This Father's Day, A Call for an Anti-Authoritarian Model of Fatherhood
And a poignant story of a "virtual dad" on Instagram
Father's Day always brings forth affecting accounts of parent-child relationships, but the one that struck a chord in me this year was this story of Summer Clayton, a 26 year old fitness trainer who has become a virtual dad to millions of young people on Tik Tok. He holds a virtual chat once a week, laying out a plate of food for his “children” watching him. He asks them how their day was and teaches them life skills, from shaving to coping with loss. The handle of Clayton's account, @yourprouddad, sums up the positive and loving spirit he transmits to the millions who look up to him as a father figure.