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Doyin Richards

First and foremost, I'm a proud dad to two amazing tiny female humans. After that, I'm a writer, a dreamer, a doer, a disrupter, and a fan of really bad professional sports teams. We owe it to ourselves and our children to make the world a better place, and I'm happy to do my small part to help. If you like my work here, be sure to check me out on Facebook and Twitter for more good stuff.

Family

A letter to the woman who told me to stay in my daughter's life after seeing my skin.

'I'm not a shiny unicorn. There are plenty of black men like me who love fatherhood.'

Dad and daughters take a walk through Disneyland.

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To a stranger I met at a coffee shop a few years ago who introduced me to what my life as a parent would be like:

My "welcome to black fatherhood moment" happened five years ago, and I remember it like it happened yesterday.

I doubt you'll remember it, though — so let me refresh your memory.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Los Angeles in 2011, and I decided to walk my then 3-month-old daughter to the corner Starbucks. That's when I met you — a stylish older white woman who happened to be ahead of me in line.

You were very friendly and offered up many compliments about how cute my daughter was, and I agreed wholeheartedly with you. She's cute.

But after you picked up your drink, you delivered this parting shot:

"No offense, but it's not often that I see black guys out with their kids, but it's such a wonderful thing," she said. "No matter what happens, I hope you stay involved in her life."

And then you put on your designer sunglasses and left.

Meanwhile, I was like...

That was unexpected.

GIF from "Live with Kelly and Michael."

Here's the thing: I'm not angry with you, but I want you to understand the impact you had on my life.

Do I think you're a mean-spirited racist? No, I don't. Actually, I bet you're a really nice lady.

But let's be real for a second: Your view on black dads was tough for me to stomach, and I want you to know a few things about what it's really like to be me.

1. I want you to know that we have challenges that other dads don't experience.

I know what you're thinking: "Oh boy — let me brace myself while he 'blacksplains' how hard his life is while shaming me for ignoring my white privilege."

But that would be missing the point. We all have our challenges in life, and I'm not about to bring a big bottle of whine to a pity party.

Instead, as you probably know, today's dads are trying to shed the stigma of being clueless buffoons.

Kid, you're gonna love this! Wheeeee ... uh oh.

Image from Giphy.

But black dads have an additional obstacle to hurdle in that we're often seen as completely disinterested in fatherhood. Trust me, it gets old when people automatically assume you're not good at something because of the color of your skin.

Our encounter was the first of many examples of this that I've witnessed, directly or indirectly, in my five and a half years of fatherhood, and I'm sure there will be more to come.

2. I want you to know that I'm not a shiny unicorn. There are plenty of black men just like me who love fatherhood.

During the months that followed our brief meeting, I felt a need to prove that you — a complete stranger — were wrong. I needed to prove there were plenty of black men just like me who loved being dads.

I knew a lot of these great men personally: My dad, my two brothers, and many others embraced fatherhood. But could any data back up how much black dads embraced fatherhood? Because the examples in mainstream media were few and far between.

Thankfully, the answer is yes.

A few years after I met you, a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that 70% of black dads are likely to engage in common child-rearing activities such as diaper changing, bathing, toilet training, etc., on a daily basis. That's a higher percentage than white or Hispanic fathers.

Full stop.

This isn't about black dads being "the best" because parenthood isn't a competition. It's about showing that we're not even remotely as bad as society makes us out to be.

And outside of the CDC study, I saw firsthand how hands-on black dads are when I was thrust into the public eye, too, because a lot of them reached out to me to tell their stories.

We nurture our kids.

dads, social norms, ethnicity, privilege

Getting close to the twins.

Photo taken from the Daddy Doin' Work Instagram feed and used with permission.

We're affectionate with our kids.

Love is universal.

Photo taken from the Daddy Doin' Work Instagram feed and used with permission.

And we do whatever our kids need us to do.

Dad takes a deserved nap.

Photo taken from the Daddy Doin' Work Instagram feed and used with permission.

And none of that should come as a surprise to anyone.

3. I want you to know that I believe you meant well when you praised me for being involved in my daughter's life, but that's what I'm programmed to do.

