This comment by Danny on the post The Incredibly Low Bar: Let’s Change the Stereotypes about Dad’s
Its about history and context. For the longest time men have not only been taught that they had no place in child/home care but on the whole we are taught that men are not supposed to be doing those things. Its the same principal behind someone commenting, “Not bad for a woman” on doing something that is outside what the old gender roles say she is supposed to do.
The solution is going to be two fold. Men are going to have to break through the old gender roles and do more child care and people overall are going to have to learn to deal with it.
But as a collective we are still holding onto that image of the dad who is horrible with children (where horrible can mean either incompetent or dangerous). We’re gonna have to let go of that if we are to ever recognize that there are dads out there that doing just fine with their children.
Mothers rarely receive ego-boosting words, no strangers are taking pictures of them as if the sighting was as rare as seeing the Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot in the same room (this happened to us), and no men are stopping them to say, “I wish all moms were like you ladies.”
Why? Because moms are supposed to do these things.
Mothers also rarely run the risk of having the police called on them for daring to be with their children in public either. Now if a mom was seen chasing down a criminal and arresting him you just might hear a guy say, “I wish all moms were like you.”.
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Question of the Day:
Are the old gender roles relevant today, and if so why? or if not, why?
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Just as there are some men who are threatened by powerful women or some husbands threatened by their wives making more money than them, there are women who are also threatened by men who excel in female-dominated institutions including parenting, child care, teaching, and even nursing. Besides, some women also refuse to date or marry any man who makes less than them or even the same amount as them in some cases. They’ll say “he’s not on my level.” As far as involved fathers receiving more attention than equally involved mothers, female heads of states, prisoners-of-war, firefighters, CEOs also receive… Read more »