Being "Manly"

Last week, the Washington Post devoted a great many words to asking the question "What Does It Mean to Be Manly?," but the piece missed a fairly important point -- being manly, nowadays, includes being an active father. This is a message that is being drilled at just about every level of society. But the author, Laura Sessions Stepp, doesn't mention fatherhood at all. She's immersed in the teenage demographic, so she spends a lot more time wondering what kinds of boys can get away with wearing green Polo shirts.

That's too bad. There is an actual revolution going on -- not in what Johnny Depp wears around his wrist -- but how a new generation of fathers is looking at their responsibilities in life. Too bad Sessions Stepp seems to miss that.