--- title: Father's Day: Why Dads Are the New Heroes description: The fact that children see their fathers as their heroes tells us something bout the time and energy that men are expending to be present. canonical: https://time.com/4371837/fathers-day-heroes/ author: Michael Kimmel article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-17T14:07:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:26.525Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why Dads Are the New Heroes og:description: They're spending more time with their families og:url: https://time.com/4371837/fathers-day-heroes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb447a6eb25ae1339/698898305f570f3f54b21600/super-dad-hero.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Father and son in superhero capes in field og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Dads Are the New Heroes twitter:description: They're spending more time with their families twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb447a6eb25ae1339/698898305f570f3f54b21600/super-dad-hero.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Dads Are the New Heroes > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=b2b2ff18-ccb4-40ca-a08e-3735072e69ff&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Best Father And Son Duos In Sports [Watch (HLS stream): The Best Father And Son Duos In Sports](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/naGvgJDz.m3u8) (2:39)  _Published 2015-06-12. We all want to follow in dad’s footsteps. But that becomes a bit more difficult when your dad is an NFL Pro Bowler or a World Series Champion._ by [Michael Kimmel](https://time.com/author/michael-kimmel/) ## Michael Kimmel Michael Kimmel is a sociologist and the author of "Manhood in America: A Cultural History and Angry White Men." Jun 17, 2016 2:07 PM UTC  Getty Images/Hero Images by [Michael Kimmel](https://time.com/author/michael-kimmel/) ## Michael Kimmel Michael Kimmel is a sociologist and the author of "Manhood in America: A Cultural History and Angry White Men." Jun 17, 2016 2:07 PM UTC Thirty years ago, when I first began teaching about masculinity, I’d ask my students who their heroes were. I’d get a predictable response: a near-equal split among athletes (Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan), rock stars (Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson) and movie stars (Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger), with the occasional smattering of public figures, both living and dead (Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Jesus). Heroes were larger than life, embodying those traits that mere mortals could only imagine: being the best in the world at what they do, transcending the immediate moment for the eternal. Today, that heroic landscape has changed dramatically. Sure, about half the class still lists athletes (LeBron James, Steph Curry), rock stars (Kanye West, Justin Bieber) and movie stars (pick your superhero). And sure, there remains a smattering of public figures (usually President Obama). But the single most common answer today—in a world of political cynicism and a 24/7 news cycle that digs up dirt on anyone who sets foot on the public stage—is “my dad” and “my mom.” Celebrities are too distant, and the constant glare of the paparazzi flashbulbs reveals their many flaws. But parents are really there, working hard and sacrificing for their families, emotional advisors, counselors and even friends. Lest this seem idiosyncratic, it’s [confirmed](http://www.slideshare.net/russjosephs/the-millennials-who-are-they-what-do-they-want-where-are-they-going) in recent surveys. [More than half](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2007-08-19-2800778131%5Fx.htm) of young people name a parent. There’s a pretty clean gender breakdown: with some crossover, of course, girls name their moms, and boys name their dads. That girls would see their moms as heroes is interesting but not surprising. Many young women say they either text or talk with their moms every day, even after they’ve gone off to college. They talk about their lives and express their emotions. They often think of their moms as older friends. That boys name their dads more often than any single public personality is, however, a bit surprising. For one thing, [heroes](http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/28/living/irpt-kids-superheroes/) are often more important to boys than they are to girls. Having heroes, role models, ideal visions to aspire to—these are long-standing themes of boyhood. For decades, many critics complained that fathers were married to their work and absentee landlords at home, more like Don Draper and Mr. Mom. Earlier in the century, [critics](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,161949,00.html) called fatherhood “a Sunday institution.” But dads have to “be there” to be seen as a hero to young boys, who contrast their active and involved fathers to the remoteness of the celebrity models. So the fact that children see their fathers as their heroes tells us something not about the paucity of appropriate public role models, but about a richer abundance of time and energy that men are