Posted on 03. Jun, 2003 by Brian Reid in General
My friends at the Census Bureau are at it again. They’ve put out this well-meaning release for Father’s Day, and they give us Rebel Dads a prominent spot in the release. That’s all well and good. But I’m cranky today.
Here are my problems:
1) The Buzz McClain rant: the at-home dad stuff is under the heading “Mr. Mom.” We don’t call working mothers “Mrs. Dad.” That would be rude and sexist. 1983 was a long time ago.
2) They claim there are only 105,000 of us, using wildly misleading numbers that would disqualify any dad that works part-time or a split shift.
3) They say that 105,000 number is from a “soon-to-be-published report.” But my understanding is that report has been “soon-to-be-published” for well over a year … at least.
Then they 4) happily say that 2 million preschoolers are primarily cared for by dad while mom works (using seven-year-old data. Remeber seven years ago? I’ll give you a hint: it preceded this recession. It preceded the dot-com boom. Heck, it preceded the Atlanta Olympics. Not exactly up to date). Even if you assume two of those 2 million preschoolers per dad, there’s a tenfold difference between “at-home dads” and primary caretaker dads. That seems wrong to me.
Other stats worth keeping an eye on: 2 million single dads (can you add that 2 million to the million-odd dads from point #4? No one seems to know).
The nice folks at the Dallas Morning News penned this editorial (reg. required) celebrating the growth of at-home moms and calling it a victory for feminism. “ The women’s movement was about freeing women from the constraints of traditional social roles. It was about choices, about giving women the same opportunities as men to pursue careers.” Of course, that choice really hasn’t been extended to men. Feminism may have worked wonders, but we don’t have gender equity. Not by a long shot. And that hurts women and men.
In the final paragraph, the author(s) suddenly remember at-home dads and throw in this line: “And there is certainly a lot to be said about the liberating nature of feminism for stay-at-home dads.” And that’s it. There certainly is a lot to be said. But the Dallas Morning News, in extolling the decision of women to stay home, ain’t saying it.