ABSTRACT
More fully represented in my sample were men from solid working-class home backgrounds (see also Anthony), but unlike the stereotyped portrayal of English working-class upbringing presented in Tolson’s book (1977:40-6), all three men who tell their stories in this chapter had nurturing non-traditional fathers. Simon and Terry were from intact families but Tim, whose life story is I feel in many ways the most moving in the whole book, came from a family where he was the youngest of five sons brought up by a lone father. Both Simon and Terry were significantly influenced by feminist partners, whereas Tim, as he says, ‘grew up in a men’s group.’
