Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Swedish Dads vs. American Dads

I've been a bad blogger. I've missed blogging about the high holiday of Sweden, Midsummer. All I can say is, it was good. Now we are in the US doing summer US style - hot and humid, cicadas singing, summer camp and really loud TV advertisements.

Maybe its a new trend, maybe its an old trend. Maybe it's that I now have Netflix on my computer that I watch while nursing Our newest Swede, I don't know. But I have been seeing a lot more ads lately. And a lot more ads where American Dads get a really bad rap. (That is probably American dads, but that grammar rule always drives me nuts).

Anywho.....

The fact is that in reality I see American Dads being active Dads everywhere here. They are at the playground, they are changing diapers, they are wiping tears. But just like women are left being really excited about cleaning the kitchen on American TV, the latest thing seems to be Dads left being completely helpless when faced with an infant.

Here is a sad example.


Here American Dad has no role to play at all while baby is born. His first job has something to do with a car seat. The Swede says meeting his child for the first time was a life changing moment for him. Not so for this poor guy.....

Thankfully, on further research the other ad I saw that I thought made Dad look totally worthless was actually an Uncle --- which is a little better. But still, why is it always men bumbling around babies? I had no idea what to do with an infant until I had one of my own.





2 comments:

  1. We've had a lot of debate over here about that very subject over the past couple of months. The final conclusion was that when we started to receive tv channels showing american programmes they were full of women like Lucille Ball, always showing women as airheads and men as the calm practical ones who came home and sorted out all the mess, with adoring wives and children gazing at him in wonder. Now it's payback time.

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  2. That is true. And then there was the period of fat, annoying husbands who all had beautiful, slender and helpful wives just 10 years ago. So maybe it is a bit of pay back. But still a bit depressing!

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