Motherhood and Fatherhood and the Family
             Every human being is socialized to behave in certain sets of behaviors and meanings. These behaviors and meanings will vary from culture to culture and there will even be variations within a culture. A major determining factor in how an individual might view themselves and their status and role within a society is learned from their parents and/or family. The meanings of the words "mother" and "father" are cross-culturally and historically variable. Whereas motherhood is biological it is also social. With the new wave of reproductive technologies, there have been many changes in the notions of family and kinship. In this paper we will first examine how parenting is gendered within the United States. Next we will examine the new models of kinship and family that are arising due to new reproductive technology. Finally we will examine three other cultures in order to get a cross-cultural perspective on motherhood and fatherhood; the Brazilians of Alto do Cruzeiro, Haitian women the practice Vodou and the Urban Baule. Whereas each culture ascribes the roles of mother and father differently there are also many similarities.
             In his article Fatherhood and the Mediating Role of Women Nicholas Townsend interviews men that graduated from the same high school in California in order to learn about their experiences as fathers. He believes that these men, and the experiences and ideas they have about fatherhood, are more or less typical of men in the United States. Townsend argues; "Parenting is deeply gendered. And by this I do not mean only fathers and mothers do different things, though that is clearly the case, but also being a parent means different things to mothers and fathers, and that being a father means different things to men and women" (Townsend, 120). He says that typically men consider child rearing and childbearing women's responsibilities and that ...