Abstract

While young mothers have enjoyed the interests of researchers and policy makers, young fathers’ experiences have only been examined recently. Through a thematic content analysis of interviews with six black young fathers from White City, Jabavu in Soweto, this article argues that early fatherhood should be understood through an examination of how it is lived in the social, political, cultural and economic contexts of particular communities. The data from this study indicate that there are strong ties between the young men’s experiences and the overall community values, history and culture where they experience fatherhood. The article concludes that for appropriate policies and strategies to be implemented where young fathers are concerned, more context specific research should be conducted.