By Luciano Ramos
On the eve of Father's Day, many questions run through our heads, mainly about the father's place, in a patriarchal society, in which machismo insists on removing men from this place; where men are the perpetrators, they make victims and also suffer the impacts of the sexist structure created by them. Researcher and PhD student in Public Health Camila Rebouças says that “Fatherhood saves men.”, and I completely agree with her. Yes, “fatherhood saves men!” Salvation means “freeing yourself from something to move toward something else.”
This text is not intended to be religious, but to think about salvation from a social, emancipatory perspective. Fatherhood protects man.
The report “ The situation of fatherhood in Brazil: Time to act ” published in 2019 by the Promundo Institute shows that 82% of men are interested in doing what is necessary for their sons and daughters to grow and develop fully. This is already an important fact, as men bring the idea of caring for others (son/daughter) to the center of their lives. Qualifying this care is an important support strategy for the development of these fatherhoods. The same report tells us that 100% of men will experience the practice of care throughout their lives. If careful and responsible fatherhood protects and saves men, the experience of fatherhood could be the gender-transformative approach to a gender-equitable society, since fatherhood is an important window for the much-desired change in masculinities.
Men who care become important references for boys.
Responsible and careful fatherhood is a reference for other masculinity performances in a world where violence is increasingly stronger. For parents of girls, participatory fatherhood makes girls experience, from the domestic environment, gender equality and not accept relationships different from these in the spaces where they move throughout their lives.
What is the father's place? The place of affection! Affection is the first place that fatherhood needs to find shelter, at the same time that affection seeks a place in fatherhood. Experiencing the experience of affection through fatherhood is transformative and revolutionary! This text could be technical or academic, but today I allow myself to be neither of those things, but just to talk about this love that saves us, protects us and leads us to deep relationships!
Happy Father's Day!
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