There will be a day we'll be seen as equals, until then, there's this crap....

Entertainment Tech Briefs: Internet 'clubhouse' supports the notion that boys best learn from dads 473 words 30 July 2007 The Salt Lake Tribune English © 2007
The Salt Lake Tribune. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All Rights Reserved.

"Decades of attention to female empowerment, equality and the shift to a more gender-neutral society has inadvertently stifled boys today, leaving them falling behind in the classroom and in life. So says Mark Jacobsen, founder of Adventure Boys, an Internet "clubhouse" for fathers and sons. Adventure Boys celebrates "harmless boyhood mischief," and supports the notion that boys best learn to be boys - and eventually, men - from their fathers. Adventure boys.com features magic tricks, pranks, stuff to build, science experiments, survival skills, games and contests."

My response to the above? Although I see the positives in the article that fathers should be more involved in their boys' lives, I'm very bothered that the author sees this as the fault of the "women's movement." Um, what? There's no derth of action adventure games for boys. I know this after doing PR for a boy's action toy brand. And, well, what does "making mischief" have to do with making better men? Although the argument seems idiotic (when has the feminist movement ever advocated that boys can't pull pranks), the insidious part is that it's taking down women's efforts to be empowered. I question the assertion that with women becoming "strong" it makes men "weak." I can't wait for the day when strength by both sexes is seen as benefiting everyone. Perhaps we need to start by redefining what strength means. Is it personal and or physical? Or both? Regardless, if a person is truly strong, why would they be threatened by anyone? When we get into this type of blame instead of looking at our own responsibilities, how can we ever truly change?