The idealization of the ‘new father’ and ‘reversed roles father’ in Germany

Over time, social expectations of fathers in Germany have changed, from biological siring to protection, to providing, and lately to nurturing of children (including childcare, emotional support, and education). We empirically model the contemporary German ideal of fathering using a sample of 691 German citizens from ages 18 to 92, selected from resident registration lists in 2006 in four economically typological regions: Northwest, urban city-state, East, and South. Two-thirds of respondents idealize fathering as both nurturing and breadwinning, and one-third idealize fathering only with nurturing. We analyze which social groups prioritize which dimensions based on gender, region, birth cohort, education level, partnership and parenthood status, and religion. Results suggest strong institutional and structural – especially East–West – effects on the social construction of fatherhood in Germany and a mismatch between the idealized father and chances men have to achieve it.