title: Securing Fatherhood through Kin Work: A Comparison of Black Low Income Fathers and Families in South Africa and the U.S.
abstract: In this paper, we examine how low income black men in South Africa and the US work with their kin to secure fathering and ensure the well-being of children. We use ethnographic and life history data on men who fathered children from 1992-2005 to demonstrate how fathers' roles as kin workers enable them to meet culturally-defined criteria for responsible fatherhood in two contexts marked by legacies of racism, increasing rates of incarceration and HIV/AIDS, and a web of interlocking inequalities that effectively precludes them from accessing employment with good wages. Using a comparative framework based on kin work, we identify three common processes in both contexts - negotiation between maternal and paternal kin, pedifocal approach and flexible fathering - that enable men and their kin networks to secure father involvement in economically marginalized communities. We conclude with a discussion of the policy implications of our findings.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland.
authors.forename: Sangeetha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Madhavan
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Roy
keywords: South Africa; US; fathers; global inequalities; kin; poverty