Myth Busters: Fatherhood Edition

I was born and raised in a home where my father was present and involved. I knew I was loved. I knew my father wanted great things for me. I knew he cheered me on everyday. He took the time to hear my fears and he put up with all of my teenage angst. It was important to me to marry someone who at least seemed to have the potential to be an involved and caring parent. There's always hope, but there's no guarantee! I'm happy to say that my children have such a dad.
The media often represents fathers in an out of touch, bumbling stereotype. Think George Banks in Father of the Bride, Homer Simpson, and Ray Romano from Everybody Loves Raymond. Is the media's portrayal of fatherhood accurate, or is it just entertaining and something we as viewers buy into? Common sense would say that there are as many different personas of dads as there are dads. In fact it's important to note that fatherhood does not always look like the dads portrayed on TV or in movies. Furthermore, the media doesn't do society any favors by preaching a construct of fatherhood that is rarely in the home, out of touch with their children's lives, who may be the sole financial provider, but fails to provide his children with love and affection.
The Washington Post published this interesting article, "5 Myths about Fatherhood," and with it being Father's Day and with our study of the effects of media, I thought this article was a great piece to discuss. According to this article fathers are just as capable of nurturing their children as mothers are. They are crucial to the family unit, not dispensable influences as the media portrays. As men age it is actually harder to be an effective father. Health deteriorates which effects energy levels, and the ability to work and play.  What if the media took the research that has been done on fatherhood and its essential, valuable role in the family unit and portrayed fathers who were fallible, but effect and nurturing fathers? What effect might this have on society's belief and value of fatherhood? I would love to see this as a mass media experiment!
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