Disneyland, fathers, daughters, ethnicity

Princess dresses at Disneyland? You bet.

Photo taken from the Daddy Doin' Work Instagram feed and used with permission.

I will always be there for her and her baby sister.

Even though I just described how black dads are different from many dads, I hope the takeaway you have from this is that we have a lot of similarities, too.

Please don't fall into the trap of saying that you want to live in a colorblind world because it makes it harder to identify with inequality when it happens. Instead, I hope you can recognize that we have the same hopes, dreams, and fears as other parents, but the roads we travel may not be the same.

And no, I don't want an apology.

But I hope when you pick up your next latte and see a dad who looks like me that you'll smile knowing he's the rule rather than the exception.

This article originally appeared on 06.15.16

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What difference does a washer and dryer make? In this school, it's huge.

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Saul Calzadilla is one of those teachers kids just love. He can always find ways to make learning fun.

All images via Whirlpool.

And his "Green Machine" gardening program is Exhibit A.

During a typical day at his school in Nashville, Calzadilla's students learn about life, death, and the consequences of their actions (like don’t pick a melon too early or it won’t become ripe) in a garden right outside the classroom.

"For almost every other science class, we find ourselves out in the garden exploring," Calzadilla says. "Putting the seeds in, pulling the weeds out, and making sure there’s hay spread out to keep the weeds from coming back up. It’s a lot of fun."

And of course, with all that dirt, mud, and water, the kids get really messy in the process. (But, hey, isn’t that part of the fun?)

While it can be fun to be messy, it didn’t take long for Calzadilla to realize all that dirt might not be so fun for some families that didn't have easy access to a washer-dryer.

And that's why laundry programs, like the Whirlpool Care Counts™ laundry program, can be so helpful.

Many of Calzadilla’s students are from low-income families that don’t have access to laundry machines at home, and the frequent laundromat visits can get expensive quickly. That meant not everyone was having fun in his class.

Some kids wouldn’t participate in the gardening activities out of fear that their parents would get "really mad" at them if they came home dirty. A few even started missing school because they didn’t want to re-wear their dirty clothes to school.

Instead of learning and playing uninhibited, these kids were letting their fear of getting dirty affect their learning. And most importantly, they were missing out on a class that taught them valuable life skills at the same time.

It was hard on the parents too.

Monica, a mom at the Nashville school, remembers how stressful it was once when she couldn’t afford to repair her dryer after it went on the fritz. You don’t have to be a parent to realize that getting kids ready for school each day is no joke — but in addition to the common morning ritual, Monica also spent her mornings deciding whether she should send her kids to school in damp clothes or in something from the dirty pile.

Something seemingly as simple as access to clean clothes has a far-reaching impact on the education and self-esteem of children.

That’s why the school knew it had to do something, and thanks to a donation from the Whirlpool Care Counts™ laundry program, they were able to install a washer and dryer for all to use.

Suddenly, families could visit the campus and do their kids’ laundry free of charge.

Calzadilla noticed positive results from the jump.

"Kids come to school with more confidence and focus on the things that matter, like playing in the garden or making friends when otherwise it might have been difficult for them," he says.

Plus, thanks to parents like Monica, using the laundry facilities is stigma-free.

As a member of the parent-teacher association, she knew the onus was on people like her to reassure other parents that no one would judge them for using the washer and dryer. "Knowing other parents are there to support you is really helpful," she says. "It’s a lot easier than hearing the teacher say it."

Having the facilities is good enough for most, but the effects of the program are more profound than just clean clothes for the kiddos.

It fosters a sense of inclusion in the community that wasn’t present before.

While they’re waiting for the laundry, parents are able to volunteer in the classrooms and spend time getting to know their fellow moms and dads.

For Monica, a stay-at-home mom, it gave her the adult interaction she desperately craved by helping others. "It gave me a sense of purpose," she recalls.

Thanks to this program, teachers can focus on learning, parents can focus on parenting, and kids can focus on being kids.

And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

Parenting is a really tough job, but the washer and dryer at the school has helped to alleviate some of that stress. Instead of spending money and time at the laundromat on a Tuesday night, parents can save their money and help their kids with homework.

