Nationally-Syndicated Cartoonist: It's Better to Have Two Moms than a Mom and a Dad
June 11th, 2007 by Glenn Sacks, MA for Fathers & Families
Guy Berkeley "Berke" Breathed (aka "Berkeley Breathed"), creator of the popular, nationally-syndicated cartoon OPUS, gives fathers a nice kick in the teeth Father's Day week with his latest comic "Davie Dinkle has two moms" (pictured).
In the comic, which appeared in many of America's largest newspapers yesterday (6/10/07), two elementary school boys have the following discussion:
Boy with Black Hair: Hey, ya hear about Davie Dinkle in third grade?
Boy with Blond Hair: No.
Black: He's got two moms.
Blond: Two?
Black: Multiple mommies.
Blond: Cool.
Penguin: No dad?
Black: No dads.
Blond: A dearth of dads for Davie Dinkle.
Black: Makes you wonder.
Blond: Makes you wonder what?
Black: Makes you wonder how he'll do without a male role model in the
house.
Dad: (Drunk, as he angrily throws the TV out the window) Now THAT was a pitch you @$%* moron!
In "Davie Dinkle has two moms," Breathed's message is clear--dads are useless as role models (when they're not outright destructive), and kids have little need or use for them.
To write a Letter to the Editor of the paper(s) which published this anti-father cartoon, see below. If your letter is printed, please let us know and we will link to it. To see the cartoon in a larger, clearer format, click here, here or here.
Write a Letter to the Editor Regarding Berkeley Breathed's anti-father OPUS cartoon "Davie Dinkle has two moms"
New York Times -- letters@nytimes.com
Los Angeles Times -- use web form here
Washington Post -- letters@washpost.com
Philadelphia Inquirer -- inquirer.letters@phillynews.com
Minneapolis Star Tribune -- opinion@startribune.com
Boston Globe -- letter@globe.com
Miami Herald -- HeraldEd@MiamiHerald.com
Kansas City Star -- letters@kcstar.com
The Sacramento Bee -- opinion@sacbee.com
Fort Worth Star Telegram -- letters@star-telegram.com
The Charlotte Observer -- opinion@charlotteobserver.com
Atlanta Journal Constitution -- use web form here
Salon.com -- use web form here
Berkeley Breathed can be reached at opus@washpost.com.
Numerous other papers published the OPUS cartoon. Some of them include: Austin American Statesman; Raleigh News & Observer; Fresno Bee; Akron Beacon Journal; Dayton Daily News; The State (Columbia, SC); Wichita Eagle; Lexington Herald-Leader; The Tacoma News Tribune, and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
This anti-father, "two moms are better than a mom and a dad" assertion is not unique to Breathed. Prominent feminist authors Peggy Drexler and Rosanna Hertz received positive media attention after putting forth similar notions in their recent, highly-publicized books Raising Boys Without Men: How Maverick Moms Are Creating the Next Generation of Exceptional Men (Drexler) and Single by Chance, Mothers by Choice: How Women Are Choosing Parenthood Without Marriage and Creating the New American Family (Hertz).
I criticized Drexler in my column Raising Boys Without Men: Lesbian Parents Good, Dads Bad (World Net Daily, 9/10/05) and Are Boys Really Better off Without Fathers? (San Francisco Chronicle & others, 8/31/05). I criticized both Drexler and Hertz in my co-authored column Are Single Mothers the 'New American Family?' (World Net Daily, 9/28/06).
(Note: My commentary above should NOT be construed as a criticism of lesbians, lesbian moms or gays. As I've made clear on many occasions, I fully support the rights of gays and lesbians to live their lives as they choose. What I oppose is the idea--pushed by Breathed, Drexler, Hertz and others--that kids don't need fathers, that moms are better than dads, and that having two moms is better than having a mom and a dad.)
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June 11th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Guess the cartoonist' dad was an ahole
June 11th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
This is horrible.
I mean seriously, this is disgusting, how can any man or woman expect to put up with this?
It's basically saying, not only are men useless, but are actually a negative influence on everything around them, including their children. And that their mere presence will actually damage their own children.
