At any given time in a relationship, a woman might have upwards of three or four pet names for her man. We know the staples — boo, baby, and, unfortunately, bae for the ratchets — then there’s always that one random nickname whose meaning only the two of you really know. But what about calling your man daddy? Not the man who raised you and whom you’ve referred to as dad, daddy, or father since you uttered your first word. But the man you kiss, sleep with at night, and do other grown folks things with. Would you call him daddy? Do you?
This is a question that’s always been in the back of my mind and resurfaced again last week when Fantasia praised her rumored hubby on Instagram. While everyone was trying to figure out whether she and Kendall Taylor were really Mr. and Mrs., I was more caught up in Fanny writing “Daddy He Is…” I know good loving can make you say a lot of things (Hello Erica Campbell), but daddy’s never been one of those words to roll off my tongue even in the most playful of moments. And as I got to thinking about what it would take for me to call a man who’s not my daddy “daddy” (with a straight face mind you) I decided he’d have to be paying all my bills and completely taking care of me because that’s my view of a daddy. And since I’m not really on a hunt for someone to do those things for me, as I’ve been doing them for myself for some time now, I don’t foresee myself calling my intimate partner daddy ever in life — again with a straight face.
As we chatted about this topic in the office, other women shared that sentiment, as well as the opinion that considering they still have actual dads who they call daddy it would be weird, to say the least, to also use that same term for their husband. One co-worker even said she can’t stand the end of Beyonce’s song “Rocket” when she begins to moan “Daddy, daddy, oh child, yes lawd…” (you know how it goes) and has to change “daddy” to “baby” just to finish the track without being totally disgusted. I’m sure somewhere there’s a feminist lamenting over the patriarchal implications of calling your man daddy, but for me it’s not even that deep. A daddy, to me, is a specific parenting role that, hopefully, for most women has already been filled by the time they meet another man who will be their life-long partner and fulfill other duties. I’d rather not mince words — or roles.
If a man really is providing your every need, I imagine there is no bigger stroke to the male ego than calling him your big daddy. And since, like good food, ego-stroking is the way to a man’s heart, I imagine the practice does a relationship some good from the male perspective. I just know I couldn’t possibly take myself seriously — and I’m sure no man could either — if I came in the house after 10 hours at work talking about “Hey daddy, how was your day?” But as the saying goes, different (ego) strokes for different folks.
What do you think about calling your man daddy? Do you? If so, when do you use the pet name?
