There's Always A MarketFor books that
go against the grain.
Peggy Drexler's highly publicized new book, "Raising Boys Without Men: How Maverick Moms Are Creating the Next Generation of Exceptional Men," contends that father-absent homes -- particularly "single mother by choice" and lesbian homes -- are the best environments for boys. Drexler recently told "Good Morning America" that boys do great without dads, and her "maverick moms" always seem to have a better way of handling their sons than a dad would.As the reviewer points out, this claim is ridiculous on its face, and it is clear that the book is intended to be a "feel-good" seller to the lesbian and single-mom crowd.
The rates of the four major youth pathologies -- juvenile crime, teen pregnancy, teen drug abuse and school dropouts -- are more tightly correlated with fatherlessness than with any other socioeconomic factor, including income and race. While Drexler waxes poetic about fatherless parenting, she makes little attempt to explain why it results in bad outcomes for so many kids.A lot of people read facts like the above and assume that this is some sort of slam at single mothers. It's not. Most kids raised by single mothers turn out fine; just not at the same percentage rate as kids raised by a mother and dad.
