Dad
Top 50 Dad Blogs of 2012
Last year, when we inaugurated our Top 50 Dad Blogs list, we praised dad bloggers for “changing the way we think about fatherhood.” Indeed, a number of our favorite bloggers on this, our second Top 50 list, insist our thinking needs to be changed. They describe themselves as advocates for fathers, taking to their keyboards in order to counter dominant cultural stereotypes of dad-as-incompetent-buffoon. (You don’t believe them? Tune in to most any family sitcom on most any night of the week.) Others on the list aspire simply to entertain us with funny, relatable tales from the trenches. A few write to work through the shattering grief of losing a child or spouse.
This list features straight dads, gay dads, working dads, stay-at-home dads, geek dads, single dads, and more. In a culture where the dominant conversations around fatherhood center simply on whether dads can deign to change their kid's diaper, it's refreshing to see these guys take the public perception of parents into their own hands. We are again struck by the variety of their voices and experiences, which itself puts the lie to the notion of any one “typical dad.” A lot of our favorites from last year are back, while many worthy entrants are making their debuts. We hope you’ll enjoy laughing, crying, nodding, and discovering along with them as much as we have. As dads' online influence grows, this list will only become more and more difficult to curate — and that's a good problem to have. If you think we missed any of your favorite dad bloggers, nominate them here. – Barbara Spindel and the dad blog panel
41 / 50
Makes Me Wanna Holler
“I didn’t set out to be a blogger,” writes Eric Payne, who began his site as a forum for his fiction pieces. When his sage observations about marriage and fatherhood found an audience, however, he shifted gears. This content-rich blog (#21 on last year’s list) is, as the title suggests, his vehicle for venting. As a loving husband and dad to a teenage stepson and a young daughter in New York City, Payne has plenty of material. “I’m just trying to make sense of it all and keep my head at the same time,” he says, but he excels at dispensing no-nonsense advice and inspirational stories.
As for the turn of events that saw him transition from fiction writer to blogger, Payne notes, “Tell a compelling story and soon you will become a messenger.” He has, and he is.
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I am humbled to be included.
Many thanks.
Mitch