Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Feminists against DNA tests

A UK feminist writes in a magazine:
DNA tests are an anti-feminist appliance of science, a change in the balance of power between the sexes that we’ve hardly come to terms with. And that holds true even though many women have the economic potential to provide for their children themselves. ...

Now I can see that some men might rather welcome an end to the old-fashioned scenario whereby they find themselves held to account for the paternity of children born to girls with whom they just happen to have had sex. The actor Jude Law recently found himself in just this position, and unhesitatingly and ungallantly demanded a DNA test.

By contrast, the old situation, in which women presented men with a child, and the man either did the decent thing and offered support, or made a run for it, allowed women a certain leeway. The courtesan in Balzac who, on becoming pregnant, unhesitatingly sought, and got, maintenance from two of her men friends, can’t have been the only one. Uncertainty allows mothers to select for their children the father who would be best for them.

The point is that paternity was ambiguous and it was effectively up to the mother to name her child’s father, or not. (That eminently sensible Jewish custom, whereby Jewishness is passed through the mother, was based on the fact that we only really knew who our mothers are.) Many men have, of course, ended up raising children who were not genetically their own, but really, does it matter? You can feel quite as much tenderness for a child you mistakenly think to be yours as for one who is. ... But in making paternity conditional on a test rather than the say-so of the mother, it has removed from women a powerful instrument of choice. I’m not sure that many people are much happier for it.
Yeah, the sluts committing paternity fraud are not happy about it. They would like to have babies, and have separate men for sexual relations, genetic fatherhood, and financial support.

There are many women who could be supporting their kids by themselves, but it hardly ever happens. If the father is not in the home, them the mom is nearly always getting some sort of welfare or similar support.

4 comments:

Penguin said...

McDonagh's column merely reinforces a cultural battle the feminists have already won.

The Conspiracy Against Cuckolds

"There appears to be a consensus among medical professionals that husbands should not be told when they are not their wife’s child’s father."

Since that's an "ethics" decision there's no law to repeal, no court case to overturn. It's not a government act, so it can propagate around the world unchecked. It's a silent failure so almost will ever no about the conspiracy of lies.

Anonymous said...

remarkable, a selective use of science and scientific principles to suit the needs and agenda of the beneficiary. DNA testing really should be mandatory at the birth of a child so there is no question who is the responsible biological father. If a man wishes to raise a child not his, then that's his perogative. A woman saying "it doesn't matter who the parents were, it's a child and that's all that matters" is disingenuous at best. The mother ALWAYS knows who the mother is so it's easy for her. Why is it unfair for a man to have that same assurance the child is his? Fathers don't have feelings? They don't have a sense of biological attachment? Au contraire. And I don't buy the argument that this makes for a more stable society by making sure a child is financially provided for at the man's expense. You got pregnant in an uncommitted relationship, take the responsibility and don't stick it to the nearest handy wallet w/testicles attached. It is economically and morally destroying the men in this society. Establish who the real father is and make him pay, or let the non-biological "father" have the choice to support or not. Thanks for posting this, another case of wanting one's cake and eating it as well.

Unknown said...

DNA testing by way of oral swabs is by far the standard procedure of sample collection as it's really quick to perform; nevertheless DNA tests, such as paternity testing.

DNA Tests

Anonymous said...

What about the woman who was raped and in a abusive relationship and was afraid to get out because of threats that was made onto them and the guy follows through where is her right to protect that child from harm if he can do a DNA test? Who's going to protect her and her child? The law don't it's up to the Mom to do so. I don't believe that DNA should be used to see who anyone belongs to. So I say stop DNA testing