We can’t get enough Texan fatherhood news today, so here something you don’t read about every day: Joe Pressil, a 36 year old Houston resident, says that his ex-girlfriend stole his sperm and used it to produce a set of twin babies three months after they had broken up. Pressil is suing the fertility clinic that is involved in making him a father.

This week’s Podcast Question of the Week is about, well, misandry:

Have You Hired, or Would You Hire a Male Babysitter?

This issue cuts close to fathers’ hearts – we know a lot of guys that are amazing fathers and caregivers. We also know a lot of parents that have no problem leaving their oldest son in charge of younger kids while they’re away. But would those parents also hire a male babysitter? Most people would kneejerk and say “sure, why not?” But, obviously this is a real issue. So much so that even Friends had an episode about discomfort with a male nanny (screenshot vandalized above).

Would you hire a male babysitter? Have you? Why or why not?

We want to know! Leave your answer in the comments here and we’ll read some of your answers on our podcast, Sunday, 11/27.

 Kids clothing retailer Gymboree recently came under fire by activist moms for selling onesies that say, “Smart Like Dad,” without also selling onesies that say “Smart Like Mom.” Instead, the equivalent onesie for girls says, “Pretty Like Mommy.” In isolation, none of these messages are bad, but they reflect a decidedly sexist attitude toward gender: if you’re a girl, then it doesn’t matter if you’re smart (just make sure that you’re pretty!). Although it’s true that we’re all getting worked up about baby clothes, these kinds of messages have real consequences for children as they grow up. This kind of messaging about gender roles is why generations of fathers have been uncomfortable experiencing and expressing their emotions and why many women gravitate toward education and career paths that are less math-intensive.

Remember those angry mommies that I mentioned before? Well, it’s not the 1960’s and this is not an episode of Mad Men, so they started a campaign to give Gymboree a piece of their mind. The result? Gymboree pulled the clothes from both physical and online stores.

Let’s face it. Everyone likes to stick their kids in clothes that say cute things. But it’s best for everyone if we stick to neutral messages like “Bananas over mommy” (appropriately accompanied by happy baby monkeys) or Un-BEAR-ably cute” (with, you guessed it, bears).

Note: For their organization in giving Gymboree the business, the sauce goes to…

My Fox Houston recently covered Stay-At-Home-Dads, and note that the number of SAHDs has doubled in the last decade. They even mention one of our Twitter BFFs, Adam Shroeder, who owns Hanging With Dad.

Though My Fox Houston claims that the stigmas are fading, they also, by nature of covering the issue, prove that it’s not. And then there’s this – another one of the fathers they interviewed, Harlan Sparrow, says “It’s so unexpected that people give you ten times the credit for doing what a woman does on a regular basis all the time.”

I always hate reading that sentiment – and I know it’s one that’s shared pretty commonly by most involved fathers. But I’d like to suggest that it’s not that people are giving fathers “ten times the credit for what a woman does,” but that people are giving good mothers ten times less credit than they deserve. See what I did there? Dads are getting what they should be – but good mothers aren’t getting the credit they deserve. What’s happened is that society expects all mothers to be good – which is as ridiculous as saying all African Americans should be good at basketball – and thus, we’re not celebrating good parents in general. There’s good moms and bad moms – there’s good dads and bad dads. No one should be getting a free ride here – and we need to be celebrating both moms and dads that go the extra mile, and not celebrating the parents that don’t. Too often, as Sparrow insinuates, good dads end up feeling uncomfortable in public when they’re looked at as rare specimen.

In other words – stop looking at dads in public as a pleasant anomaly. We’re just doing what we know is right. Instead, let’s all point and stare at the bad parents and make them uncomfortable.

In any event – if you want to read more – then you’re in luck, there’s a whole story about it at the sauce link! Congrats to Shroeder for getting some face-time on television.

This week’s episode covers the following stories on 8bitdad.com for the week of November 14th, 2011: PQotW: Do Your Kids Help With Thanksgiving Dinner?, Disney Acquires Babble In the Name of Mothers, Proves Fathers Still Not Seen As Profitable, Babble Launches “Dadding” Section, VIDEO: Conception To Birth Visualized Scientifically