I’m Gay and African American, Essay Example

The article, “I’m Gay and African American. As A Dad, I Still Have It Easier Than Working Moms” was written by Raynard Kington, and suggests that men enjoy certain privileges in society when it comes to leadership and parenting. The article talks about the challenges associated with parenting, especially on working mothers. The author reflects on his inauguration ceremony as the 13^th president of Grinnel College, where he was interrupted by his 4-year-old son who wanted to join him on the stage. It is from that moment that Kington was inspired to write the article as he wondered whether a woman would be received well when interrupted by her kid on the stage. The community would have demeaned the woman for the son’s interference, as opposed to his case, even though he is a gay parent. The case would have been different with a woman because society still holds individual perceptions about women whereby most people believe that women are meant to stay at home, raising and nurturing children. The privilege men enjoy in the community spares them public scrutiny, as opposed to the female gender. However, the author’s situation is slightly different since he is gay, and he feels that he might not be emotionally attached to the women’s parenting debate. In his case, he enjoys certain advantages, including being born African American with a better-off social status and his differences in matters of gender and orientation detach him from the ongoing debates. However, Kington remembers how her mother had to quit her career to take care of them, and this, he believes, is the ultimate challenge that the modern woman encounters.

In his article, Kington looks at the differences in the ways that men and women parent their children. Social perspectives towards gender role feature prominently as determinants of effective parenting. The author provides a perfect example of the challenges experienced by women whereby his mother had to quit her passion and career to take care of them. The author means that parenting has evolved especially with the evolution of gay marriages. It has shifted the attention of the community from the predominant role of the mothers. Men offer a sense of security at a higher degree compared to women. The fact that gay spouses have relatively equal capacities makes the difference. It necessitates a unification of responsibility which favors the children. For gay men, they receive little or no public scrutiny since the concept of gay marriages is relatively new in the eyes of the public. Regardless of this, gay men still enjoy certain privileges as compared to women with children. Kington confesses that “as males, we’re in a position of power when it comes to making decisions about our family, somewhat immune to the cultural and social scrutiny-still-of working mothers.” The author concludes with recommendations that it is important that individuals change their cultural perceptions regarding the roles of mothers in society. In the second last paragraph of the article, he argues that “Until we shift our cultural thinking and expectations of women and mothers vs. men and fathers, there is still a sense that parenting and career choices don’t solely belong to females, that they’re not wholly personal choices.” These remarks imply that change lies within the cultural perceptions of women for them to realize equal opportunities just like their male counterparts.

Works Cited

Kington, Raynard. I’M Gay and African American. As A Dad, I Still Have It Easier Than Working Moms. 2016. www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2016/11/03/im-gay-and-african-american-as-i-dad-i-still-have-it-easier-than-working-moms/?noredirect=on . Accessed 2 Sept 2019.