Talk:Father

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Oh come on

This article could really use a complete rewrite. We have barely any (if any) mention of a father's relationship with his children and developmental consequences thereof (except as an "authority figure"), society's expectation of fathers, responsibilaties of fathers in different cultures, etc. etc. What we do have in the third paragraph: "According to Deleuze, the father authority exercises repression over sexual desire." This is just embarassing. Then halfway through the article the Christians get their turn to make it even more confusing. This could be the worst wikipedia entry I've seen yet. Would someone rewrite this?

Religious title

I think there's a few other religious denominations that refer to male priests as Father besides Roman Catholics and the Orthodox churches, but I am not 100% sure which ones they are. If anyone else knows what other religions use that title with their priests please feel free to add that. JesseG 04:23, 14 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

From personal contacts, I'm almost 100% certain Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism are not among those faiths who require its followers to address others as their fathers. --Menchi 06:32, 14 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

So glad this has been mentioned - the religious section is so Christian-dominated that it's just not very useful. Don't know enough to edit it myself, unfortunately, but coverage of other cultures would be fantastic. --DreamsReign 01:29, 16 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If the section is only about Christianity, then it should be headed "Christianity" instead of "Religion." Jonathan Tweet 15:56, 15 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I changed the heading to "Christianity" as suggested Daviticus82 19:33, 9 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"Surprise father"

Is that a real established term? [1] Google has only 600 hits, and most aren't even related to it, as defined in this article. --Menchi 07:19, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)

It is a real, established status which emphasises the psychological impact of discovering that he is the father of a grown-up child. The currency of the expression is to be found mainly in magazine and newspaper articles featuring 'people stories'. For example, the UK TV presenter Peter Snow apparently discovered he had fathered a kid in his wayward youth only many years afterwards. (Query: Perhaps there should be another term to describe celebrities who refuse to accept they have fathered a child - such claims not being uncommon.) The Google test here is not conclusive. JPF 00:25, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)

The latest high profile example is John Mortimer. JPF 20:23, 12 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Banketi

Where does that term for father come from? I lived in Germany for two years and speak German fluently. I have never heard anyone use "banketi" in reference to his or her father.

Relationship between father and son

This was added to the article: Especially in today's "politically correct" world, parental roles towards "mothering" and "fathering" have become less rigid and more "flexible." Otherwords, typical mothering roles can be taken on by the father, and fathering roles by the mother. But regardless of social context, the father possesses a unique relationship with his children: To sever the child's bond of maternal dependence, and lead the child into the world with responsibility and confidence.

In my opinion, this is more of an opinion than an encyclopedic sentence. I have removed it, but we may discuss here the convenience to keep it. What is more, there is the article Paternal bond which talks about this topic.

John C PI 22:46, 19 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Split out the Christianity section?

The section on Christianity seems out of place in this article. For the use with God there's already God the Father. For use with priests it seems more relevant in a article on clergy or priestly nomenclature, if there is one. At any rate, the use of 'father' for biological father vs. a respectful title seem different enough to be in separate articles. How do other people feel? Tocharianne 01:32, 13 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

just wondering if some peeps might have an issue with calling religions "cults"? i'm atheist, but i'm just wondering Shakespeare Monkey 11:13, 23 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Certainly the section is a problem if it remains focused on christianity only. On the term "cult", that is the neutral anthropological term, while "religion" and "myth" have racist connotations.--SummerWithMorons 11:31, 23 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Far be it from me to claim knowledge about anthropological terms, but I've never heard a religion referred to as a 'cult', at least not by a source without an axe to grind. On the other hand, I've yet to encounter a negative connotation of the term 'religion' in mainstream circles. I, like Hellznrg, am an atheist, but the heading struck even me as being rather... inflammatory. 64.38.189.183 00:11, 24 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Merge with Non-human fatherhood

There was also a suggestion to merge non-human fatherhood here on that talk page. Tocharianne 01:32, 13 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That's a bad idea, because father is tied to the Roman word Pater which is strictly a head-of-household, patriarchal human relationship and is much different from, say, a "father" turtle or sea otter. Besides that, though, "dad" and "daddy" redirect here, and an article about male parents of all species would be inappropriate for those search terms. 24.148.118.190 08:38, 20 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Defined as male parent

The current revision says, "A father is defined as the male parent of an offspring.[citation needed]" The issue needing a citation should be clarified. It is clear that a male parent of an offspring is a father. What is not clear, without considerable source citations, is that only male parents of offspring can fit the definition of "father". What reliable sources state that one of two women raising a child cannot be, by some definition, the "father" of that child? (sdsds - talk) 00:17, 21 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Request a link

The Tufts University Child and Family WebGuide is a good resource on fathers. http://www.cfw.tufts.edu/topic/2/36.htm

The WebGuide is a directory that evaluates, describes and provides links to hundreds of sites containing child development research and practical advice. The WebGuide, a not-for-profit resource, was based on parent and professional feedback, as well as support from such noted child development experts as David Elkind, Edward Zigler, and the late Fred Rogers. Topics cover all ages, from early child development through adolescence. The WebGuide selects sites that have the highest quality child development research and that are parent friendly.

The fathers page of this site offers a wide variety of information about fathers and resources for fathers. Extensive research-based articles on issues surrounding fatherhood are presented, looking at absent fathers and father involvement issues, non-custodial and custodial single fathers, father-related policy issues, and more. The sites listed here offer substantial practical advice as well, on topics including responsible fathering, co-parenting, and healthy father involvement. Teamme 16:17, 23 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What?

This is perhaps the worst written article on this site--underdeveloped, poor transitions, horrible intro, etc. I agree with the "Oh come on" comment--needs complete rewrite. Could someone do so? I would but I'm afraid I'll screw it up even worse.

What?

This is perhaps the worst written article on this site--underdeveloped, poor transitions, horrible intro, etc. I agree with the "Oh come on" comment--needs complete rewrite. Could someone do so? I would but I'm afraid I'll screw it up even worse.