I can easily see the other side of an issue and can freely give something the benefit of the doubt while I try to understand it--at times annoyingly so. Just ask my family and friends. But recently, I was unable to be my measured self when I saw a new board book, Feminist Baby by Loryn Brantz. I had an immediate reaction to this book. No middle ground here. Let me see if I can explain why.(But first if you want, you can go read the book for yourself and see what you think before I talk about it. I copied the it at the end for your convenience.
What I think bothered me the most about Feminist Baby was the fact that this was a board book (geared and marketed for babies) that was talking about feminism. Not because feminism is a bad topic, but because it's not developmentally appropriate. A point I think Theo made well when he said that babies don't yet have a sense of self or a sense of gender, so targeting a book to them about feminism was misplaced.
But there are other reasons, too. The actual text has Feminist Baby doing things that all babies do--throwing things, throwing up, refusing to wear pants, etc. but in a I-don't-care-what-you-think-way. Some of my friends described feminist baby as a brat. Others said that book seemed to condone behaviors that most parents are trying to train their kids not to do. And yet others (females) thought it was putting males in a bad light. They thought Feminist Baby's bad behavior was supposed to be imitating what males do to show that she could do what ever she wanted.
Trying to get a different perspective on things, I asked my sons, Wally and Theo, what they thought about the book. To be fair, I had only discussed it with other middle aged women so far making my own echo chamber. Therefore, I was curious what my Millennial sons, who are out in the real working world, would think. They both thought it was crazy to have a book for babies about a feminist baby. They understood that the author was trying to put feminism in a good light, but didn't think it was well done in either text or pictures. Wally thought the book would have been more effective if it had read Baby does... instead of Feminist Baby does... because feminism to him means equal opportunities for all. Theo said that it might have made a better point if Feminist Baby had done things in a positive way and not in a rebellious way.
However, not everyone disliked the book. When I read reviews on Amazon and Good Reads, overall, the reviews were positive. Many found the book fun and thought that it was a good way to introduce the topic. Once again, I still thought, "But not to babies."
I also wondered what was the rest of the story. What was the author thinking when she wrote this book? I found an interview with her that shed some light on those questions. Brantz's intent was to establish the word feminism in a positive light from a very young age. And she wanted the book to be a jumping off point to discuss feminism with young girls. Her explanations didn't make me feel any different. While well intended, I still felt Brantz was clueless about childhood development and the inappropriateness of this topic for babies and young children.
Loryn Brantz, the author, has subsequently developed a Feminist Baby comic targeted for adults. These cartoons deal with feminism and other current issues. I have no problem with them. I may agree or disagree with some of her points, but that's okay. I am the appropriate audience for them.
So what do you think?
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Feminist Baby by Loryn Brantz, Disney-Hyperion, 2017
