Am I Like My Father? Eri eg sum pápi?
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Published
Sep 9, 2025
Runa Preeti Ísfeld
Abstract
This article explores fatherhood in the Faroe Islands based on empirical research consisting of interviews with Faroese men in their fifties who are married and have children. It addresses two primary questions: Firstly, how do my respondents describe their childhoods and relationships with their own fathers, and what are the transmissions, continuities, and discontinuities of fatherhood between their generation and their fathers’ generation? Secondly, how do my respondents describe themselves as fathers, and how involved were they when they had young children? My objective is to identify familial attitudes and behaviours that are repeated, transmitted, or modified between two generations of Faroese men who were fathers during two different social periods. The article contributes to discussions about family and gender in the Faroe Islands, and challenges prevailing stereotypes about “older” Faroese fathers.
Úrtak
Henda greinin kannar faðirskap í Føroyum við støði í empiriskari gransking av samrøðum við føroyskar menn í fimtiárunum, ið vóru giftir og áttu børn. Greinin viðger tveir spurningar: Í tí fyrra vórðu menninir bidnir um at lýsa síni egnu barnaár, viðurskiftini við pápan, hvat teir hava tikið við sær yvir í sín egna pápaleiklut og greiða frá framhaldi og sliti millum millum ættarliðini. Seinni spurningurin bað menninar at lýsa seg sjálvar sum pápar, og hvussu teir tóku lut, tá teir høvdu børn. Endamálið er at skjalfesta hugsanir um endurtiknar, arvaðar ella tillagaðar hugburðir um familjuna í tveimum ættarliðum í tveimum sosialum tíðarskeiðum. Greinin er íkast í orðaskiftið um familju og kyn (gender) í Føroyum og roynir at nýhugsa nakrar ráðandi stereotypar fatanir av føroyskum pápum av “tí gamla slagnum”.
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Keywords
fatherhood, intergenerational changes, continuities, discontinuities, fathers' involvement, faðirskapur, broyting millum ættarlið, framhald og slit, pápaluttøka
References
Bailey, J.A., Hill, K. G., Oesterle, S. & Hawkins, J. D. (2009). Parenting practices and problem behaviour across three generations: Monitoring harsh discipline, and drug use in the intergenerational transmissions of externalizing behaviour, Development Psychology, 45, 1214-1226.
Belsky, J., Conger, R., & Capaldi, D. M. (2009). The intergenerational transmission of parenting: Introduction to the special section. Developmental Psychology, 45(5), 1201–1204.
Berglund, T. (2007). Det goda faderskapet – i svenskt 1800-tal. Stockholm: Carlssons.
Bosoni, L. M., & Mazzucchelli, S. (2019). Generations comparison: Father role representations in the 1980s and the new millennium. Genealogy, 3, 1–18.
Bosoni, L. M. (2014). “Breadwinners” or “involved fathers?” Men, fathers and work in Italy. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 45(2), 293 -315.
Bowen, M. (1978). Toward the differentiation of self in one’s family of origin. In M. Bowen (Ed.), Family therapy in clinical practice,e 529–547. New York: Jason Aronson.
Brandth, B., & Kvande, E. (2003). Flexible fedre [Flexible fathers]. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Brandth, B. & Kvande, E. (2017). Fathers integrating work and childcare. In Brandth, B., Halrynjo, S & Kvande, E, Work-family dynamics: Competing logics or regulation, economy and morals, 70- 85. London: Routledge.
Brandth, B., & Kvande, E. (1998). Masculinity and childcare: The reconstruction of fathering. Sociological Review, 46, 293–313.
Brannen, J., & Nielsen, A. (2006). From fatherhood to fathering: Transmission and change among British fathers in four-generation families. Sociology, 40(2), 335–352.
Brotherson, S. E., Dollahite, D. C., & Hawkins, A, J. (2005). Generative fathering and the dynamics of connection between fathers and their children. Fathering, 3(1), 1–28.
Bruel, A. (1997). Un Avenir pour la paternité? Jalons pour une politique de la paternité. Paris: Report to the Ministry for Employment and Solidarity.
Butler, J. (1988). Performative acts and gender constitution: An essay in phenomenology and feminist theory. Theatre Journal, 4(4), 519–531.
Caspi, A., & Elder Jr., G. H. (1988). Childhood precursors of the life course: Early personality and life disorganization. In E. M. Hetherington, R. M. Lerner, & M. Perlmutter (Eds.), Child development in life-span perspective, pp. 115–142. New York, NY: Lawrence Eribaum Associates.
