June 12, 2024

Father’s Day is commemorated annually on 16 June. However, as birth rates in Singapore remain concerningly low, the government has had to consider various policy angles and campaigns to reframe marriage and parenthood narratives, for both fathers and mothers. This includes the provision of Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) and the introduction of flexible work arrangements to support working parents. These measures intend to improve gender equality and ensure that both parents play important roles in childrearing.

In the past few years, parenting articles in The Straits Times, a state-regulated newspaper in Singapore, have featured tips, advice, and stories, specifically catered for fathers, in a column entitled ST Smart Parenting. The introduction of this column coincided with two key policy events in Singapore – the release of the White Paper for Singapore Women’s Development and the legal challenges to, and eventual repeal of, Section 377A. In ‘Asian values in Confucian masculinity: A discourse analysis of parenting advice to fathers’ (Women’s Studies International Forum, 2024), Dr Adelyn Lim (NUS Sociology and Anthropology) examines these articles from ST Smart Parenting, noting the distinct focus on content for fathers, and arguing that the parenting advice written perpetuates gender essentialism and heteronormativity.

As discussions of gender equality and feminism become normalised, Lim points out how women can no longer be expected to shoulder the blame for societal issues like low birth rates. Instead, a new kind of language must be employed to address such challenges. Lim discusses how the discourse of ‘Asian values’ and Confucian masculinity has been used to justify the persistence of the heterogendered family in Singapore, while noting how masculinity has evolved. Instead of the traditional aggressive masculinity, the articles advocate for a more benevolent and measured masculinity, while continuing to provide for the family.

Read the article here.