You are not born a man, you are made one...by your mother, too or: how mothers want their sons to be
Abstract
Men seem unable to speak about their collective disparagement by feminism and gender politics. This silence could be related to peculiarities of their relationship with their mother during the early years of their lives. Mothers’ influence on the development of their sons is treated as if cultural influences as well as family background and the relationship to their mother were irrelevant in shaping masculinity. The incipient reflection on the relationship of mothers to their sons is not only promising but momentous because it is the first of many steps in overcoming the pervasive feminist perpetrator-victim ideology. The tradition of reconciliatory dialogue thus regains a future.
Keywords: boys, feminism, males, men, misandry, mothers, sons
Author Biography
Dr. Gerhard Amendt is Emeritus Professor for Gender and Generation Research at the University of Bremen and former director of the institute of the same name. Author of numerous books and essays such as The Life of Unwanted Children, editor of the German edition of the handbook Family Interventions in Domestic Violence: A Handbook of Gender-Inclusive Theory and Treatment, Von Höllenhunden und Himmelswesen (Of Hellhounds and Celestial Beings), Die Macht der Frauenärzte (The power of gynaecologists), I didn’t divorce my kids, etc. Filmmaker and publicist as well as former head of the Bremen center for family planning and abortion and consultant to international organizations on family planning issues.
