the mustache says it all

November 8, 2013 1:21 PM

They're Rad. They're Brown. They are Dads. They're Rad Brown Dads
posted by Potomac Avenue (20 comments total)

God, I wish I had pictures of my dad pre-1985. Mexican, also rocked a mustache when I was little, used to loudly bemoan the fact that the leisure suit had gone out of style because being fashionable had never been so comfortable before or since.
posted by Sequence at 1:35 PM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Fun pics and cool purpose:

People have been asking if their non-desi dad’s can be added. Of course they can! This blog was designed with the idea of fostering self-love and retrospection on the struggles, beauty and power of our parents. Generally, this was conceived of as a resistance to de-sexualized stereotypes of Muslim and South Asian men as sexist, dweeby and abusive. But in general, I mean to look back into the pasts of people of color and immigrants and hope we can gain a greater appreciation for HOW FUCKING RAD THEY ARE.
posted by jmccw at 1:39 PM on November 8, 2013 [9 favorites]

I found this comment from one of the site owner's friends a great entry point as well:

"my dude ahmed ali akbar has this really adorable tumblr project highlighting awesome desi dads who clearly exude much radder vibes than the archetypal pejorative stodgy/dweebish uncle stereotype. find your parents’ coolest vintage photos and submit!"

"not to get all political about it or whatever but a lot of immigrant kids grow up hella internalizing that racist shame about their parents’ cultural idiosyncrasies as really weird, embarrassing and generally uncool. it’s so important to make deliberations to reverse that sort of thing"
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:50 PM on November 8, 2013 [3 favorites]

This is the cutest tumblr I have ever seen.
posted by Ouisch at 1:52 PM on November 8, 2013 [2 favorites]

Those are some cool dads. You rock, dads!

I'm curious to flash forward 25 years, because many (most?) of the coolest, awesomest guys I've ever had the pleasure to hang with were young rad brown dudes who I am certain are going to grow up to be rad brown dads, too. Their kids are going to have a field day with photos of their dads in 2040 or something.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 1:59 PM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

It's the Rad Dad Redemption
posted by Taft at 2:14 PM on November 8, 2013 [16 favorites]

This is adorable. I still laugh whenever I remember that my (Indian) dad shaved off his mustache when he had babies because my parents were afraid of terrifying their kids with a giant hairy-faced creature hovering over them. He never grew it again, though sometimes he rocks a salt and pepper beard.
posted by mayurasana at 2:24 PM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

This is way cooler than the Tim and Eric sketch I expected to find.

Diasporific, dude
posted by oceanjesse at 2:29 PM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

There's also an interesting counterpoint on the front page to the "strict Asian parents" stereotype that I never thought of:

Your average person has an incredibly weak sense of sociohistorical specificity. So when an Asian father wants to put his kids in SAT classes because thats what everyone else at church is doing, it is read as a sign of ancient “Asian Confucian values” or typical “groupism” when in fucking reality, it is because the church is a good source of information for a school system he is unfamiliar with and maybe he is anxious his peers will look down on him.

When people automatically vomit out the phrase “Tiger Mom,” they are not talking about sociohistoric circumstances or even the shared political experience that codes us all as “Asian American” — things that most scholars discuss. Rather, the term “Tiger Mom” is stereotypical shorthand for crazy Asians who are cold hearted task master dragon-lady/robots who just churn out violin prodigies and math whizes with zero creativity. There is no reality behind this stereotype.

posted by FJT at 2:50 PM on November 8, 2013 [3 favorites]

This is what Tumblr is for.
posted by koeselitz at 2:59 PM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

People have been asking if their non-desi dad’s can be added. Of course they can! This blog was designed with the idea of fostering self-love and retrospection on the struggles, beauty and power of our parents. Generally, this was conceived of as a resistance to de-sexualized stereotypes of Muslim and South Asian men as sexist, dweeby and abusive. But in general, I mean to look back into the pasts of people of color and immigrants and hope we can gain a greater appreciation for HOW FUCKING RAD THEY ARE.

Yay! As the US born and raised kid of South Asian people I cannot even tell you how much the stereotype bewilders me. My dad split household stuff more than any of my white peers' dads did. You have to if you're married to a doctor. My parents never made me feel any different or less than my brother in any way at all. I should submit my dad to this. He would love it in theory, even if in practice he'll be all "tumblr wha? You want an omelette?"
posted by sweetkid at 4:25 PM on November 8, 2013 [10 favorites]

I wouldn't say no to an omelette.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:31 PM on November 8, 2013 [8 favorites]

Rad brown mom's hair in this picture is FIERCE.
posted by nicebookrack at 5:42 PM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

And I want an epic, lavishly shot TV series about the beautiful people in this picture.
posted by nicebookrack at 5:48 PM on November 8, 2013 [5 favorites]

I regret that I have only one favorite to give this post. You know what? Favorites for everybody.
posted by device55 at 6:57 PM on November 8, 2013 [5 favorites]

Some high quality mustaches in that tumblr.
posted by Aizkolari at 7:59 PM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

I gotta say Mokhtar is channeling Jerry Colonna BIG TIME.
posted by ShutterBun at 10:16 PM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

ahh, for us ladies that were married to those Old Rad Dads...thanks for the throwback....
posted by OhSusannah at 1:19 AM on November 9, 2013 [2 favorites]

This. This is what makes the internet go round for me. Shine on you crazy rad brown diamonds, and those who are lucky enough to be their kids, shine on.
posted by eggkeeper at 10:37 AM on November 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Such exquisite mustaches.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:49 AM on November 9, 2013