Fathering after separation or divorce; navigating domestic, public and moral spaces

This article uses qualitative data from a study of fathering after separation and divorce to provide insights into how men may navigate the complex terrain of post-separation fathering. It considers domestic space, seen as important for sustaining fathering roles and relationships; it considers more public or social spaces, where fathers feel they can, or should, ‘display’ fathering; but also highlights a gendered moral space in which fathering identities and practices can be enacted and validated. Exploration of this complex landscape of post-separation fathering reveals important practical, relational and moral dimensions of sustaining fathering relationships over time and across households, and illustrates how gendered patterns of caring for children can become fault lines for renegotiating parenting after separation or divorce.