Louise B. Silverstein and Carl F. Auerbach

In the following viewpoint, Louise B. Silverstein and Carl F. Auerbach argue that traditional fathers may not be necessary to a child’s well-being. They contend that children need stable, loving role models, and two parents are better than one, but they maintain that families do not have to adhere to the traditional father-plus-mother model for children to have positive outcomes. Silverstein and Auerbach challenge the neoconservative essentialist paradigm that asserts that men and women are biologically and culturally geared toward specific parental roles. They conclude that parenting duties are interchangeable, and that nontraditional households—such as single-parent, gay-parent, and step-parent—can successfully raise children. Silverstein and Auerbach are researchers at Yeshiva University in New York.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. Why do the...