Motherhood, Fatherhood and Law: Child Custody in Israel

Social Legal Studies, Volume: 14, Issue: 3, pp. 409-431, 2005

24 Pages Posted: 30 May 2012

Date Written: 2005

Abstract

This article analyses the ways notions of fatherhood and motherhood are constructed, negotiated and articulated during divorce proceedings in Israel. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews with divorced parents, lawyers, judges and therapeutic professionals, and on a wide sample of divorce court files involving child custody arrangements. The main finding of the study is that while motherhood is ordinarily perceived as a taken-for-granted caring essence, fatherhood is a vague concept that has yet to acquire concrete meaning. Treating the law as an overwhelming arena of conceptual negotiations and practical applications, the study also finds that legal professionals have a significant role in shaping how both women and men grasp and act upon their parental rights and duties. By and large, I find that the impact of legal professionals to that effect, combined with a rather conservative family law system in the shadow of which the parties operate, impedes innovation and discourages men from assuming expansive parental roles after divorce. Hence this study provides a rich example of the contribution of law to the gendered social expectations and coercions determining women and men’s ability to shape their parental roles and identities.

Keywords: custody, divorce, fatherhood, Israel, motherhood, visitation

Suggested Citation

Hacker, Daphna, Motherhood, Fatherhood and Law: Child Custody in Israel (2005). Social Legal Studies, Volume: 14, Issue: 3, pp. 409-431, 2005, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2070780

Daphna Hacker (Contact Author)

Tel-Aviv University ( email )

Ramat Aviv
Tel Aviv, 69978
Israel

HOME PAGE: http://https://en-law.tau.ac.il/profile/dafna

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
56
Abstract Views
530
Rank
664,767
PlumX Metrics