Alltop.com

Lance Somerfeld and Matt Schneider have a message to send to the world about going beyond the ties and manly hugs for Father’s Day and getting to the heart of the matter, which is seeing that their hearts do, in fact, matter. While women have long stood up against the stereotype of barefoot , pregnant and nagging, the image of fathers has also been regressing as of late, and they think it’s time everyone heard their side of the story.

So, this year, let’s give them a chance to explain.

From Advertisers and TV/Film writers . . .

We would like you to rethink how you portray dads. Somewhere in the mid- to late-eighties, popular media went from treating dads as respectable, engaged parents (Cliff Huxtable, Steven Keaton) to inept, blithering idiots (Homer Simpson, Ray Barone). You are not appealing to mothers or fathers, to men or women, when you portray dads as buffoons. In many families, it’s all hands on deck just to keep up with sports practices, homework, PTA meetings, meals, and everything else that keeps a family and home running. We are seeing signs of hope — advertisers like Huggies and Mass Mutual, TV shows like Parenthood and Up All Night, and even the new movie, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, all portray dads as many of us really are– caring, capable, and confident. This is the new standard.

From “Parenting Experts” . . .

We need you to invite Dads into the conversation. When The Today Show identifies their parenting segments as “Today Moms,” or parenting magazines gear all of their content to female parents, you do a disservice to dads and moms. Supposedly, your mission is to create information that will improve the life of families. However, by addressing only one parent, you are propagating the pressure that moms are already feeling to be “perfect.” When both moms and dads are the authors, audience, and subjects of articles, you change the dynamic of how this content is consumed, and you might even positively change the parenting dynamic in homes. Again, we are seeing progress. Babble.com now has a channel specifically for dads, and employs many dads as contributors. The Huffington Post moved its Parenting channel out of the “Women” section into the “Life & Style” section, and also regularly addresses its content to dads and moms. We are hoping other shows, publications, and websites will follow these examples.

Full story at Huffington Post.

Listing to Dads.

Photo credit: Fotolia