Sick
June 11th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
I bet that cartoon is stuck to many an alienating mother's refrigerator.
I used to like Breathed's stuff. Emphasis on the past tense.
June 11th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
The cartoonist's website lists an address for him at: opus@washpost.com
Sick'm.
June 11th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
I don't think this cartoon is saying that two mothers are necessarily better for a child, but questioning whether an alcoholic, abusive, violent man (or one who is immature, self-absorbed, etc.) is necessarily a good role model (or parent) just because he's male...
Instead of the usual knee-jerk let'sgosicthefatherhaters reaction, perhaps Glenn should have read this:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/oaklandberkeley/ci_5899764
June 11th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
HOTHEADED ACTION WARNING!!!
Before you rush to antagonize the cartoonist forever, see this positive RADAR alert:
http://www.mediaradar.org/alert_opus.php
Looks like the guy may be corrigible!
June 11th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
BASTA! Says: HOTHEADED ACTION WARNING!!! Before you rush to antagonize the cartoonist forever
This is not about a vendetta against a particular columnist, it is about making a political point. I don't care about Berkeley Breathed one way or another. Were he to publish something fair to fathers tomorrow, I would be happy to compliment him. But as it stands, his latest cartoon merits a critical response.--GS
Cross Says: I don't think this cartoon is saying...
"Cross" is Cindy Ross of the feminist group The National Alliance For Family Court Justice. They advocate sole custody for mothers in divorce and believe that Parental Alienation is an invention of the fathers' rights movement. To read their perspective, go to their website at http://www.nafcj.org/.
June 11th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Glenn, I am sorry if it looked as if my warning against flooding BB with angry letters was intended for you personally. No, that was a plural 'you', and I know that you (GS) know how to handle incidents like this one. I reacted because the last comment at that moment was the one by JD listing BB's e-mail address with an invitation to "sic'em". Remembering that earlier man-firendly Opus strip, I thought that perhaps we could succcessfully appeal to Berkeley's ability to see men's issues.
June 11th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
RE: CROSS
'but questioning whether an alcoholic, abusive, violent man (or one who is immature, self-absorbed, etc.) is necessarily a good role model (or parent) just because he's male..."
This statement is disengenous at best. I don't think there would be anyone to argue that point, so what would be the point of publishing it ?
Replace the father with a mother in that cartoon and try to justify it.
I have already registered my complaint with the "artist"
June 11th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Dear Berke Breathed,
Everyday children are separated from their fathers by family courts.
Mothers, including lesbian mothers and fathers all deserve a rebuttable presumption for shared parenting.
The cartoons and advertisements that depict fathers as buffoons are not funny.
Best wishes,
Michael H
June 12th, 2007 at 12:36 am
There was a man named "Berke"
he was an obvious jerk.
He sold out his brothers,
sucked up to poor mothers,
just prior to going BERSERK.
Hi Berke! Could you imagine the impact on your annual cashflow of a broad-reaching termination of your currently extant contracts? Maybe public opinion can help you to actualize that particular scenario?
Hate crimes come in all types, Berke.
Certainly genetic traits are the basis for defining victim groups as they relate to most current hate crime legislation.
You presumably understand that "maleness" is purely genetic, right?
Do you think you might someday find your way to a prison cell based upon the clear genetically-based, and hate-mongering discrimination against males which is inherent in your cartoons?
Gosh, one hopes you don't meet the sort of males you depict in your "art" when you find yourself in jail, Berke.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:15 am
@Cross
The adjectives you use are far more likely to be appropriate to custodial mothers than anybody else given the default position the family courts take. A drunken, child abusing, junkie mother can get custody ahead of a totally blameless father BECAUSE of bigots such as yourself. You don't care one whit for the children and your hatred of men blinds you to this. In Australia we now have a presumption of joint custody. And guess what Cindy. It's working! In years to come you and your ilk will be seen for the ignorant, prejudiced dinosaurs you really are.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:39 am
As we get closer to Father's Day, we can expect the usual insulting ads, jokes, comments, and innuendo. If I could go through just one Fathers Day without hearing an ad like "We have a present for your clueless dad that even "he" can safely operate without accidentally killing you all", I would be happy. I have not heard an ad for Mothers Day that says " We have just what your deranged, nagging, controlling mom wouldn't bitch about receiving".
