Transnational Fathers’ Activism: A case study of Platform for European Fathers

Abstract

Shifting gender relations and family arrangements throughout the 20th and 21st century have led to the emergence of fathers’ rights activism. Equipped with a seemingly simple call for justice, the fathers’ rights movement has influenced family law, and have become part of the public consciousness. Due to their occasionally antagonistic relationship with feminism, a lot of academic literature has been focused on analyzing fathers’ rights activism and its influence on family law. This thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of these groups through a case study of Platform for European Fathers (PEF), a transnational organization which represents a collaboration between several organizations that aims to work on a European policy level. To achieve this, the study made use of a qualitative thematic content analysis of PEF’s social media. The results from the analysis of their social media rhetoric suggests a shift towards progressive coalition politics, mainly due to their focus on the well-being of children. However, anti-feminist politics still exists, predominantly in the parts of their social media rhetoric which serves to further polarize men and women. This means that while PEF’s social media rhetoric suggest a change in fathers’ activism, some of the criticism the groups have received are still relevant, albeit to a lesser degree.