Overall, parents at the school are a much happier bunch because of it.

"It’s just an amazing thing, not having to worry about if clothes are going to be clean or dirty or if their kids are going to be smelly," Monica beams.

Often, it’s easy to take clean clothes for granted and forget how much of a privilege it is. An unavoidable aspect of childhood is getting dirty — and no kid should feel ashamed to do what comes naturally to them.

That's why the Whirlpool Care Counts™ laundry program has already donated washers and dryers to 58 schools nationwide, and they plan to donate even more in the coming months so that other kids can learn and play without being afraid of getting a little dirty.

"It’s something so small, but it’s so big at the same time," Monica says.

Anything that helps make the world a better place is always a big deal. Even if it’s just cleaning up life’s little messes.

'If you want to flip the script, sometimes you gotta do it yourself.'

Do you ever watch a movie and think, "Hey, that person looks just me"? Unfortunately, that rarely happens for this woman.

Meet Michelle Villemaire. She's an Asian-American Do-It-Yourself project guru living in Los Angeles. And don't let her friendly smile fool you — she's actually kinda annoyed right now.

Villemaire is not a happy camper. Photo from Michelle Villemaire, used with permission.

For as long as she can remember, Villemaire has wanted to be a television personality.

But for most of her life, she figured she didn't have a shot because there was hardly anyone on the big (or small) screen who resembled her.

Throughout history, and even today, many Asian characters are played by non-Asians. Villemaire calls it yellowface, and she doesn't mince words when it comes to how she feels about it.

"The practice of yellowface is just plain racist and disgusting," Villemaire said. "It has to stop."

That's why she decided to take on her most unique DIY project to date: calling out Hollywood's yellowface problem in epic fashion.

First, she found examples of white people portraying Asian characters in movies. Then she inserted photos of herself next to them to show the world that Asians can be amazing in the roles that were meant for them.

She called the project "Correcting Yellowface."

"I wanted to feel like I was a part of Hollywood history, if only for a moment," Villemaire said. "I didn't know if the results would look right, but apparently they did."

Check out four stunning examples of Villemaire depicting Asian characters. She appears on the right in all of the photo sets:

1. Luise Rainer playing the wife of a Chinese farmer in the 1937 movie "The Good Earth."

Photos provided by Michelle Villemaire and used with permission.

2. Myrna Loy as the Chinese daughter of Fu Manchu in the 1932 movie "The Mask of Fu Manchu."

3. Katharine Hepburn playing (you guessed it) a Chinese woman in the 1944 movie "Dragon Seed."

4. Yep, it happens in present-day movies, too. Emma Stone played a half-Asian woman in the 2015 movie "Aloha."

Photo by Matt Dusig, used with permission.

But that's not all. Villemaire has even more examples on her website.

Villemaire says the response to her work has been largely positive.

"There really has only been love and support," she said. "It just shows there's a collective desire for this."

Ultimately, her goal is to use her project to inspire the Asian community to never give up on their Hollywood dreams.

"One woman told me that she felt healed after seeing my photos," she said, beaming. "My heart is still fluttering because of that."

Breaking into showbiz is no joke, and Villemaire knows it can be harder if you're a person of color.

"But if you want to flip the script, sometimes you gotta do it yourself," she said.

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3 reasons to stop praising dads for doing what they're supposed to.

Because if moms aren't viewed as heroes for creating a ponytail or changing diapers, neither should dads.

Jackie is a mom of two living in Tampa. She's not a fan of the praise dads are getting lately for raising their kids.

"I know this is going to sound bitter, but all of the dad-worship stuff needs to stop," Jackie told me. "It seems like all a man needs to do is change a diaper or braid hair, and he's instantly a superstar."

She's probably not alone.

For every woman who swoons at seeing a photo like this, there is another one rolling her eyes wondering what the big deal is.

We all love seeing photos of dads with their kids ... right? Photo from the Daddy Doin' Work Instagram feed, used with permission.

Where did all of this praise for dads come from? The Internet lost its collective mind over a recent Super Bowl commercial featuring dads doing their daughters' hair, so we know this phenomenon is real.

