Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Dads on NPR

Talk of the Nation on NPR today had a segment on the changing demographics and roles of men and women in the workplace which touched on stay-at-home dads. My wife told me about it on her way home from work, saying that TOTN was going to feature stay-at-home dads. I didn't get to listen to much of it when it was on since I was taking care of kids at the time. I'm just finishing it up right now, listening to it on line.

Here's a link to the audio of it if you're interested: End of the Macho Man?

The title of the segment is a bit offensive--or is it meant to be tongue-in-cheek? Our society still has a lot of biases about what men and women are supposed to do. I was recently introduced to a stay-at-home dad who is from Africa. Doing that is taboo in the culture he came out of. I know in my neighborhood I am the odd one out--some of my neighbors also come form cultures where being an at-home dad isn't macho or acceptable. We're at a point in history where we're wrestling with what it means to be a man or woman as well as fighting against long-established gender barriers. To me what matters is that we're doing what we want to be doing and doing it for the sake of those we love.

3 comments:

  1. It's meant to get people's attentions so they'll tune in. Not everything has to be assumed it's offensive.

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  2. You're right, Eric. It was an attention getter, and there was little offensive content in the segment.

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  3. You know me - I'm not particularly bothered by social expectations of acceptable gender roles. I love to knit and sew, after all. I actually take perverse pleasure in knitting in settings that heighten the tension of a man doing something that is widely viewed as a woman's activity. One of those settings is in m cubicle qt work. Doing something so auspiciously out of the social norm actually occasions good conversation that hopefully helps people expand their horizons.

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