Redefining Fatherhood

Rating:
Summary: American Fatherhood under a microscope
Review: This book begins with: "It's Father's Day. This year, we will honor fathers by making them more visible. We will not give them a day off but rather a day on, a day at the center of things...."

It is a given that most of our children are fatherless in the strictest sense of that word - we are plagued with an absence of fathers in our children's lives, for whatever reason - be they unmarried, divorced or workaholics. Practically the only use for fathers, is their ability to provide & that does not make for a caring, nurturing relationship that will raise healthy children.

How did fatherhood get this way? Professor Dowd explores, with impressive research, the state of fatherhood in America today - its historical context within in the family, the community & the law; on constitutional, biological & economic levels.

It is ironic that the very system of laws that were founded by & for men living within our erstwhile patriarchy, is now the very instrument by which men are dispossessed & vilified as fathers. Time for a change!

It's not so much that the Civil Rights' or Women's Movements changed the direction in which the evolution of our laws & ideas were going, so much as they sprang open the manacles that bound us to a system that was no longer working.

First the Industrial Revolution altered forever fathers' places within families, then the availability of divorce promoted father-absent families - thus setting the scene for the abandonment of fatherhood. With so many laws against a man who could not or would not fit the marriage pigeonhole, it is no wonder modern fathers have been more distant from their offspring than their patriarchal forefathers.

This is not an erudite book about trashing deadbeat dads nor a face-saving diatribe in favor of mealy-mouth moms - it is about men as nurturers, as caregivers to the children of our society. It is about redefining men's places in our children's lives - creating a new kind of fatherhood.

There is only one nation in the world today that has set its constitution & its economy toward a more gender-neutral, gender-equal fatherhood model & that is Sweden. We Americans have a lot to learn!

What a read - what a challenge! If you are at all interested in how fatherhood got the way it is & where it might be going; if you are wondering how the laws of our land have proscribed parenthood & marriage; if you're trapped in an unhappy, meaningless role model & want some new direction - then I suggest you read Redefining Fatherhood & take a look around you. We have much to do & Professor Dowd has given us an abundance of ideas & strategies.

Rating:
Summary: American Fatherhood under a microscope
Review: This book begins with: "It's Father's Day. This year, we will honor fathers by making them more visible. We will not give them a day off but rather a day on, a day at the center of things...."

It is a given that most of our children are fatherless in the strictest sense of that word - we are plagued with an absence of fathers in our children's lives, for whatever reason - be they unmarried, divorced or workaholics. Practically the only use for fathers, is their ability to provide & that does not make for a caring, nurturing relationship that will raise healthy children.

How did fatherhood get this way? Professor Dowd explores, with impressive research, the state of fatherhood in America today - its historical context within in the family, the community & the law; on constitutional, biological & economic levels.

It is ironic that the very system of laws that were founded by & for men living within our erstwhile patriarchy, is now the very instrument by which men are dispossessed & vilified as fathers. Time for a change!

It's not so much that the Civil Rights' or Women's Movements changed the direction in which the evolution of our laws & ideas were going, so much as they sprang open the manacles that bound us to a system that was no longer working.

First the Industrial Revolution altered forever fathers' places within families, then the availability of divorce promoted father-absent families - thus setting the scene for the abandonment of fatherhood. With so many laws against a man who could not or would not fit the marriage pigeonhole, it is no wonder modern fathers have been more distant from their offspring than their patriarchal forefathers.

This is not an erudite book about trashing deadbeat dads nor a face-saving diatribe in favor of mealy-mouth moms - it is about men as nurturers, as caregivers to the children of our society. It is about redefining men's places in our children's lives - creating a new kind of fatherhood.

There is only one nation in the world today that has set its constitution & its economy toward a more gender-neutral, gender-equal fatherhood model & that is Sweden. We Americans have a lot to learn!

What a read - what a challenge! If you are at all interested in how fatherhood got the way it is & where it might be going; if you are wondering how the laws of our land have proscribed parenthood & marriage; if you're trapped in an unhappy, meaningless role model & want some new direction - then I suggest you read Redefining Fatherhood & take a look around you. We have much to do & Professor Dowd has given us an abundance of ideas & strategies.