Parenthood post-marital failure is not always a gender-neutral issue : A personal recollection

Abstract

Single parents who find themselves in such a position through marital separation and/or divorce are not single parents by choice, but are compelled by circumstances. Due to cultural factors – and thus from legal and other perspectives – it is notable that their day-to-day responsibilities may well be determined by their gender. This article, based on a case-study from Malta, presents a number of factual recollections of a parent who, after the breakdown of marriage, became a single parent of a young daughter. It gives insights into the difficulties encountered in raising and educating a child to the legal age of consent through recollections from everyday life, ranging from use of gendered public restrooms to behavioural and educational ones. It also highlights that most of these difficulties, notably with respect to the former, would not have arisen had the parent’s gender been female.