The Three-Dimensional Gender and Fatherhood: A Profile of Italian Men

Building on the debate about low fertility rates in Western countries, this study delves into the relationship between fertility and gender equality from a male perspective. Gender has been operationalised into three levels: gender attitudes, gender models, and gender power, to account for the complexity of this social construct and its multilevel impact on individuals, including men. Through an exploratory analysis, male fertility in Italy has been examined using this three-dimensional gender framework, highlighting generational differences. The results, based on the ISTAT Survey “Families, Social Subjects, and Life Cycle” (2016), focusing on men in heterosexual partnerships, confirm that male identity is still strongly defined by work identity, while younger generations (Gen Y, born between 1982 and 1996) tend to move away from traditional behaviours. Gender categorises men as traditionalists versus innovators and egalitarians; for example, in the division of household tasks and family decision-making, contrasting behaviours are found between Boomers (born between 1942 and 1966), on the one hand, and the other, Gen Y and Boomers in a (temporary) state of unemployment. This dynamic is reflected in the analysis of fertility levels among the older generations. Boomers, who are tied to traditional attitudes, gender models, and power structures, are associated with a relatively higher number of children. Overall, the study highlights how the gender construct, when analysed in its multi-dimensional complexity, reveals an impact on male reproductive behaviours that has so far received little attention.