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
46 / 50
The Daddy Complex
David Vienna is the father of young twin boys, hard-won after struggles with infertility and eventually conceived through in vitro fertilization. On his blog he shares what he calls “bad parenting, accidental victories, and abject panic.” Not all the parenting is bad, not all the victories accidental, and not all the panic abject, but we see his point.
His site, #22 on last year’s list, offers the straight dope for new parents and parents-to-be. (“I’m not going to lie to you,” he warns. “Your first year with your baby is going to be the hardest thing you ever do.”) Vienna also posts fun, engaging stories about life with his sons. Finally, be sure to check out his YouTube video series called “Fighting With Babies,” in which an overwhelmed puppet father argues with his twin puppet babies – a case of art mirroring life, we suspect.
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I am humbled to be included.
Many thanks.
Mitch