Full-Time Dads;
The E-Magazine for Caregiver Fathers
Issue 3, originally appeared in print - August 1991
Congratulations to Thomas Lucas, age 17, of Salt Rock, West Virginia. He is the first male to be national president of the 41 year old Future Homemakers of America organization. Thomas came to seek this position after he was required to take home economics in junior high school and decided to continue with the optional classes upon entering high school. After hearing in class that there would be a meeting of the Future Homemakers of America he decided to go. Not too surprisingly, he found himself the only male there.
After eventually winning the role of president, Thomas had to drop his position as starting defensive tackle on the high school football team. His duties as president of the group demanded too much of his time to go to both activities. He commented to columnist Bob Greene that "football creates animosity between people" rather than physical well-being and sportsmanship, and that "Future Homemakers of America has offered me a hundred times more good things than football ever could"
Thomas 'step-father Larry Brown agrees with his son that it's wrong to bring up a son to be macho and is very proud of Thomas' accomplishment even though his personal perceptions growing up didn't allow for such possibilities.
Thomas states that he receives more prejudiced comments from adults than he does from kids his own age. His particular interests as president of the Future Homemakers of America center on expanding and developing programs about drug abuse, drinking and driving, and teen pregnancies. Obviously FHA is more than sewing and cooking.
There are currently 315,000 members which has about 11% male membership. Thomas' active role in the Future homemakers of America certainly signals a change in expectations that students have for themselves. With this happening in the hollows of West virginia where ruggedness defines the male role we can see that real changes are occurring nationally.
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