Posted on 06/14/2004 6:54:52 PM PDT by summer
The Modern-Day American Dad: Conservative, Fat, and Unwilling To Let His Woman Stay Home
Euro RSCG Worldwide Unveils Trends Taking Shape Among U.S. Dads
NEW YORK, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- As children head to the malls to buy ties and cologne for dear old dad for Father's Day, Euro RSCG Worldwide, a global communications agency, has undertaken an online survey that reveals just who these modern-day dads are. The findings might surprise you.
It turns out Dad is one complicated guy. On the one hand, he's a big old traditionalist -- opposed to same-sex marriage, in favor of spanking, more opposed to divorce. On the other hand, he's less likely than his wife to think it's OK for a woman to stay home with the kids, and he's more likely to enjoy grocery shopping. Who knew?
"What our study has revealed is that there isn't just a gender divide in America, there's also a divide between men who are dads and men who aren't," says Marian Salzman, EVP and Chief Strategy Officer of Euro RSCG Worldwide.
"Today's dad is much more conservative on social issues, and this may have to do with the fact that, even as men are being called on to be more nurturing and involved, their traditional role as 'protector' has become much more difficult. In addition to all the old threats children faced, including substance abuse and hanging around with the 'wrong crowd,' there is now school violence, inappropriate media content available in the home through multiple channels, and, of course, the threat of terrorism. Dads seem to be the ones trying to hold back the line."
In February 2004, Market Probe International surveyed 1,982 Americans online on behalf of Euro RSCG. Among the findings:
* Dads are more likely than their wives to let the bible into the bedroom: 44% of dads say religion factors into their sex lives. In contrast, only 38% of non-dads and 35% of moms agreed.
* Someone forgot to tell dads that they were the ones who wanted to keep women out of the workforce in the first place. Now more women want to return to the home, and men won't let them! A great majority of moms surveyed (83%) think it's fine for a woman to be a homemaker and not do paid work. In contrast, only 66% of dads (and 60% of non-dads) agree with the wife-as-homemaker idea.
* Dads are also significantly more likely than their spouses to believe that divorce should be the absolute last resort (86% of dads agree vs. just 75% of moms).
* Fully 60% of dads consider monogamy a natural state for human beings, compared with just 47% of non-dads and 61% of moms.
* And speaking of sex ... they want it. An overwhelming 81% of dads believe men and women are entitled to expect regular sex from their partners. Tough luck for a lot of them, since only 65% of moms (and 56% of non-moms) feel the same way. Interestingly, only 68% of non-dads think regular sex should be expected, suggesting they may be less frustrated by the conjugal killers known as "children."
* Does the modern-day dad talk openly with his kids about sex? Not on your life. Only 42% of dads do so, compared with 56% of moms.
* When dads do talk about sex, it's not likely to be about anything other than heterosexual unions. Compared with women and non-dads, the fathers in the sample were substantially less likely to agree that same-sex partnerships/"marriages" should be accorded the same status as man- woman marriages. Only 27% of dads support same-sex marriage, compared with 34% of moms, 37% of non-dads, and a whopping 47% of non-moms.
* Is shopping fun? Not according to dads. Just over one-third (38%) of dads said they enjoy shopping and consider it a recreational activity, whereas most moms (55%) feel that way. That might explain all the men slumped on benches at the mall. One thing they do enjoy more than their spouses is food shopping: 41% of dads vs. 39% of moms consider that among their favorite chores.
* A clean home may be a sign of godliness, but it has nothing to do with manliness, say a majority of dads. Only 31% of dads agreed they enjoy shopping for household cleaning products and consider a clean home "fundamentally me"; in contrast, a slight majority of moms (51%) feel that way, as do 48% of non-moms. Non-dads? Fuggedaboutit. Only 25% agreed with that statement.
* Someone forgot to tell dads about metrosexuality. Just 6% of them read fashion magazines, follow fashion seasons, and notice new collections. Twice as many non-dads (12%) do so.
* Nonetheless, 81% of dads claim to take pride in their appearance. That's not quite as many as moms (88%), but it's more than non-dads and marginally more than non-moms (76% and 80%, respectively).
* Spare the rod? No way, say a majority of American dads: 55% of dads in the sample (and 53% of moms) consider spanking an appropriate disciplinary technique.
* 45% of dads (and 51% of moms) consider themselves better parents than their own parents were. Only 13% of both groups believe the opposite.
