Father’s Day is often associated with commercial entities with little relevance to our own culture. Yet, its emerging popularity tells us a different story about our new generation fathers.
Now-a-days children are celebrating their fathers by cutting cakes, making cards, and posting on social media. These celebrated fathers are not only the providers and the protectors but emotional anchors who are empathetic listeners and caregivers.
In that sense, celebration of Father’s Day offers an insight into how the concept of masculinity is changing in Bangladesh.
The traditional image of fathers from Bangladeshi households was always closely tied to sacrifice and economic responsibility. A good father was often understood as someone who would be working hard, paying for and protecting the family, and the only authority taking decisions.
Affection or emotion were always absent whenever it came to verbal communication with our fathers. It was considered less masculine to provide emotional support from a man's end.
However, time has changed and so has the meaning of masculinity. Now, we are celebrating the men who are no longer authority centred but rather are emotion and relationship centred.
Today’s fathers are shifting their roles from provider to partner. They are actively engaged in care-giving and building emotional connections with children.
The image of an ideal father is no longer connected with someone who thinks providing is the ultimate thing one can do. Today's fathers are exercising power differently.
They are freeing themselves from the only economic provision to nurture, care, listen, and share power. These young fathers are truly behaving like role models and shaping their children’s future.
Fatherhood is not limited to livelihood now. Parenting has shifted from "because I said so" to explanation and negotiation. Fathers are becoming mentors, helping children navigate education, careers, and mental health rather than simply enforcing rules.
If we want to dig into these changes, we find that, beyond the men, it is women who are contributing to these changes.
The power dynamics of families have changed now. Our women are ensuring dual-income households and this ishelping families become less hierarchical.
Familial decisions are more collaborative. Fathers are getting opportunities to lead through trust and care rather than unquestioned providers. Children are not experiencing rigid gender roles within the family structure.
For the Gen Z and Gen Alpha generations, they might become aware of masculinity from influencers at an earlier age and that’s why the new generation of fathers is more compelled to embrace the values of positive masculinity.
Fathers are the responsible ones to create a positive impact on partnership, family, or relationship in their children’s eyes. They need to show examples of how a man should treat a woman.
The children of today want to discuss mental health, heart breaks, and failures with their fathers. They no longer appreciate the silent and strong father figure. For them, the ideal fathers should persuade rather than command.
The hope is that, as Father’s Days are celebrated today, it will pave the way for a new dynamic of parent-children relationship where fathers are not celebrated as silent heroes but rather as engaged and expressive ones.
This new dynamic allows fathers to also be heard, valued, and appreciated. As a society, these new celebration trends introduce us to the new dimension of active parenting, family bonding, and appreciation for father figures.
Tanjila Habib is a lecturer at the School of General Education in BRAC University. She can be reached at tanjila.habib@bracu.ac.bd.