Mothers On Trial

I ran across a 650-page 1986 book, Mothers On Trial, that tries to make the case that mothers are unjustly denied custody too often. This was news to me, so I took a look.

On page 79, it claims to have scientific evidence that there are only 8 reasons why American fathers battled for child custody. They are:

1. Economically and psychologically refused to subsidize their ex wives' motherhood by paying alimony or child support; didn't want to move out or sell marital home or liquidate and divide other marital assets; wanted companionship of and control over the children they had to support
   
2. Punished "uppity" female behavior (desire to return to school, work, or career or to have an independent intellectual, religious or social life)
   
3. Punished maternal nonmarital sexual activity (heterosexual and lesbian) during marriage and after divorce
   
4. Punished wives' initiation of divorce
   
5. Had patriarchal concept of children as paternal "property." (A) Punished and prevented ex wives from moving away (the Apartheid factor)
   
6. Had patriarchal concept of children as paternal "property." (B) Initiated divorce and forcibly separated mothers from children by physically ejecting mothers
   
7. Had patriarchal concept of the male as the "su¬perior" parent, and competed with mothers for exclusive intimacy with children (the Smother-Father factor)
   
8. Were infertile or were remarried to infertile wives

Nowhere does it mention the most obvious reasons: that the fathers love their children; that kids do best when fathers are actively involved; and that the mothers may be unfit.

The book drips with man-hating nonsense on every page. I will soon be returning it to the library.