Dad Hair?

So, I am a devout listener and advocate of public radio (despite constant harassment from my friends that I am a grandma). Being that I am able to be in my car a lot for my job, I always get a chance to hear tons of awesome stories on NPR. The other day, I heard a story on, well, “The Story” with Dick Gordon about a man named Craig Lawrey and his daughter, Sheila. Lawrey is the author of the book “Does Your Daughter Have Dad Hair?”

 

Basically, the story is about a stay-at-home dad and his experiences trying to get his daughter ready for school in the morning, finding that what he was having most trouble with was brushing her hair. One day, when dropping Sheila off at school, her teacher asked; “Are you a stay-at-home dad?” To which he replied; “Yes, but how could you tell?” Then the teacher simply points to Sheila and says “Because she has ‘dad’ hair,” meaning: a “rat’s nest” (in Sheila’s words). So what does Lawrey do? He starts researching and asking other dads and moms about the how to do his daughter’s hair, compiles that information, and writes a book on it for other dads. Really kind of…sweet…

 

Granted, this guy is ex-military and confesses that he never would have dreamed of doing this before. His plan was always to have a wife that would take care of the kids while he “brought home the bacon,” in his own words. However, he claims, becoming a parent changes you.

 

Okay, so what exactly am I getting at here? Sure, this guy used to be pretty sexist or “traditional” (wow, what a word). But, while I could point out what’s wrong with the story and his previous assumptions about gender roles, I think what’s important here is that it doesn’t undermine what he is doing for his daughter and his wife. He is okay with changing up the gender roles and being the father that he should be. I’m not saying let’s throw all stay-at-home dads a parade, because women have been doing that for well, forever. What I am applauding these men for is breaking down gender roles, and for the first time, not feeling ashamed about it. I find it extremely hopeful and enlightening that those men, even men who consider themselves “macho” (whatever that is…) are finally starting to take responsibilities for gender roles that were never assigned to them before. Hey, maybe there is hope for a future without gender roles!

 

Here is a link to the interview online if you’re interested in listening, it’s only the last two minutes or so.

 

Also, I don’t know if you guys noticed today but this video was blowing up the blogosphere today (did I really just say that? Don’t judge me.):

 

It’s a nice coincidence that there have been two stories in the last couple of days about dads and their daughters’ hair. This video and song were created by one of the writers of Sesame Street. Apparently, he and his wife is Italian-American and adopted a little girl from Ethiopia when she was five. He could see that her perception of beauty was limited to blonde Barbie dolls and he wanted her to be proud of her own hair and feel good about the way she looks.