June 12th, 2007 at 7:52 am
To be fair, Breathed comics are almost exclusively about men. I simply don't think he's interested in writing cartoons about women - usually his female characters are brief attempts at intoducing a voice of reason into his comics, which are rapidly shown to be wholly out of place and forgotten. Other than the little black girl, it's pretty much a sausage-fest.
That way he can make his entire cast complete violent lunatics without attracting feminist criticism.
And I think we all have a soft spot for the old comics about Binkley's dad being worried about how good a father he is (and his insane jealousy about Bill Cosby).
June 12th, 2007 at 10:18 am
WOW! What an experience.
I've just had a bit of a look at The National Alliance For Family Court Justice website.
I used to think the "patriarchy" was a seriously whacked out conspiracy theory.
The NAFCJ mob may very well be keeping aluminium foil companies in business all on their own.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Back-and-forth debates like the one going on in these comments are why this website needs a forum.
That said, Steve Dallas (the man in the strip) has never, in the long history of Bloom County and its descendants, been any kind of positive role model. He's Berke's caricature of the wasted yuppie of the 80s, the self-centered, substance-abusing, insensitive man that seemed to be the trend of the day. He's also been used to parody frat boys, ambulance-chasing lawyers, music industry producers, alien abductees, liberal feminists, gays, televangelists, and womanizers, among other stereotypes.
He has, recently, become reunited with his long-lost son, Auggie (the black-haired boy,) and is reluctantly taking on the role of father figure. However, as noted above, he isn't the best role model. The strip seems to be playing on that. He's not a bad role model because he's a man. He's a bad role model because he's a bad person in general.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:14 am
Matt, thanks for bringing context to this comic. I read all the Outland and Bloom County books, but my paper doesn't carry Opus so I miss it. I think readers have to remember that this isn't some single-gag-panel editorial, but a continuous series using characters that have been around for decades. That's important, as it means that the artist has to work within the context that is available to him.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Its a cartoon. It is meant as humor.
June 12th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Ben
That's not a defense. Jokes about black folks and fried chicken are also meant as humour. Jokes about killing Arabs are meant as humour.
Personally, I'm a huge fan of Berke Breathed, and I know that the only reason he hasn't included similar humour about women is that he doesn't bother to write about women.
But I won't pretend that, if I did find this offensive, that humour would make it excusable.
June 12th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
I also went to the "The National Alliance For Family Court Justice" website. Wow I feels so ......dirty. I will be back after I wash my hands, that kind of bigoted insanity might be contagious. Ms. Ross, if you want to know how shared parenting works, ask me. My ex and I have been doing it for more than seven years. We know others who are doing the same. It's simple, parenting is not a contest, it's a journey. I hope you figure it out.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
While I have been a fan of Breathed for many years, I believe his point with this one was poorly chosen. He could have shown what a bad father can be without seeming to offer the "two-Mom-no-Dad" as a preferable alternative. Still, I don't see how the commenter above concludes that Breathed has committed a criminal act that could well land him in prison. That's quite a bit overboard.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
I also believe the timing of this is extremely bad. With Father's Day this weekend, this couldn't be more inappropriate. I also see Breathed was recently added to Salon online magazine and an interview with him was recently published......talk about sucking up to your audience. fyi....Salon is dominated by feminists and lesbians.
June 12th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Pretty stupid. Not the comic--that was funny. What's stupid is your interpretation of it. There's nothing in there that says that having two moms is better than having a mom and a dad. There's no mom in the strip at all, dopey! There's only one parent in the strip (a single parent, in fact).
Stupid people shouldn't read comic strips if it upsets them. Watch cartoons instead.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
My 11 year old son was reading the Sunday funnies to his 14 year old brother and me as we drove away from a restaurant after Church. Gus Berkeley had written this timely Father's Day edition of Opus for my son and millions of young children to read in Sunday 's June 10 comic section.
