Mister Mom
As a man who is the homemaking arm of his marriage (what I whimsically call a "house-spouse"), I can't avoid a feeling a faint annoyance about the new NBC program, Mister Mom. More than that, though, I feel a bit of bewilderment and wonder at the extent of cultural stratification, and the frequency of my wife's and my situation relative to that portrayed in the show. Sure, no one in her family or mine is in a marriage in which the wife works and the husband stays at home, but we know several other couples -- including that of our pediatrician and our next-door neighbors -- that are. More broadly, I don't know any husband in my generation who is helpless when he has to take care of the house and the kids. To be honest, I'm not anywhere near as effective or efficient a homemaker as my mom was: too many distractions (this blog, exhibit A). But I don't think advertisers would buy time for a half-hour of watching me tend to the home.
So I'm left to marvel at the fact that somebody at NBC thinks that a show portraying the stereotypical image of a husband who, gee whiz, never realized how much work it was to keep house or tend the children would have mass appeal. Golly, is Mattel going to buy time to advertize its Teen Talk Barbie (remember, "math is hard") during the program? Maybe some of the wives could dress up as men and infiltrate the lodges of their husbands' fraternal organizations -- wouldn't that be a hoot? For those wondering, incidentally, the cinematic Mr. Mom, starring Michael Keaton, came out in 1983. A television movie, Wait Till Your Mother Gets Home!, came out the same year. Teen Talk Barbie was introduced in 1994, and it was highly controversial. The premise of the new NBC show seems about as fresh and relevant as a mullet.
Even on the nanny shows (Nanny 911, Supernanny), most of the couples seem to divide the housework and childrearing at least to some extent other than the grilling-on-Sundays, wait-till-your-father-gets-home demarcations. Where the hell are these husbands who are sufficiently helpless to provide entertainment value?
So I'm left to marvel at the fact that somebody at NBC thinks that a show portraying the stereotypical image of a husband who, gee whiz, never realized how much work it was to keep house or tend the children would have mass appeal. Golly, is Mattel going to buy time to advertize its Teen Talk Barbie (remember, "math is hard") during the program? Maybe some of the wives could dress up as men and infiltrate the lodges of their husbands' fraternal organizations -- wouldn't that be a hoot? For those wondering, incidentally, the cinematic Mr. Mom, starring Michael Keaton, came out in 1983. A television movie, Wait Till Your Mother Gets Home!, came out the same year. Teen Talk Barbie was introduced in 1994, and it was highly controversial. The premise of the new NBC show seems about as fresh and relevant as a mullet.
Even on the nanny shows (Nanny 911, Supernanny), most of the couples seem to divide the housework and childrearing at least to some extent other than the grilling-on-Sundays, wait-till-your-father-gets-home demarcations. Where the hell are these husbands who are sufficiently helpless to provide entertainment value?
posted by heavynettle at 19:24
1 Comments:
As with most of America--even in red states--the prevalent reality in my circles is that childrearing & housework is more or less divided evenly between spouses. I think it's much more the norm than the Mister Mom show would imply. This is especially so since our current economy makes it financially impossible for many families to have a full-time or part-time stay-at-home parent. Whether this is the best thing for the children is, of course, irrelavant since we can all agree that 3 meals a day and a roof over their little heads is of more immediate concern than whether or not they get enough snuggles...
I haven't seen the show, but it's a pity that it is relying on such an outdated set of cultural norms. This is especially so because the stay-at-home dads I know are up against some tough, often comical, and contemporary challenges: "play dates" are awkward for fathers to set up with stay-at-home mothers; meeting parents (usually women) at parks, childrens' museums, and other venues which mothers use to set up the beneficial and recipricol social networks that make it possible to do things like visit the doctor or go shopping without always having the kids in tow are much more difficult for dads to set up.
Here's an idea for NBC: Mr. Mom's wife has an important presentation and can't stay home and he can't find anyone to baby-swap/sit for him and is forced to take his kids (I assume he has 3, the magic sit-com number) along for his annual prostate exam! Comedy ensues as the mens' clinic waiting room is turned into a day care and little Nellie--who just has to go potty--walks in on daddy during his exam. Or maybe a boy child could walk in and suddenly be confronted with one of the unpleasant realities of the adult male experience. Oh the laughs; oh the pathos...
Kill your television, man.
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