I recently read the article Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior.
I am Asian American. I attest that this is parenting method is a crapshoot as much as any other style of parenting, though I suppose me simply saying that proves very little.
I see value in whatever she is trying to teach her children.
There’s something funky with the assumptions and implications of her argument, though. I will begin to tear this thing to pieces for my friends, but i would like the folly of this piece broadcasted by someone who i know can shred it in a devastating manner.
Some words from the wise one?
Amy Chua is a righteous bitch. That’s fine. She’s earned it. This self described tiger mother is a professor of law at Yale, and she’s raised two overachieving daughters. Good for her, but is her parenting philosophy or her daughter’s achievements evidence of her superiority as a mother? Fuck no. They are merely evidence of her methodology, and her claim of superiority is pure arrogance.
Her entire argument is a sweeping value judgment, one that she’s free to make, but at the end of the day, one that’s entirely subjective, inherently egocentric, and even a wee bit racist. I know that’s a loaded word, but I mean it in a dry, academic sense. Chua’s heart isn’t filled with hate or anything. Just contempt.
Her article is titled, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior.” Well, imagine if another Ivy League professor had written a similar article. Imagine, for instance, if Cornel West had written one titled, “Why Black Musicians Are Superior” or if Paul Krugman had written, “Why Jewish Bankers Are Superior.” They’d be eaten alive for saying that shit, but Chua gets away with the same level of culturally biased nonsense because she’s an Asian woman.
Again, fine. Whatever. According to her value system, Chinese mothers are indeed superior, but her cultural values are different from mine, as is her definition of success. Quite frankly, I’m okay just to leave it at that. She’s not my mother, nor am I a parent with something to prove, so I feel no need to shred her to pieces.
She may look great on paper, but by her own admission, she’s not any good at enjoying life. Poor thing. I don’t need to waste my breath slamming the tiger mother. She’s hard enough on herself.