The phenomenon of the new fatherhood is not going on only in the context of modern nuclear - heterosexual - family, but is also, in the context of otherwise present late-modern changes in privacy, extending on the other ways of family life. The author's thesis is that rather than in the very heterosexual nuclear family, essential innovations in the parental identities, roles and practices are going on outside the "classical" parental role known in modernity. Precisely families that do not rest on heterosexual organization of partnership are those which most radically re-define modern fatherhood. The article focuses on sociological analysis of various aspects of redefinition of fatherhood and parenthood in lesbian families. These family forms together with gay families count for the most radical challenge to heterosexual norms regarding parental roles and identities as they challenge traditional notions of family and heterosexual monopoly over reproduction. Sociological analysis of redefinition of fatherhood includes the following aspects: process and reasons for decision-making about un/known father (biological, social and cultural premises of decisions), parenting in everyday life and the role of father, questions regarding upbringing and socialization of children in gay and lesbian families and current discussion on perspectives in researching gay and lesbian parenthood.
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