expending to be present in their families. This shift is borne out in [recent studies](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/16/fathers-day-facts/) that find women and men equally committed to balancing work and family life and to being involved parents. And the dads, too, have some role models—other dads who go to extraordinary lengths to fully care for their families. Men like Will Pemble, a California engineer who took his son, Lyle’s interest in rollercoasters to new heights—building one for him in their backyard. Or Rocco Forgione and Corey Martin, who completely uprooted their lives when their son was born, so they could be near supportive family and friends. Or Miguel Avila, who logged countless hours of dance lessons because his daughter’s most fervent wish was to hip hop dance with her dad at her Quinceanera. But many new dads express a more everyday heroism. In fact, it’s not even really heroic at all; it’s just called life. Men are doing more [childcare](http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/03/14/modern-parenthood-roles-of-moms-and-dads-converge-as-they-balance-work-and-family/) (though not, alas, not that much more housework) than they have ever done in our history. Most new fathers are even adept with diaper changing! And more than that, men’s attitudes have shifted. No more do qualities such as caring and nurturing make a man seem less “manly.” According to a recent survey by [DoveMen+Care](http://www.dovemencare.us/fathers-day/), on which I consulted, 7 out of 10 American men believe that being a real hero means putting other’s needs first. This is a significant change. For decades, social scientists observed a growing gap between what men would say it means to be a man and what they were actually doing. While they clung fast to traditional definitions of emotionless, dutiful, hardened creatures who never cry and win at all costs, they also were spending more time with their families. This gap has begun to close—because men have begun to shift their attitudes about masculinity. Right alongside that archaic manly stoicism comes being caring, nurturing and being emotionally present. Of course, caring for others has long been an abstract American masculine virtue: think of manly sacrifice in war movies or the heroic Western loner, who saves the town from the bad guys and then rides off into the sunset. Today, though, fathers are caring in more concrete and less abstract ways. Rising above the mundane, today’s Western hero rides off into the sunset because he needs to be home to share the cooking and washing the dishes before he puts the baby to bed. Now that’s everyday heroism! ## Transcript We all want to follow in dad's footsteps. But that becomes a bit more difficult when your dad is an NFL pro- bowler or World Series champion. Well, despite the odds some children pull it off, and some other kids even manage to out Out do their old man. He had 16 productive NBA seasons, but now he's just Steph's dad. After 1, 083 games, 12, 670 points, nearly 4, 000 of which came from behind the arc, and 16 NBA seasons. Dell Curry has officially handed over the NBA keys to his son Steph. You know, Stephen Curry, former March Madness Cinderella turned NBA MVP. Both Dell and Steph have a serious knack for putting points on the board, and they're even better at it from about 23 feet away. Dell Curry finishes nine seasons with the Charlotte Hornets as the team's all time leading scorer. And all time leader in 3- pointers made. Not to be outdone, Steph Curry has reached 1, 000 career 3- pointers faster than any other NBA player in history. He also has managed to set the NBA record for most 3s in a single season only to break that record two years later. Next up [ MUSIC ] Both Eli Manning and his older brother, Payton, are superstar starting quarterbacks in the NFL. With three Superbowl rings between them. But this impressive NFL family tree begins with their father, Archie Manning. The NFL's original Manning never had the post season success his sons have had, but he did make the Pro- Bowl twice and was the NFC offensive player of the year in 1978. This is a hard question for a father to answer, who's better Eli or Payton? Oh, I don't go there And we won't either, the Manning brothers boast one of the most impression joint resumes in sports, having appeared in five of the last nine Superbowls but if you're wondering, Eli has one more ring than his big brother. As special as it is for a father and son to play pro ball, imagine a father- son duo on the same team at the same time. In 1990 three time all star and two time world series champion Ken Griffey Sr. shared the field in Seattle with his oldest son Ken Griffey Jr. The two played a total of 51 games on the Mariners' roster before Griffey Sr. called it a career. They even became the only father and son in MLB history to hit back to back homers in the same game. Ken Griffey Junior will go on to be one of the most prolific home run hitters in MLB history racking up 630 homers, but he'd never reach the world series and it looks like his dad won't let him forget it. Just remember, he got all the home runs. Yeah. 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