Daddy and Papa response by Dakota Peschel

Daddy and Papa is an important look at the lives of gay fathers in America and the adversity they face on a daily basis. Whether it be seemingly innocent sounding questions, or scrutinizing gazes, they constantly are under pressure to be the best parents because they are “non-traditional”. These families, even though they love their children very much, are under constant pressure because they are different, and according to the American ideal of equality, this is unfair, and this movie’s goal is to let the audience view an intimate glimpse of the lives of 4 families where the parents are gay men.

These men had as much, if not more compassion and love for their children than any mother, yet because they are men, it is assumed that they will not be good parents. Their gender, nor their sexuality take away from their capacity to be good parents, contrary to popular belief. Every person who was documented that had children was raising them to be normal, healthy, functioning members of society. The children all did normal things, whether it was the little boy who was showing an extreme interest in sports, or the daughter who played the cello. These kids did not stand out among their peers for any reason other than the sexual preference of their parents, and it is sad to see that even though our society is becoming increasingly open about this stuff, gay parents still need to prove themselves and their responsibilities.

In the film, the parents discussed how they had to be completely checked out in order to adopt, yet straight parents only need to have sex in order to make a baby. This brings into question family dynamics and healthy families. Are teenagers more prepared to become fathers and mothers than 30 something gay men who have careers and houses and are financially stable? It blows my mind that even though teen pregnancy is frowned upon, these young kids can have children whenever they want, yet these gay men have to go through an entire background check in order to adopt kids who need to find good homes.