Dads have an image problem and Father’s Day has become comedy fodder. John Van Klaveren poses the question: Are dads a joke?
More of society’s problems are sheeted home to fathers than to mothers. Mums are emotionally accessible but dads are aloof.
The irony is that we expect fathers to be around – they are a constant in the swirling winds of change we experience almost daily – and when they are not their absence is all the more keenly felt.
Of course, a lot of blokes haven’t done their own cause any good – domestic violence, attacks on the innocent, the breaking of trust, all reported daily.
And there’s even the mortal crime of dad jokes, raising a groan expressive of the burden young people bear in having to endure them.
So the question arises: Do dads still matter?
Once you start looking, it doesn’t take long to find some staunch believers in fathers and fatherhood.
Peter Kelly helped found the annual Geelong Blokes Day Out, which he describes as a celebration of fatherhood.
“Society is grappling with negative men’s issues, the risk-taking behaviour and the deaths and injuries caused by that behaviour,” Peter agrees.
“We see all the negative press, men doing silly things.
“But we wanted to recognise some of the good stuff that blokes do out there, so we initiated a postcard project as part of Blokes Day Out.
Do you think dads are a joke? For the full story, turn to page 16.