Maybe it's because people love seeing men with their babies. Maybe it's because our expectations for fathers have gotten so low that we're excited to see them doing anything with their children.

Regardless of the reasons, moms like Jackie aren't amused.

PLOT TWIST: Many dads don't want credit for doing dad stuff either.

Rick Brown is all smiles with one of his five daughters, Madison. Photo from Rick Brown, used with permission.

Meet Rick. He's a dad to five daughters and absolutely loves his girls to death.

One day while his wife was busy, Rick loaded up his girls into his car and took them to the local library to do some reading. Then things started to get strange. People kept staring at him as if he was an "exotic zoo animal." Finally, a woman stopped him to say how "amazing" it is that a dad was at the library with his girls.

Here's the thing about Rick and other dads like him: He's not interested in receiving compliments on how he does his daddy thing.

"I truly enjoy spending time with my daughters," Rick told me. "I don't think dads should get credit for being parents."

You know what? The dude's right.

With that, here are three simple takeaways regarding the recent dad-worship epidemic.

1. Making the ordinary extraordinary is, well, dumb.

Let's pretend that you like to brush your teeth before leaving the house every morning. (Actually, let's not pretend. That's probably something grown folks should be doing on the daily.)

Minty fresh breath, baby.

Now let's pretend that as you're strolling down the street, people stop you to share the following thoughts:

"Whoa! You brushed your teeth today?! You are amazing!"

"I wish everyone could be like you. Good oral hygiene is soooooo important!"

"You are such a role model. You make fresh breath cool!"

That would be weird, right?

It's normal to brush our teeth. It's not less weird for dudes to receive praise for doing the "normal" child-rearing tasks.

"I was once told that I must be a great dad because I hold my daughter so well," Jason, a dad to a 6-month-old daughter, told me.

What does that even mean? How do you respond to something like that?

GIF from "The Hangover."

We (dads) aren't bumbling buffoons. We know what we're doing.

But when men are seen as "great dads" just because we can hold babies without injuring them, we know that the fatherhood bar needs to be raised.

Which leads to the next point.

2. All of the daddy praise makes it harder for moms to be moms.

Whether we like it or not, the pressure to be a good mom is real. When we live in a world where dads can put videos like this online and are seen as geniuses, it leaves some moms frustrated.

"I struggle with parenting, like many women I know," Jackie said. "I feel like I always have to be perfect while dads can skate along by doing pretty much anything."

If we put our hearts and soul into something, we want to know that we're doing a good job. Motherhood is no different.

These ladies have a frustrating gig, and they want to be acknowledged for it. Melissa, a mom of three shared that exact sentiment:

"My husband can put my daughter in a lumpy ponytail, and he's a hero. If I did that, I'll be seen as the worst mom ever. Guess what? Sometimes I don't have the energy to style hair perfectly or create perfectly healthy meals. But I work just as hard being a parent as he does. Why can't society see that?"

Thankfully there's a pretty easy fix to the problem: equal praise for equal work.

If we're going to praise dads for completing tasks with or for their kids, we should praise moms just as much for doing the same thing. No exceptions.

Because let's be real: The next time a mom is viewed as a hero for creating a ponytail will be the first time.

3. The dad-worship thing needs to be everywhere before it goes away.

Wait ... what?

Stay with me.

There are a lot of articles celebrating fatherhood around here. But let's look at it a little differently.

Back in 1987, people celebrated the fact that Doug Williams was the first African-American quarterback to start (and win) a Super Bowl.

It was a really big deal.

The media was all over Doug Williams back in the day. Photo by Mike Powell/Getty Images.

But it was a really big deal because we hadn't seen it before.

In 2016, there are many African-American quarterbacks in football, and we hardly blink an eye at them. Why? Because it's normal now.

There is good news for people who are growing weary of the daddy love on the Internet: This too shall pass.

As counterintuitive as it may seem, the only way to truly normalize good dads is to celebrate them.

Yeah, I said it.

Share them, talk about them, love them, and celebrate the hell out of these dudes when you see them.

When you see a dad going viral for something that a mom can do blindfolded, just smile knowing it signifies that we're one step closer to it becoming old news.

