Pragya Agarwal

This is one of those books that afterwards I really want to read the physical edition. There is so much about assumptions and gender and how society has fed us all lies about gender and emotions and how badly we have been duped into thinking that certain emotions are problematic or innate and that the only way to live is in full control and without outward emotion.

It also asks why we insist that emotions associated with particular genders are so rigidly held as just by that gender and that only, for example, allowing anger for men is dangerous and not acknowledging that women mask anger a lot is not good for either gender.

It's worth a re-read.… (mais)

I’ve read a few books on racism in the last 12 months or so, and while this covers some of the same ground as the others, it also has a fresh angle which is worthwhile and timely. The book discusses how the subjects of race and racism should be addressed by parents, with sections dedicated to four separate age ranges from 0 to 3, to 10 to 12.
The first third or so talks about the topic more generally, providing a useful and quite digestible summary that overlaps with books like Akala’s ‘Natives’ and ‘How to be an Antiracist’ by Ibram X Kendi. The rest of the book covers the parenting angle, with useful discussion, checklists and reading suggestions. Dr Agarwal is a mother herself, and ties a lot of her thinking back to her own experiences, as well as those of parents at seminars she has run.
The result is a very readable, book on a difficult subject, that contains some clear action items. It certainly made me think about how I’ve handled the subject with my son.… (mais)