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Either I’m getting old or a majority of hip-hop nowadays is misogynistic garbage.  Now you know I am not the one to go blaming hip-hop for the reason some females have low self-esteem and relationship issues. In fact, you might even catch me in the club twerkin’ it myself on any given Saturday.  But there’s a time and place for gyrating in your freakum dress to songs like French Montana’s “Pop That” and Juicy J’s “Bands Will Make Her Dance.”  I just wish there were more variety for our young women to choose from besides songs that glorify having a big booty and bouncing it for some change.

Degradation and disrespect of women is nothing new, so it would be unfair of me to blame today’s hip-hop community for the massacre of the black female image.  Let’s be real, Mitt Romney of all people believes womens’ bodies should still be at the mercy of federal laws.  But even in a world where women are commonly referred to as b***hes and h*es, I was always assured that it wasn’t going down in my childhood home.  I’d like to think a big reason why I have so much respect for myself and refuse to allow my self image to be at the mercy of male judgment was because I had the good fortune of having an involved father.  By involved, I don’t just mean being there and paying bills.  I mean having a father that treated my mother with respect and schooled his daughters on life, love and everything in between.

When a young girl has no positive examples of black men in her life, she may internalize the messages she sees in the streets and on TV and use them to define her womanhood.  I mean, let’s be honest, to most young girls nowadays being called a ”bad b***h” or “5-star chick” is the highest form of flattery.  I don’t want young women to feel like they have to compromise their integrity to become successful or loved.  But so often, young women receive mixed messages from men that tell them just that. Many fathers don’t realize the powerful influence they have over how their daughters feel about themselves and relate to men as they grow older.  Here are 10 ways that dads truly do make a difference:

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I’m sure we’ve all heard the term “Daddy’s Girl” – you know…that “Princess” who was spoiled rotten by her father and has him wrapped around her little finger. Most women fortunate enough to have a special relationship with their father wear that title as a badge of honor.

But for others who weren’t as fortunate, they carry a different badge that reads: “Daddy Issues.” They say a woman has “daddy issues” when her behavior or mindset indicates that her father was either absent in her life completely, or physically present but emotionally unavailable.  These issues can plague a young girl into adulthood, especially if she’s trying to compensate for the attention she may not have received from her father in her relationships. While a woman may seem to have it all together at first glance, there are certain characteristics women with daddy issues display – and if you’re not sure, the following may be a few of the signs.

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