FEMINIST PARENTING

In her new book, Seattle University professor Dr Sonora Jha looks at notions of gender identity and equality in the modern-day context

- Neha Kirpal

Essayist, novelist, and professor of media and politics at Seattle University, Dr Sonora Jha had a successful career as a journalist in Mumbai and Bengaluru before moving to Singapore and then the United States to earn a Ph.D. in political communication. Her new book How to Raise a Feminist Son: A Memoir and Manifesto (Penguin Random House, ₹399) follows her personal struggles and triumphs as a single mother and an immigrant raising an American feminist son.

Sonora is also the author of a novel Foreign (Random House India, 2013), and co-editor of New Feminisms in South Asia (Routledge USA, 2017). She talks to us about her latest book, how the #MeToo movement differs in the US from South Asian countries, and how parents can shield children from the influence of patriarchal attitudes.

How did you decide to write your latest book How to Raise a Feminist Son?

I was writing a memoir, and then, every now and then, as something came up in the news, I would write a political/personal essay around issues related to masculinity, boys, and feminism. Those essays would get a huge response, with people writing to me from across the world. I sensed a hunger, a need for a reckoning in society with the way we raise men. I decided to write a feminist memoir on how I raised my son to be a feminist. It became a personal story and a manifesto for others to come along.

Why do you feel it is more important than ever in this day and age for our sons to be raised as feminists?