We often ask ourselves, “how will I be perceived by others”? In the essay, ‘Breaking Dad’, French summarizes the challenges he navigated as a stay-at-home dad (SAHD); a position he was thrown into unexpectedly with the impression of this role being temporary. However, in Terry Martin Hekker’s essay “The Satisfactions of Housewifery,” she argues that the housewife occupation is slandered by humanity and is not given the recognition it deserves. While both texts compare the rather ‘hidden’ struggles stay at home parents face, the essays diverge from each other with Hekker concluding that the stay at home lifestyle is fulfilling to an individual while French encourages us to branch out from the expectations. Through the use of anecdotes and binaries, …show more content…
Throughout the piece, French describes how the guilt grew as his career plans shrank, adding that he felt ashamed he couldn’t fulfill the stereotypical ‘male role’. He shared “I sat apart, conflicted with my feelings”. While his wife was cast as the breadwinner, working a 9-5 job, French was struggling to be a sufficient caregiver for his son at home. When he was opted into a role normally classified as “the woman's job”, he became distraught and explained ‘I didn’t think I was cut out to be a full-time parent. I was ill-tempered and self-absorbed. When I was supposed to be parenting, I was really thinking about ‘work’. By admitting the insecurities surrounding his current role through his anecdote, it is clear that French feels guilty for not feeling content in caring for his children. While it did take time, French learned to accept the position he was in and even admitted ‘the shame once felt as a SAHD was morphing into a kind of pride’. However, despite the fulfillment French felt as a caregiver, he still sought out the kind of adrenaline he felt working on, noting, he wasn’t “discovering anything or taking risks”. And in time, he soon craved a greater purpose than simply being his
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