The problem with baby showers vs. man showers | BabyCenter Blog

Baby-bottle beer drinking contests? Destination weekends? Sports events? Diaper kegs? Cigar parties?

Excuse me while I adjust my eyes to the light. I?ve apparently been in a cave and missed the fact that dads-to-be are being treated to a very different kind of ?baby shower.?

Man showers, dad showers, daddy moons, dadchelor parties, dadelor parties? whatever you want to call them, the idea is the same: ?You?re on death row, Dude. And we?re going to miss you.?

I knew there was a reason I always wanted to be a boy.

There?s a certain amount of refreshing honesty that comes with the thought of a bunch of guys essentially wallowing in their arrested development and bidding their friend a drunken adieu at the one-way gates of fatherhood.

If the dad to be gets any present that can?t be smoked or chugged, it might be a formal dad uniform to wear in the delivery room.

Compare that with what goes on with moms-to-be, last I knew, and what you?ve got is a serious discrepancy. Baby showers, in comparison, are yawn-worthy, herbal tea-filled afternoons of sweet little lies and pretension.

Let?s see, whatever the venue, the baby shower message is this:

?Your life is just about to truly begin. Of course, you?ll be needing some equipment. Once you see how rewarding it feels to put these adorable outfits on your baby, then watch him poop all over them, and stick your engorged boobs into his mouth while wearing this tent, or attaching this top-of-the-line pump to your breasts, and carrying our baby around 24/7 in this cool sling while reading her Goodnight Moon in French as you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles with this super kegel exerciser, you will wonder why you even bothered to get out of bed in the morning before you were a mother. Aren?t you excited? Should you really be drinking that champagne and eating that Brie? Here, have some water and celery instead. There?s a good girl.?

There seems to be more than just alcohol that distinguishes these two rituals from each other. Doesn?t there?

Men: Hedonism. Say goodbye to freedom!
Women: Asceticism. Say hello to true, enlightened happiness.

I?m getting a major whiff of sexism here that I never bothered to smell before.

Has your man been treated to a dadchelor party? Would you let him go? Do you ever wish baby showers were more like man showers? Have you ever been to a raucous baby shower?

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Source: http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/09262012the-problem-with-baby-showers-vs-man-showers/

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