Swagger is a word that’s been around for a long time but has been on the “come-up” as of late thanks to Jay-Z, Kanye, T.I., Lil’ Wayne and M.I.A.’s “Swagger Like Us.” I believe swagger begins internally as a state of mind. It has to otherwise it is nothing more than an act that fades over time. And real swagger is not an act. When someone really has swagger you can feel it radiating off of them no different than the way heat does when the oven is set to 400 degrees.
A few years ago when I accepted I was going to be a biological father I was quite panicked about the whole thing. Around this time, I happened to read an article in GQ magazine that put fathers into about 6 categories. The one that resonated with me the most was Prada Dad, the father everyone wants to know and be. In fact the Prada Dad is so cool, he makes childless men want to be fathers, and women…well I don’t need to go into that here. I pledged to be a Prada Dad even though I don’t own anything Prada.
President Obama (currently the king of swagger) has swagger for days and talks about his kids. Brad Pitt can’t seem to have kids fast enough and he’s got swagger, shouting out being a father. Will Smith has swagger and he is an outspoken family man. And the modern day father of swagger, Denzel – do I need to say more? The man doesn’t even need his last name to be identified by the masses. Now all of these men are celebrities and they have plenty of money and childcare assistance, but they do stand out. There are plenty of other men who are celebrities and choose to act a fool while keeping their kids a secret. The men I just listed proclaim fatherhood. It truly adds to their cool.
Before family life, I believed I was cool. And now that I’m a family man with wife and kids in tow I still am. But it’s a different kind of cool….
How does having kids change a man’s coolness? Read the rest of the article on BlackAndMarriedWithKids.com and tell us if your child’s father has “Daddy Swagger”.
What if men could have babies?!
Should you marry your baby daddy?
