Why has feminism affected the mother-son bond?

You’re a feminist. You’re pregnant. It’s a boy. What next?

Feminist mothers share with Nastaran Tavakoli-Far the complexities of bringing up a son.

One mother feels she has failed to impart her feminist values to her 17-year-old son who insists on listening to songs with misogynistic lyrics.

Another mother confesses that she is conflicted - on the one hand she thinks men have had their turn at the top of society and now they should keep quiet. On the other hand, she wants her 15-year-old son to be heard.

On the son’s side, Nastaran talks to a man who says he couldn’t trust his mother has his best interests at heart because she was a feminist. He felt so strongly about this that he set up a political party to assert men’s rights.

And then there are the men who have benefited.

Research shared with Nastaran puts forward a surprising finding – that men now feel more loved by their mothers.

Nastaran hears from a 25-year-old who says he can share everything with his mother.

In contrast, research shows that men brought up in the 1950s said they couldn’t open up and be affectionate with their mothers because of the masculine culture that dominated before feminism.

Image: Young son hugging his pregnant mother. Credit: Science Photo Library