Uploaded August 2017 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago

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"I don’t really know anything about my father. My mom and he separated when my mother was pregnant with my brother - I think I was two-and-a-half or three years old.

My mom left him because he did not want the responsibility of having children and he never looked for us and I never looked for him.

I didn’t have any feelings towards him because my grandfather really kind of filled that void, and so did my uncle. I didn’t know why he wasn’t around. I didn’t know why I didn’t have two parents but my mom was enough for me.

The way that my dad’s absence has influenced how I relate to men is I am very secure of myself. I’ve always taken care of myself and I think that maybe that’s somehow how it has affected me. I’ve always been really independent and, kind of, very feminist in a way."

- Stephanie M., #LivesofWomen

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