<p>I had a long day of work yesterday but elements of this thread kept recurring as I drove between appointments. It’s taken as a given that Dads are one of the most important influences in how girls turn out as they grow into women.</p>
<p>I’m not the most comfortable with some feminist language but I think it’s important for Dad’s to foster a girl’s ability to see herself a sexual person, not a sexual object; the former has a much better chance of falling into healthy relationships, I think. There is a mass of popular culture to work against, the most appalling of which are some of the alcohol-fueled “Girls Gone Wild” and “Wet T-Shirt” contests. Aside from a misleading implication that sexuality is defined by size of breasts and how much they’re displayed, I’ve looked at the expressions of the girls in some of these photos and wondered, “What are they <em>thinking</em>?” “What are they <em>feeling</em>?” “How does this mesh with how they approach relationships?”</p>
<p>Definition by exclusion is sometimes a useful tool. Modeling a healthy attitude that is neither a negative and non-informative (and not terribly useful) “thou shalt not” and and an irresponsible “whatever” is essential. Though I think a lot of Dads would rather go do yard work or tinker with their car or whatever and hope the whole question would just go away.</p>
<p>I think.</p>
<p>At least today.</p>