ABSTRACT
An aspect of the coparenting relationship that might be particularly consequential for parenting behavior is parental gatekeeping, or beliefs and behaviors held and directed by one parent that regulate the other parent’s relationship with the child. Even though parental gatekeeping can be engaged in by fathers as well as by mothers, the literature has focused almost entirely on maternal gatekeeping. The set of theoretical perspectives that has been most consistently used as the foundation for studying maternal gatekeeping is gender perspectives. This set of perspectives emphasizes the social construction of gender; in particular, the significance of prescribed gender roles for men and women, especially with respect to parenting, and the extent to which parents’ identities are tied closely with societal expectations regarding gender. Gender perspectives have been most emphasized in studies of the division of household and childcare labor conducted by sociologists, gender studies scholars, and family scientists.
