ABSTRACT
The traditional role of the father is a dominant and powerful one. It has its roots in
a patriarchal system that places men as fathers at the head of the family as well as
many other social institutions. Even though in Britain today we no longer endorse
such strict values and attitudes, they are by no means extinct. They are present in
people’s assumptions about value differences in sex roles and between feminine
and masculine personalities. Many children are familiar with threats like ‘Wait
until your father comes home’, implying the patriarchal characteristics of authority,
strength and punishment. The male role is linked with physical and sexual violence,
and domination. Obviously, most men do not demonstrate these attributes to
excess but there are a significant number who do; and the fact that men still
dominate the social, economic and political structure, and often wield unequal
power and authority within their families, clearly demonstrates that authority is
still predominately divided according to sex.
