Jenny Droughton
“Just trying to live my life as a normal bloke”: A qualitative exploration of straight men’s experiences of being childfree
Droughton, Jenny
Authors
Abstract
Background: Increasing numbers of straight people in the west are choosing not to parent. The existing voluntary childlessness or childfree research evidence focuses almost exclusively on women in this obscured population with little consideration of the experiences of men.
Aims: The purpose of this research was to explore the experiences of living as a straight man who decides not to have children and how these men build, maintain and make sense of their masculine identity.
Methods: A convenience sample of 69 mostly White, middle-class self-identified childfree men completed a virtual qualitative interview or online qualitative survey on living as a childfree man. The data were analysed using Thematic Analysis (TA) from a predominantly social constructionist perspective informed by critical theories of gender and masculinities.
Findings: The data revealed some resistance to the ‘childfree’ label and an orientation to being perceived as selfish, deviant, irresponsible or uncaring. The analysis identified an overarching theme of ‘just trying to live my life as a normal bloke’ which captured how participants engaged in extensive identity work to present themselves as conforming to expectations of traditional hetero-masculinity including independent-mindedness, rationality and responsibility. Paradoxically, stories of resisting pronatalist and traditional masculine norms and re-working masculinity also permeated the accounts along with substantial interplay of contextual and/or intersectional factors. Three themes nested beneath the overriding discourse of hetero-normativity: Theme 1: Variable alignment with the ‘childfree’ label, Theme 2: Rational and responsible decision making and Theme 3: Complexities of ‘chosen’ non-fatherhood.
Conclusion: The stories portrayed by the men indicate that their ongoing investment in identity work enabled them to maintain their sense of masculinity in the face of a non-normative life choice. Some accounts reflected aspects of more contemporary masculinities including compassionate and inclusive masculinities. Implications for counselling psychologists, limitations of the study and suggestions for further research are considered.
Citation
Droughton, J. “Just trying to live my life as a normal bloke”: A qualitative exploration of straight men’s experiences of being childfree. (Thesis). University of the West of England. Retrieved from https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/4814183
Thesis Type | Thesis |
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Deposit Date | Jan 24, 2020 |
Publicly Available Date | Mar 29, 2024 |
Public URL | https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/4814183 |
Award Date | Nov 3, 2020 |
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