Over at Viva la Feminista, Veronica has a great post about why she dislikes the term “Mr. Mom” and when someone asks her husband if he is “babysitting” the kids. She writes, “When he is caring for his daughter, he is her father, not a babysitter and certainly not a male version of me.”
Amen to that.
Her post made me think, however, that one of the joys of being part of a lesbian couple is that we don’t get slapped with such obnoxious labels. Of course, should an LGBT parent choose to take the title “Mr. Mom” because she or he feels it best suits her or his gender identity, that’s another thing entirely, and perfectly acceptable. And gay dads, like straight caregiver dads, have to deal with the frequent awkwardness of being male in the largely female world of parenting, especially in the early years.
But it also strikes me that society is, on the one hand, trying to define in female terms (“Mr. Mom”) those straight men who actively parent, but on the other, seems inordinately concerned that children of lesbian parents don’t have male role models.
Is it just me, or does that make no sense whatsoever?
(Thanks to Mona at BlogHer for the tip.)
