I read these articles today, about a study that was done to determine something called “paternal discrepancy”; which is where the father is not the biological father for whatever reason. While, it is not that interesting to me that they did this study, it is interesting to me that they determined that about 4% of people out there (that is an average) are living with fathers that are not their biological father.
from Reuters.com:
Perhaps one out of every 25 dads could unknowingly be raising another man’s child, a finding that has huge health and social implications, according to report released Wednesday.
Exposing so-called paternal discrepancy — when a child is identified as being biologically fathered by someone other than the man who believes he is the father — could lead to family violence and the breakup of many families. On the other hand, leaving paternal discrepancy hidden means having the wrong genetic information, which could have health consequences.
So basically, if you find out there is parental discrepancy, daddy may beat up or kill mommy and/or her boyfriend; and if you don’t find out about it, then you may contract something like diabetes because you didn’t know you were at risk. Pretty heavy implications! Suddenly, diddling with the milk man gets a new spin!
I guess the reason why these articles interested me, was because of the way that they play relationships very negatively (i.e.; 1 in 25 are victims of cheating), and show women as the perpetrators. Now, what about all those “extra fathers” out there? Not to say that I think that anyone should have more blame or less blame for sleeping around, I just know that it takes two to tango. Perhaps some of those “your not my” daddies have other children floating around out there that ARE theirs (that is what I am getting at, FYI). Either way, I find this pretty shocking that this is that (and in some cases even more) common.
All in all, I am pretty sure my dad is really my biological dad, considering that we look so much alike, but now I have to think about those people that you know (and you know the ones) that look nothing like their father. Something to think about!