Dad
Top 50 Dad Blogs of 2012
Last year, when we inaugurated our Top 50 Dad Blogs list, we praised dad bloggers for “changing the way we think about fatherhood.” Indeed, a number of our favorite bloggers on this, our second Top 50 list, insist our thinking needs to be changed. They describe themselves as advocates for fathers, taking to their keyboards in order to counter dominant cultural stereotypes of dad-as-incompetent-buffoon. (You don’t believe them? Tune in to most any family sitcom on most any night of the week.) Others on the list aspire simply to entertain us with funny, relatable tales from the trenches. A few write to work through the shattering grief of losing a child or spouse.
This list features straight dads, gay dads, working dads, stay-at-home dads, geek dads, single dads, and more. In a culture where the dominant conversations around fatherhood center simply on whether dads can deign to change their kid's diaper, it's refreshing to see these guys take the public perception of parents into their own hands. We are again struck by the variety of their voices and experiences, which itself puts the lie to the notion of any one “typical dad.” A lot of our favorites from last year are back, while many worthy entrants are making their debuts. We hope you’ll enjoy laughing, crying, nodding, and discovering along with them as much as we have. As dads' online influence grows, this list will only become more and more difficult to curate — and that's a good problem to have. If you think we missed any of your favorite dad bloggers, nominate them here. – Barbara Spindel and the dad blog panel
30 / 50
Dad Down Under
Dad Down Under is Matt, an expat Brit and stay-at-home father writing about day-to-day life in Melbourne, Australia with the almost-two-year-old Max. Part of his stated mission as a blogger is to entertain, which he certainly does. (On going through has son’s teething: “My own preferred method is a little whiskey and a gentle rocking motion, not for the baby you fools, for me!”) He also envisions Dad Down Under as a community forum for SAHDs, a safe space for men to “compare the folding actions of our prams without fear of reprisal.”
But the charming and hilarious Matt isn’t afraid to expose his vulnerable side, either. He writes about moments of loneliness and isolation and reveals the difficulties he’s had penetrating his neighborhood’s inner circle of stay-at-home mums, who still eye stay-at-home dads with suspicion. C’mon, mums — let the guy in! You have no idea what you’re missing.
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I am humbled to be included.
Many thanks.
Mitch