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Full-Time Dads;

The Magazine for Caregiver Fathers

Issue 24

The Men's Room

By Stephen Harris

Fatherhood and manhood are connected at the very heart. It's obvious that one cannot be a father without being a man, but paternity and fatherhood are different, and male-ness and manhood are somewhat different too. Perhaps it's only a matter of degree.

It has been said by various people that becoming a father is easy; actually being a father is not. Being male is no big deal, but delving into manhood, fully realizing what it means to be a man and putting your core beliefs into action is more difficult.

As men grow into a more fully realized manhood, with all its textures and complexities, so we grow in our fatherhood, and vice versa. For the explorations into one cannot help but color our experience of the other. Full-Time Dads has been providing resources for men to explore their fatherhood for more than four years. It is our intention, with The Men's Room, to offer those same resources for the exploration of manhood.

There is tons of stuff all over the net already. I won't even attempt to capture it all for you. But I'll post articles and essays that inspire me, and search out links to other sites that might be useful in your exploration. As with every other aspect of Full-Time Dads, your ideas, suggestions and comments are always welcomed.

It's a feast, guys. Dig in!

A Few Good Links:

Men's Issues Page: As good a place to start the exploration as any. You'll find more here than you can shake a stick at.

National Congress for Men and Children

The Backlash: News from the radical edge.

Full-Time Dads encourages you to check everything out, and see for yourself. Full-Time Dads does not necessarily endorse any of these sites, nor do we necessarily agree with what they represent. Full-Time Dads does endorse the free exchange of ideas, and the open-minded exploration of this universe. Please be aware that Web sites come and go, and even those that are well-established might be unavailable for some reason. If you can't get through, try again later.

No Comment

I offer the following with no comment.It has been floating around for a while, usually passed off as humor. Is this offensive? To whom, men, women or both? Is it true or is it not? I know what I think of this; I want to know what you think.This is important.

The Rules:

1. The female always makes the rules.
2. The rules can change without notice.
3. Males cannot know the rules.
4. If the female suspects that the male knows the rules, she must immediately change some of the rules.
5. The female never bears blame for being wrong.
6. If the female is "wrong," it is because of a flagrant misunderstanding which was a direct result of something that the male did or said which was wrong.
7. If rule 6 applies, the male must apologize for causing the misunderstanding.
8. The female can change her mind.
9. The male must never change his mind without the consent of the female.
10. The female has every right to be angry or upset at any time.
11. The male must always remain calm, unless the female wants him to be angry or upset.
12. The female must never let the male know whether or not she wants him to be angry or upset.
13. If the female has PMS, there are no rules.
14. The male cannot diagnose PMS.

Copyright 1996 Stephen Harris