Coltrane, (1994). Theorizing masculinities in contemporary social science. In H. Brond and M. Kaufman (Eds.), Theorizing masculinities, pp. 39–60. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Davis-Kean, P. E., Hofferth, S. L., Sandberg, J. F., & Yeung, W. J. (2001). Children’s time with fathers in intact families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 136–154.
Day, R. D., Lamb, M. E., & Marsiglio, W. (2000). Exploring fatherhood diversity. Marriage and Family Review, 29(4), 269–293.
Dermott, E. (2008). Intimate fatherhood: A sociological analysis. London: Routledge.
Dugeon, M., & Inhorn, M. (2003). Gender, masculinity and reproduction: Anthropological perspectives. International Journal of Men’s Health, 2(1), 31–56.
Edley, N., & Wetherell, M. (1999). Negotiating hegemonic masculinity: Imaginary positions and psycho-discursive practices. Feminism & Psychology, 9(3), 335–356.
Edwards, R., & Holland, J. (2013) What is Qualitative Interviewing? London, Bloomsbury Academic.
Eydal, G. B., & Rostgaard, T. (2016). Fatherhood in the Nordic welfare states comparing care policies and practice. Bristol: Policy Press.
Egeland, B., Shaffer, A., & Yates, T. (2009). The relation of emotional maltreatment to early adolescent competence: Developmental processes in a prospective study. Child Abuse and Neglect, 33(1), 36–44.
Farstad, G. R., & Stefansen, K. (2015). Involved fatherhood in the Nordic context: Dominant narratives, divergent approaches. NORMA, 10(1), 55–70.
Gaini, F. (2006). Once were men: Masculinities among men in the Faroe Islands. Fróðskaparrit, 54, 44-61 Tórshavn: Faroe University Press.
Gaini, F. (2011). The adversity of heroes of the past: Masculinity and Identity among Young Men in the Faroe Islands. In F. Gaini (Ed.), Among the islanders of the North: An anthropology of the Faroe Islands, 163-198. Tórshavn: Faroe University Press.
Gaini, F. (2016). Contemporary realities and future dreams of Oki Islands youth. Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, 16(3), Article 11. https://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/ejcjs/vol16/iss3/gaini.html.
Gaini, F. (2020). He understands me in a different way than others do: Faroese teenagers’ narratives on fatherhood, masculinity, and family life. Suomen Anthropology, Journal of the Finnish Anthropological Society, 45(2) 17-34.Gaini, F. (2021). Imellem Venner og fremmede. Etnografisk forskning i små samfund i Norden. In G. Høvgaard & S. Arnfjord (Eds.), Samfundvidenskabelig praksis: Artiske perspektive. Nuuk: University of Greenland Press.
Gaini, F. (2022a). “You just throw yourself into it”: On fatherhood and family in the Faroe Islands. Kritisk Etnografi, Swedish Journal of Anthropology (5) 95-113.
Gaini, F. (2022b). Learning from the coast: Youth, family and local knowledge in the Faroe Islands. In A. T. Kjørholt, S. Bessel, D. Devine, D. Gaini, & S. Spyrou (Eds.), Valuing the past, sustaining the future? Exploring coastal societies, childhood(s) and local knowledge in times of global transition, 123-138. MARE Publication Series 27. Springer
Genesoni, L., & Tallandini, M. A. (2009). Men’s psychological transition to fatherhood: An analysis of the literature, 1989–2008. Birth, 36, 305–318.
Gregory, A., & Miller, S. (2011). What is “new” about fatherhood in France and the UK? Men & Masculinities, 4(5), 588–606.
Griswold, R. L. (1993). Fatherhood in America: A history. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Haavind, H., & Magnusson, E. (2005). The Nordic countries: Welfare paradises for women and children? Feminism Psychology, 15(2), 227–235.
Hayfield, E. A., Olavson, R., & Paturson, L. (2016). Part-time work in the Nordic region III: An introduction study of the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland Islands. Tema Nord. Nordic Council of Ministers.
Jacobsen, B., & Í Jákupstova, B. (2005). Kvinderollen på Færøyerne I endring – en sammenlikning av kvinners politiske medbogerskap i to kommuner. Med periferien i sentrum - en studie av lokal velferd, arbeidsmarkeder og kjønnsrelasjoner i den nordiske periferien. Norut NIBR Finnmark, pp. 169–200.
Jacobsen, E.S, Færøske forestillinger om køn. Arbejde, helse og velfærd i Vestnorden. Red. Rafnsdóttir, G. L. Háskólaútgáfan og Rannsóknastofa í Vinnuvernd, Reykjavík, 2007, 207-217.
