Gender Politics in Child Custody Cases

In 1979, the film “Kramer vs. Kramer” was released. The hit film focuses on brutal child custody battle between two estranged parents. Lawyers on both sides unleash sometimes vicious character attacks on the other’s client. Ultimately, the mother is awarded sole custody of the young child, even though she abandoned him and the father for more than a year. This reflected the legal trend at the time. In custody cases, mothers were given defined preferential treatment. In the years that have passed since the film’s release, many film scholars have attributed the film with a variable degree of cultural impact, claiming that the film served as a mirror for American frustration with the legal system and antiquated gender roles. The question of whether or not mothers should receive preferential treatment in custody proceedings, which had already been a hot topic for a long time, became even more volatile. The question now is: Have things changed? The answer is yes. Over the past few decades, the legal system has dumped its dated thinking. If anything, one of the movements that is responsible for this is the feminist movement. The feminist movement, which gained a lot of traction in the 60s and 70s, placed a great emphasis on gender equality. Title VII was passed in 1964, and it prevented employment discrimination based on sex or gender. The movement did America a great service, not only in that respect, but also because it helped to changed American thinking on outdated gender roles. As a result, however, many steered from the thinking that the mother was automatically the better parent, the one better at providing care, nurturing and support. Fathers now had an argument to make that they were equally competent parents. So yes, fathers have won the battle in fighting what was technically known as the Tender Years Doctrine, which stated that mothers should gain preferential treatment in custody cases, barring a severe character defect such as mental instability, alcoholism or abusive behavior. Mothers still win the majority of custody cases however, according to statistics. While most states now legally require the equal treatment of both parents during custody proceedings, they do permit the consideration of the age and sex of the child in question. When the child is younger and female, statistics show that mothers tend to be favored in these situations. That aside, fathers and mothers are generally granted equal treatment. The judge is primarily concerned with the following factors: The preference of the child and/or parents, the child’s relationship with each individual parent, the ability to provide stability in the child’s life, mental and physical health of the parents, previous household roles and any evidence of physical or sexual abuse. The current legal trend is to provide joint custody if both parents are deemed competent, as the majority of child psychology experts feel it is best for both parents to play a role in a child’s life. Like any specialty of law, child custody proceedings still have their flaws. But recent laws have made an effort to fix some of the more egregious standards of decades past, much to the delight of many fathers nationwide. For more information about divorce lawyers or child custody, check these out.