How to Raise a Feminist Son
Motherhood, Masculinity, and the Making of My Family
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
"This book is a true love letter, not only to Jha's own son but also to all of our sons and to the parents--especially mothers--who raise them.”
—Ijeoma Oluo, author of So You Want to Talk About Race and Mediocre
Beautifully written and deeply personal, this book follows the struggles and triumphs of one single, immigrant mother of color to raise an American feminist son. From teaching consent to counteracting problematic messages from the media, well-meaning family, and the culture at large, the author offers an empowering, imperfect feminism, brimming with honest insight and actionable advice.
Informed by Jha's work as a professor of journalism specializing in social justice movements and social media, as well as by conversations with psychologists, experts, other parents and boys--and through powerful stories from her own life--How to Raise a Feminist Son shows us all how to be better feminists and better teachers of the next generation of men in this electrifying tour de force.
Includes chapter takeaways, and an annotated bibliography of reading and watching recommendations for adults and children.
"A beautiful hybrid of memoir, manifesto, instruction manual, and rumination on the power of story and possibilities of family."
—Rebecca Solnit, author of The Mother of All Questions
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jha (Foreign), a journalism professor at Seattle University, issues an urgent, fervent plea to raise feminist sons in this trenchant guide. Jha, who writes of growing up in an abusive patriarchal system in India, frequently draws on her own experience as she implores parents to raise boys outside of gender stereotypes. To counter misogyny and toxic masculinity, she and advocates for reshaping masculinity into a gentler version in which boys are "free to experience and express the whole spectrum of human emotion." Finding examples in movies and nursery rhymes, she identifies teaching moments to start boys on the right track at a young age ("Why was the queen not in the counting house, counting all her money?); guides readers through talking about sex, urging them to start early to create a sense of openness; and examines such issues as parental guilt and childhood slip-ups: "Teaching a boy to expect to make mistakes and to expect to be held accountable when he makes mistakes is the key. Teaching a boy to be able to laugh at himself... wouldn't that be such a gift?" Concise to-do lists round out each chapter. At times touching and always impassioned, this is an excellent resource for like-minded parents.
