Abstract
This chapter explores narratives of sharing parental responsibility in everyday life among parents who do not live together. It is a social-psychological analysis of qualitative interview data focusing on family relations and social networks in everyday life in Denmark. The interview data stem from a large research project on the consequences of individualisation for social networks and family life. One of the dilemmas of post-divorce parenting comprises sharing parental responsibility while simultaneously separating from the other parent. Applying a case-based analysis, two interpretative frameworks of good parenthood is identified: devotion and symmetry. Moreover, it is discussed how these frameworks intersect with the conflict narrative of divorce. To further explore the meaning of good post-divorce parenting, a concept of we-ness is introduced in the context of divorce. The chapter concludes by arguing that post-divorce parenthood can be understood as reinventing the family (Beck-Gernsheim 2002) and re-constituting we-ness in novel ways.
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Westerling, A. (2016). Parenthood and We-ness in Everyday Life: Parenting Together Apart. In: Sparrman, A., Westerling, A., Lind, J., Dannesboe, K. (eds) Doing Good Parenthood. Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46774-0_11
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