Abstract

V. GENERAL EDITORS’ EPILOGUE Change, Constancy, and Contradiction Gary W. Peterson Suzanne K. Steinmetz The articles in this volume seek to examine the many faces of fatherhood. As we edited this very informative collection, the message conveyed very clearly is that fatherhood is no simple phenomenon, but a complex tapestry of many things. Contemporary fatherhood is both diverse in its manifestations and subject to contradictory qualities, forces, and trends. Acquiring an accu- rate view of contemporary fatherhood is not possible without images of constant change, lingering traditionality, and, above all, a complex set of roles that vary from having very clear expectations to being highly ambigu- ous. This collection of original articles conveys the reality that fatherhood is not a static phenomenon, but more like a moving target, only some of which has constant meaning. Like so many things in social life, we also need to accommodate constant changes in what each generation expects of paternity. Gary W. Peterson is Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2101. Suzanne K. Steinmetz is Professor, Department of Sociology, Indiana Universi- ty-Purdue University at Indianapolis, IN 46236. [Haworth co-indexing entry note]: ‘‘The Diversity of Fatherhood: Change, Constancy, and