Of the traditional institutions, the family is the one that has experienced the most changes. And in relation to these changes, a fundamental aspect has been the one related to the paternity.
The sociologist Celedonio Jimenez He explained that in the past, the youths They were looking to meet their academic and professional goals to contract marriage and have children immediately.
“Today, it can be said, that many youths assume the free Unionbut not with the aim of having children, at least not immediately. Typically, the paternity “It is a distant expectation,” said the member of the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic.
In his opinion, in addition to the fact that many parents do not comply with their responsibilitymany youths They move away from their commitment to paternity.
“Without taking away from the importance of economic factors, I believe that the distancing of the paternity It is not always the case because studies and work are put first. There are those who have adequate conditions economic and have completed their studies and do not assume the paternity. I think that in many cases the expectations of freedom and autonomy, of enjoying life without commitments, weigh more,” he commented in an interview with Free Newspaper.
He pointed out that the paternity has not had in the Dominican Republic a character that satisfactorily tunes in with the best, with what is expected, with factors such as the destructuring of the familythe absence of the father at home, the large number of family single-parent and female-headed households (estimated at over 35 percent), which are a strong challenge to the paternity and Dominican masculinity.
On the other hand, in the country there is a high percentage, the highest in the region pregnancy Teen. Jiménez explained that “it is very difficult, although not impossible, for a young couple to have children (pregnancy Teen) can complete their studies. They get involved in a whirlwind that makes it difficult for them to improve.”
When asked who bears the greatest burden in these cases, he said that the mother Teen carries on his shoulders the greatest weight and limitations.
“This has to do with the intolerance against the female sex that predominates in our society. society“, he added.
An example of them is that, when collecting statistics about pregnancy and birth rate, the data taken into account are those of the mothermost of the time ignoring the contribution of the father.
“The weight of the statistics falls on the girl’s case, because in a society patriarchal “Like ours, a slip-up is more punishable against a young woman, because men are designed to act without the limits imposed on women. The culture that imposes limits on one gender, and not so much on the male gender, is part of the explanation for the phenomenon,” said the sociologist.
She also believes that the age limit for a man to impregnate a woman should not be seen as a purely biological problem, given that the female reproductive capacity begins to be affected after the age of 35, while men can procreate throughout their lives because it is expected that semen production will not cease.
“The age limit should also be seen as a matter of correct viability of the paternity. But as our society is a society sexist, then see that there is no limit for the man to get pregnant, and not consider the question of the responsibility paternal, has become normal in our society. Unfortunately, the question is whether or not a man has sexual potency,” he cited as the focus of the debate.
Individual enjoyment
The Sociology teacher recognizes that “the youths They seek to be recognized as an entity subject to rights. Primarily, they seek the exercise of a sexuality free, they march after imposing their individual ethics, they pursue the realization of their expectations regarding a high consumption of cultural goods, such as, for example, vehicles, cell phones, clothes, cosmetics and a whole range of body attire.”
Jiménez emphasized that “they pursue freedom for individual enjoyment, they seek to attract attention, they seek personal affirmation, that is why the boom of the tattoos in our culture today. The paternity and reproduction occupy a distant step within their current expectations.”
“We must not fail to point out, however, that the significant number of youths of both sexes in our universitiesspeaks of a significant proportion of youths with an adequate vision of the future,” he said.
Economic factor
About the needs economic and coverage of the basic basket today, unlike large families with up to 10 or 15 children so common in the times of grandparents and great-grandparents, Jiménez stressed that “certainly the economic, the cost of the family basket, the cost of services, education and health, has slowed the number of children in the home, which on average today is 2.2 children per household or per woman.”
“A greater awareness of children’s education and not believing that ‘every child comes with his own bread under his arm’ has also played a role here,” added the distinguished professor from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD).
“Young people seek to be recognized as an entity subject to rights, primarily, they seek the exercise of free sexuality”Sociologist
Father of two generations
Sergio González has lived the paternity from two perspectives: being a father young and a father in the mature stage of his life.
At 55 years old, the cabinetmaking professor became father For the third time, a girl who just turned one year old, 24 years younger than Rosa, her older sister.
“I have always been very attached to my children, what varies is the economic situation and the experience. When you are father of different generations, it is generally not with the same motherbecause women end their productivity cycle at a very early age,” he said. father of three.
In a joking tone, he said that his procreative work has not ended since the desire to have a boy is still latent and if he finds a new partner, he would try without thinking twice.
On the different experiences of being father in two distinct stages, Gonzalez, who defined himself as “father single,” he admitted that with his first two daughters he had to work hard in the furniture workshop and it was more difficult for him to combine the role of father with the house supplier.
“Now I am more free from pressure and I have more experience“she said of the quality time she spends with her youngest.
