Sunday, July 06, 2003

In case you're wondering, the beach trip was a success. I came back unburned. That's quite a feat.

Into the July Fourth news hole dropped this nice Women's eNews story. I have no idea what Women's eNews is, but this is a well-researched piece that manages to track down Libby Gill, Hogan Hilling and Jay Massey. And a bunch of other dads. Interestingly, the story pulls out this stat: "Though there are no hard figures on the number of such men who forgo jobs to stay home, data show that just over 20 percent of preschoolers in married-couple households are cared for by their fathers--up from 17 percent in 1997, according to the U.S. Census Bureau." I have no idea where this stat comes from (it seems high, but you won't hear me complain). I'll have to jump right to the source ...

In the "Tee-Hee" department, this piece from an expat in Europe starts with a nice at-home parent joke. I hadn't heard it, so apologies if you have.

Finally, Gary Aldrich, the FBI gentleman who turned heads by writing a Clinton tell-all, has seen it fit to mention us at-home dads in this commentary. I'm disappointed. Part of his argument against affirmative action is that women don't deserve special breaks because they tend not to be ideal workers, taking care of families and such instead of putting in 50 years of non-stop hard work. And in Aldrich's view, men ain't in that camp. And then he lets loose with this: "Yes, we have heard of a few 'stay-at-home' dads, but they are rare, and their numbers are not growing as some progressive feminists would have us believe. When women have babies, they either send them to day care or take the option to raise them at home. Indeed, more women are choosing to stay home with their children, as we’ve seen a 13% increase in the past decade alone."

For starters, I have no idea where the idea that we're not on the rise. As I've pointed out before, the Census stats suggest that our (artificially low) numbers grew about 18 percent over the past decade (though they've bounced around to such an extent that I think the Census folks are nervous about coming right out and saying it). And who are these "progressive feminists" leading everyone to believe that Rebel Dads are mainstream? I'd love to contact them and tell 'em 'thanks.' But other than American University's Joan Williams, I can't even think of the last time a "progressive feminist" was quoted talking up at-home fatherhood. (That's not to say that they're not supportive. I just don't think the at-home dad agenda is being pushed hard by anyone but at-home dads right now.) I won't get into the politics of the column -- that goes beyond Rebel Dad's mandate and his debating skills -- but anytime we're minimized, I worry that bad things are afoot.

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