The Difficult Transition to the“New”Caring Fatherhood:An Examination of Paternity Leave  

关爱父职的艰难转向:基于对男性护理假的考察

作　　者：Wang Xiangxian Li Changjiang 王向贤;栗长江(译)(School of Politics and Public Administration,Tianjin Normal University;School of International Police Studies,People’s Public Security University of China)

机构地区：[1]School of Politics and Public Administration,Tianjin Normal University [2]School of International Police Studies,People’s Public Security University of China

出　　处：《Social Sciences in China》2020年第1期182-202,共21页中国社会科学（英文版）

摘　　要：Paternity leave,a social policy first implemented in China some twenty years ago,has a direct bearing on fatherhood.It marks a preliminary attempt to promote the transition from fathers’lack of involvement to engagement founded on cultural recognition and economic and political redistribution.The intergenerational continuity of the absent father,the reproduction of this absence through the extended family,the limited fatherhood created by employers through a consensus about human feelings,and the way local governments are taking the lead in paternity leave,ahead of the central government,jointly build the mainstream model of the absent father.Fathers should indeed provide day-to-day care for their children,but only as helpers;this means that short-term paternity leave is an appropriate way for new fathers to take on their responsibilities.This notion,however,not only fails to meet the new needs,responsibilities and rights of some fathers who wish to actively care for and bond with their children,but also further consolidates the gender division of labor(in which men are innately breadwinners and women homemakers),a division that is inextricably linked with people’s interests,ethics and emotions in contemporary China.The low fertility in today’s world calls for a significant change in the gender division of labor.Actively embracing a caring role is not only a work right and an emotional right for fathers,but also heralds emerging civil rights and marks a new development in social emotions.In this sense,the transition to care-giving fathers should not be that difficult.男性护理假,作为当代中国罕有的直接关乎父职且已实行20余年的社会政策,其实是从文化承认和经济政治再分配角度推动缺席父职向关爱父职转向的初步尝试。缺席父职的代际传递,扩展家庭对于缺席父职的再生产,用人单位通过人性化共识制造的有限父职,男性护理假的地方先行和中央未予承认,共同构建着缺席父职的主流模式:父亲应该为子女提供日常照顾,但只是帮手,短暂护理假是新晋父亲承担父职的适宜方式。这不但使得部分父亲们希望积极提供日常照顾、获取亲密情感的新需求、新责任和新权利未能得到正视和承认,并进一步将男女有别、男外女内和父赚钱母照顾巩固为中国当代关乎利益、伦理和情感的生育性别分工。然而,在低迷生育率亟需生育分工变革、积极提供日常照顾既是父亲劳动权利和情感权利也是新兴公民社会权和整个社会情感文明新发展的当下,关爱父职转向不应该步履艰难。

关 键 词：paternity leave FATHERHOOD CHILDBIRTH gender division of labor 

分 类 号：C913.1[经济管理] D63[社会学]