I’m quite sure that if every black person spoke and behaved the way you would like them to, racism against them would still be possible. Racists make racism possible, thank you.
Ummm…not like I think you mean. It doesn’t connote, to me, that a *mother *has split, but, damnedly enough, again that the father has. That is, that he’s so far removed from her and his kid(s) that all she is to him is the bint he owes child support to, but probably won’t pay.
I have issues, I see this.
Also, despite the numerous direct and indirect references to race in this thread, I associate it’s use about equally with “Springeresque”* white women and black women, although I see the black dialect influence.
*Adjective formed 'cause “white trash” is frowned upon in these parts…
It’s not offensive in the sense that a racial slur or epithet is offensive. It is a derogatory term however. “Baby’s daddy” implies that the mother is of loose morals, and that the father is a deadbeat.
Really? The term itself implies all that, even when it’s used by the woman herself? How else might an unwed woman refer (informally— let’s be realistic, people are not going to use “biological father” in an otherwise casual conversation) to the father of her child, while avoiding all that implicit moralistic baggage?
I can actually see what you’re getting at, but I feel you have the cause-and-effect somewhat reversed— the term “baby’s daddy” is not derogatory in itself, but is acquiring a derogatory connotation, simply because of the growing number of unwed parents, a large number of them do involve a deadbeat father, if not a woman of “loose morals” (whatever that may mean).
A colloquial term was needed, so one was coined. A percentage of those identified by that term turn out to be irresponsible assholes, which taints the term itself.
(The presence of the words “assholes” and “taints” in my previous sentence is a complete coincidence and they should not be taken out of their context. This is a serious discussion and I will not tolerate any further outbursts.)
Seems a pretty low class term to me. Poor diction.
What’s wrong with “father of my child” or “my son’s father”?
I don’t know about the etymology of the phrase, but the connotation I gave earlier is exactly what I think of when I hear baby’s daddy. A women goes on Maury Povich to find out who her baby’s daddy is. A women who doesn’t know who the father is refers to him as her baby’s daddy. A guy that doesn’t pay child support or visit his children is a “baby’s daddy”.
Hey!! Don’t be so hard on yourself!
(The presence of the term “hard on” in the previous sentence is a complete coincidence and should not be taken out of context. This is a serious discussion, and Vinyl Turnip will not tolerate any further outbursts!