That time when a popular Mom Blog posted a dad-bashing meme and got shutdown by moms in the comments…
The stereotype of the bumbling, lazy dad is, unfortunately a familiar and lasting image that many dads have recently vowed to change. These kind of portrayals are not hard to find. Watch TV or scroll through the Facebook page your favorite Mom blog for even a few minutes and you’re sure to stumble on at least one characterization of a modern-day husband as either lazy, incompetent, or stupid.
This particular meme boasted:
“Honey let me take care of the baby tonight. You go back to bed… Said no husband ever!”
Hahaha! What a knee slapper!
Fortunately, a majority of the comments from moms were in defense of their partners. Many were quick to simply proclaim -
“Wrong.”
“Not true.”
“Not my husband.”
A comment that inspired 775 replies read,
“Not true, my husband says that all the time, he's amazing hands on dad, yes, I'm blessed!”
Heck, even my ex-wife chimed in with a little credit for yours truly:
It’s not just oversensitivity that irks dads that have truly dedicated themselves to changing this stereotype. Presenting more portrayals of involved dads and amplifying the voices of the women that support them helps set a precedent for the next generation of dads.
The more we reinforce the idea of the “lazy, dumb dad”, the more we risk enabling fathers who don’t take the responsibility seriously. They may just figure it’s okay for them to be a half-ass dad, because ‘this is what is expected of me’ and worse, we continue to set the bar for fatherhood very low with mothers and wives.
Although the post did get over 84,000 Likes, it was good to see the overwhelming majority of people who actually had something to say, did so in contention of the notion that a dad wouldn’t step up to help their partner out and care for his children.
What are your thoughts on these kind of memes? How are you changing the perception of "the incapable dad"? Share your thoughts in the comments below…