Oh, you stay at home? You must be gay.
You’re a stay-at-home dad? When are you going to get your balls back?
Man up. Stop being such a pussy.
Looks like this dad likes shopping more than his wife. How gay is he?
These words were spoken by people with some skewed idea of what it means to be a “real man.” Believe it or not, the person who asked if a stay-at-home dad was gay was a woman. The second comment came from a man interacting with another stay-at-home dad on the playground.
Why does the choice to be a stay-at-home father instantly lead to a discussion about manhood? It seems doing what is best for your family is truly being a real man.
Yet, some believe that if you stay home with the kids you are less of a man. Unfortunately, these are the men who still catcall to women walking in the street or who belittle women on dating sites if they don’t just let men walk all over them. I don’t want that for my sons or daughters so why do some teach these toxic examples to our children?
Men today have to constantly define just how masculine they are, especially stay-at-home dads. Do you clean and cook? You MUST be gay then. To them, only gay people apparently clean their homes and prepare meals. If that is so, then yes, I am gay. I am as gay as any man who cooks for people they care about. Have you ever watched Iron Chef? Top Chef? Those people are amazing, they can cook, and guess what? Some of them are men. Straight men, at that.
As a primary caregiver, I am redefining what a “real man” means because it is important to me to be there for my children. Real men can be straight guys, gay guys, working men, stay-at-home dads … all men who take an active role in their children’s lives and do so with pride. I can be the football coach and still know how to put my daughter’s hair into pigtails. I can coordinate an outfit for my son and show him how to properly shoot a basketball. I can demonstrate to my daughter what a pirouette is while teaching my son to tie a necktie. Masculinity is not tied to any of those activities as we all can do them regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
Find me at a party and I might be talking with the moms in the kitchen more than the dads from the office. We share the experience of parenting which is not defined by our gender but the commonalities between our jobs. We are all just parents.
These same men still judge you on what you drive. If you traded your Mustang in for a minivan you are suddenly ball-less. Why does driving a car that fits with your family make you less masculine? If I told you that I used that same Swagger Wagon to haul enough lumber and drywall to build a closet with my two hands would that make you feel different?
It’s sad that in this society we still look at the definition of masculinity as being able to provide financially for your family. If your wife stays home and is the primary caregiver you’re considered a real man. How outdated is this notion? Things have changed.
Let me use an analogy that only “real men” would understand. Football. In its inception, players wore no pads or helmets. Can you imagine playing today without a helmet? You would probably think that is crazy given the way football is played now and how it has evolved.
As the game changed, so did the equipment. First came, leather helmets which have now evolved into skull-cradling airbags to protect player’s brains. And, as the game became faster and hits became more intense, rules changed to try to better protect players. Does this evolution mean that football players today are worse athletes than those of the past? Are they less tough? Would you call them pussies?
The definition of fatherhood is also evolving though some men have clearly stayed rooted in the primordial ooze. Commenting on another man’s choice to stay home should never be a putdown. Tying that in with your inability to believe that women would ever be attracted to a man who takes care of children is pathetic. Most women I have been around in my six years as a stay-at-home dad think that a man caring for his children is sexy. Even more so when I mention to my wife that I cleaned the bathrooms and straightened up the house.
Men who stay home are showing their clear dedication to their families and giving their spouses opportunities to live up to their full potential and pursue a career they couldn’t have if were tied to the home. Many men have given up traditional roles to be present with their children. Many, like me, made that choice willingly. I was a teacher and always good at educating children, so it seemed like an easy choice to make. When it came to deciding whether I should let a stranger raise my children or whether it should be me, it was an easy decision.
I used to get this a lot when I was becoming a teacher. People were surprised to find out I was an artist and also a teacher. “I just thought with the way that you look, you would be a gym teacher or something” While I can look imposing, they found it unbelievable that I was more interested in fine art than football. As an educator, I found it imperative that boys had someone to look up to. Believe me, I’ve come across enough confused young men who need positive male role models who certainly benefitted from me being there to help guide them.
If anything, for my son, I have really taught him the tools to be the best man he can be. His future spouse is going to thank me for teaching him manners, how to do his own laundry, and how to cook. You can see it in the ways he treats girls his age and his own sisters. It has shown him that staying home is an option if it fits his family. It teaches him that he doesn’t have to feel pressured to work in a job he hates if, in his heart, he wants to stay at home with his children.
Being at home for my daughters, I have taught them how they should be treated with respect and dignity. I have shown them that a man can be just as loving and caring as a woman when it comes to raising children. I have shown them that limitations should never be put on us because of our gender and that we can accomplish anything despite society’s labels. I am teaching them that they can be stay-at-home moms or CEOs and anything in between. Hopefully, they have learned that whatever they choose, I will love them the same without judgment.
Even though these “real men” can’t see that this choice is based purely on love, I feel sorry for the Voldemorts of masculinity. They haven’t experienced the love I’ve felt with my kids. Sure, I’ve lost out on some money but I have gained so much more through the struggles and triumphs, tears and laughter, the disappointments and smiling hugs. Those times when they cry out for daddy in the middle of the night? I look forward to those, most of the time, because they know I am there for them every step of the way and that is how any real man should be.
A version of this first appeared on DadNCharge.
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