by Trisha Orlando

Created on: January 19, 2008

Raising Daughters Without Women

Physically, it is not possible! There has to be a woman somewhere along the line in order for the daughter to exist.

Now that we have that clarified, let's move on.

The topic for this article indicates the subject is raising a daughter without women. Not "a woman" so we have to assume the goal of this article includes all women. Perhaps the title should be more descriptive, let's call it:

"Raising A Daughter As A Single Parent In An All Male World"

This is going to be challenging. Not for me as a writer, but for the Father.

Let's imagine what it would be like if a man had to take responsibility for the traditional roles a woman plays in a daughters life:

* The first and most obvious problem is going to be explaining what a menstrual cycle is and then helping her get through it when Mother Nature bestows this mysterious act of nature upon your daughter,

* Clothing. Men simply do not understand the need for clothing and accessories outside of the basic human needs. Will Dad understand why Missy needs 4 pairs of shoes, 3 pairs of colored sandals, and 4 pairs of boots? In a man's world they need just 1 pair from each of the basic shoe groups: work, leisure time and special occasion.

* Make Up. Dad of course will tell his daughter she is beautiful without any make up. Her natural beauty does not need to be enhanced. Upon her insistence, will Dad be able to show her the correct way to apply eyeliner to enhance her eyes?

* Broken Heart. This is bound to happen and the odds are, it will happen more than once. Can a man be sympathetic? Or will he say "I'll go have a word with THAT young man! No one breaks my little girl's heart and gets away with him. That boy needs some sense pounded into him"

* Birds and The Bees. Can a man possible relate this information in anything less than a cold, calculating, to the point way? It's going to take more than 5 minutes, you know.

* Moodiness. Oh boy, this is going to be a big hurdle to cover. Historically, men have not been able to understand female moods. I don't see a change coming anytime in this century.

I don't expect this article to win any rave reviews for me. I think that I have an excellent, above average, imagination and this scenario of raising a daughter in a world void of women is just not in the realm of possibility.

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