The Complementarity of Motherhood and Fatherhood: 
A Tour de Force of the Relevant Social Science

W. Bradford Wilcox*
Sociology Department, University of Virginia

In recent decades, feminists have been promoting an androgynous ethic that—among other things—seeks to deny gender differences in parenting. This paper surveys the relevant social science on parenting and finds that mothers and fathers typically have different talents when it comes to childrearing. Fathers, for instance, excel in challenging their children to overcome difficulties whereas mothers excel in reading the physical and verbal cues of their children. I conclude by arguing that NGOs, nations, and international organizations should foster rather than suppress the complementary styles of parenting found among fathers and mothers.

Read The Papers' Abstract:

• The Positive Impact of Marriage and Family Life By Wade F. Horn, Ph.D.

• The Family in Modern Economic Life By Dr. Gary S. Becker

• Blessing or Bane? The Role and Problems of Media in the Modern Family By Larrie E. Gale, Ph.D.

• "What's Happening to the Family?" By Joseph Chamie Director

• Paper Abstract of Georges Haddad Director Division of Higher Education UNESCO

• The Complementarity of Motherhood and Fatherhood: A Tour de Force of the Relevant Social Science By W. Bradford Wilcox

• Paper Abstract of Norval under the topic of Poromotal Marital and Social Stability

W. Bradford Wilcox, Department of Sociology, P.O. Box 400766, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4766. U.S.A.