My wife and I have been receiving American Baby for the past six months. After the most recent issue (Septemeber 2009) I have had enough. Below the pic is a copy of the letter I sent to the editor. I hope y'all read the article and see what I mean, though unfortunately most peoplw will have to wait a month for to to show up on their website http://www.americanbaby.com/
Dear Editor,
My wife and I have been receiving your magazine for the past six months on a trial basis. We will not be subscribing to your publication due to the sexist bent of of sad publication. There seems to be an anti father/male bent to the articles. I could quote many examples but I will stick to the one that pushed us over the edge. In the article Mommy Cum Laude by Dawn Papandrea in the September 2009 issue Ms. Papandrea made the following comment "While a man doesn't hear an infant's nighttime cries, smell a dirty diaper, or see an overturned bowl of pastina, the female of the species has exquisitely honed senses. After sensing her offspring blink, she leaps out of bed. With a glance at baby's expression, she determines diaper status. And the diving catch she makes to prevent flung food from hitting the floor is worthy of a slo-mo replay."
I will properly declare my biases before attacking this statement. I am the divorced father of two boys of whom I have full custody. Before my divorce I would come home from work, typically a 10-12 hour day with a 90 minute commute, and have to change diapers (which often hadn't happened all day), wash clothes, prepare dinner, and play with my children. I did this willingly because it was both my duty as a father and a pleasure because I loved my children. My stay at home wife was so very tired she told me that it was my turn to watch the children. When she left me for another man and abandon the children (aged four and two at the time) on my doorstep six months later I did not complain but cried with joy that I would have my boys. I didn't date until my divorce was final and when I did meet my current wife I told her that if my boys didn't like her SHE would be gone. I changed diapers, arranged daycare and struggled to be both daddy and mommy as I was a single parent. It was hard but it was worth it.
My current wife and I are expecting a child due in October. It is her first and my third son. I fully plan on being the same kind of father to this one as I was to my other sons. But I am angry that I due to my gender I am negated in area. It seems to me your magazine appeals to the man hating and male excluding crowd that seeks to take fatherhood out of childhood. A child needs a father and a mother, who love and cherish her, to become a successful well adjusted adult. Hillary Clinton says it takes a village to raise a child but a village is made up of parents in loving relationships with there children ready to share the burdens. When my wife, tired from pushing out a watermelon from a hole the size lemon, hears the cries of OUR offspring it will be I, tired from work and grad school, who gets up to discover what is wrong. She will try to wake but I will tell her to sleep, when I as a male with exquisitely honed senses, will determine if my child is hungry, wet and just wants to be held. My wife has a hard job during the day helping us out. The least I can do is stumble down the hall and care for OUR offspring.
The title of your publication is American Baby, not American Mother. The emphasis should be on parents helping the baby not just one. The reality is that a lot of fathers care for and worry about their children. Motherhood does not have exclusive rights on love. I think this is something we have forgot for a very long time. I hope my words will have meaning to you and your staff. I am aware there are many crappymen in this world but some of us love and cherish our children and would do anything for them, even a slo-mo dive to catch food, but I think that's why I bought a dog.
My wife and I have been receiving your magazine for the past six months on a trial basis. We will not be subscribing to your publication due to the sexist bent of of sad publication. There seems to be an anti father/male bent to the articles. I could quote many examples but I will stick to the one that pushed us over the edge. In the article Mommy Cum Laude by Dawn Papandrea in the September 2009 issue Ms. Papandrea made the following comment "While a man doesn't hear an infant's nighttime cries, smell a dirty diaper, or see an overturned bowl of pastina, the female of the species has exquisitely honed senses. After sensing her offspring blink, she leaps out of bed. With a glance at baby's expression, she determines diaper status. And the diving catch she makes to prevent flung food from hitting the floor is worthy of a slo-mo replay."
I will properly declare my biases before attacking this statement. I am the divorced father of two boys of whom I have full custody. Before my divorce I would come home from work, typically a 10-12 hour day with a 90 minute commute, and have to change diapers (which often hadn't happened all day), wash clothes, prepare dinner, and play with my children. I did this willingly because it was both my duty as a father and a pleasure because I loved my children. My stay at home wife was so very tired she told me that it was my turn to watch the children. When she left me for another man and abandon the children (aged four and two at the time) on my doorstep six months later I did not complain but cried with joy that I would have my boys. I didn't date until my divorce was final and when I did meet my current wife I told her that if my boys didn't like her SHE would be gone. I changed diapers, arranged daycare and struggled to be both daddy and mommy as I was a single parent. It was hard but it was worth it.
My current wife and I are expecting a child due in October. It is her first and my third son. I fully plan on being the same kind of father to this one as I was to my other sons. But I am angry that I due to my gender I am negated in area. It seems to me your magazine appeals to the man hating and male excluding crowd that seeks to take fatherhood out of childhood. A child needs a father and a mother, who love and cherish her, to become a successful well adjusted adult. Hillary Clinton says it takes a village to raise a child but a village is made up of parents in loving relationships with there children ready to share the burdens. When my wife, tired from pushing out a watermelon from a hole the size lemon, hears the cries of OUR offspring it will be I, tired from work and grad school, who gets up to discover what is wrong. She will try to wake but I will tell her to sleep, when I as a male with exquisitely honed senses, will determine if my child is hungry, wet and just wants to be held. My wife has a hard job during the day helping us out. The least I can do is stumble down the hall and care for OUR offspring.
The title of your publication is American Baby, not American Mother. The emphasis should be on parents helping the baby not just one. The reality is that a lot of fathers care for and worry about their children. Motherhood does not have exclusive rights on love. I think this is something we have forgot for a very long time. I hope my words will have meaning to you and your staff. I am aware there are many crappymen in this world but some of us love and cherish our children and would do anything for them, even a slo-mo dive to catch food, but I think that's why I bought a dog.
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