Recently-received from the Child Benefit people - one envelope containing: one letter telling me that the amount of child benefit we receive will be increased; and one leaflet from The Department for Children, Schools and Families.
Well, the letter itself is fine enough. OK, the rise isn't much, but we have to be thankful for whatever the Government of the day decides to allow us.
But the leaflet... Oh, no! The bees in my bonnet are swarming madly. The needle on the rantometer is right into the red and is straining against the stop-pin. The word "offended" doesn't adequately describe my feelings.
Why? Essentially, the leaflet's saying "with our help, you can afford childcare, so Mum can go back to work". Sounds fine and noble, eh? We're a 2-parent, 2-child family, nothing unusual in that. But hey, hold on just one darned minute, I'm a stop-at-home dad with what they term "parental responsibilities", my wife works full-time (and more), do we not fit into the equation?
Just look at these passages from the leaflet:
"Mum goes to the office, I go to karate..."
"Mum goes to work, I go to afterschool club..."
"My mum goes to work, I do art at pre-school..."
Not one mention of the word "Dad".
Therein lies my angst. Somewhat naively, I had assumed that sexism is an illegal discrimination, but it seems that it's alive and kicking in the corridors of power.
