Jordan Shapiro joins me to talk about being a feminist dad. Jordan is an author, educator, and researcher. He’s Senior Fellow for the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, and Nonresident Fellow in the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. Finally, he is the author of Father-Figure: How to be a Feminist Dad.

In this episode, we discuss gender essentialism and how men can begin to change habits, behaviors, and ideas in order to behave differently in the world.  Seriously, Jordan is paving the way for what it means to be a man today. Ladies, all of the men in your life need his new book. And they need to listen to this episode, so share it with them too!

Show Highlights

• Father Figure: How to Be a Feminist Dad: what it means to be a feminist dad, plus Jordan’s response to his son when asked, “Dad, are you appropriating feminism by being a man and writing this book?” (5:25)
• The familiar assumptions about the origins of so-called traditional parenting roles. (10:33)
• “We live in a world where gender is being renegotiated.” (17:59)
• Men should interrogate their behaviors and habits of mind so that they can make their own decisions about how to behave differently in the world.  (19:46)
• We talk in-depth about male privilege, toxic masculinity, and the patriarchy. (22:32)
• From narcissistic patriarchal authority to responsive fathering. (30:32)
• The psychology of a father from an archetypal perspective. (37:30)

Learn More About Jordan:

Jordan Shapiro, PhD, is an author, educator, and researcher. He’s Senior Fellow for the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, and Nonresident Fellow in the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. He teaches in Temple University’s Intellectual Heritage Program, and he wrote “The New Childhood: Raising Kids to Thrive in a Connected World” (Little Brown Spark, 2018), which received wide critical acclaim and has been published in 11 languages. His upcoming book, “Father-Figure: How to be a Feminist Dad” (Little Brown Spark, 2021) offers a norm-shattering perspective on fatherhood, family, and gender essentialism.

Resources & Links:

Jordan’s book: Father Figure: How to Be a Feminist Dad
Jordan on Instagram
Jordan on Twitter
Jordan on Facebook