Johansson, T., & Andreasson, J. (2017). Fatherhood in transition: Masculinity, identity, and everyday life. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kerr, D. C. R., Capaldi, D. M., Pears, K. C., & Owen, L. D. (2009). A prospective three generational study of fathers’ constructive parenting: Influences from family of origin, adolescent adjustment, and offspring temperament. Developmental Psychology, 45(5), 1257–1275.
Kovan, N. M., Chung, A.L., & Sroufe, L. A. (2009). The intergenerational continuity of observed early parenting: A prospective, longitudinal study. Development Psychology, 45, 1205-1213.
Kvande, E. & Brandth, B. (2016). Fathering alone in Norway: Changes and continuities. In: M. O’Brien & K. Wall (Eds.), Fathers on leave alone: Comparative perspectives on work-life balance and gender. Lisbon: Springer.
Lamb, M. E. (1997). The role of the father in child development (3rd edition). Chichester: Wiley.
Lamb, M. E. (1999). Parenting and child development in “nontraditional” families. Journal of Marriage and Family, DOI: 10.2307/354032.
LaRossa, R., Jaret, C., Gadgil, M., & Wynn, G. R. (2000). The changing culture of fatherhood in comic-strip families: A six-decade analysis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 375–387.
LaRossa, R. (2007). The culture and conduct of fatherhood in America, 1800 to 1960. Japanese Journal of Family Sociology, 19, 87–98.
Lorentzen, J. (2011). On fathers in Norwegian history 1850–1920. Men and Masculinities, 13(3), 268–287.
Marsiglio, W., Amato, P., Day, R. D., & Lamb, M. E. (2000). Scholarship on fatherhood in the 1990s and beyond. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62(4), 1173–1191.
McDonald, P., & Jeanes, E. (Eds.) (2012). Men, wage work and family. London: Routledge.
Melby, k., Pylkkanen, A., Rosenbeck, B., & Wettenberg, C.C. (2008). Gender equality and welfare politics in Scandinavia: the limits of political ambition? Bristol: Policy Press.
Miller, T. (2011). Falling back into gender? Men’s narrative and practices around first-time fatherhood. Sociology, 45(6), 1094–1109.
Neppl. T. K., Conger, R. D., Scaramella, L. V., & Ontai, L. L. (2009). Intergenerational Continuity in Parenting Behaviour: Mediating Pathways and Child Effects. Development Psychology, 45 (5), 1241-1256
O’Brien, M., & Wall, K. (2017). Comparative perspective on work-life balance and gender equality. European Journal of Population, 33(3) DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-42970-0.
O’Brien, M., & Shemilt, I. (2003). Working fathers: Earning and caring. London: Equal Opportunities Commission, p. 105. http://www.eoc.org.uk/cseng/research/ueareport.pdf) pp. 105.
Plantin, L. (2001). Man, familjeliv och foraldraskap [Men, family life and parenthood]. Umeå: Boréa.
Pleck, E. H. (1981). The myth of masculinity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Shaffer, A., Burt, K. B., Obradovic, J., Herbers, J. E., & Masten, A.S. (2009). Intergenerational continuity in parenting quality: The mediating role of social competence. Development Psychology, 45, 1227-1240.
Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2004). Playmates and more: Father’s role in child development. Human Development, 47(4), 220–227.
West, C., & Zimmermann, D. H. (1987). Doing gender. Gender and Society, 1(2), 125–– 151.
Widerberg, K. (2001) Historien om et Kvalitativt forsningprosjekt. En alternativt lærebok. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Belsky, J., Conger, R., & Capaldi, D. M. (2009). The intergenerational transmission of parenting: Introduction to the special section. Developmental Psychology, 45(5), 1201–1204.
Berglund, T. (2007). Det goda faderskapet – i svenskt 1800-tal. Stockholm: Carlssons.
Bosoni, L. M., & Mazzucchelli, S. (2019). Generations comparison: Father role representations in the 1980s and the new millennium. Genealogy, 3, 1–18.
Bosoni, L. M. (2014). “Breadwinners” or “involved fathers?” Men, fathers and work in Italy. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 45(2), 293 -315.
Bowen, M. (1978). Toward the differentiation of self in one’s family of origin. In M. Bowen (Ed.), Family therapy in clinical practice,e 529–547. New York: Jason Aronson.
Brandth, B., & Kvande, E. (2003). Flexible fedre [Flexible fathers]. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Brandth, B. & Kvande, E. (2017). Fathers integrating work and childcare. In Brandth, B., Halrynjo, S & Kvande, E, Work-family dynamics: Competing logics or regulation, economy and morals, 70- 85. London: Routledge.
