video: who’s a single lady?
By now you’ve seen this video, or at least one of your friends has sent you the link to Single Ladies Devestation, but in case you haven’t…
It’s hilarious and a very important lesson in parenting. But there’s also another unintentional lesson here, did you catch it?
When I first saw the video, I laughed my ass off, I sent it around to Facebook and Twitter, then I watched it two more times. The father’s sober admission at the end is what nails it. Then I sent the following to twitter:
In thinking about the “Single Ladies Devastation” video… that’s what you get trying to reinforce gender stereotypes on a young’un.
Now, this probably isn’t really that guy’s parenting style, but it reminds me so much of parents I know who freak out when their son plays with dolls or their daughter plays with cars. They are constantly trying to steer their children’s gender expressions towards what they believe to be “the norm”. My dad did it too, trying to make sure I watched football and played with other boys*. What’s even more amusing is that on the way home from the doctor, I saw the current end result of all this. On metro platforms were fathers trying to deal with a mess of children on their own who are clearly the “working dads” who are never home with the kids. Yet that’s the exact same behavior they were taught and are passing on.
Or, you can just watch the video, have a laugh and think about how it relates to the following clip from The Simpsons as suggested by Michael:
[flv:lovelisa.flv 320 240]
But between mom saying “You can be a single lady if you want, ok?” and dad’s “I’m a horrible father.” I’d say one–or perhaps both, now–of them gets it. I’d also say stop taking video with your damn iPhone while driving… but that rant is for another day. 
* And as we all know, I can assure him that I am still playing with boys.†
† Though… not lately, so you if you know anyone cute and single, lemme know!
I think it’s at 0:27 when the kid’s heart rips in half. Poor kid. Someday this story will be told on a therapist’s couch, many many times. “and then… he posted it on the internet. True, he disabled comments, but the damage was done.”
I did have a moment of sheer horror when the mom entered the frame to comfort the kid and it occurred to me that this was not being filmed from the passenger seat. The only thing that could make this better is if “I’m a horrible father” was followed by BOOM and the airbag filling the screen. From the look of these folks, it’s proof that when you have kids, it’s time to stop trying to be hip.