Deadbeat Dads: Subjectivity and Social Construction

Karen Danielson, Ph.D., is a research consultant at Laurentian
University who specializes in leisure, textiles, family life, and Japan.

Deadbeat Dads addresses child support issues through a qualitative
analysis of the situations that fathers encounter. The author argues
that in popular culture, legal situations, and institutional
environments, priority has been given to state enforcement of child
support payments, the assault on child poverty, and the achievement of
women’s equality. At the same time, the alternatives for fathers have
been prescribed without much consideration of their circumstances.

The system is fragmented, with the father’s role as a parent
separated from his role as breadwinner. Thus, while enforcement policies
may criminalize fathers and marginalize them within their families and
society, there is no system to ensure that fathers have access to their
children. The emphasis on money and the tendency to equate children’s
issues with women’s issues have tended to obscure the needs of
children. For women, too, there are dilemmas. The choice to function as
a primary caretaker may imply respect for this activity but it also
implies dependency. On the other hand, equality has become an issue for
fathers who want shared parenting.

Mandell notes that Canadians have used enforcement, mediation,
education, and counselling to ensure that responsibility for the
economic well being of broken families remains private. In reality,
because fathers are treated as “bad guys” and society is absolved of
responsibility, the approach has had limited success. She suggests that
primary responsibility for the welfare of children and mothers should
rest with the state. Perhaps, then, the discourse could shift toward
responsibility and caring and away from rights.

The book contains a review of literature on fatherhood and social
theory. In addition, there are reports from interviews with seven
fathers and nine institutional informants from Ontario. Mandell also
offers an analysis of the way in which legal texts construct the social
identities of fathers.

This is a very readable overview of key issues in a complicated field.
It should be of interest to anyone dealing with family breakdown and
child support in Canada. It also provides an example of the effective
use of qualitative research.