Episode 1

full
Published on:

22nd Jul 2021

Dr Martin Robb - Men, Fatherhood and Caring for Children

The Voice, Harry Potter, and fatherhood: what's the connection? Hear Dr Martin Robb talk about this and much more on episode 1 of Now and Men. Martin is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care at the Open University. His work is based around issues of gender, identity and care, with a particular focus on fatherhood and the development of caring masculinities.

Some of the issues we cover in our conversation include:

  • How fatherhood and men’s care are portrayed in popular culture.
  • The strengths and weaknesses of different political positions on fatherhood and men caring for children.
  • How to understand and promote men’s involvement as fathers and caregivers.
  • Debates about the meaning and relevance of ‘male role models’ to men and boys.
  • Historical perspectives and how thinking about fatherhood has changed over time.
  • How Martin’s own experiences of growing up as a boy and becoming a father have impacted on his work.

Martin has a blog at: https://martinrobb.wordpress.com, and you can follow him on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/MartinRobbOU

In the episode, we mention the following pieces of work:

This episode was hosted by Stephen Burrell and Sandy Ruxton, and was produced by Vic Turnbull from MIC Media: https://micmedia.co.uk. We are very grateful to Vic from all of the support she has given us in setting up Now and Men.

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About the Podcast

Now and Men
Current conversations about men's lives
What's it like to be a man in the 21st century? How are feminist issues relevant to men and boys? These questions are being discussed more than ever.

Our monthly podcast delves into these issues with experts such as practitioners, activists and academics. In each episode, you’ll hear in-depth conversations about masculinity, gender equality, and the lives of men and boys, with topics ranging from preventing violence against women, to promoting active fatherhood, to supporting men's health.

The podcast is created and hosted by Dr Stephen Burrell, Sandy Ruxton and Professor Nicole Westmarland, who are researchers from the Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse (CRiVA), in the Department of Sociology at Durham University in the UK. If you would like to give us your feedback, suggest a guest, or have a question you'd like us to discuss in a future episode, get in touch with us at nowandmen@gmail.com.

About your hosts

Stephen Burrell

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I am a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Durham University in the UK, and a Deputy Director of the Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse (CRiVA). My research is about men and masculinities - especially preventing men's violence against women, and currently, engaging men and boys in caring for the planet. I'm also a trustee for White Ribbon UK and on the steering group for Changing Relations CIC. In my spare time I'm a big fan of drinking tea and being in nature.

Sandy Ruxton

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Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Durham University (UK). Independent researcher, expert on men and masculinities. Previous policy work on human rights, children and families, poverty and social exclusion, and asylum and migration. Programme experience with boys and young men in schools, community, and prisons. Steering Committee member, MenEngage Europe. Volunteer for OX4 Food Crew. Chess-player, bike-rider, tree-hugger. Great grandfather edited Boy's Own Paper, but was sacked.