Slacker Husbands

Ian's school was canceled today, but somehow I fell off the phone tree. I had him dressed and packed up at 7:30 this morning. It took several angry phone calls to find out why the bus never showed up. While he's watching Ratatouille downstairs, I have a few minutes this morning to blog. Maybe more this afternoon.

Thanks to Allison for sending me some links to the backlash to Lisa Belkin's NYT article. And some really nasty backlash it is.

One guy questions whether or not "rank and file" women would be attracted to guys who want to co-parent.

Further, it is not clear that shared care will ultimately please the majority of women. Two of these Potemkin husbands opted for underemployment and part-time status so they could fulfill their domestic aspirations. One turned down a promotion because you “can’t work part time as a manager.” Fair enough, but how probable is it that rank-and-file women will be attracted to men so devoid of vocational ambition?

He writes that all the demands on the poor husbands to help out with the kids and clean up their socks are going to drive them away from marriage. The New York Times really just wants to neuter red blooded men and is cramming its radical messages down the throats of America.

Best laugh I've had all morning.

Some odd advice from me about careerist husbands.

Comments

[jen]

Is the implication there that "rank and file women" are only attracted to men for their ability to provide income? How depressing. Why would you ever want to protect that setup?

I'd love to see some of the backlash that's not so ridiculous and easily blown off as pajamas media. Any other links? Any better-reasoned arguments?

[Ailurophile]

Hah. The Nice Guy (tm) strikes again!

I'd speculate that he's hacked off either because a) his wife divorced him, or b) hot blonde twentysomethings won't give him the time of day and it's because he's a Nice Guy (tm), dammit, and this proves all women are gold-diggers and/or attracted to jerks!

(The female version of this, usually a lament about how men don't like smart or high-powered women etc. I've taken to calling MoDo Syndrome after its foremost proponent.)