Each time the economy recovers, the share of stay-at-home dads declines. But it doesn't decline all the way back to where it was before the recession started. The business cycle, in other words, seems to intersect with shifting gender norms. If the economy keeps recovering, we should expect to see more and more dads reenter the labor force (moms too) but there likely will be a more lasting impact.I will now tantalize you with an excerpt from my soon-to-be-unleashed-upon-you-people novel, Williamsburg Rats: A Manny's Tour of Duty. You're welcome, Earth.
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Once inside the classroom, I was startled to see three other men there with kids. I’d never seen one other guy in My Grownup & Me class before, much less three. I quickly determined that they’d just lost their jobs, meaning here were three more men I’d have to compete against for a job when my Manny tour of duty soon ended. Great. Perfect fucking timing. I’d be going up against their Wall Street-packed résumés by having the goddam Cookie Monster as a reference. And of course along with their silent nods of acknowledgement they each gave me the "so, you too, huh?" look, as if I too was a victim of corporate downsizing and in their little country club. I didn’t even bother giving them the "this is my two-hundred and fourteenth straight class - if the teacher gets assassinated in the middle of arts and crafts, guess who fucking takes over?" look.
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