The message I am trying to get out into the world with this book is that to fail a daughter today is to fail a woman tomorrow. And that is to fail the future of humanity.
We tend in western thinking to see gender in a “linear” fashion. Moms raise daughters, mostly. While there are certainly important exceptions, and while that’s heroic work when moms do raise daughters, it’s still linear. I had a very different thought:
Men can learn to become fathers from women–that is if the men are raising daughters. And girls in very large part are shaped into women by men–their fathers. For better or worse.
Getting out of the “box” of how we think about raising daughters is some of the most important work of this generation and the next few after it. And that is why I’m trying to incite a mini revolution with this work. The future of the world, quite literally, depends upon it. The patriarchal model, upon which most of “civilization” is based, led to the human race slaughtering 100 million of its own members during the last century. A more balanced masculine-feminine model is the only way we’re going to get ourselves out of our mess.
Kevin – more great insight from a great father and writer. Thank you for approaching “fatherhood” with refreshing openness! It’s affecting generations!