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What? Fathers are also birth parents. As opposed to step parents or adoptive parents. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/birth%20parent https://www.mer

What? Fathers are also birth parents. As opposed to step parents or adoptive parents. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/birth%20parent https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/birth%20parent

MrOwnPut 4y ago
Biological parents already described that.
- procinct 4y ago
  Yes, they are generally synonyms. It’s not a new term.
  - MrOwnPut 4y ago
    As another user pointed out, why does the definition you posted qualify it with: "who has been adopted" > It's not a new term I see, it's somewhat new to me, when did the term come to popular usage? When was it "invented"?
    - dragonwriter 4y ago
      > when did the term come to popular usage? When was it “invented”? Its always been somewhat less popular than “biological parents”, but its been in wide use since somewhere about the late 1970s, and it (or at least, the narrower form “birth mother”) was in use by the early 1950s at the latest.
    - procinct 4y ago
      The reason why it’s qualified by people who are adopted is because people who aren’t would just refer to them as “parents” not “birth parents” since there is no need to make a distinction. People who are adopted have two sets of parents so it’s used to distinguish who they are referring to.
- dragonwriter 4y ago
  “birth parents” and “biological parents” are synonyms, and have been as long as I’ve been alive (well, at least using language.) This is not some novel usage. Adopted, so kind of forced to be aware of things like that.
  - MrOwnPut 4y ago
    Interesting. From your perspective, what's the % of how often you have heard "biological" vs "birth" parents and has the rate changed any? I'm curious as to why the change of what I've heard (biological parents) and in the recent year (birth parents).
    - dragonwriter 4y ago
      > what’s the % of how often you have heard “biological” vs “birth” parents and has the rate changed any? Biological has always had a notable edge, but it seems subjectively to have eroded slowly over time over the last 40+ years that I’ve been exposed to it (thinking mostly of print, its been near parity in what I’ve heard, but “birth” is what I favor and what my [adoptive] parents favored so…)
      - MrOwnPut 4y ago
        Thinking about it more wouldn't biological more relate to those who are linked biologically (the egg & sperm). The birth parents would be the mother who actually gave birth (and if existing, the spouse who is in the relationship with the birth mother). This is would be much more prevalent of a distinction due to surrogacy.
        dragonwriter 4y ago
        I mean, the whole process of carrying a child is biological, so, I probably wouldn’t distinguish them that way. The general case in surrogacy (and exceptions to this usually involve someone who is identified as a “donor” of some material, rather than a parent) involve the suppliers of genetic material being the caretaking parties after birth, so typically the terms “parents” and “surrogate” suffice.

MrOwnPut 4y ago

Biological parents already described that.

procinct 4y ago
Yes, they are generally synonyms. It’s not a new term.
- MrOwnPut 4y ago
  As another user pointed out, why does the definition you posted qualify it with: "who has been adopted" > It's not a new term I see, it's somewhat new to me, when did the term come to popular usage? When was it "invented"?
  - dragonwriter 4y ago
    > when did the term come to popular usage? When was it “invented”? Its always been somewhat less popular than “biological parents”, but its been in wide use since somewhere about the late 1970s, and it (or at least, the narrower form “birth mother”) was in use by the early 1950s at the latest.
  - procinct 4y ago
    The reason why it’s qualified by people who are adopted is because people who aren’t would just refer to them as “parents” not “birth parents” since there is no need to make a distinction. People who are adopted have two sets of parents so it’s used to distinguish who they are referring to.
dragonwriter 4y ago
“birth parents” and “biological parents” are synonyms, and have been as long as I’ve been alive (well, at least using language.) This is not some novel usage. Adopted, so kind of forced to be aware of things like that.
- MrOwnPut 4y ago
  Interesting. From your perspective, what's the % of how often you have heard "biological" vs "birth" parents and has the rate changed any? I'm curious as to why the change of what I've heard (biological parents) and in the recent year (birth parents).
  - dragonwriter 4y ago
    > what’s the % of how often you have heard “biological” vs “birth” parents and has the rate changed any? Biological has always had a notable edge, but it seems subjectively to have eroded slowly over time over the last 40+ years that I’ve been exposed to it (thinking mostly of print, its been near parity in what I’ve heard, but “birth” is what I favor and what my [adoptive] parents favored so…)
    - MrOwnPut 4y ago
      Thinking about it more wouldn't biological more relate to those who are linked biologically (the egg & sperm). The birth parents would be the mother who actually gave birth (and if existing, the spouse who is in the relationship with the birth mother). This is would be much more prevalent of a distinction due to surrogacy.
      - dragonwriter 4y ago
        I mean, the whole process of carrying a child is biological, so, I probably wouldn’t distinguish them that way. The general case in surrogacy (and exceptions to this usually involve someone who is identified as a “donor” of some material, rather than a parent) involve the suppliers of genetic material being the caretaking parties after birth, so typically the terms “parents” and “surrogate” suffice.