Mom Brags About Her Husband Threatening Their Teen Daughter's New Boyfriend & People Are Accusing Them Of Being 'Weirdos'
Many people thought the father went too far with how she spoke about his daughter to her boyfriend.
Bricolage / Shutterstock / Twitter A father is being accused of taking things too far after he aggressively confronted his daughter's new boyfriend.
The teen girl’s mother, Christy Kelly, retold the entire incident on her Twitter account, where she praised her husband for being an “old soul” and having traditional views. However, others criticized the parents for not only embarrassing their daughter but also upholding out-of-date customs on both virginity and a woman’s body.
She bragged about her husband threatening to physically harm their daughter’s new boyfriend if he took her ‘chastity.’
In Kelly’s tweet, she shared that she and her husband had recently met their teenage daughter’s new boyfriend and the young man’s mother for the first time. Instead of having a regular first introduction, Kelly’s husband decided to make a statement to his daughter’s partner that didn’t seem to bode well with Kelly’s followers.
“My husband told the young man: you can call me Sir. I have 4 guns, my daughter’s chastity is important, and you’ll have to see me if you do anything to disturb it,” Kelly wrote. While the father’s message was disturbing for others to read, Kelly didn’t seem to have any problem with it and even bragged about marrying someone with traditional views like herself.
Photo: Twitter
“Thank God I married an old soul. He also told the kid he can get ‘dunked on any time.’ Basketball reference!” Kelly continued. She also criticized “new-age parenting,” and that while she and her husband may come across as “cool parents,” they stick to their long-established rules when it comes to their daughter.
While there are a few questionable things about the father’s need to physically threaten his daughter’s boyfriend, it’s the way he speaks about the teenager’s body and her sexual activities that has angered many people who read Kelly’s tweet.
A father's view on his daughter's sexuality and virginity can have a significant impact on how she views her body and can potentially harm both her self-esteem and body image. Not to mention that the idea of “virginity” is simply a social construct and doesn’t determine the “purity” of a woman.
This father (or any father for that matter) placing excessive importance on his daughter's virginity, may inadvertently instill a sense of shame or guilt regarding her body and natural sexual development.
For the most part, fathers like this don’t see it as imposing on their daughter’s bodily autonomy, but rather simply fulfilling the “overprotective dad” trope, and trying to be supportive while also looking out for their daughters.
However, these men don’t see that making jokes about “sitting outside with a shotgun” or policing their daughter’s bodies is only feeding into the narrative that women’s bodies need to be monitored and that what they choose to do with their bodies isn’t their own.
Many people accused Kelly and her husband of being ‘weirdos’ for using this rhetoric in their parenting.
One Twitter user attempted to point out the double standards of the teen girl's father confronting her boyfriend, while her boyfriend's mother most likely didn't say anything along the same lines to her.
"Did the young man’s mamma [reply] and say to your daughter: you can call me Madam," they wrote. "My son’s dignity is important, and you will have to see me if you do anything to manipulate that. I do not need guns. I use my bare hands. They come [in] handy."
Another user wanted clarity on what Kelly had been insinuating by sharing her husband's threat to their daughter's boyfriend, writing, "Is your husband implying he is going to commit first-degree premeditated murder if your daughter and boyfriend have consensual sex?"
"I’m sorry but threatening a young [man] with 'I have 4 guns' is out of line. Violence isn’t the answer to your daughter's dating," a third Twitter user pointed out. "That’s not being an old soul, that’s being a bully."
There's nothing heartwarming about being the stereotypical "scary father" who threatens their daughter's partners to prove a point. Fear doesn't equate to respect. Inadvertently teaching your daughter that her body isn't her own will do nothing but harm a parent's relationship with the child.
Instead, have an open dialogue with both daughters and sons about the importance of sexuality and informative sex education, as opposed to furthering the age-old rhetoric that a woman keeping her virginity is the most important lesson.
Nia Tipton is a Brooklyn-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.