stepfather

A couple of variations on this sign. One uses the sign for "second" as in "second-hand" or "turn-taking." The idea is that a step father is "taking a turn at being someone's father."

STEPFATHER: This version uses the "second hand" + "dad" signs.

This version uses "FALSE" + "DAD" to mean STEPFATHER.
I personally don't like using it for stepfather since I use it to mean "foster father."

STEPFATHER: (one finger variation)
The index finger moves down and back up.

While I don't tend to use the "one finger" variation for STEPMOTHER, I got an email from Dr. Lisalee Egbert's with her using this version for both stepmother and stepfather:

stepmother / stepfather

Discussion:
Dr. Bill's observations regarding the "one finger variation" of STEPFATHER and STEPMOTHER:
A "two movement/two location" sign is at a disadvantage when competing with a "one movement/one location" sign since the single movement sign has "economy" in its favor. The "one finger" sign is a strong variation in some parts of the country and I think it is actually increasing in popularity--although I still believe the "second hand" version should remain the citation version and have top ranking.

stepmother

STEPMOTHER: another version:

Just in case you are wondering, here is the sign for "STEP." This is a version of the sign for walk that only takes "one step." Do NOT use this sign as part of the sign for step-father during an ASL test (unless you want to give your instructor a chuckle).