Fathers have become seen as not needed or inconsequential.
A perfect example is a recent thread here on Free Republic, in which a young girl said that she was the girl who gave her baby life. She had found herself with an unplanned pregnancy, and rejected abortion. And she told her story about how she and her baby were doing.
Not once did that girl ever mention anything about her boyfriend, or what role that he would have in her baby’s life. She talked a lot about how supportive her parents and family and friends were, but not one word about how she got pregnant, or what role he had in her life or her baby’s life.
Maybe he’s no longer in her life, and that’s why nothing was said about him. But, our cultural norms are such that it’s not unusual for a father to have no significant role in the lives of their children.
Maybe he’s no longer in her life, and that’s why nothing was said about him. But, our cultural norms are such that it’s not unusual for a father to have no significant role in the lives of their children.
How many boys just entering puberty, if and when they are told the facts of human reproduction, are asked to visualize becoming fathers some day?
I remember the sex education classes we took (film presentations in sixth grade, I believe there were separate classes for boys and girls). I don't recall hearing anything to place the biological processes within a moral and social framework. What was presented was pretty much pure biology. Something can and will come along to fill the vacuum that should have been filled with moral and social values and that thing was and is popular culture, which cares only about the present moment and self-gratification.
So what happens is that "father" never enters the head of the young boy, and when the girl says "I'm pregnant" he's off in a flash.
The girl is filled with shame and heartbreak at her abandonment, and would rather not dwell on that, but rather on hope and a future for her child. She isn't silent because she doesn't think the boy who caused her pregnancy is irrelevant, she's silent because the pain is too great.
On another note, I heard not too long ago about a single woman, never married, middle aged, who decided to adopt a little girl. That little girl has no father.