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
12 / 50
Fighting Monsters with Rubber Swords
Rob Rummel-Hudson’s 12-year-old daughter, Schuyler, suffers from a rare neurological condition called Bilateral Perisylvian Polymicrogyria and is unable to speak. His moving and insightful blog, which began in February of 2006 and ranked #5 on last year’s list, tells their story. (He’s also published a memoir, Schuyler’s Monster: A Father’s Journey With His Wordless Daughter.
An erstwhile freelance trombonist and music teacher, Rummel-Hudson has taken on the role of his daughter’s advocate with inspirational grace and good humor. Writing after Halloween, he posted pictures of his daughter dressed in a fierce Valkyrie costume. “I can’t say for certain why Schuyler loves Halloween so much,” he wrote. “Probably for the obvious reasons. Free candy, running around with her oldest friend being weird in the street, staying up late, playing dress up, etc. I wonder sometimes if there’s more to it, to the fact that on Halloween, Schuyler’s weird disappears a little. When she becomes someone else, she lets go of who she is, of the circumstances in which she finds herself, even if just for a night.”
Rummel-Hudson provides a voice for a daughter (and, by extension, a community) who literally has none. He’s a dad worth listening to.
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I am humbled to be included.
Many thanks.
Mitch