the way my father taught me cooking or took me out for
hiking and fishing activities closely relates to the authors perspective of parenting. The role of
mothers in delivering emotional support has also been rightly judged by the author. As she
reveals that from study it was understood that fathers rely on mothers was accurately understood
and reflected by the author.
Conclusion
The growing number of fathering men has allowed us to understand that reversal of
gender roles is not a social stigma, but allows for maternal equality since fathering is not just a
reversal of gender responsibility but is a distinctive aspect similar to mothering in domestic care.

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The importance of fathering in parenting cannot be compared to the aspect of mothering
children, since these are two different roles and have different outcomes. It is to be understood
that fathering is important for child development and since certain qualitative aspects as self
dependency, risk taking and enjoying responsibility comes from fathering attributes. The
connection of the child with their mothers is defined as heavenly owing to the commitment that
is delivered by women, yet the role of fathers in domestic care cannot be diluted. It also
promotes gender equality in terms of sharing domestic care and responsibility.

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References
Andreadoucet.com. (2018). Andrea Doucet — Canada Research Chair in Gender Work & Care.
Retrieved from http://www.andreadoucet.com/
Doucet, A. (2013). A “choreography of becoming”: Fathering, embodied care, and new
materialisms. Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie, 50(3), 284-305.
Doucet, A. (2013). Gender roles and fathering. Handbook of father involvement:
Multidisciplinary perspectives, 2, 297-319.
Doucet, A. (2015). Parental responsibilities: Dilemmas of measurement and gender
equality. Journal of marriage and family, 77(1), 224-242.
Doucet, A. (2018). Do Men Mother. University of Toronto Press.
Lamb, M. E., & Sagi, A. (2014). Fatherhood and family policy. Routledge.
Rehel, E. M. (2014). When dad stays home too: Paternity leave, gender, and parenting. Gender
& Society, 28(1), 110-132.

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