Dictionary

father hunger en · NOUN

Meanings

1. (uncountable) The longing felt by (especially young) men for approbation from a father, or father figure.
   • Father hunger appears to be a crucial motivational variable in matters as diverse as caretaking, sexual orientation, moral development, and achievement level. 1990, Reuben Fine, The History of Psychoanalysis, expanded edition, page 630:
   • Father hunger is the deep, but often unconscious, longing young men, and even older men, have for affirmation from male authority figures. 2006, Christopher P. Mason, Crossing into Manhood, page 118:
   • Bill Clinton, like many presidents, may have had what men's movement activist Robert Bly has called “father hunger.” 2017, David Friend, The Naughty Nineties, Twelve Books: