Dad Stereotypes

DiapersMajor advertisers continue to launch advertising campaigns imposing the stereotype of a stupid dad who’s clueless in the home.

We have spaghetti sauce positioned to dads based on their inability to cook.

And then diapers positioned to dads based on their inability to clean up poop.

Sure, there may be some dads that fit the stupid caveman stereotype. Ones who limit themselves to breadwinning, beer and sports.

But there are a whole lot of dads who fully embrace the home — sharing it with the wife, or even serving as primary homemaker. There even are single-parent dads.

For those of us who identify even partly with childrearing and homemaking, the stupid dad stereotype is offensive.

What makes the stupid dad stereotype even more offensive is that going along with it implies a world where women aren’t good for much outside the home.

The world has changed.

Take me as an example: Mom and I share the breadwinning and homemaking. I’m not mom, but I’ve changed as many diapers as mom. I even do most of the cooking.

It’s not the 1950s anymore.

Shocking but true.

Published by Max Kalehoff

Father, sailor and marketing executive.

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