Co-Parenting and the Rise of the Cooking Dad

Rise of the Cooking DadA new wave of men has emerged dubbed quotgastrosexualsquotamp160they are aged 2544 wellread welltravelledamp160and enjoy cooking amp160While traditional factors of a man39s attractiveness physical health personality salary have not diminished a man39s capability to wield a carving knife now makes him a more suitable partner for many women amp160Fifty percent of women questioned in a PurAsia food survey reported that a man who can cook is more attractive onequarter of men surveyed replied that they use their skills with sauces and chef39s knives in order to meet and impress women reported DailyMailcom amp160One in five women under the age of thirtyfive stated that their male partner makes better meals than they do according to the article amp160From 2003 to 2014 the share of men doing food preparation and clean up on an average day increased from 35 percent to 43 percent according to the 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics39 American Time Use Survey SummaryThe source of these men39s inspiration amp160Television according to several studiesamp160including one by Total Greek Yogurt amp160The younger generation grew up with Food Network stars and Iron Chefs amp160While their moms and dads were spending more time at work and less time in the kitchen TV cooking and celebrity chefs became the new hearth amp160Gordon Ramsay Emerilamp160and Bobby Flay are masculine men who can create meals that make our mouths water although Flay39s marital travails have diminished his popularity and his brand amp160Shows like Iron Chef are maledominated with articulate and usually attractive men serving up dishes to usually attractive women for comments and criticism amp160NBCU39s Esquirecom channel has a cooking competition called Knife Fight on which chefs compete not only with their dishes but with words as a crowd of diners most of them female cheer jeeramp160and egg them onFood Network and the Cooking Channel report 65 female viewership in 2013 with male viewership rising according to Broadcasting ampamp Cable mirroring the breakdown of which gender is now responsible for putting a meal on the table amp160Nigella Lawson food writer extraordinaire claimed that she would be happier about men doing the cooking if it meant that they would clean up the kitchen once they had finished getting the food on the dining room table reported The GuardianCoParentingWhile some economically displaced dads stay home and raise their kids as a stopgap measure desperately hoping to go back to work as soon as possible other dads discovered that they enjoyed parenting and became adept at ignoring society39s ambivalence to this new gender reversal role Most dads found themselves somewhat in between enjoying the experience of bonding on a deeper level with their children but also wishing that it had been a conscious decision rather than an economic and circumstantial necessity amp160It39s time we begin acknowledging stayathome dads as engaged and responsible partners doing the best for their families rather than labeling them as quotoutofworkquot dadsThis loosening of traditional gender roles not only gives both men and women newfound freedom to explore aspects of their personal and professional lives that had historically been unavailable to them but also prepares the way for the concept of coparenting amp160Coparenting defined as parents39 sharing substantially although not necessarily equally in decisionmaking and responsibility for the physical and emotional care of their children is now a primary expectation among engaged and newly married couplesThis newly perceived freedom to redefine gender roles combined with an increased desire that both parents be fully involved in their children39s lives allows couples to rewrite if not literally reverse the rules for mothers and fathers amp160Although the movement is just beginning to reach critical mass and popular acceptance a quottypicalquot rolerewritten couple has begun to emergeThe Future of Men Masculinity in the TwentyFirst Century is available at Amazoncomamp160 Jack Myers39 TEDWomen talk can be viewed at wwwfutureofmencomClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleagues

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Co-Parenting and the Rise of the Cooking Dad

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Jack Myers

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