An invaluable guide to understanding and dismantling sexism for parents trying to raise confident and powerful girls in a culture that often demeans them.
Sexism & Sensibility
Raising Empowered, Resilient Girls In The Modern World
required reading for anyone who is raising, educating, or caring for girls.”
a gripping and nuanced look at how sexist narratives still affect the lives of teenage girls, and what parents can do about it.”
a roadmap to heal ourselves and liberate our kids.”
truly eye-opening”
Her wisdom has never been more necessary”
A worthy addition to any parent’s bookshelf.””
The world is full of mixed messages for girls: Stand up for yourself but do it softly. Be independent but not single. Love your body, just make sure it’s waxed, bleached, and thin. And then there are the more overt hostilities: being talked over, paid less, touched without permission, and having politicians debate their right to bodily autonomy. Many parents find it simpler to affirm girls’ strength than to address these distressing experiences directly. But with girls’ skyrocketing rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide, parenting them in this culture presents an urgent challenge: How do we teach girls to recognize and cope with these realities without crushing their optimism and belief that they can incite change?
Jo-Ann Finkelstein, a Harvard-educated psychologist, has more than two decades of experience working with girls, helping them find resilience in the face of toxic messages about beauty, sex, and femininity. In Sexism & Sensibility, she draws on real stories from her practice to unpack the effects of sexism in its many guises.
Praise for Sexism & Sensibility
Nuanced writing by a psychologist about raising girls and being a woman in a culture that insists sexism is over.
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Jo-Ann Finkelstein, PhD, a clinical psychologist, was educated at Harvard University and Northwestern University and now maintains a private clinical practice rooted in an understanding of how bias, social justice, and mental health intersect. An expert blogger for Psychology Today, her work has been highlighted in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Harvard Business Review, Women’s Health, Oprah Daily, Parents, and on HuffPost and CNN. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Ms., and Your Teen among other publications. Dr. Finkelstein serves on the Advisory Board for Stop Sexual Assault in Schools, has served on the board of the Chicago Chapter of the National Organization for Women, volunteered for Planned Parenthood PAC, and was an organizer for the Chicago Women’s March. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.
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