DILF or Ditched? Representations of the ‘Single Father’ in Swedish Internet-Based Forum Discussions

Abstract

This chapter analyses representations of the single father in Swedish internet-based forum discussions between 2014 and 2019. The discussions were organized into five themes, through critical discursive psychology. The results show that involved fatherhood was a taken-for-granted assumption and that previous experiences of relationships and children were seen as valuable assets, implying that the involved single father was (hetero)sexualized and regarded as a desirable type of masculinity. However, the involved single father was also discussed as a position difficult to combine with notions of ‘the devoted boyfriend’, and that the single father is unable to fulfil the ideal of ‘parenthood/family virginity’, which made him unattractive according to some discussants. The notion of the single father also intersected with notions of social class.