Some parents throw around phrases like “girl dad” or “boy mom” and, even though sometimes those parents are well-meaning enough, those terms have a certain meaning attached to them that can set kids up for unnecessary expectations associated with gender roles. When one dad shared a TikTok where he jokes about seeing a boy dad with a video game console while he, a girl dad, carries a boxed vanity set, it sparked a heated debate.
Some parents in the comment section under the video shared their feelings about enjoying all kinds of toys and activities with their kids, regardless of gender. Others commented that the post was meant to be a joke and nothing more. For some parents, however, little is funny about acting as though a girl dad can’t also play video games with his daughter or that a boy dad has to do just that.
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‘Boy dads’ and ‘girl dads’ gave their side of things in the comments under the post.
The TikTok video is pretty short. The first show is of a man with his young daughter. They ride an escalator together in a mall, while the dad, a forlorn expression splashed across his face, holds a box that contains a vanity set. Another shot shows a different dad, who is with his young son on a nearby escalator. Instead of a box with a vanity inside, he’s holding a box that contains a PlayStation 5 console.
The idea is that the dad of the girl is sad he doesn’t get to enjoy other things with his child because he doesn’t have a son. On the flip side, the “cooler” dad with the son appears to be giddy to play video games with his child. But as we all know, kids of any gender can play with whatever they are drawn to.
Unfortunately, some of the parents in the comment section under the video were quick to share frustration at the idea behind the video, even if it’s supposed to be funny.
As one parent shared, “My daughter LOVES gaming with me.”
Another wrote, “I have two daughters, we play Apex Legends together.”
Some self-proclaimed “girl dads” commented too. One wrote, “If you’re doing your job, being a girl dad is the best. You are looked at as if you’re Superman.”
“Girl Dad here,” another commenter shared. “They play with dolls and PlayStation. It’s about exposing them to a variety of experiences they may enjoy and not keeping them in a box.”
Others think the ‘boy dad’ post was just a joke and not meant to be taken too seriously.
Although the creator didn’t give much away in the caption of the video or the video itself, some TikTokers took the video to be a comedic look at boy dads and girl dads and nothing more. They wrote in the comments that some of the other parents took the video too seriously. Instead of waging a war in the comment section about what it means to be a girl dad or boy dad, according to some people, everyone should just look at the video for its humor.
“I don’t get why people can’t get the joke,” someone commented under the TikTok clip. “Guarantee the parents in here being sensitive and shouting about their hurt feelings would be liking and agreeing to a video of a mom saying how much better it is to be a girl mom. You are blind to the hypocrisy of it all. And before you come at me, I have laughed at both. ‘Cause it’s really not that serious.”
