baby daddy

The term "baby daddy" is oftentimes used as a derogatory term. For a man it means they provide no financial support or help in the raising of the child. For a woman it means they became pregnant (purposefully, accidentally, or through traumatic sexual violence) and their child does not have an active father figure parent. 

Most of the time I've heard the term used when a woman has several children from different partners. When the term is offered it usually is meant as an insult, slut-shaming the woman or implying the woman is of loose morals.

There are times I've seen where a woman has a relationship and becomes pregnant, but then the partner bails on the relationship or tries to get the woman to have an abortion. If the woman makes the decision to keep her child and the sexual partner refuses to participate in raising said child or supporting them financially, the woman may decide to call the partner a "baby daddy" instead of a father in order to place distance between her new family unit and the former partner. 

The usage of baby daddy varies from place to place. In many places, and I believe originally, it simply was a way to refer to a person who was the father of your child, but who was not currently your boyfriend or husband. Many baby daddies are involved with raising their child, provide financial support, and are what most Americans would simply call a father, and what in times past might be referred to as an 'ex-husband'. However, with the decrease in popularity of shotgun weddings, it is often the case that a baby daddy was never actually a husband, making that term inapplicable.

In this usage, it may be judgmental, but does not need to be. It does seem to be the case that this term is used in preference to 'father' with the intention of providing the additional information that the parents are not married; whether this is done simply because the term is in common usage, done in order to avoid lengthy explanations, or done just to cast shade depends on the speaker.

Iron Noder