Dear society,
Why do you look down upon men who decide to be “stay at home” dads? Why is it important to you that breadwinner of a family has to be the man? If the breadwinner was a women would it affect the family dynamics. Personally, there is nothing wrong with having the man doing the role as the role child-rearer. But, society doesn’t accept this. However, role reversals are becoming a norm.
In the 1983 movie titled, “Mr. Mom”, it portrays a comedic film that highlights a recession that affected the lives of a modern, traditional family. It follows a family breadwinner Jack Butler as he goes through a dramatic turn of events which led to the loss of his job. After a sudden change, the wife Caroline (wife) gets a job at a tuna company leaving the responsible of the household to Jack. As the movie continue it shows the connection that Jack had with his family he depicts the importance of being a father and a role model to this children. During the movie he quotes, “it’s really easy to forget what is important, so don’t (Dragoti Mr. Mom).” This shows the realization of what a parent or the breadwinner is missing out while being just an active participant of the household. Although the movie was a comedy, it still shows the role-reversal of the family which turned out to be beneficial to the family and the advance to persuade others to take on the challenge of switching the roles and responsibility.
Although Mr.Mom was a comedic movie based in the 1980s events like this in the twenty-first century are still in effect. In a survey conducted in 2012 by pewsocialtrends.org, there was a number rising in father who were becoming stay at home dads. Just like Mr.Mom, “the economic downturn led to a change in the traditional gender roles (pewsoicaltrends.org 2014).” In society the mindset of the household puts the pressure of the status “breadwinner” upon the man because of the traditional saying, “bring home the bacon” which basically means “I work therefore I provide.” In the article stated before it goes into detail saying “that during a recent 2008 recession jobs belonging to men in construction and finance, were cut and man became unemployed, while women who were in education and health care (more demanding jobs) became the new family dynamics (pewsoicaltrends.org 2014).”
Looking down upon the stay at home dad are foolish because of the advantages that they provide for the family dynamic. Women can be the breadwinners because of the steady jobs in the family dynamic. Sometimes we just need to eliminate the status quote that is put upon the man and also the woman of the household. All in all, society needs to chill. Money is Money, regardless of who is working for it.
Best regards, a person of society