Grafted, crosslinked cellulosic materials used in absorbent articles, the grafted crosslinked cellulosic materials including cellulose fibers and polymer chains composed of at least one monoethylenically unsaturated acid group-containing monomer (such as acrylic acid) grafted thereto, in which one or more of the cellulose fibers and the polymer chains are crosslinked (such as by intra-fiber chain-to-chain crosslinks). Some of such materials are characterized by a wet bulk of about 10.0-17.0 cm3/g, an IPRP value of about 1000 to 7700 cm2/MPa·sec, and/or a MAP of about 7.0 to 38 cm H2O. Methods for producing such materials may include grafting polymer chains from a cellulosic substrate, followed by treating the grafted material with a crosslinking agent adapted to effect crosslinking of one or more of the cellulosic substrate or the polymer chains.