Girlfriendz- Cocktailz & Conversationz: Fathers Edition

On Sunday, June 5, Girlfriendz - Cocktailz and Conversationz hosted a Father's Day-themed talk with a heated panel discussion on the topic, 'How fair is the term 'deadbeat dad?'

The event was held at 100 Hope Road in St Andrew. Panelists included Noran Price, ZIP FM's marketing manager; Rodney Campbell, broadcaster; Jerry Benzwick, actor; Dr Herbert Gayle, anthropologist and president of Fathers Incorporation; Wayne Lewis of CVM TV; and dancehall artistes Paul and Patrick Gaynor (Twin of Twins).

There was an uproar when Dr Gayle stated that research suggested that women are not loyal.

"Women go for the best thing in their reach and very few of them are loyal," he stated. He went on to add that the term fidelity should not be used when speaking of loyalty as they mean different things. This got the women riled up as many of them disagreed.

Patrick Gaynor said that women often resorted to calling the fathers of their children 'deadbeat dads' only when the relationship with the men soured.

"When the relationship doesn't work out and they see you with someone else, they start to call you names and say you're not a good father," he said.

Campbell said women sometimes use children to try to hurt men. "They call for money and when you show up with it and ask to see the child, they come up with all the excuses so that you don't get to see the child," said Campbell.

Both men agreed that children often become resentful of their fathers because of the things their mothers say about them. This, they said, cannot be healthy for children.

The panel discussion often got heated, but in the end, all seemed to agree that while there are men who fail at fatherhood, many others were doing an excellent job raising their children.