Like most men, Steve Almond liked to gaze at scantily clad, nubile women - but all changed with the birth of his daughter Josephine. That's when Steve realized that there were two people inside of him fighting for control - he called one the Dude Self and the other, the Dad Self:
Here’s where things become complicated. Because despite being a dad and having all these noble dad concerns about my daughter and all the daughters of the world, I still gaze at media sluts on occasion.
What I’ve come to realize is that there are really two people inside me: the Dude Self and the Dad Self. The Dude Self has an evolutionary mandate. Namely, to get his DNA into all available fertile females. This is how I explain the compulsion toward media sluts, who, after all, sow the fantasy that women exist only for the carnal pleasure of men.
But then there’s the Dad Self. The Dad Self has to worry about the survival of his wife and offspring. It might be said that his genetic material is heavily mortgaged. He regards women differently, especially if he has a daughter. Now he must think about the kind of world in which he’d like her to grow up, and especially how he’d like other males to treat her, which is to say not as a sexual chew toy, but with kindness and respect.
It’s here that my old Dude Self and my brand-new Dad Self come to blows. Because as much as I want to check out Paris and Lindsay, I know I’m harming my daughter by doing so. For one thing, I’m sending her a very clear message: Daddy loves sluts. Be a slut and Daddy will love you. And if you don’t believe that a 1-year-old picks up on messages, you’ve never seen my daughter in action. She is intensely focused on everything in her environment, especially whatever I happen to be looking at.
Steve wrote an interesting article at BestLife on "Bimbo-Proofing the Nursery," i.e. his plan to make sure his daughter doesn't turn out like Lindsay Lohan: http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/family-fatherhood/Bimbo-Proof_the_Nursery.shtml - via Locust & Honey
i'm just glad this guy made the realization while his daughter is still very very young for two reasons: first, having this new-found perspective will definitely help him develop a more mature view of women as his daughter grows up. second, his daughter will likely have a better upbringing and won't end up a madia slut. hopefully she'll deny the images altogether and take the alternate route of modesty.
I want to punch this guy in the balls.
Firstly, he's projecting an awful lot onto evolution. What, so evolution wants me to refer to women as 'media sluts?' Thanks a lot, evolution! Evolutionarily, I'd want my infant daughter to grow up to be a 'slut'? Will do, evolution!
This guy is little more than a sex-obsessed misogynist and I fear for his daughter.