Context is key to communication. Most Opus readers, particularly children, have no idea about the history of the comic strip, but the author knows all. That's why the creator needs to care about his readers and the message.
Opus will be reproduced in over 1200 newspapers around the world. My research shows that , of 105 million newspaper comic readers in the United States, 17 million are teens and 13 million are children between age 6 and 12.
Mr. Berkeley had a lot of fun with this one, but all at the expense of children. If there is humor here, Mr. Berkeley failed to deliver it. Millions who read Opus this week saw someone in the last panel who appears a lot like Gus Berkeley, the author himself.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
That is awful! I'm glad I didn't have a father like that, and I'm glad my son doesn't have a father like that. You have to ask, what can possibly be worse? For me, what's worse is listening to my 3 year old son say f this and f-ing that, a-hole this and that, and the mother of them all (all from the mother of course) is "daddy, daddy, mommy says you're an a-hole!".
That being said I know with absolute confidence parental alienation is not an "invention", it's a very real problem and it does go both ways. What ever happened to the days when parents raised their children, rather than trained them?
So what can be better than all of this? Being a parent. When I hear these things I tell my son that we don't say or repeat such things, just as I was raised. It has never been tempting to me to bash my son's mother. She may be very well entitled to the worst descriptions available, but never in front of my son. It makes me wonder what makes people choose to, or even want to be, so cruel.
The cartoon implies it's "cool" to have two moms. Davie Dinkle doesn't need a male role model, he needs a father... AND a mother. Any and every child would be much better without the influence depicted here, male or female.
Honestly I have no idea what the author intended to say with this cartoon. It is very vague and subsequently open to all kinds of assumptions. I can see where an abused, alienated father would assume the author is bashing dads in general, and two moms is better than any dad. I can also see this as a warning... if this guy is you (male or female) you need to wake up, take a good long look in the mirror, and grow up (though he did a very poor job relaying that one). Besides, that drunken bum doesn't read the comics, let alone the paper itself because either he's too hungover, or he's too busy trying to figure out what happened to his TV. Or maybe the author just wants to stir the pot, pluck some nerves, or get as close as he can to yelling "fire" in a crowded movie theater, without actually doing so (so as not to violate free speech).
I for one would like to see him explain the meaning of this one. To produce something so provocative, and so ambiguous, right before Father's Day is just plain bad form. I don't see any humor in this one either.
A better point to make would be, either you're a father or you're not, and either you're a mother or you're not. You can't very well call yourself either a father or a mother if you don't raise a child (which takes 21 years... or more, right?). Beyond that we are all role models, either positive or negative; Mr. Berkeley seems negative to me because he addresses bad behavior without reversing it or making a positive example. An eye for an eye leaves us both blind....
June 13th, 2007 at 4:41 am
What do you expect in this day and age? Our society has gotten so out of whack that nothing offends me anymore. I'm a white, divorced dad( not by my choice) and I see this crap all day long. Things will go back to normal after WWIII ( Maybe we should stay home and let all the Supermoms get their haeds blown off)
June 13th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Perhaps knowing that Berke Brethed is a gay male will put his apparently ambivilant stance_ into perspective....?
June 13th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Glenn, I am a big fan of yours and appreciate the fine work that you are doing, but have a little different view than you on how we fight this war. First, it is personal and it is a war. Yes, it needs to be fought on the intellectual and political fronts. But it also needs to be fought on the individual front, to include personal vendettas, as you so accurately characterized it, against our enemies. These include judges, lawyers, court psychologists, editoria;l writers, businesses (Time -Warner), Atorneys General, legislators - I think you get the idea. They need to be convinced that they need to think long and hard before they persecute men and destroy families! And those around them need to see serious consequences, like boycotts, divestitures of stocks, political embarassment, public ostracism, election loss, etc. happening to our enemies. And WE need to view them as enemies, not worthy opponents. They are crooks, liars, sociopaths, and thieves without any conscience! We are not involved in a debate, it is merely one of our weapons and a means to an end, not an end unto itself. If it doesn't work, we use other weapons. Defeat is not an option in a war!
