Popular (Progressive) Myths About Fatherlessness in Our Culture
Part 1
When facilitating, teaching, or writing about controversial topics such as Critical Race Theory, Social Justice, and Popular Fatherless Myths, I warn people that I am an equal opportunity offender, which usually brings awkward laughter and smiles in the workshops and Lunch & Learns. When I address hot-button culture war issues that intersect with fatherlessness, I believe that one of my responsibilities as a teacher, facilitator, writer, and minister of the gospel is to put on the umpire uniform or zebra shirt and call balls and strikes or fouls and penalties as I thoroughly examine these socio-cultural issues that impact our society. To preserve the gospel's integrity and uphold ethical principles based on Revelation, Christian Virtue, and Natural Law, I cannot, in good conscience, exchange my zebra shirt for a team jersey in these culture war battles.
When I wrote about the popular culture war myth "that most black fathers are not present in their children's lives," it made certain conservatives uncomfortable because it contradicted common right-wing talking points that racialized fatherlessness. Racializing fatherlessness is a red herring because it uncritically assumes debunked myths and stereotypes by ignoring the "myriad systemic forces that need to be addressed in tackling racism."1 However, progressives are not immune to criticism either. In fact, their myths about fatherlessness are quite concerning as they shake foundational pillars in American society and often result in inadvertent and haphazard harm to the poor. So, let me debunk two progressive myths about fatherlessness, which happen to be two sides of the same coin.
(1) Fathers play an optional role in the upbringing of children, and
(2) Fatherlessness causes no direct harm to children.
Almost fifteen years ago, an entertainment article caught my eye. It featured Jennifer Aniston promoting her film The Switch, about a woman who chooses to become a single parent through artificial insemination. Aniston, who had enjoyed commercial success in the Emmy-winning comedy Friends and several rom-com movies, defended the idea of single mothering by choice without a father's involvement:
"I think women are realizing that they don't have to settle with a man just to have that child...They realize that if it's that time in their life and they want this part, they can do it with or without men, and it's happening more and more. People aren't having kids in their 20s, so times have changed. I think that what is amazing is that we do have so many options these days, as opposed to our parents' generation. The point of the movie is that family is no longer defined as mother, father, two children, and a dog named Spot...This is not a traditional stereotype of the family we have been taught about. It has evolved." 2
Aniston's comment echoed some of the liberal talking points from a generation earlier. After enduring relentless ridicule from the writers of the Emmy award-winning comedy Murphy Brown, in 1992, Vice-President Dan Quayle assailed the progressive Hollywood elites following the infamous Birth 101 episode of Murphy Brown for normalizing the single-parent family and diminishing the father's role.
"It doesn't help matters when primetime TV has Murphy Brown—a character who supposedly epitomizes today's intelligent, highly paid, professional woman—mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone and calling it just another 'lifestyle choice,'" Quayle contended.3
A media and cultural firestorm ensued as the progressive left castigated Quayle for stigmatizing single moms for political gain. However, Quayle's salient point centered on the father's diminishing role in society. A point that Candace Bergen, the actress who played Murphy Brown's character as the highly successful single mother, actually agreed with Quayle a decade later.
"I never have really said much about the whole episode, which was endless. But his speech was a perfectly intelligent speech about fathers not being dispensable and nobody agreed with that more than I did."4
Right before the turn of the 21st century, an ambitious team of social science researchers from Princeton and Columbia Universities launched the Future of Families and Child Well-Being Study (FFCWS). They created a longitudinal study of approximately 5,000 children from primarily unmarried, black, Hispanic, and low-income families whose mothers birthed them between 1998 and 2000. The study was so comprehensive that
“the mothers were interviewed shortly after birth and fathers were interviewed at the hospital or by phone. Follow-up interviews were conducted when children were approximately ages 1, 3, 5, 9, 15, and 22. When weighted, the data are representative of births in large US cities. Beginning with the baseline interviews in 1998-2000, the core study was originally designed to primarily address four questions of great interest to researchers and policymakers: (1) What are the conditions and capabilities of unmarried parents, especially fathers?; (2) What is the nature of the relationships between unmarried parents?; (3) How do children born into these families fare?; and (4) How do policies and environmental conditions affect families and children?"5
Over time, the data being analyzed confirmed what those of us ministering to fatherless children already know: "Children need their fathers, even if the fathers are non-residential, and a father's absence harms children. Period."6
Dr. Anthony Bradley, Research Professor of Interdisciplinary and Theological Studies at Kuyper College, in his provocative piece, The Impact of Fathers: Evidence-Based Strategies for Churches, Non-Profits and Schools, agrees and concludes that "Fathers are the most important men in any community, anywhere, everywhere, ever. Fathers play a crucial role in shaping the future of their children and, by extension, the entire community." He underscores his argument with compelling data that illustrates the significance of father influence. Here are some highlights:
1."Father absence causes, not correlates with, teen negative impacts outcomes such as outcomes as high school graduation, social-emotional adjustment, teen risky behaviors (like substance abuse and early/teen pregnancy), and adult mental health."
2."In rural America, pre-teens and teens without fathers living in the home engage in more sexual activity.
3."Father-youth closeness drives the mental health of teenagers. If teens don't feel close to their fathers, they report having poor mental health. This is especially true for boys.
4."Fathers who aren't involved and attended to their kids in infancy turn their kids into tyrants by the age of 11."
5."Father absence correlated with early puberty. The presence of a father has a profound biological function."
6."The likelihood that a young woman will engage in promiscuous behavior (and possibly drug use) in college is significantly influenced by whether or not she has a close relationship with her father. Period."
7."Middle-school and high-school students who are very close to their fathers are less likely to binge drink."
8. A "meta-analysis (study) reveals a statistically significant positive correlation between the degree of father involvement and children's academic performance." 7
If the data is so obvious that "children need their fathers, even if the fathers are non-residential, and a father's absence harms children," why are these popular fatherless myths still prevalent, especially among the elite cultural shapers in media, education, government, and the arts and entertainment in today's American society? I believe the answer lies in a neologism coined by a social commentator and writer, Rob Henderson, called Luxury Beliefs, which I will explain in Part 2.
Norman, Adrian. 2020. “The Myth of Black Father Absence.” The Epoch Times. October 31, 2020. https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/the-myth-of-black-father-absence-3556192.
“The Switch’s Jennifer Aniston Kids It Up.” 2010. The Georgia Straight. August 18, 2010. https://www.straight.com/article-338925/vancouver/switchs-single-girl-kids-it.
“Quayle, ‘Murphy Brown,’ Speech Text.” n.d. Voices of Democracy. https://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/quayle-murphy-brown-speech-text-2/.
“Candice Bergen Says Dan Quayle Was Right.” EW.com. 2024. https://ew.com/article/2002/07/11/candice-bergen-says-dan-quayle-was-right/.
“About the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study.” n.d. Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study. https://ffcws.princeton.edu/about.
National Fatherhood Initiative. 2024. Father Facts 9.
Bradley, Anthony B. 2024. “The Impact of Fathers: Evidence-Based Strategies for Churches, Non-Profits and Schools.” Substack.com. Anthony B. Bradley. June 11, 2024. https://anthonybbradley.substack.com/p/the-impact-of-fathers-evidence-based.