So I was reading this one creepypasta and the majority of the opening paragraph is:
I moved last year because I had divorced my wife and lost my old house along with custody of James. It’s rather the shit-end of the stick, but James and I love Halloween. It’s one of the few times a year that Tracy finds it acceptable for my only son to come visit me. James stays with her on every other holiday throughout the year, his birthday, and everything else in between. I get to see him only on my birthday and the week preceding Halloween, unless the high bitch-court finds it suitable for him to come spend the night every once in a while. Hmph. Frankly, I’m surprised she let him come shopping with me.
And I recalled that I have seen a LOT of movies that feature the whole "bitchy ex-wife who rarely lets me see my kids" trope. And it REALLY bugs me that the media so easily demonizes "ex-wives" in comparison to "ex-husbands." First of all, how often is it truly the case that the ex-husband (who does not have custody of the children) is a wonderful father who was equally involved in raising his children? Why should ex-husbands feel entitled to see their kids as often as they want when most fathers don't even ask for custody in the first place?
I think it's especially bad when movies/tv shows/etc. have their male lead character feel "threatened" when their ex-wife marries a wealthier man who is "stealing" his family from him. (And it's always a wealthier man because that just makes the ex-wife even more of a superficial bitch, right???) To re-iterate: most fathers don't even ask for custody in the first place. The media needs to stop sympathizing with deadbeat dads--if anything, the media should be criticizing the shit out of them and sympathizing more with single mothers.
EDIT: Ok I just came across this webpage and though it's not directly related to this post, it does relate to a lot of things I post more generally, so I'm just gonna lump it in here:
Androcentrism: It’s Okay to Be a Boy, but Being a Girl…
"Sociologists use the term “androcentrism” to refer to a new kind of sexism, one that replaces the favoring of men over women with the favoring of masculinity over femininity. According to the rules of androcentrism, men and women alike are rewarded, but only insofar as they are masculine (e.g., they play sports, drink whiskey, and are lawyers or surgeons w00t!). Meanwhile, men are punished for doing femininity and women… well, women are required to do femininity and simultaneously punished for it."
