Second, our social universe has already marginalized fathers from the family. The feminist movement teaches that men are unnecessary. Inculcating the belief that mothers and fathers are perfect substitutes can only accelerate that trend. The microscopic number of gay male couples who adopt are not going to interrupt that. No one will look at a pair of men parenting a child and say to themselves, “You see, it is just as I have always suspected. Children don’t need mothers.” Yet that is exactly the conclusion people draw from a pair of lesbians raising children together.
Which brings us back to Opus the Penguin. Berkeley Breathed wanted his readers to draw the conclusion that men are unnecessary and fathers are dispensable. I beg to differ. Kids thrive when they live with their own fathers, married to their mothers. Social science has definitively proven this point. I am running a feature on my website right now called What Dads Do. Men and women alike have been writing in to me, describing the irreplaceable contributions that their fathers have made in their lives, or that their husbands have made to the lives of their children. This vulgar cartoonist has no business trashing an entire class of people.
This is anti-male hate speech. If you doubt this, try reversing the images. Suppose he had drawn a cartoon featuring an innocent white male, minding his own business off-stage. Suppose he then showed an unattractive, stereotypical lesbian or gay man. The Lambda Legal Society would go ballistic.
It is time for women who love men to go ballistic. No doubt, many embittered women will complain that all men are exactly as the cartoonist depicted them. For every one of those women, there are easily five or more who appreciate the contributions the men in their lives have made to their families. I know that I don’t appreciate the implicit attack on my husband, my father, my brothers, and my brothers-in-law. These fine men serve their families and protect the weak.
Women, we need to take action. I wrote a letter to the editor of my local paper, urging that they discontinue Opus. I urge all of you to do the same.