parenting
The Nan Show: How Nannies Rewrote the Rules on TV Parenting
The experiences of nannies that are omitted from pop culture tell us as much about the current state of childcare in America as do the types of nannies and parents that are portrayed.
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Object Lessons: “The Act” and the Ethics of Consuming True Crime
The interest in consuming true crime isn’t matched by an obligation to discuss the ethical implications of doing so.
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Parent Trap: Why Mother’s and Father’s Day Still Aren’t Playing Their Cards Right
Mother’s and Father’s Day continue to do the cultural work of reinforcing popular notions of gendered parenting.
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Bumped Off: What Will It Take to Destigmatize Teen Motherhood?
Young moms from less privileged backgrounds, as well as teen moms of color like me, are still waiting for positive reflections of ourselves on TV.
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Women Do the Majority of the Family Care. Can We Get Some Paid Leave?
More than two-thirds of the American public agrees that paid family leave should be available to all workers, even if they disagree about how it should be paid for.
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Family Matters: “Good Talk” Offers a Panacea for the Worst of Times
For a country obsessed with the national “conversation about race,” Mira Jacob’s graphic memoir, Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations, offers an illustration of all the ways it can go right—and wrong.
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Conditions of Consent: Teaching Children Bodily Autonomy
These instances are about our collective avoidance of consent and the rape culture.
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Talking With Kids About Open Relationships: Margaret Jacobsen Walks Us through Being Honest and Open
Margaret Jacobsen writes beautifully on a bunch of different difficult topics.
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“Maid” and the Resurgence of Hardship Memoirs
Stephanie Land doesn’t frame her story as an inspiring tale of bootstrapping, a blueprint for others, or evidence that grit and determination are all it takes to escape poverty.
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Undecided: The Reliable Romanticizing of Unplanned Parenthood
The temptation to chalk our decisions up to the whims of some larger, intangible force—God, evolution, DNA, nature, life—is a powerful one.
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