* A very substantial 82% of dads (and 79% of moms) say they are much more aware of the nutritional/health value of foods than they used to be, but that hasn't stopped 59% of them (and 63% of moms) from considering themselves overweight. Part of the problem is that nearly two-thirds of dads (65%) are less physically active now than they were 10 years ago. Only 59% of moms, 51% of non-dads, and 49% of non-moms are less active today.
"The modern-American dad stands out from the rest of the population on so many important issues," says Salzman. "What we find most interesting from a trends perspective is this postfeminist role reversal in which men are vying to keep women in the workforce while women are trying to move back to the home. Today's dad is eager to keep some things as they were in the mid-20th century, but< he's unwilling-and perhaps unable-to shoulder his household's financial burden without help from his spouse. This has important implications for marketers, certainly, but it also is having a tremendous impact on American life. As men and women increasingly seek a better life-work balance, we can expect to see even more of a clash within households in which both partners are looking to pull back on the work front. We may well see a stronger trend toward downsizing and simplification among couples who are willing to have less in order to be able to do less."
For more information on Euro RSCG's Prosumer Pulse(R) 2004 study or to arrange an interview with one of its authors, please contact the person listed below.[....]
Re your post #92 - I think you're only the 2nd male on this thread to have said you prefer the wife to stay home. Thanks for your post.
Hmm. Good questions.
My wife has been a stay-at-home-mom since we were married. She loves it, and I have no complaints whatsoever.
Sure, financially it can be a stretch at times, but it's worth it to have a well-adjusted daughter who wasn't raised by strangers at a day care.
Although, I don't get NEARLY as many apple pies as I think I should! I'll have to have a talk with her about that...
:-)
I am so happy that my husband is so nice about the house not being perfect. Actually, I'm harder on myself about it. If I don't have everything done on my mental checklist, I mentally beat myself up. I homeschool with four children in the house. I would love to have a perfect house and everything spotlessly clean, but as I clean I also have four other people making messes. Now, I need to go finish up the rest of the laundry, do the dishes, mop, and vacuum.
All dads read to their Kids.
Conservative - Yes. Fat - 6' 160 lbs. Stay at home wife - Yes, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
My thoughts on this are that if she works, she'll wish she was home with the kids. If she's home with the kids, she'll wish she was working. So, guys take the path of least resistance/most payoff.
Personally, if I were married, I would want my sons mother to be at home with him. But, I would also want some preschool or other organized kid interaction for him.
There were times when I worked TWO jobs, just so my wife could stay home and take care of the domestic front.
Not that I would have my wife go to work. She is just a product of her lazy, nasty, baby boomer mother who thinks heating things up is all cooking amounts to and housework is beneath her.
She is improving by leaps and bounds though. There is no greater censure I can give her than to come home and in an hour clean the house, do the dishes, discipline the kids, and prepare a meal that she puts in her mouth and says "Wow."
It's all about "I can" vs "I can't." Contemporary culture feeds women a steady diet of "You can't."
This is the kind of behavior husbands are afraid of. However, a well-adjusted wife/mother who shares work in the home and raises children in the home is a real blessing. Remember the days when mamma made us dress up when daddy came home from work? : )
"Too bad. You guys who insist on working wives don't know what you're missing."
How about a compromise? Nowadays, there are hundreds of opportunities to start a business at home, and still have time for pie baking and child rearing. And guys, don't forget that it costs a lot of money to have a career outside - clothes, child care, commuting costs, lunches, makeup, nylons, workplace parties and collections for babies, etc. Not to mention AFFAIRS. Maybe I'm being naive but I really think it's best that the mother be there to look after the children and take care of the house.
IF my wife were home schooling our children, I would be much more understanding (particularly if we had 4). But we do not have 4 and they are not being home schooled. I would not expect a "perfectly" clean house but I do not think it's unfair to expect the same effort that I give both at my office and when I get home and "work". Put it this way, I have offered my wife on countless occasion for me to stay at home and her to go back to her job where she made money than I. Care to guess what her answer was to that?
"I think there are a lot of younger married women who want to stay at home and not do any work. They get a housekeeper to clean, day care for the kids, and they go to the gym, shopping, and social engagements all day."
This is a bullseye. The post boomer generation of women in America have been raised with a totally different set of expectations than previous generations. The "work and make money and have it all" expectation was not all it was cracked up to be. So, for those whose husbands make enough, why bother with the toil of the house and kids?
Brag away! An A+ for you! :)
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