As her pregnancy became visible, most people assumed she was trying for a girl. When she told them she was having a boy, people treated her "as this object of pity", Whippman, a British-American writer, said in a recent interview from her home in Berkeley, California.
"There was this real sense that boys were somehow disappointing." It was 2017. Whippman, a selfdescribed liberal feminist, was watching the #MeToo movement explode all around her. She felt as if men had become the enemy, which made bringing another one into the world a different kind of challenge from what she already faced at home with two rumbustious little boys.
But she was conflicted. "While the feminist part of me yelled, 'Smash the patriarchy', the mother part of me wanted to wrap the patriarchy up in its blankie and read it a story," she writes in her new book, BoyMom.
The title of the book borrows from the social media phenomenon known as #BoyMom, a hashtag that has become a full-blown trend in recent months.
Online, #BoyMom can be a badge of honour awarded for simply surviving the amped-up high jinks of tumbling boy-tots. Or it can be a tragedy, centring on the inevitable "break-up" that must occur between mothers and sons.
It can also be a send-up of itself, a parody of the "toxic boy mum" who is dangerously, proudly enmeshed with her son.
Whippman's book is not primarily about these memes. Part memoir - she is the "boy mum" in the title part reportage, the book hopes to give parents, including fathers, tools and information about raising boys today.
Whippman, now 50, is hardly the first person to write about boys as if they need their own operating manual. Michael Thompson's It's A Boy! and How To Raise A Boy by Michael Reichert have become classics of the genre.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 09, 2024 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 09, 2024 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
!['Extraordinary' scorer Calhanoglu to miss Austria game](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/24723/1747287/vVswA5wJd1719527073440/EXTRAORDINARY-SCORER-CALHANOGLU-TO-MISS-AUSTRIA-GAME.jpg)
'Extraordinary' scorer Calhanoglu to miss Austria game
Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella lauded captain Hakan Calhanoglu as the “complete player” after a rocket of a goal helped beat the Czech Republic 2-1 on June 26, firing them into the knockout stage of the European Championship for the first time in 16 years.
![DE BRUYNE SNUBS BOO BOYS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/24723/1747287/UnvWs1ZsI1719526962153/DE-BRUYNE-SNUBS-BOO-BOYS.jpg)
DE BRUYNE SNUBS BOO BOYS
Fans jeer Belgium after Ukraine draw but captain defends safety-first approach
Ukrainians proud of team's fighting spirit despite exit
Ukraine's football team and their fans, hungry for success at Euro 2024 after more than two years of war against Russia, lamented their elimination on June 26 but expressed pride at their effort.
![SBF plans to engage more companies, build more partnerships](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/24723/1747287/mb_zR5eMg1719526729852/SBF-PLANS-TO-ENGAGE-MORE-COMPANIES-BUILD-MORE-PARTNERSHIPS.jpg)
SBF plans to engage more companies, build more partnerships
It aims to better support local firms to thrive in a 'business-not-as-usual' landscape
![Insurer Income to underwrite FWD's motor insurance plans](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/24723/1747287/o4IhVzpnj1719526643445/INSURER-INCOME-TO-UNDERWRITE-FWDS-MOTOR-INSURANCE-PLANS.jpg)
Insurer Income to underwrite FWD's motor insurance plans
Income will continue pricing plans the way that it has been doing and price bad risks accordingly, says source
![Companies not doing enough to engage stakeholders, says study](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/24723/1747287/HBKziij3M1719526542670/COMPANIES-NOT-DOING-ENOUGH-TO-ENGAGE-STAKEHOLDERS-SAYS-STUDY.jpg)
Companies not doing enough to engage stakeholders, says study
In survey of 80 firms, most did not outline how their boards manage such relationships
![3 women charged over procession outside Istana](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/24723/1747287/yH73WVWZb1719526468303/3-WOMEN-CHARGED-OVER-PROCESSION-OUTSIDE-ISTANA.jpg)
3 women charged over procession outside Istana
Three women who were allegedly involved in organising a procession without a permit along the perimeter of the Istana, which is a prohibited area, were charged in court on June 27.
![Woman says accused asked if she wanted to be showered by him](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/24723/1747287/WdRzR7WrB1719526394312/WOMAN-SAYS-ACCUSED-ASKED-IF-SHE-WANTED-TO-BE-SHOWERED-BY-HIM.jpg)
Woman says accused asked if she wanted to be showered by him
A woman, who attended four classes by a man accused of teaching a doctrine contrary to Islamic laws, told the court that he had asked her if she wanted to be showered by him during one such session.
![Two affected kingfishers in stable condition but road to recovery long](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/24723/1747287/1HpUtqcc81719526301265/TWO-AFFECTED-KINGFISHERS-IN-STABLE-CONDITION-BUT-ROAD-TO-RECOVERY-LONG.jpg)
Two affected kingfishers in stable condition but road to recovery long
At least 7 weeks needed for nursing oil spill survivors back to health; one bird mostly confined to incubator
![New, deadlier mpox strain sparks fears of spread beyond DR Congo](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/24723/1747287/byzvrfJrr1719526208546/NEW-DEADLIER-MPOX-STRAIN-SPARKS-FEARS-OF-SPREAD-BEYOND-DR-CONGO.jpg)
New, deadlier mpox strain sparks fears of spread beyond DR Congo
A new deadlier strain of mpox that transmits more easily between people is killing children and causing miscarriages in the Democratic Republic of Congo and may have already spread to neighbouring countries, researchers have warned.