Dr. Julie Nemeth's Talk

First of all, I thought this was a great way to end the semester. Dr. Nemeth provided the class with a very real-world example of how Jewish identity can affect us every day, and how research as to its full affects is being done even right now, at our own university. While, admittedly, there was room for a lot of error in the study that Dr. Nemeth had conducted, I think she touched upon some truly interesting points. I myself have had many personal issues focusing around separation and attachment, and I am always looking for new ways to try and understand the problems that cloud my subconscious. Never had I really looked at my Jewish identity, however, as a possible influencing factor in my difficulties.
Dr. Nemeth noted that, in her study, it ended up being that father/daughter relationships were the "most important" to young Jewish women of this day and age. In most past studies, research was done solely between the young woman and her mother, sometimes with both parents. Never, however, has a study been conducted looking solely at the relationship between the young Jewish woman and her father. This is incredibly surprising to me! As I briefly suggested to Dr. Nemeth, many of my close personal female, Jewish friends, if they have troubles at all with their parents, have troubles with their fathers. Why is it, I wonder, that in recent years a shift has occured, placing the father/daughter relationship in more prominence?
While I firmly believe that everyone's individual situation will be affected differently by a number of personal factors, I think there are some over-arching ideas that have caused this shift. In America especially, the idea of "Daddy's Little Girl" is seen everywhere. From sitting happily on a father's knee as a child to the talks that Dad will undoubtedly have with the first boyfriend, fatherly approval is incredibly influencial and craved by a little girl. Especially in generations when female independence and opportunity has become even more popular. Domestic roles, while still incredibly important, are no longer restricting to females. Women have every, if not more, opportunity than men, and are seen in traditionally male roles from astronauts to CEOs and beyond. In adopting and integrating into more traditionally male-dominated areas of society, women are more often look to their fathers for advice and support.
Obviously, I'm no psychologist, and these are just a few, broad ideas of why the father/daughter relationship is becoming more influencial in a woman's life, and therefore, more heavily affecting her dealings with separation and attachment. I definitely think that a study focusing on the link between separation, attachment, and Jewish identity, specifically focusing on how fathers affect their daughters, would open up a lot of new avenues for both learning and understanding, especially in my own life.