Eventually dads braiding hair and holding dance parties for our kids will be as newsworthy as brushing our teeth.

And quite frankly, that's the way it should be.

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Today she's proud to be a janitor's daughter, but she didn't always feel that way.

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Argelia is a 39-year-old Mexican-American mom of two. She works as a training coordinator in Los Angeles, has a great family, and is known to wake up with a smile every day.

She gives a lot of credit to her late dad, Angel, though, who taught her the value of hard work and sacrifice. Her only regret is it took her a while to realize what he provided for his family. This is her story as told to Upworthy.

All photos provided by Argelia, used with permission.

Dear Dad,

Parents often say to their children, "You'll understand when you have kids." I never got that before, but now, in my case, I feel like that's very true.

Only a parent can understand the sacrifice you made to leave my mom, me sister, and me in Mexico to come work in the United States. As a 2-year-old, I didn't understand why you weren't with us. You were that faraway mystery — "my dad" — the wonderfully sweet man who would call me before bedtime to say, "good night."

I remember standing in my mom's room around all of your clothes asking: "Do you think he misses me? Do you think he likes me?" I thought about you all the time. You were a larger-than-life hero in my mind.

Two years later, when we finally moved to the United States to be with you, I found out that you were everything I had imagined, and many things I had not.

A young Argelia spending some quality time with her dad.

I didn't understand why you were always working. You left for work every day as soon as I got home from school and returned after I was already asleep. You even worked on weekends. To me, you were still the mystery that I thought about so often while in Mexico.

But instead of trying to figure you out, I just went with the flow. Being from another country, I focused on fitting in with everyone else instead, and that went on for a few years. But things got real once my classmates started sharing what their parents did for a living.

"My dad is a doctor," one said.

"My parents own a business," another said.

That's when I went home and asked you what you did for a living, and you told me that you were a janitor at a hospital. I was devastated.

Angel enjoying some rare downtime at work.

I heard how the kids joked with each other at my school by saying, "You're going to grow up and be a janitor."

As if that was the worst thing a person could become.

At that point, I realized there was absolutely no way I was going to tell my friends that my dad was a janitor. I avoided the subject for as long as I could before I finally created the lie that you were a scientist. My friends were impressed, but they had no idea how empty I felt inside.

It wasn't until high school that I started caring less about the opinions of others and more about the great man you were.

Finally Argelia learned to understand her dad.

I learned that many of the same classmates, with dads who were doctors and lawyers, told stories of how these men verbally and physically abused them, abandoned them, and ignored them.

What is a parent's love, anyway? In my heart, I learned that it meant sacrifice, hard work, patience, and knowing that you would do anything for our family.

For so long, I didn't give you credit for being the man you were and for all of the things you did for us — without fanfare, without complaint, and without rest. You did these things to establish yourself in this country, to find a home in a nice neighborhood so that my sister and I could have a good education and pursue our own dreams.

But by the time I realized all of this, you were gone.

Three months before I turned 18 and one year before I became an American citizen, you died after a tragic accident. You weren't there to witness everything you had hoped for me coming to fruition.

Now, I work in the same hospital that you worked in so tirelessly for all those years.

I walk the halls and wonder if some of the faces I see were faces you saw. Because of that, I always make sure to smile and say hello to everyone — from the friendly people to the ones who just walk by without giving me a second glance. I do it because I know that's what you would've wanted.

I've never forgotten the lessons you taught me — lessons you probably had no idea you were teaching me.

Those lessons changed my life.

Argelia with her two kids, Natalia and Sebastian.

When I became a mom, I promised myself that I would pass on those lessons to my kids.

Hard work, humility, and most importantly, to place more value on a person's heart instead of their clothes, their houses, their cars, or their job titles.

Speaking of job titles, today I am proud to say that I'm the daughter of a janitor because you embodied everything that I know to be good in this world.

When my daughter graduates from high school this June, Dad, you will be in my heart, and I will take immense pride in knowing that the lessons you taught me are alive in a new generation.

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Using a futuristic suit, a loving dad was able to be present on his own terms for his daughter's wedding day.

