The new fathers: Between the feminist ideal and the conservative idea of the family

The “new father” was once a colorful fashion term. People have been talking about him since the noughties: the feminist-driven man who wanted to be “fully there” all the time. The child strapped into a baby carrier, walking through dm's diaper department, doing the dishes with a dishwashing bottle in his hand and disheveled hair - that's how he shaped the spirit of the times. And through it all, it was subject to intense ridicule from both conservatives and feminists.

What is this new father actually doing today? How does his left-liberal enthusiasm for family life relate to the new, conservative or post-liberal-positive idea of ​​family, fatherhood and responsibility? And why today even the career-conscious and success-oriented go-getter type no longer just likes to show off their status with expensive watches and sailing boats - but rather shows off that - unlike a dependently employed low-performer - they can freely spend their time with their children?

In the current episode of The So-Called Present, Nina Pauer and Lars Weisbrod talk about the new fathers they now meet everywhere. You ask yourself whether the genders are adapting to one another, abolishing one another, or simply reinforcing one another in today's parenting. And what all of this might have to do with Baby Yoda from the Star Wars series The Mandalorian.

The topic begins at minute 17:45.

SHOWN NOTES:

Anna Machin: The Life of Dad. The Making of A Modern Father. Simon & Schuster, 2018.

Star Wars: Baby Yoda Dad

Weight loss in men: father, early 40s, hungry, text by Nina Pauer, 2026

Gender roles: How do I get rid of my inner housewife?, text by Nina Pauer, 2024

Karl-Ove Knausgard: Love. btb, 2013.