ABSTRACT
Married men are rarely responsible for everyday consumption tasks, even mundane tasks such as meal preparation and grocery shopping. Yet, in the case of single fathers, their responsibilities extend from juggling jobs and child care to counseling daughters on feminine hygiene. In doing so, unlike in the case of mothers, fathers must contend with a society that does not equip them for the task or believe that men are naturally disposed to be primary caregivers (Salzman, Matathia, & O’Reilly, 2005). In this chapter, we use data from single fathers to reveal how such men navigate the circuitous path to playing the lead role of a single parent.
