The Importance Of Single Motherhood

The debate that will be discussed in this paper concerns the purpose of fathers in today’s society, specifically whether fathers are an important part of a family or if the mere presence of another figure is what matters. As more and more women are earning college degrees and becoming the primary breadwinners for their household, men’s roles have somewhat slid into the background and have been obfuscated. There are many perspectives on this issue that explore different ideas including whether children need their biological father, if single motherhood provides enough resources for children to thrive, and the effects of having diverse family forms. A few debaters have taken the issue and almost used it as a platform for their own beliefs resulting

Jane Mattes states that issue is not gender and that a single parent can raise a child successfully. She explains that fathers play important roles although they can be destructive and abusive and thus children can do just fine without their biological father as they have many role models and figures in their life. She acknowledges that “a good, loving man absolutely can be a real asset to a family” but this figure need not be the biological father to have positive influence. Michele Weldon believes that society automatically thinks kids are doomed if they don’t have fathers. She explains that they are not and are even better off because their fathers were not supporting and loving. Continuing to explain that there is no proof that shows they need fathers and that there are several great men in history that did not have fathers. She says that there are too many fathers that do such a poor job and they are the reason that kids are better off without

Jane Mattes jumped around and arguing for both sides it seemed, leaving the reader confused and unsure of her position. Michele Weldon is a single mother herself and this affects the strength of the argument as it appears she is defending her personal life choices as opposed to presenting a logical, cohesive debate. Her argument is based on the logic that kids do not need fathers because the fathers out there are not good, which is simply a logical fallacy. There was a lack of evidence and the emotion interfered with the strength of their