“WHAT WE ARE GAINING HERE, WE ARE LOSING THERE”: Notes on (de)construction of fatherhood in transit

Abstract

The text is based on research carried with Italian-Brazilians from
the south of Santa Catarina in Brazil, workers in ice cream shops in
Germany, interviewed between 2020-2024. Objective: The dynamics
of these workers presents issues linked to the identity politics of
their Municipality and the difficulties of life between places. The
peculiarity presented by the cases instigated the exploration of
interfaces of the problems implicit in this migratory movement.
Method: We investigated the construction of paternal identity in
the face of the experience of displacement and the situation of the
children’s stay in Brazil, in the light of Critical Social Psychology.
We analyze the life story of a father who left his daughter in Brazil
to continue his work in Germany. Topics such masculinity, family
arrangements, life plans and the consequences of identity politics for
the relationships and mental health of those involved were explored.
Results: The results showed how paternal identity linked to the
context of financial difficulties can highlight the exacerbation of the
ideological role and belief in performance credited to masculinity.
Such belief in this mythical identity makes it difficult to work through
problems in the present, making impossible to glimpse the future
and the emergence of characters with emancipatory potential.