Many dads dream about the moment they will walk their daughters down the aisle, but for one dad his dream didn't seem like it would become a reality.

Chris Palmer is a 55-year-old dad who wanted nothing more than to walk next to his daughter Heather on her wedding day. Sadly, he became paralyzed once cancer infected his body, rendering him unable to walk on his own.

Image via SWNS TV/YouTube.

Chris could've easily used his wheelchair to be with Heather on her special day, but that's not how he wanted it to go down.

He was determined to walk down that aisle, no matter what.

After conducting some research, Chris came across a company called REX Bionics that created a futuristic device called ... well, REX.

Put simply, REX provides paralyzed individuals with the ability to walk on their own in a hands-free manner.

Think "Iron Man" — only, ya know, real.

"It's a mechanism [used for people] to stand, to walk, to be the right height, and have that social interaction, but also to exercise," said spinal specialist Nick Birch in a video about the device.

Image via Rex Bionics/YouTube.

With over 12,000 reported spinal cord injuries in the U.S. alone each year, this technology could help a lot of people.

Chris knew this could be the answer he was looking for, but REX is not cheap. The device itself costs over $100,000. Thankfully the company let him borrow it for his daughter's special day.

GIF via SWNS TV/YouTube.

And when Heather's wedding arrived, a dad kept his promise by walking her down the aisle in an emotional ceremony.

The attendees couldn't help but express their happiness when they watched Palmer walking with his extremely proud daughter — no matter how long it took for him to do it.

GIF via SWNS TV/YouTube.

Many children see their dads as superheroes. On Heather's wedding day, Palmer did everything in his power to be one.

But his superpower wasn't being able to walk that day. It was showing his daughter how far he would go to show how much he loves her.

You can see the whole video here.

If you liked Soosh's first set of daddy-daughter photos, you'll love these.

Not too long ago, an artist named Soosh took the web by storm with her paintings depicting dad and daughter relationships. Now she's back with more.

Soosh, as she's affectionately known, is an extremely talented painter with a very compelling story. Her father wasn't a big part of her life growing up, and that still haunts her to this day. But now she's turning a negative into a positive by creating illustrations that show how a dad should interact with his daughter.

The main goal is to inspire her 9-year-old son to be a good man and father in the future, and in doing so, she ended up inspiring many people when her artwork hit the mainstream on Instagram and her website.

"The positive reaction makes me feel so good," Soosh told Upworthy. "You always kinda presume there are many good people in the world, but when you have the chance to make sure it's true, it's like a revelation."

But even though Soosh's artwork is extremely popular, it doesn't have a 100% approval rating.

Why is the dad so big?

It makes no sense that you only draw fathers. Where is the mother?

Those are two of the most common critiques Soosh receives from the outside, and she's here to drop some knowledge those people.

"The father is so big because he represents the huge importance of loving parent or family member in a child's life. And the little girl, who happens to be me, represents a child's need for love, protection, and support. This documents what I hoped for my own personal experience, but in reality, it doesn't matter if it's a mother or father, because the universal message here is about love. No matter who gives it."

And with that, here are 13 more heartwarming illustrations that perfectly describe the daddy-daughter relationship.

1. Dads know how to get busy in the kitchen.

All illustrations are provided by Soosh and used with permission.

2. And they aren't afraid to learn new skills if it means making their kids happy.

3. They know their limitations when it comes to playing hide and seek.

4. They also know the importance of teaching their daughters to hold their ground, no matter what.

5. And they are always willing to accept treatment for all external or internal wounds.

6. Dads know that you don't have to do much to enjoy a quality bonding experience.

Doyin Richards

'I'm not a shiny unicorn. There are plenty of black men like me who love fatherhood.'

My "welcome to black fatherhood moment" happened five years ago, and I remember it like it happened yesterday.

Here's the thing: I'm not angry with you, but I want you to understand the impact you had on my life.

1. I want you to know that we have challenges that other dads don't experience.

2. I want you to know that I'm not a shiny unicorn. There are plenty of black men just like me who love fatherhood.

3. I want you to know that I believe you meant well when you praised me for being involved in my daughter's life, but that's what I'm programmed to do.