June 14th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
[...] the gay press has fired back at me over my comments earlier this week in my blog post Nationally-Syndicated Cartoonist: It's Better to Have Two Moms than a Mom and a Dad about the OPUS Father's Day week cartoon "Davie Dinkle has two [...]
June 15th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
[...] had later criticized the same cartoon in a Townhall.com column. To learn more, see my blog posts Nationally-Syndicated Cartoonist: It's Better to Have Two Moms than a Mom and a Dad and Gay/Lesbian Press Mischaracterizes My Criticism of OPUS Cartoon. Syndicated columnist Kathleen [...]
June 16th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Hilarious cartoon! You should lighten up. Don't you have a sense of humor?
July 6th, 2007 at 12:01 am
[...] mother often points out good blog/newspaper column fodder to me (such as this recent anti-father OPUS cartoon), and yesterday she sent me this Parental Alienation segment from Annie's Mailbox. In it, a young [...]
December 11th, 2007 at 10:52 am
Wow. I know I'm late to the party, but overreact much? They didn't teach irony where you grew up? The message here is not that kids don't need fathers. The message here is a) a kid without a father will not necessarily grow up the worse for it and b) some fathers are worse than no fathers at all.
It's not like the dad was beating the children. Some men get drunk and yell at sports. A cartoon (which this most assuredly is) has the ability to take that tendency and exaggerate it. The humor is in the fact that the kids are musing seriously over the need for a male role model, while the opposite of a role model is standing next to them.
Besides, what kid grows up in a vacuum? Since when are the only influences on a child just the parents? A decent male role model can come from anywhere; biology, while preferred, is not required.
Point is, regardless of your position, lighten up. This is not the subversive media you're making it out to be. At worst, it's an ironic mirror being held up to situations already present in our society.
Oh, and while you're looking up "irony" in the dictionary, also take a gander at "glib."
January 17th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Write a Letter to the Editor Regarding Berkeley Breathed's anti-father OPUS cartoon "Davie Dinkle has two moms"
it is about time the gloves came off, men by the million must ban these publications not for a week or two but
forever, when will men on mass grow some balls and take action.?it is so simple and comes down to $$$$.
Consumer power is very powerful most people do not realise this if a man bashing company loses %20 of sales in one week they will want to know what is going on.
A silent passive aggressive campaign by not giving money is the way to go.
Also with less TV and join the men's movement
just think 30 million men $10 each, could have their own TV and radio station. umm maybe we need a mind storming part of the website.
these silly fem-bots only make it into print because it sells , so if it does not sell.....
the place of choice should be the web - not the TV or newspapers.
time is of the essence guys
****THIS IS WAR****
we will fight then
I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our family home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.
At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of Men and families. That is the will of real equality and the nation.
The men's movement and the choice men make to ban products and people with an anti-male bias,when linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength.
Even though large tracts of manhood and many old and famous traditions have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight everywhere,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island of manhood, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the internet,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the Male Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, gen X and Y, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old
February 25th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Considering all the sexism and sexual orientation bashing that women and gays/lesbians have endured over the years throughout various forms of media, I find it hilarious that some people would get so offended by a tastefully articulated comic that plays with satire and irony, rather than handing out insults like a slap to the face, which I've had to witness my entire life. I also find it amusing that the first comment I read was someone proclaiming "war". Wow, way to disprove a stereotype by being a perfect example of it... Grow up and "take it like a man."
August 5th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Cross Says:
June 11th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
So....if the same cartoon had the genders reversed ie two young girls, two dads and a fruit cake Mum (Mom) you would still hold the same view Cross, or are you to cross to be able to think straight?
One thing I have noted about women during my 40 years on this planet is that they do not have the ability (well most %90) to compare apples with apples, but then that would be playing fair....nuff said.
Also:
Blond: A dearth of dads for Davie Dinkle.