Congrats to Kelis, who is pregnant; her husband, rapper Nas, is the father. [Mirror]When a straight woman becomes pregnant (via traditional means), she is generally referred to as an "expectant mother," or a "mommy-to-be," or some other euphemism that indicates motherhood is in the future, contingent on the birth of a baby.
Her male partner, on the other hand, is generally referred to as "the father." Not the expectant father, or the daddy-to-be. He's "the father" as soon as his sperm hits that egg and the whole business "takes." If a woman is pregnant, and we don't know by whom, we don't say, "Who is the expectant father?" We say, "Who's the father?"
Interesting, that.
Motherhood begins at birth, but fatherhood begins at conception.
I'm sure it's just a coincidence how much that latter bit mirrors the anti-choice rhetoric about when life begins.
Ahem.
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