The American Father

In The American Father, Wade C. Mackey documents a wealth of infor­ mation demonstrating the vast benefits to society when its children are raised in families with fathers. The biopsychosocial approach Mackey in human employs is consistent with the current treatment of topics development. This approach-which is grounded in a variety of diverse sources-assumes that we understand little about people when we study them a bit at a time; rather, the fullness of the individual requires a fullness of examination. For example, in the cases of fathers, we note that humans do not reproduce alone; after all, we are not an asexual species. No, human reproduction and its sequelae are social, just as clearly as they are biological, and involve the whole panoply of psychic function (mo­ tivation, sociability, intelligence, and the like). The evidence marshaled by Mackey indicates strongly that indi­ viduals and societies have an essential requirement for something more than mothering; they also need fathering. Much of the discourse and publication on fathers during the past several decades has been posited on a "more is better" model of male parenting in which it is seldom stated who it is better for-the father, the child, the mother, the couple, or the family. Further, much of this discussion infers that fathers are merely "Mr. Moms"; yet this is not so.

Contenu

The Abrading of the U.S. Fathers. Rationales for Entering into the U.S. Fathering Role: Men's Divulgences, Women's Perceptions. Looking for a Man to Child Bond: Setting Up the Fieldwork. Results of the Fieldwork: The Joys and Tedium of Promiscuous Empiricism. Those Two Filters Once Again: Tabula Rasa or Biocultural Paradigm? `Father': Perceptions until the 1970s. Father the Irrelevant Becomes Father the Underachieving. Fathers in the 1990s: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. U.S. Fathering: In Search of a Benchmark. Fathering in the Breccia: On the Banks of the Rubicon. Electra and Lady Macbeth. The U.S. Father: A Tragedy of the Commons? The Commons Will not Stay Fallow. Troglodyte or Semiconductor: Dad in the 21st Century. Index.