This morning was my sons school swimming gala. I sat on the bleachers surrounded by men. All ofwhom were working Fathers. Daddy’s who’d moved meetings to watch this event. Dads who sat there rejecting work calls so that they could cheer their kids on. Dads who were there in place of mums who didn’t manage to get out of work. Dad’s who were active in their children’s lives. Dads who care.
- Today is International Woman’s Day
- Soon to be Mothers Day.
- It’s 100 years since the suffragettes won the right for women to vote.
- 2018 is the year of the #times up movement, the act of women uniting in solidarity to fight against sexual abuse.
On this day of celebrating womanhood it may be seem strange to talk about men. I don’t think so. International Women’s Days is about gender equality, both genders. Feminism isn’t about running men down. It’s about recognising our individual qualities for what they are. It’s about equal rights.
A famous quote states: A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.
When being a good Daddy goes unrecognized
In my own life my husband works long hours and comes every day to bath his children and read them a story.He spends time with them playing sports, taking them on trips, doing homework. He tells them he loves them and hugs them all the time
But he isn’t considered the pivotal parent, despite his whole day being for his family
He gets asked how is work? but never how are you?
He never gets told to relax or take time off.
Society doesn’t consider him to be an integral a part of the family unit. Fathers are still cast under a shadow of absenteeism. Even if it’s not true.
Isn’t it true that our Fathers shape us just as much as our Mothers, albeit in different ways.
Discrimination against men
We often don’t think about how men are discriminated again, despite male discrimination being a accepted part of every day life
- Men are more subject to violence than women:
- In domestic relationships men are are as likely to be the victim of violence as women.
- Men are more likely to be conscripted and more likely to suffer violence as a part of war.
- In divorce only 10% of men gain custody of their children.
- Men are often asked to pay huge alimony payments to ex wives – sometimes for life, even when the women are more than capable of working
- Men aren’t afforded the right to privacy in regards to their bodies in the same way as woman.
- Sexual harassment towards men is rarely taken seriously
Despite all this support offered to men is limited if offered at all. From an early age our boys are told to man up. Our young men are taught to repress their feelings, to not be a ‘girl’, to not be a wimp.
Daddy you rock
I’m pro women, pro equality, pro feminism, pro Women’s day and pro men.
So todays blog is for all the good guys out there. The dads that don’t expect thanks for basic chores. The fathers that raised us to be good people. The workers, The story readers. The Daddy’s who watch their children’s swimming galas. The men who teach their little girls to throw a rugby ball and their little boys to draw flowers.
The men who give us the strength to be good mothers
The men who break the mould.
The single fathers
The house husbands
The men who champion women.
The men who are feminists.
The men who fight for what is right.
My husband. My kids’ Daddy. Our world.
https://www.bustle.com/articles/27813-9-fathers-day-poems-thatll-make-you-and-your-dad-tear-up