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BoyMom

Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity

Ruth Whippman

$59.99

Hardback

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English
Harmony Books
09 July 2024
Evidence of male entitlement and aggression is everywhere-from school shooters to incels, campus rapists to the online 'manosphere.' In the absolutist climate of the culture wars, feminist writer and mother of three boys Ruth Whippman can sometimes find herself conflicted and defensive, as though stranded on one side of a symbolic divide with her own children on the other. But as she comes to realize, gender politics aren't simple. Male privilege and male vulnerability co-exist in a complex relationship; and raising boys who can challenge the confines of masculine expectations is more important now than ever.

With young men in the grip of a loneliness epidemic and dying by suicide at a rate of nearly four times their female peers, Whippman asks- What are the many cultural messages we send to boys that leave them anxious, emotionally repressed, and socially isolated? How do we raise our sons to have a healthy sense of self without turning them into entitled assholes? How can we find a feminism that holds boys to a higher standard but still treats them with empathy? And what do we do when our boys won't cooperate with our plans?

BoyMom moves beyond simplistic, polarized thinking to uncover the myriad complex and invisible ways that systems of masculinity both harm boys and teach them to harm others. Determined to widen the possibilities for her own sons and subvert the social forces already affecting them, Whippman talks to boys of all types, as well as parents, educators, and other experts, and uncovers surprising and controversial truths about boy socialization. With humor and deep vulnerability, Whippman takes a stark look at her own parenting choices as well as wider narratives about mental health, school, sex, cancel culture, screens, popular culture, friendship, neurodiversity, and loneliness to make sense of how masculinity is constructed and experienced in our culture. In doing so, she charts a new path to help us give boys a healthier, more expansive, and fulfilling story about their lives.

Blending cultural criticism, memoir, and reporting from the frontlines of contemporary American boyhood, this is a humorous and heartbreaking deep dive into the complexities of raising boys in our fraught political moment.

Evidence of male entitlement and aggression is everywhere-from school shooters to incels, campus rapists to the online 'manosphere.' In the absolutist climate of the culture wars, feminist writer and mother of three boys Ruth Whippman can sometimes find herself conflicted and defensive, as though stranded on one side of a symbolic divide with her own children on the other. But as she comes to realize, gender politics aren't simple. Male privilege and male vulnerability co-exist in a complex relationship; and raising boys who can challenge the confines of masculine expectations is more important now than ever.

With young men in the grip of a loneliness epidemic and dying by suicide at a rate of nearly four times their female peers, Whippman asks- What are the many cultural messages we send to boys that leave them anxious, emotionally repressed, and socially isolated? How do we raise our sons to have a healthy sense of self without turning them into entitled assholes? How can we find a feminism that holds boys to a higher standard but still treats them with empathy? And what do we do when our boys won't cooperate with our plans?

BoyMom moves beyond simplistic, polarized thinking to uncover the myriad complex and invisible ways that systems of masculinity both harm boys and teach them to harm others. Determined to widen the possibilities for her own sons and subvert the social forces already affecting them, Whippman talks to boys of all types, as well as parents, educators, and other experts, and uncovers surprising and controversial truths about boy socialization. With humor and deep vulnerability, Whippman takes a stark look at her own parenting choices as well as wider narratives about mental health, school, sex, cancel culture, screens, popular culture, friendship, neurodiversity, and loneliness to make sense of how masculinity is constructed and experienced in our culture. In doing so, she charts a new path to help us give boys a healthier, more expansive, and fulfilling story about their lives.
By:  
Imprint:   Harmony Books
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 232mm,  Width: 156mm, 
Weight:   567g
ISBN:   9780593577639
ISBN 10:   0593577639
Pages:   288
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Ruth Whippman is a British author, journalist and cultural critic living in the United States. A former BBC documentary director and producer, her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Time magazine, New York magazine, The Guardian, HuffPost, and elsewhere. Fortune described her as one of the ""25 sharpest minds"" of the decade. She is the author of the book America the Anxious, which was a New York Post Best Book of the Year, a New York Times Editors Choice and Paperback Row pick. She lives in California with her husband and three sons.

Reviews for BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity

“BoyMom is funny, heartrending, and revelatory. Ruth Whippman manages to deliver both an important contribution to the feminist literature and an emotive page-turner. . . . A must-read.”—Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play “Provocative and probing . . . Ruth Whippman investigates the changing orthodoxies of American manhood. She discovers loneliness and failed good intentions but also a longing for connection and moments of grace. Whippman shows us that we ought to think harder about who we want our boys to become.”—Pamela Druckerman, author of Bringing Up Bébé “Weaving her moving journey as a mother to three sons through a remarkably lucid review of child development and masculinity literatures, Whippman offers a powerful critique of our contemporary model for raising boys.”—Michael Reichert, author of How to Raise a Boy “This book challenged and educated me, gave me hope while refusing easy answers. . . . A necessary addition to the canon of motherhood books.”—Amanda Montei, author of Touched Out “This evocative and deeply reported account shines a light through the darkness of societal rules that limit boys from connecting with their full humanity, and offers a road map for how to work together for liberation. I loved it.”—Devorah Heitner, author of Growing Up in Public “BoyMom is a revelation. So relatable, funny, and engaging—full of eye-opening insights that will transform my parenting.”—Melinda Wenner Moyer, author of How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes “A fabulous and much-needed book.”—Pragya Agarwal, author of Sway and M(otherhood)   “Ruth Whippman is a rare talent with an even rarer set of skills, deftly combining forensic academic research, dazzling wit and disarmingly punchy prose that leaps from the page and leaves you wondering how something so clever and so urgent can be so much fun to read.”—Charlotte Philby, author of Part of the Family, A Double Life, and Edith and Kim   “A scathing indictment of the harmful ways masculinity impacts the lives of boys and men . . . Every mother of boys will relate.”—Minna Dubin, author of Mom Rage   “Whippman takes readers on a deeply reported and eye-opening journey through the perilous landscape of modern masculinity. She skillfully upends limiting stereotypes along the way and shows how caring, intimacy and relationships make possible richer lives for all genders.”—Brigid Schulte, New York Times bestselling author of Overwhelmed and director of The Better Life Lab “Whippman is a gifted writer: funny, smart, vulnerable, and wise.  This wonderful and timely book provides much-needed insight for anyone with a stake in the future of boys and men.”—Joshua Coleman, author of Rules of Estrangement


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