The left hates the fact that men and women are different. They hate the differences so much that they pretend they don’t exist. It’s kinda’ like when my five year old is mad at her brother. She closes her eyes, covers hear ears and announces, “I can’t hear you.”
Journalist Kate Stone Lombardi believes that the different ways that Mothers Day and Fathers Day are celebrated shows how backwards we are and not as hip as say… Time Magazine.
Of course, there is not a thing wrong with children saying thank you for all those cuddles and comfort, or for expressing gratitude for models of strength and responsibility. These are all lovely sentiments. The question is: why in 2013, are we still dividing all these traits by gender? It’s insulting to both women and men and it has less and less to do with contemporary American families. Dads can be nurturers. Moms can be role models. Many, of course, already are.
A recent Pew study noted that the family roles of mothers and fathers are increasingly converging. Dads are doing more housework and childcare; moms more paid work outside the home. In fact, today nearly equal shares of working mothers and fathers report feeling stressed about balancing work and family life.
I read this and I thought originally that I was just reading someone who was up against a deadline and was desperate for something to write about. I mean, think about it, I think most families decide how to spend Mothers and Fathers day all by themselves. There’s no Hallmark council enforcing regulations.
So I thought it was a pointless piece. But alas, when I read it again it all became clear. It turns out she hates Mothers and Fathers day because it doesn’t work into her worldview that families are fungible. She writes:
Of course, there is not a thing wrong with children saying thank you for all those cuddles and comfort, or for expressing gratitude for models of strength and responsibility. These are all lovely sentiments. The question is: why in 2013, are we still dividing all these traits by gender? It’s insulting to both women and men and it has less and less to do with contemporary American families. Dads can be nurturers. Moms can be role models. Many, of course, already are.
A recent Pew study noted that the family roles of mothers and fathers are increasingly converging. Dads are doing more housework and childcare; moms more paid work outside the home. In fact, today nearly equal shares of working mothers and fathers report feeling stressed about balancing work and family life.
And that’s just heterosexual married couples. Single parents assume multiple roles that blur “traditional” realms. Studies that look at gay parents question the presumption that mothers and fathers bring separate gender-based skills to parenting (like mothers excel in nurturing and caretaking, while fathers bring discipline and rough housing into the mix).
Ah. You see, this isn’t about how these holidays are celebrated. This is about there being a Mothers and Fathers day at all. Perhaps she’d like it more if we tossed the old holidays and instituted “Legal Guardian Day” or maybe “Dad and his live-in-partner Eric day.”
Her issue isn’t with Mothers and Fathers Day, it’s with Mothers and Fathers.