And no, I don't want an apology.

Saul Calzadilla is one of those teachers kids just love. He can always find ways to make learning fun.

While it can be fun to be messy, it didn’t take long for Calzadilla to realize all that dirt might not be so fun for some families that didn't have easy access to a washer-dryer.

Something seemingly as simple as access to clean clothes has a far-reaching impact on the education and self-esteem of children.

Having the facilities is good enough for most, but the effects of the program are more profound than just clean clothes for the kiddos.

Thanks to this program, teachers can focus on learning, parents can focus on parenting, and kids can focus on being kids.

'If you want to flip the script, sometimes you gotta do it yourself.'

Do you ever watch a movie and think, "Hey, that person looks just me"? Unfortunately, that rarely happens for this woman.

For as long as she can remember, Villemaire has wanted to be a television personality.

That's why she decided to take on her most unique DIY project to date: calling out Hollywood's yellowface problem in epic fashion.

1. Luise Rainer playing the wife of a Chinese farmer in the 1937 movie "The Good Earth."

2. Myrna Loy as the Chinese daughter of Fu Manchu in the 1932 movie "The Mask of Fu Manchu."

3. Katharine Hepburn playing (you guessed it) a Chinese woman in the 1944 movie "Dragon Seed."

4. Yep, it happens in present-day movies, too. Emma Stone played a half-Asian woman in the 2015 movie "Aloha."

Villemaire says the response to her work has been largely positive.

Breaking into showbiz is no joke, and Villemaire knows it can be harder if you're a person of color.

Because if moms aren't viewed as heroes for creating a ponytail or changing diapers, neither should dads.

Jackie is a mom of two living in Tampa. She's not a fan of the praise dads are getting lately for raising their kids.

PLOT TWIST: Many dads don't want credit for doing dad stuff either.

1. Making the ordinary extraordinary is, well, dumb.

2. All of the daddy praise makes it harder for moms to be moms.

3. The dad-worship thing needs to be everywhere before it goes away.

When you see a dad going viral for something that a mom can do blindfolded, just smile knowing it signifies that we're one step closer to it becoming old news.

Today she's proud to be a janitor's daughter, but she didn't always feel that way.

Two years later, when we finally moved to the United States to be with you, I found out that you were everything I had imagined, and many things I had not.

I heard how the kids joked with each other at my school by saying, "You're going to grow up and be a janitor."

It wasn't until high school that I started caring less about the opinions of others and more about the great man you were.

But by the time I realized all of this, you were gone.

Now, I work in the same hospital that you worked in so tirelessly for all those years.

When I became a mom, I promised myself that I would pass on those lessons to my kids.

Using a futuristic suit, a loving dad was able to be present on his own terms for his daughter's wedding day.

Many dads dream about the moment they will walk their daughters down the aisle, but for one dad his dream didn't seem like it would become a reality.

After conducting some research, Chris came across a company called REX Bionics that created a futuristic device called ... well, REX.

And when Heather's wedding arrived, a dad kept his promise by walking her down the aisle in an emotional ceremony.

Many children see their dads as superheroes. On Heather's wedding day, Palmer did everything in his power to be one.

If you liked Soosh's first set of daddy-daughter photos, you'll love these.

Not too long ago, an artist named Soosh took the web by storm with her paintings depicting dad and daughter relationships. Now she's back with more.

But even though Soosh's artwork is extremely popular, it doesn't have a 100% approval rating.

1. Dads know how to get busy in the kitchen.

2. And they aren't afraid to learn new skills if it means making their kids happy.

3. They know their limitations when it comes to playing hide and seek.

4. They also know the importance of teaching their daughters to hold their ground, no matter what.

5. And they are always willing to accept treatment for all external or internal wounds.

7. It can be a simple shadow puppet show.

8. Or the occasional costume party.

9. But dads know that when they work late, there will be crushed little ones at home who miss them.

10. So they do everything possible to be present for every precious milestone and moment.

11. Including bath time.

12. Or when love is discovered.

13. Because when it comes to being a dad, the snuggle is real.

And this, my friends, is what fatherhood should look like today and everyday.