Brandth, B., & Kvande, E. (1998). Masculinity and childcare: The reconstruction of fathering. Sociological Review, 46, 293–313.
Brannen, J., & Nielsen, A. (2006). From fatherhood to fathering: Transmission and change among British fathers in four-generation families. Sociology, 40(2), 335–352.
Brotherson, S. E., Dollahite, D. C., & Hawkins, A, J. (2005). Generative fathering and the dynamics of connection between fathers and their children. Fathering, 3(1), 1–28.
Bruel, A. (1997). Un Avenir pour la paternité? Jalons pour une politique de la paternité. Paris: Report to the Ministry for Employment and Solidarity.
Butler, J. (1988). Performative acts and gender constitution: An essay in phenomenology and feminist theory. Theatre Journal, 4(4), 519–531.
Caspi, A., & Elder Jr., G. H. (1988). Childhood precursors of the life course: Early personality and life disorganization. In E. M. Hetherington, R. M. Lerner, & M. Perlmutter (Eds.), Child development in life-span perspective, pp. 115–142. New York, NY: Lawrence Eribaum Associates.
Coltrane, (1994). Theorizing masculinities in contemporary social science. In H. Brond and M. Kaufman (Eds.), Theorizing masculinities, pp. 39–60. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Davis-Kean, P. E., Hofferth, S. L., Sandberg, J. F., & Yeung, W. J. (2001). Children’s time with fathers in intact families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 136–154.
Day, R. D., Lamb, M. E., & Marsiglio, W. (2000). Exploring fatherhood diversity. Marriage and Family Review, 29(4), 269–293.
Dermott, E. (2008). Intimate fatherhood: A sociological analysis. London: Routledge.
Dugeon, M., & Inhorn, M. (2003). Gender, masculinity and reproduction: Anthropological perspectives. International Journal of Men’s Health, 2(1), 31–56.
Edley, N., & Wetherell, M. (1999). Negotiating hegemonic masculinity: Imaginary positions and psycho-discursive practices. Feminism & Psychology, 9(3), 335–356.
Edwards, R., & Holland, J. (2013) What is Qualitative Interviewing? London, Bloomsbury Academic.
Eydal, G. B., & Rostgaard, T. (2016). Fatherhood in the Nordic welfare states comparing care policies and practice. Bristol: Policy Press.
Egeland, B., Shaffer, A., & Yates, T. (2009). The relation of emotional maltreatment to early adolescent competence: Developmental processes in a prospective study. Child Abuse and Neglect, 33(1), 36–44.
Farstad, G. R., & Stefansen, K. (2015). Involved fatherhood in the Nordic context: Dominant narratives, divergent approaches. NORMA, 10(1), 55–70.
Gaini, F. (2006). Once were men: Masculinities among men in the Faroe Islands. Fróðskaparrit, 54, 44-61 Tórshavn: Faroe University Press.
Gaini, F. (2011). The adversity of heroes of the past: Masculinity and Identity among Young Men in the Faroe Islands. In F. Gaini (Ed.), Among the islanders of the North: An anthropology of the Faroe Islands, 163-198. Tórshavn: Faroe University Press.
Gaini, F. (2016). Contemporary realities and future dreams of Oki Islands youth. Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, 16(3), Article 11. https://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/ejcjs/vol16/iss3/gaini.html.
Gaini, F. (2020). He understands me in a different way than others do: Faroese teenagers’ narratives on fatherhood, masculinity, and family life. Suomen Anthropology, Journal of the Finnish Anthropological Society, 45(2) 17-34.Gaini, F. (2021). Imellem Venner og fremmede. Etnografisk forskning i små samfund i Norden. In G. Høvgaard & S. Arnfjord (Eds.), Samfundvidenskabelig praksis: Artiske perspektive. Nuuk: University of Greenland Press.
Gaini, F. (2022a). “You just throw yourself into it”: On fatherhood and family in the Faroe Islands. Kritisk Etnografi, Swedish Journal of Anthropology (5) 95-113.
Gaini, F. (2022b). Learning from the coast: Youth, family and local knowledge in the Faroe Islands. In A. T. Kjørholt, S. Bessel, D. Devine, D. Gaini, & S. Spyrou (Eds.), Valuing the past, sustaining the future? Exploring coastal societies, childhood(s) and local knowledge in times of global transition, 123-138. MARE Publication Series 27. Springer
Genesoni, L., & Tallandini, M. A. (2009). Men’s psychological transition to fatherhood: An analysis of the literature, 1989–2008. Birth, 36, 305–318.
Gregory, A., & Miller, S. (2011). What is “new” about fatherhood in France and the UK? Men & Masculinities, 4(5), 588–606.
