Dad in Hilarious Costume Called ‘Father of the Year’

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This father-and-son Minion photo has gone viral on social media, with Reddit declaring him “Father of the Year.” (Photo: Reddit)

An adorable photo of a father and son dressed up as Minions while riding the subway has caused a serious amount of excitement on social media since being posted to Reddit on Sunday. That’s when the unknown photographer, who goes by user name Boba_F37T, declared, “Father of the year award goes to this gentleman who was taking a very excited boy to the movies.”

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In the image, which is slightly blurry and appears to have been taken on a New York City subway, both father and son (who looks approximately 7 years old) are wearing yellow shirts and overalls, while the dad calmly sports round white glasses to suggest he is one of the odd little creatures of the big box-office hit “Minions.” Though it’s simple and straightforward, the photo — already viewed nearly 3 million times — has provided an inspirational thrill for many fans.

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“This guy’s a good dad. Looking like a fool on the subway and in public to make your son happy is awesome,” wrote one of more than 1,200 commenters on Reddit (where the user behind the original post did not respond to a message requesting more information from Yahoo Parenting). Another chimed in, “You never look like a fool when you are doing something to make your kid happy,” and another, writing about his own neglectful dad, added, “I’m glad some kids get fathers who are this interested in their upbringing.”

The photo was also shared all over Facebook, with one post, by Miami’s 99 JAMZ hip-hop radio station, prompting nearly 12,000 likes and about 1,500 comments, most of which were highly celebratory. “According to this photo, he will go above and beyond for his child,” wrote one woman. “Fathers like this need to be recognized more, [rather] than acknowledging dead beats, who clearly don’t give a damn about their child/children. If only this earth had more men on it than boys. He has my vote!”

Kenrya Rankin Naasel, editor of the book “Bet on Black: African-American Women Celebrate Fatherhood in the Age of Barack Obama,” agrees, telling Yahoo Parenting there are many reasons why this photo has struck such a major chord.

“First of all, I think this dad and his kid have gone viral because everything about this scene is adorable. How can you not love a man and his kid dressed in overalls, yellow shirts, and Minion goggles?” she says. “I also think there is a culture in this country where a lot of people — of all races — don’t expect a lot from dads. So much of parenting is seen as women’s work, and there aren’t a lot of images in media and pop culture that show fathers going all out for their children.”

That’s even more the case when it comes to black dads, Rankin Naasel adds, noting that “there is a pervasive stereotype that envisions a wide gulf separating them from their kids, even when the research proves that black fathers who are involved with their children are actually more hands-on than men of other races in many instances. So when people see an image that so plainly puts this man’s love for his child on display, one that they don’t see very often in media, it touches them.”

John Pacini, co-founder of the Dad 2.0 Summit, which looks at the commercial power of dads online, is certainly touched by the photo. “I think it is fantastic when any parent shares a child’s passion and is willing to jump into the experience with both feet,” he tells Yahoo Parenting. “And frankly, it doesn’t matter whether the parent is doing it for their child or to satisfy their own inner child, it’s a really freeing experience for kids to see adults joining in their fun like this. The child in the picture is glowing, and you can just see the excitement and pride in their shared adventure.”

What troubles Pacini, however, is how the “Father of the Year” type comments, whenever similar photos or stories arise, “continue to show the incredibly low bar our society has set for fatherhood.” Last year, for example, Doyin Richards, who was a speaker at the 2015 Dad 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, saw a photo of himself simply brushing his daughter’s hair in the morning go viral. “It spurred talk of ‘Super Dad’ status,” Pacini says. “Men all over the world are doing amazing things for their children every day. We don’t need hero status for dads who are just doing their job any more than we should be shaming moms whenever they don’t meet today’s unreasonably high standards for ‘having it all’ motherhood.”

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