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Strollerderby
That's Dad, not the manny, engaging in unpaid labor. (He's probably Danish.)
What makes a good dad? Lots of things, not the least of which is participation in the daily grind of life. But a lot of men who may even be considered great dads are let off the hook in their countries, creating a huge gender gap.
A new study on the so-called unpaid economy (aka: housework and childcare) found that in all of the 29 industrialized countries considered in the study, women do more of everything at home than their male partners. On average, women spend almost 2.5 hours more per day on tasks like childcare, laundry and making dinner.
The good news for some countries,though, is that the amount each gender takes on is becoming more equal. The bad news is that there’s still room for lots of improvement in terms of equality (especially if you’re South Korea!). Continue reading »
In the annals of “yes, we actually still need feminism,” Jezebel reports on a new study today that shows women tend to quit their jobs if their husbands work 60 or more hours per week.
Women with husbands who work long hours are 42% more likely to leave the workforce than others. If they have kids and husbands who work that much, they are 112% more likely to leave their own jobs. The effect is strongest in households where the man works in a professional or managerial position.
Remember Will Phillips, the ten-year-old boy from West Fork, Arkansas who decided that he was not going to recite the Pledge of Allegiance until the phrase “with liberty and justice for all” was accurate — that is, until everyone was able to marry the person they love? Young Will was, of course, referring to the issue of marriage equality — more specifically, the lack of marriage equality in this country. Will’s protest garnered international attention after he got in trouble for talking back to a substitute teacher about it — after four days of the teacher trying to force him to stand and recite the pledge, he told her “Ma’am, with all due respect, you can go jump off a bridge.”
Like nearly every one of us did way back when, 17-year-old Zikerria Bellamy applied for a job at McDonald’s. Lots of teens appreciate the free food, the experience, and, most of all, the money that comes with the job. Unfortunately, Zikerria wasn’t hired. That wouldn’t be of much interest were it not for the reason she was turned down — Zikerria is transgendered. And if that weren’t bad enough, one of the managers of the restaurant actually called her and left a voice message saying “We don’t hire faggots.”
Kids are different from grown-ups: they don’t know everything, they can’t take care of themselves, and they have much to learn. That’s why they need parents and caregivers — to teach them what they don’t know, take care of them, and keep real world distractions at bay so that they can concentrate on learning, growing, and maturing. Unfortunately, for a myriad of reasons, not all kids have families.
In the best-selling series of books that bear his name, Harry Potter and his friends are heroes. It turns out that the same is true in the real world — at least as far as the friends go. Some of the boy wizard’s biggest fans are coming together to protect marriage and keep families together. The Massachusetts-based, non-profit Harry Potter Alliance, “dedicated to using the examples of Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore to spread love,” has organized a “magical day of activism,” according to the group’s executive director, Andrew Slack.
Continue reading »
In a move that we would do well to emulate here in the States, Irish schools have been given a guide to issues involving LGBT students. Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Students in Post-Primary Schools — Guidance for Principals and School Leaders covers topics such as preventing homophobic bullying, creating policies inclusive of LGBT students, and supporting gay students coming out. Continue reading »
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