What Kind of Father Would You Want to Raise Your Children?

     Feminism is a topic we discussed at length this semester. I came into this class with little to no accurate information on what feminism was or what feminist stood for. As classes continued and discussion spurred, I learned that I personally would come to agree and support many points that feminist argue for. Along with this new knowledge would come questions, many of them. Yet even in all the questions raised, one managed to stand out above the rest. What Kind of father do I want to be?

Katie M. Berggren, Bright As the Sun

     The question which may appear simple, I have in fact found to be very complex.  It stemmed from the transformation of my opinions on both how a man is defined and what a man should stand for. A great man once told me his children will be his greatest contribution to the world, and these are words that I fully believe in. As such, I see no more important of a  task that a man can have than being a good father to his children. So what makes a good father?

     Every person knows that children, especially sons, think their fathers are perfect super heroes who can do no wrong, but realistically it is very easy to mess up raising your child. The media does a great job documenting this everyday. The image a father represents to his children will shape their lives both through the children's' future actions to imitate their father and even in future relationships that the children will have as they will value their relationships off the relationship they saw between their mother and a father. Considering all this, what chioces do I have in the image I present?
     Do I want to present an authoritarian patriarch or an equal partner to my wife? Do I want to present my wife as my home maker or a women who can accomplish anything I can do equally regardless of her sex? Do I want my children to think I Love my job more than them or do I want them to know I love them more than I could love any job? All these questions and many more similar ones must be answered in order to present myself as a good father to my future children.

Eastman Johnson, Christmas Time the Blodgett Family, 1864

     For my semester project, I have chosen to write an illustrated essay on the topic of Feminism and Fatherhood. I have chosen the topic because among my many goals in life, raising a loving family is of high priority. Inspired by this class, I researched numerous studies to first describe what the current fatherhood ideals are and than to discover what feminism can add to these ideals to produce "feminist fathers" that will help shape the world by raising generations of early enlightened citizens. As I said above, Feminism is something new to me, something I am just picking up now, towards the end of my education, I do not want my children to be at the same disadvantage. Using classic and new art to illustrate the essay, It is my hope to have all men, who one day may consider becoming fathers, read this article and be inspired. Inspired to both be a father and to a "new father" who is enlightened in feminism and the future of equality and to use the inspiration to be the best fathers they can be. Children are a part of their parents legacy, this knew ideal fathering can all brighten those legacies.


Click the following link to read, The Father I Want to Be.

Biography

Berggren, Katie M. "Bright as the Sun." Web. 3 Dec. 2013. 
Eversoll, Deanna. "A Two Generational View of Fathering." The Fanily Coordinator 28.4 (1979): 503-08. JSTOR. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.

"Family Bath by Dodus-Taichou." DeviantArt. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. <http://dodus-taichou.deviantart.com/art/Family-Bath-200935069>.

Harris, Kathleen M., and S. P. Morgan. "Fathers, Sons, and Daughters: Differental Paternal Involvment in Parenting." Jounal of Marriage and Family 53.3 (1991): 531-44. JSTOR. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.

"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Metropolitan Museum of Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/29.100.48>.

"John Bull, Cooking Housewives, UK, 1950." Art.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. <http://www.art.com/products/p10049400087-sa-i5824268/john-bull-cooking-housewives-uk-1950.htm>.
Johnson, Eastman. "Christmas Time the Blodgett." Web. 03 Dec. 2013

Messner, Michael A. ""Changing Men" and the Feminist Politics in the United States." Theory and Society 22.5 (1993): 723-37. Springer. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.

Ranson, Gillian. "Men at Work: Change-- or No Change?-- in the Era of the "New Father"" Men and Masculinities 4.3 (2001): n. pag. SAGE. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.

White, Aaronette M. "African American Feminist Fathers' Narritives of Parenting." Journal of Black Psychology 32.43 (2006): n. pag. SAGE. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.