BoyMum

Author: Ruth Whippman

How do we raise our sons to be compassionate, responsible men in a world where toxic masculinity is still the norm? And why are young men today more troubled and less confident and more radicalized than ever before?

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'BoyMum is one of the most thought-provoking books I've read as a parent' The Times

"Utterly fascinating for anyone raising sons' Gaby Hinsliff

BoyMum is about what it means to grow up male in an era when #MeToo has zeroed our tolerance for toxic masculinity, yet the pressure on young men to be 'masculine' has never been more intense.

It is also a mother's story. As a feminist mum of three sons, Ruth Whippman is all too aware that her parenting today will shape the men her sons become tomorrow, but daily life can often feel like the triumph of nature over nurture.

Blending memoir, reporting and cultural analysis, she investigates the impossibly contradictory pressures young men now face, and the blind spots in male socialization that are leaving boys lonely and adrift. But as she digs into mental health, screens, school, sex, friendship, porn, 'cancel culture' and the manosphere, she finds her simple certainties about male privilege seriously challenged.

Empathetic, witty and curious, BoyMum asks how we can give boys a healthier, more expansive story about their own lives.

'A brilliant, powerful and very timely take. Everyone raising boys should read this, and all men too' Sam Delaney, author of Sort Your Head Out

'Nuanced, compassionate and brave, this brilliant book explodes the dogmatic, stereotypical tropes that restrict and smother boys' Laura Bates

'A fabulous and much-needed book. Ruth Whippman combines personal with critical cultural commentary so effectively and beautifully. As we raise children in today's complex age to be good citizens, this is a hugely important conversation' Pragya Agarwal, author of Sway and M(otherhood)

'Provocative and probing . . . Ruth Whippman . . . discovers loneliness and failed good intentions, but also a longing for connection, and moments of grace. Whippman shows that we ought to think harder about who we want our boys to become' Patricia Duckerman, author of Why French Children Don't Throw Food

'Ruth Whippman is a rare talent with an even rarer set of skills, deftly combining forensic academic research, dazzling wit and disarmingly punchy prose that leaps from the page and leaves you wondering how something so clever and so urgent can also be so much fun to read' Charlotte Philby, author of Edith and Kim

'Beautifully conveys the internal battle many intelligent feminist mothers [find] themselves having when raising boys' Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, Guardian

Critic Reviews

A brilliant, powerful and very timely take. Everyone raising boys should read this, and all men too Sam Delaney, author of Sort Your Head Out
BoyMum is one of the most thought-provoking books I've read as a parent Helen Rumbelow, The Times
An urgent call to reassess how boys are raised and socialized Publisher's Weekly
Nuanced, compassionate and brave, this brilliant book explodes the dogmatic, stereotypical tropes that restrict and smother boys from a positive, feminist perspective. It is warm, meticulously researched, and above all, hopeful. -- Laura Bates
The behind-the-scenes story of the most famous misogynist (and one of the most famous people) on the internet... a fascinating insight into the power of his cult of personality and the dangerous tactics used to silence his critics -- Matt Blake Esquire
Utterly fascinating for anyone raising sons -- Gaby Hinsliff

About the Author

Ruth Whippman is a British author and journalist living in the United States. A former BBC documentary director and producer, her essays, cultural criticism and journalism have appeared in the New York Times, Time magazine, the Guardian and the Huffington Post. Her first book, The Pursuit of Happiness, was a New York Post Best Book of the Year, a New York Times Editor's Choice, a Daily Mail Must Read and a Sunday Times Top Summer Read. She lives in California with her husband and three sons.