Having a baby boy - want advice from fellow feminist moms.

I have a daughter, but before I knew, I decided that I would raise a boy or girl the same way.  The biggest advice is to avoid stereotypical pitfalls like dressing him in only blue with trucks and cars and only buying "boy" toys.  I dress my daughter in alll kinds of clothes and buy her all kinds of toys.  You can't control everything that he will come into contact with, but you can control your response to what he sees and learns.  Also, don't worry about what other people say if you buck tradition, because it will happen. 

One of the most important things I did and do is to have a running, age-appropriate dialog regarding the gender and sexuality messages in the media.  I am fond of saying I deserve equal time, lol.  My kids are used to mom "going off," but I am happy to say it rubs off.

The other is to continually examine YOURSELF for the less than obvious ways we all have bought into cultural norms. 

And congratulations on having a boy!

I think if he has a strong mother who he can respect, then you're already well on your way to teaching him those things.

Also, I highly recomend the book "Real Boys" by William Pollack. 

Don't worry you'll teach him that simply by being his mother and guiding him.  I have many goals when raising my son but these 2 are way up there on the list.  1. That he respects women, 2. That he is college educated.  My son will be the first, and my kids will  hopefully be the second.  My dad always said, "remember who you are and who you represent".  I'm sure our son's will be just that.

I love this. I have actually been thinking about this for a few weeks-how to raise a feminist boy. I don't have a boy, but just thinking how it could look.

I would say to cross the gender line with toys! As feminists, we are probably all aware of how gender norms play out with regard to childrens' toys. I would say to purposely give him toys that are gender neutral, and any toys that are typically seen as "boy" toys, to match that count with a "girl" toy.

Because you are a feminist, I think that message will play out and be a great example for him.

Also, pay attention to our subtle inclinations of parenting! Most of us aren't even aware that we handle girls more gently or act more insensitive to boys when they show emotion, and so. These sublte cues really teach children how to be and not to be, so it's important to watch for those.

Try finding books that are not sexist. Most of children's books and movies are sexist. The prince rescues the dirty damsel in distress and oh what a hero-like women need to be rescued or something. I have not had much luck with finding gender neutral books when they do involve actual people, so I change gender-like if it is about "he" did something brave I will say "she". Alot of times, the child will not notice anything because the pictures are usually starfish or some other creature that doesn't look feminine or masuline.

Again, I'm not full of ideas here, but I know there is a book about this and I cannot remember what it is called, but if you looked for it on google, you might try searching under "feminist parenting" or something along those lines.

There is a quote that we have started raising our girls like boys, but have not the courage to raise our boys like girls yet.  I have found that this is a common case outside of the quote, and I am So happy that there are mothers who are serious about raising their boys away from the traditional norm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!