Thats a very good question. Being a ***** donor (definetion of some dads) doesnt qualify you to be a father. As to why having a Father is important, I'd have to say it's about balance. A mom's perspective, thoughts and reactions are going to be different than that of a father's. There is nothing wrong with that, it's an is thing. By having that balance there, a child receives a better understanding of relationships and how they work.
I have been a single dad in the past, and my daughters are better off for my having remarried. I couold not fill the role of a mother for them, any more than a mother can fill the role of a father.

Oh god I wish I knew how to fill this void... and I think it's a lot more than that practical part of a male authority giving a different kind of educational background than a mother... it feels like there's a part of you missing that you have a right to know but perhaps never will. Maybe it's this injustice that makes it so difficult to cope with. But I rather tend to think that it's the feeling of being unwanted. Even if your mother wants you and loves you with all her heart, if it wasn't for your father you wouldn't exist - and to him you were not more than an accident. I had a really great step dad who took good care of me from the age of 6, and so did his entire family - but it's still not the same. there's still disappointment and anger. I think one thing that may help is to figure out WHY the father wasn't there. What made him leave? And what kind of guy was/is he? and if he's still alive meeting him might be a good idea. not necessarily to build a relationship but at least to be able to get an answer to all the questions, to be able to move forward, have your own family and be a better parent.

Sometimes I look to my Step Father but it isn't the same. Mine died when I was six and he committed suicide so that made it worse. It just tells me he didn't want anything to do with me enough to stay.

That is a difficult question to answer. I don't think that void ever gets filled. I've had such an experience without my biological father being there. And as the above comments state, I did have a wonderful step father too who truly cared when my own didn't seem to care. However it's still not the same because in the back of my mind I wonder how could it be that I came from someone's body and they could careless about my well being? "How could a person just leave a child(ren) and not care at all?" That has always baffled me and I think it always will. The intensity of that question isn't as harsh as it was years ago. There are some men who really don't know how to be a father. I really believe that mine is one of those men. I don't need a 'father' per se today, I would rather be on a friend bases with my father but again he just doesn't know how to do that. It's hard to accept but I am much better about it today than I was years ago.
I guess you can just recognize when those feelings come up and accept them. One thing that helped me a lot was talking about how I felt. In the past I was able to tell him how his actions and absent hurt me. I gave it back to him in a sense. It's not my fault he can't be a father.

And this is to Ashley868, that is truly unfortunate that you father took his own life...but it really touched me to read you believe his actions had something to do with you. ABSOLUTELY NOT. You were just an innocent baby/kid. There is no way your precious life caused him to take his life. Other things were going on with him to cause him to do that. I am sure it had 'nothing' to do with your presence.

Well whenever you see someone with there dad you'll always wonder or feel jealous. The best you can do is appreciate your friends and the family you have and not think too much of it.

P.s My friend who has no father too is the best football player I know and he's self taught. Just an interesting example of someone with only a mom.

My father wasn't around most of my life even though he was around some of it. So I have a few memories. Yes it is good to know who he is but I don't feel close to him now, even though he is getting very old. But then that might have something to do with my step-mother, and he living abroad. Sometimes I wonder if I never knew him, I wouldn't feel the loss of him.

I lost both of my parents before the age of nine. I was most impressionable then. It was quite the challenge throughout life when I would come across a dilemma, who do I go to for help? It has always been a struggle for me. They have been passed on for a long time. I have had to seek out people with more wisdom and knowledge than myself to go to for answers. It isn't always easy either. I have quite a few good friends who come to my aid when it's necessary. There are times in a child's life when they need their parents. I lost mine during that time. I had five other siblings and at times, I wished I could just go somewhere else other than home. It was during the 70's when this country was going through a lot of changes. All I wanted was my parents to be brought back to help me, love me, and guide me. So when we need that parent, it is for guidance and moreso..love.