Paul, Pamela. "Are Fathers Necessary?" The Atlantic July/August 2010: Web. 9 Sept 2010.
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In the article, “Are Fathers Necessary,” Pamela Paul begins to talk about Obama’s 2008 Father Day speech in which he said that fathers are critical in a family. He also said that children that aren’t raised with a father figure are “five times as likely to live in poverty and commit crime, nine times as likely to drop out of school, and 20 times as likely to wind up in prison.” Paul talks about how Obama was raised without a father, and now look at him. He proves that without a father, you can prosper, and even though Obama has a lot of researched facts, the fact that a kid cannot proper without a father can not be proven. She also talks about how many mom’s that are single are the first to disagree with the critics, saying that they can raise a child and help them become successful on their own. Paul says that single moms tend to be more involved, and way more caring to a fatherless child and on average, lesbian moms spend more time with their child then fathers do. Their kids see their moms as more dependable and are more open to discuss emotionally problems then kids are with hetero parents. Paul states that in our culture, we are all used to having both parents in the house hold, and some jobs that are meant to be for the father in a child’s life, a mother just can’t provide.
Pamela Paul has a very strong opinion on the controversy of a father’s role in a household. She thinks that a mother can do just fine without the father present, but having a father in the household is always a good thing in a child’s life. With more divorces happening in today’s society, a single mom can do just fine raising a child on her own, and lesbian parents provide a lot to a child in the emotional department. Paul thinks that fathers have no important and essential role in the household, but a father could always make a household better, considering mothers have become custom to the father contributing in today’s society. Paul thinks a woman has a traditional authoritative role in a child’s life, and even with a father present, the mother is not willing to give that up. She thinks that a father has a role in the income of a household, but this could be the case in any relationship regardless of gender. Whether it be gay, lesbian, or hetero, if there are two people in the household, one of the two will take the income role of the household. Pamela Paul stands firm to the idea that any family can raise a child properly, even if the parents are gay or hetero, but in today’s society, women have become to get used to a father being a part of a child’s life.
