I have to agree, and would go a step further to bring in the comparison with queer couples and parents, and patients. If I got to a doctor and seeing nothing in the waiting rooms on queer health or identity, not even a tiny rainbow sticker in a corner, I mentally prepare myself for a more emotionally draining…

Don’t be obtuse, you know what I’m talking about.

Yeah I think the biggest thing is that while I think men should learn to be comfortable with reading things with (non-porno) images of women and to empathize with women, reading things that assume you are another person entirely is disorienting and discouraging for anyone. If the pamphlet says “you may start lactating…

I tell my husband all the time that things won’t get better for MEN unless they start standing up for themselves when it comes to taking time off for sick kids and school events. Part of the problem is the older male generation, who absolutely do not see any reason for men to take time off for their children. Can’t…

I agree. In some ways this seems analogous to changing the “bro culture” in tech companies to make women feel that they belong—it’s easy to say “just ignore” all the messaging around you, but in practice people don’t go where they don’t feel wanted.

I think you’re missing the point. The goal isn’t to make guys feel welcome as an end in itself, but because it could have a positive effect on the mother and child. Sometimes, if you’re trying to get someone to change their behavior, empathy is exactly what you need.

Nope, men are trying to take away our reproductive rights so we’ll be trapped at home with babies and out of the workplace. They want to go back to the time when women “knew their place” and that place was at home. They want to leave all that baby rearing to us while the men work and provide and control every aspect…

Quite frankly, I am sick and tired of babies being automatically associated with women. It’s bad enough our careers suffer because we’re the primary care givers when kids get sick.

The snark-worthy part of this article isn’t the part the author chose to call out, which is super frustrating. The jump from “men are more comfortable” to “healthier outcomes for women and babies” is the snarkable part. I am very familiar with the research here and let me tell you, it is *thin.* It’s mostly based on…

Agreed! To me, this feels like the other side of the representation coin. We demand to see more women in positions of authority, as leads of movies, as elected officials, etc because it signals that women belong there (same with POC, LGBT+, etc), so let’s also signal that men belong in these traditionally feminine…

Many years ago, I read “advice” in Cosmo about how to make men care about childcare. The best approach? Tell your husband that being an involved father is attractive and sexy, his kids will love him for it, and they’ll be more likely to look up to him.

Neither do I. It doesn’t sound like these changes are being made at the expense of women—photos and reading materials aimed at men are being provided in addition to those aimed at women, not in place of them. One thing that is not changing as fast as it should is the assumption that women rule the domestic sphere and…

I’d like to see research on how having ob/gyn office waiting rooms filled with images of dads and men affects women’s involvement in the prenatal period. “An increased involvement in prenatal care” just sounds like dudes nagging their pregnant partners to me. I don’t need more women’s experiences turned paternalistic.

I get the author’s frustration, in that a number of men kinda assume they don’t really need to do much until the baby is out, or even until the baby is walking.

Yes, any time I see someone reply something horrible to someone else I just go ahead and block. Like you say, sooner or later they’ll find me, too.

Any little step counts and frankly there’s nothing wrong with making people feel welcome. Men in the United States are generally not expected to take much interest in raising their children beyond providing for the family and being the “fun” parent. 

I don’t think he wanted better actors. He wanted people under his control to have sex in front of him in a way that he found pleasing. Some call that “directing,” others have different words for it.

can’t surgically alter a personality or misogyny though. so, the problem for these dudes will remain.

100% agree. I get being cynical about big corporations adopting woke-ness as a means to sell products, but I think it’s still a big deal and legitimately great when they make the deliberate choice to center ad campaigns around groups who have been shunned and ignored. Especially when there are still so many companies…

Aww, he can't help his genetics. He looks like a baby polar bear