“These are His Rules, Our Rules”: Constructions of Fathers as Disciplinarians Within Low-Income Families of the Western Cape

Abstract

Parental discipline is an important aspect of a child’s socialization and has been adapted over time as social views on disciplinary approaches have changed. Although both parents play a role in carrying out discipline, fathers are frequently viewed as the ultimate disciplinary figure, and their methods are often associated with harsh and aggressive practices. Thus, the recent prohibition of corporal punishment in South Africa has added heightened relevance to the question of how families are currently constructing paternal discipline within the home. The current study sought to explore, from a social constructionist perspective, how family units (comprised of a mother, father, and adolescent child) from three low-income Western Cape communities make meaning of the father’s role in discipline. An inductive thematic analysis revealed that traditionally gendered stereotypes prevail in the construction of fathers as the more effective disciplinarian in the household. However, family members’ emphasis on fathers’ non-violent, gentle disciplinary methods indicates a shift in social expectations, in line with a more emotionally attuned, caring expression of masculinity and fatherhood. The gender of the adolescent was found to influence both the manner in which paternal discipline was conducted and perceived. These findings foreground social tensions between traditionally gendered power relations and roles, and contemporary constructions of a softer, more authoritative paternal disciplinarian in these communities.