Sexism & Sensibility: Raising Empowered, Resilient Girls in the Modern World

(Hardback)

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We live in a world of mixed messages for women- You can be anything you want to be, but don't expect to be paid equally for it. It's what's inside that counts, but be sure to wax, bleach, and slim down what's outside first. Most parents find it easier to tell girls how strong and equal they are than to talk about how the world can be particularly difficult or scary for them. But when we don't address the challenging or disturbing experiences most girls endure, we contribute to the problem. Jo-Ann Finkelstein, a Harvard-educated psychologist who has worked with girls of all ages for two decades, unpacks the universal experiences that girls live with and helps parents safeguard and fine-tune their daughters' natural "sexism detectors." Full of concrete solutions for helping girls understand and confront sexism in all its guises, Sexism and Sensibility includes- How to talk to girls about chauvinism, gender stereotyping, objectification, bodily autonomy, and consent. How to help girls resist internalizing limited and distorting cultural messages. How to teach girls what to do when their boundaries have been crossed. How to help guide girls to identify and contest the microaggressions they face in school, in the media, in relationships, and in public. How to notice and combat sexism in our own parenting. An urgently needed resource for proactive parenting, Sexism and Sensibility is an essential tool to help girls make sense of how they will likely be treated in the world before that treatment erodes their self-esteem. An invaluable guide to understanding and dismantling sexism for parents trying to raise confident and powerful girls in a culture that often demeans them. 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.Going beyond girl power and full of smart, constructive ways to help girls make sense of things,it includes . how to talk about misogyny, gender stereotyping, objectification, and consent-at different ages . strategies for fine-tuning our daughters' natural "sexism detectors" and safeguarding their self-esteem . ways to help girls spot and contest the microaggressions they face in school, in the media, in relationships, and in public . how to recognize and combat sexism in our own parenting We can't shield our daughters from gender bias and sexism, but we can make sure that they are more prepared to handle it than we ever were. Sexism & Sensibility is an eye-opening and essential resource for proactive parenting.

Author Bio

Jo-Ann Finkelstein, PhD, a clinical psychologist, trained 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 Harvard Business Review, Women's Health, Oprah Daily, and on HuffPost and CNN. Her writing has appeared in Ms., Your Teen, and Medium, among other publications. Dr. Finkelstein 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.