The “Defective Dad”

Representations of “New” Israeli Fatherhood in Visual Culture

Abstract

This essay traces the image of the aba pagum [“defective dad”] as canonized by the viral Facebook group of the same name. The author suggests that Israeli men’s identification with this representation of fatherhood expresses an ambivalence regarding their perception and experience of the paternal role due to the conflicting gender expectations ingrained in Israeli culture and society. The article examines how this complex identity is formulated visually in Israeli popular culture and the visual arts through diverse media: children’s books illustrations, self-images shared by members of the Aba Pagum group on social media, and the self- and family portraits created by artists Boaz Tal, Guy Ben- Ner, and Asaf Hanuka. Analysis of these self-representations reveals the power of visual culture as an arena of negotiation and formation of changing identities of fatherhood and masculinity and their discourse.