Last week, I stopped by Papyrus to pick out a Father’s Day card for Steve. Based on what I saw depicted in the cards, there are three things that dads are interested in: barbecuing, beer, and golf.

That’s the best that the greeting card industry can do? What about all the dads (including my husband) who have no interest in any of those subjects.  Instead of designing greeting cards around some image of men that is stuck in the 1950s, where are the cards with jokes about techno-geek dads or dads with tattoos?

Based on the cards I saw, men are the shallowest of creatures, barely evolved from Neanderthals. I saw cards that had pictures of cats expressing deeper thoughts than the sentiments on most Father’s Day cards.

Apparently, if there is cold beer in the fridge, a piece of red meat on the grill, and sports on the TV, all of a man’s dreams have been fulfilled. If Mother’s Day cards represented women as only caring about shopping for shoes, making cupcakes and going out for cocktails with the girls, we would be insulted. So why do these stereotypes perpetuate for men?

Sure, men’s hobbies are an easy target for greeting cards, but what about the message communicated in the cards? How about honoring dads for working hard every day to take care of their families? Or helping their children build character and integrity? Or modeling respect for women by the way the treat their wives?

It’s certainly fine to poke fun at dads – Steve will tell you how I get a delightedly evil gleam in my eye when I find a way to tease him. But please, let’s not make the “men are idiots and if it wasn’t for the level-headed, smart women around them they would probably be running with scissors” attitude that seems to be in every TV commercial also the primary message for Father’s Day.

Mother’s Day cards are full of the heartfelt sentiments about how mom taught the important lessons in life and sacrificed for the sake of the kids. I think dad would appreciate hearing that once a year too.

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