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No Child Aboard — Notes to songs
Please note that when reading this material one must be aware that the percentages shown are based on samples of non-custodial men and are not necessarily an accurate representation of the whole population of non-custodial men. Of course, to know the true feelings of all non-custodial parents one would have to interview every single non-custodial parent, which would be an expensive if not impossible task.The quotes and findings shown are taken out of studies, which should be read in context to the whole study. Please bear this in mind when reading these. It is hoped that these may spark interest in the reader to follow up on the articles. Research also differs in its methodology, which in turn can affect its validity. One should realise that no study or research is without its flaws, and interpretations of results inherently involve subjective insights, therefore, it would be folly to regard the following information as any kind of bible of "facts." Nevertheless, the findings may be useful for non-custodial parents to validate their feelings and experiences.
The songs relating to perceived gender issues, such as Crappy Father's Day, Sad situation and Men out there, reflect the feelings felt by some non-custodial parents. "...The majority (55%) of the [non-custodial] fathers were very concerned about what they identified as anti-male bias in the Family Court system." (McMurray and Blackmore, 1993, p.153) Men are all sick bastards, was written about the little known hostility that the mother can have towards the father of the children. Often this hostility and domestic violence are an aggression, in the form of denying access, or regarding the children as possessions and depriving the children of their father. The following statistics reflect these themes: -
81% of non-custodial men "described their former partners as obstructive, undermining and uncooperative when it came to arranging visits with their children." (McMurray & Blackmore, 1993, p.153) -
"20% of the women saw no use in the father's visits and actively tried to sabotage each meeting. This fighting between parents reached pathological, even bizarre intensity, one refined mother, for example, smeared dog faeces on the face of her husband when he arrived to see his children." (Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980 p.1536-1537).
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45% of the [non-custodial] fathers found that the wife was frequently opposed to the visits (Gibson, 1992, p.3). 50% of fathers had a problem with the breakdown of access arrangements (Gibson, 1992).This study had a sample size of 125 non custodial fathers.
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Relationship with ex-spouse rated as poor by 75% of men (Gibson, 1992).
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"Two thirds [66%] found that [access] visits were always too short." (Gibson, 1992, p.3)
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Updates:
2007 12 22 (reformated) |