Griswold, R. L. (1993). Fatherhood in America: A history. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Haavind, H., & Magnusson, E. (2005). The Nordic countries: Welfare paradises for women and children? Feminism Psychology, 15(2), 227–235.
Hayfield, E. A., Olavson, R., & Paturson, L. (2016). Part-time work in the Nordic region III: An introduction study of the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland Islands. Tema Nord. Nordic Council of Ministers.
Jacobsen, B., & Í Jákupstova, B. (2005). Kvinderollen på Færøyerne I endring – en sammenlikning av kvinners politiske medbogerskap i to kommuner. Med periferien i sentrum - en studie av lokal velferd, arbeidsmarkeder og kjønnsrelasjoner i den nordiske periferien. Norut NIBR Finnmark, pp. 169–200.
Jacobsen, E.S, Færøske forestillinger om køn. Arbejde, helse og velfærd i Vestnorden. Red. Rafnsdóttir, G. L. Háskólaútgáfan og Rannsóknastofa í Vinnuvernd, Reykjavík, 2007, 207-217.
Johansson, T., & Andreasson, J. (2017). Fatherhood in transition: Masculinity, identity, and everyday life. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kerr, D. C. R., Capaldi, D. M., Pears, K. C., & Owen, L. D. (2009). A prospective three generational study of fathers’ constructive parenting: Influences from family of origin, adolescent adjustment, and offspring temperament. Developmental Psychology, 45(5), 1257–1275.
Kovan, N. M., Chung, A.L., & Sroufe, L. A. (2009). The intergenerational continuity of observed early parenting: A prospective, longitudinal study. Development Psychology, 45, 1205-1213.
Kvande, E. & Brandth, B. (2016). Fathering alone in Norway: Changes and continuities. In: M. O’Brien & K. Wall (Eds.), Fathers on leave alone: Comparative perspectives on work-life balance and gender. Lisbon: Springer.
Lamb, M. E. (1997). The role of the father in child development (3rd edition). Chichester: Wiley.
Lamb, M. E. (1999). Parenting and child development in “nontraditional” families. Journal of Marriage and Family, DOI: 10.2307/354032.
LaRossa, R., Jaret, C., Gadgil, M., & Wynn, G. R. (2000). The changing culture of fatherhood in comic-strip families: A six-decade analysis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 375–387.
LaRossa, R. (2007). The culture and conduct of fatherhood in America, 1800 to 1960. Japanese Journal of Family Sociology, 19, 87–98.
Lorentzen, J. (2011). On fathers in Norwegian history 1850–1920. Men and Masculinities, 13(3), 268–287.
Marsiglio, W., Amato, P., Day, R. D., & Lamb, M. E. (2000). Scholarship on fatherhood in the 1990s and beyond. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62(4), 1173–1191.
McDonald, P., & Jeanes, E. (Eds.) (2012). Men, wage work and family. London: Routledge.
Melby, k., Pylkkanen, A., Rosenbeck, B., & Wettenberg, C.C. (2008). Gender equality and welfare politics in Scandinavia: the limits of political ambition? Bristol: Policy Press.
Miller, T. (2011). Falling back into gender? Men’s narrative and practices around first-time fatherhood. Sociology, 45(6), 1094–1109.
Neppl. T. K., Conger, R. D., Scaramella, L. V., & Ontai, L. L. (2009). Intergenerational Continuity in Parenting Behaviour: Mediating Pathways and Child Effects. Development Psychology, 45 (5), 1241-1256
O’Brien, M., & Wall, K. (2017). Comparative perspective on work-life balance and gender equality. European Journal of Population, 33(3) DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-42970-0.
O’Brien, M., & Shemilt, I. (2003). Working fathers: Earning and caring. London: Equal Opportunities Commission, p. 105. http://www.eoc.org.uk/cseng/research/ueareport.pdf) pp. 105.
Plantin, L. (2001). Man, familjeliv och foraldraskap [Men, family life and parenthood]. Umeå: Boréa.
Pleck, E. H. (1981). The myth of masculinity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Shaffer, A., Burt, K. B., Obradovic, J., Herbers, J. E., & Masten, A.S. (2009). Intergenerational continuity in parenting quality: The mediating role of social competence. Development Psychology, 45, 1227-1240.
Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2004). Playmates and more: Father’s role in child development. Human Development, 47(4), 220–227.
West, C., & Zimmermann, D. H. (1987). Doing gender. Gender and Society, 1(2), 125–– 151.
Widerberg, K. (2001) Historien om et Kvalitativt forsningprosjekt. En alternativt lærebok. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
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