Özbek, Ege A.Ege A.Özbek2025-12-012025-12-012025978-3-98989-055-8https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/111813This paper examines the representation of fatherhood and masculinity in Leave No Trace (2018) within the framework of postfeminist discourse. By focusing on the evolving father-daughter relationship, the film challenges both traditional paternal roles and the postfeminist construction of the new father. Will, the protagonist, embodies a masculinity that oscillates between hegemonic ideals of strength and the postfeminist emphasis on emotional engagement and caregiving. However, his repeated failures to protect and provide for his daughter problematize the idealized construction of postfeminist fatherhood. The paper explores how the film engages with the notion of postfeminist fatherhood, which, as scholars such as Hannah Hamad argue, reconfigures traditional masculinity rather than dismantling patriarchal norms. Additionally, the wilderness setting serves as both a site of refuge and a space of tension, reinforcing Will’s isolation while simultaneously enabling his daughter, Tom, to develop independence. As a “wise-beyond-her-years daughter” (Hamad 111), Tom’s character plays a pivotal role in reversing traditional power dynamics between father and child. The film subverts the conventional fatherhood narrative by emphasizing Tom’s growth into an authoritative figure, ultimately disrupting the presumed stability of postfeminist masculinity. This shift challenges cinematic conventions that typically position the father as the central figure of transformation, offering instead a narrative in which the daughter emerges as the agent of change. Drawing on theories of postfeminism, hegemonic masculinity, and cinematic fatherhood, this paper argues that Leave No Trace resists the redemptive narrative typically found in postfeminist fatherhood films, instead presenting an unresolved tension between fatherly authority and the daughter’s emerging agency. By positioning Will as an angst-ridden figure whose masculinity fails to conform to either traditional or postfeminist ideals, the film critically engages with contemporary gender discourses, highlighting the complexities and contradictions inherent in modern representations of fatherhood.engKeywords Postfeminismfatherhoodmasculinityfather-daughter relationshipLeave No Trace070bookpart