“A Fairly Egalitarian Relationship”: A Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis of Fathers' Perceptions of Fathering in a Global Pandemic

ABSTRACT Objective This study examined the language of how fathers of young children perceived and enacted fathering and egalitarian parenting during the early months of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Background Fathering research has increasingly focused on men's involvement in childrearing, yet persistent gendered divisions of labor remain, especially during family transitions. Previous findings suggest that fathers increased their involvement during the global pandemic. More in‐depth insights into men's language, perceptions, and patterns of egalitarian parenting can provide valuable information for understanding parenting negotiations and fathering. Method Semi‐structured interviews with 44 fathers of children aged birth to four, conducted between May and July 2020, were qualitatively analyzed using Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis to examine how fathers described their roles, responsibilities, and beliefs about gender, parenting, and masculinity in the context of macro‐level disruption. Results Fathers expressed support for egalitarian ideals; however, their language revealed contradictions between their beliefs and parenting behaviors. Discursive categories included idealized but uneven enactments of shared parenting, reliance on gendered assumptions about parenting, ambivalence surrounding masculinity norms, and vacillation in parenting competence. Conclusion Fathers' egalitarian aspirations coexisted with deeply naturalized assumptions about maternal expertise and gendered responsibility underscoring the need to challenge subtle norms that define carework as women's work. Implications Results underscore the need for culturally informed family interventions and parental leave policies that support gender equity and promote egalitarian fathering.