Father's Day is not just a celebration of fathers at an individual level it is also a time to reflect about the place fathers have in British society - hence why the attention on fathers was so welcome this past week.
It can also be used by others to attack fathers to collect politically correct Brownie points with the Fawcett Society and metropolitan elite a la Cameron or by those who don't think fathers matter a la Hornby but also it can be used to desperately attack men and fathers in the the hope that someone notices the writer.
With modern-day feminism under reasoned attack for its mutation into misandry, and the fact that so many women have made a living out of it (or want to - they need to put to use their BA in gender studies that daddy has paid for) or are desperately seeking attention themselves (in some classic 'me too' behaviour) that the type of attacks yesterday are actually useful.
This is because they are so ridiculous in their hatred of men and fathers that it shines a clear spotlight into this mutation into misandry. The comments in the comments sections of these pieces show how both women and men are waking up to it and this is especially important for women who like men and like their fathers.
They can see and read with their own eyes, how these people who purport to be their 'sisters' are using their positions to denigrate men.
Modern-day feminism will be killed off by women who wake up to the misandry rife in Britain today.
These are the ones I saw over the weekend and judge for yourself
The Guardian - Whatever you do on Father's Day, don't buy into the fear of men deserts (Sarah Ditum)
Daily Mail - Men are as useless as Homer (Rachel Johnson)
Huffington Post - Father's day is a waste of time (Louise Pennington)
Posted by Skimmington
PS - Here are some other positive stories about fathers - Justin Rose, Daily Express (Dad's the Word) and Huffington Post
S, thanks for pulling all this together. Some of the attacks on Father's Day - Louise Pennington's piece in Huff Post, which you link, comes to mind - were truly vile. How would a man denied access to his child(ren) by a vindictive ex-partner feel after reading such pieces? The women (and men) writing such pieces were pouring salt into wounds.
A comment re modern-day feminism mutating into misandry. I'd put it the other way around. Misandry mutated into modern-day (militant / radical / gender) feminism 30+ years ago. More people are seeing the reality of feminism with each passing month, and it's a parasite which grows ever larger, becomes ever hungrier, and will kill its host (civilised society) unless its host kills it first.
Good to see TROM free of abusive comments.
Posted by: Mike Buchanan | Tuesday, 18 June 2013 at 07:47
Sarah Ditum trundles on in her article about statistics in a paradoxical attempt to prove many less children live without male role models/fathers than CSJ say. So actually suggesting that she thinks it a good thing to have men and fathers involved. However perhaps sensing the flaw in her approach she ends by conjuring up the images of male abusers, fathers raising their hand to children and spouse. Of course all research on child abuse points to "traditional" family arrangements are the most protective to children and spouses. It also points out "mothers" are most likely to be the abuser of small children. Finally despite "category creep" and somewhat stretched interpretation of "abuse" these remain mercifully rare in our truly vast population. So the millions of fathers and mothers should not be stigmatised by the actions of a few.
Posted by: Groan | Tuesday, 18 June 2013 at 13:23
Skimmington, somehow I missed Sarah Ditum's 'Guardian' piece re Father's Day you linked. Today I had an exchange with her:
http://j4mb.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/sarah-ditum/
Posted by: Mike Buchanan | Saturday, 22 June 2013 at 22:52