The X and Y of fatherhood

Colours have become unisex; so have some names; in the world of fashion, women wear pants and, well men wear pants too; and if you were to look at genres as far as films and books are concerned, gender no longer defines choices, at least not in a significant way. There are no clear gender boundaries in the way we view, consume or assimilate what’s on offer. Hence I have come to believe the term fatherhood – for that matter the term motherhood too – has no social significance. I am not trying to belittle the role that fathers – or mothers – play in the lives of their offspring but merely pointing out that it’s about time that traditional gender role play attached to the two terms is questioned. The dictionary defines fatherhood as the state of being a father. Change the first two letters of the word to mo in your search bar and the corresponding meaning also changes to the state of being a mother. Both these meanings clearly explain that the difference is only in the chromosomes – it is us who over the centuries have created (then destroyed, only to create new ones) stereotypes, templates and an unimaginable set of expectations from each of these roles. Tusshar Kapoor is a case in point. This Bollywood actor is doing a damn good job of being a father – and a mother – to his four-year-old son (read his interview on page 6). Similarly the single mothers on page 8 have done a great job of being fathers to their kids. So to start with, shouldn’t Tusshar be celebrating Mother’s Day too and the single mothers Father’s Day? I wonder if someone from the greeting-card industry is working on a portmanteau of the two words already. Apparently, there is a Global day of Parents – June 1. About time we start to celebrate this day. Agree?