The Consequences Of Progressive Parenting

The “First Partner” of California and wife of Governor Gavin Newsom said she requires her sons to play with dolls (“even if they tear the head off of them”) and replaces male protagonists in their favorite stories with “she” and “her.” Ironically, there is no mention of forcing her girls to run outside and get physical, hit each other, or play with toy guns. The message she sends is clear: Girls, you are the superior sex. Boys, be more like girls. Her comments on gender and parenting expose an ideology that pathologizes masculinity, dismisses motherhood’s natural responsibilities, and treats biology as an obstacle to be engineered away. The problem is not that the governor’s wife made provocative statements, it’s that she said exactly what modern feminists believe. These young men (now ages 15 and 10) are being told every day that their very essence is less valuable than their sisters. Failing to recognize the healthy biological impulses of her own children, she drives their admiration to those who will acknowledge their worth. Women like Newsom insist on passing down this insidious strain of feminism to their own children. One that obliterates the natural bonds of affection that keep the threads of society intact. For the Newsoms, the sexes are interchangeable. Neither woman nor man is endowed with unique gifts and attributes that contribute to the healthy development of a child, or a civil society. Like most progressives who subscribe to androgynous egalitarianism, distinctions and biological truths don’t matter to them. The message she sends is clear: Girls, you are the superior sex. Boys, be more like girls. California’s governor seems to reinforce his wife’s questionable parenting tactics. In fact, he says that the “50/50” approach to caregiving is “the issue of our time” and “the answer to so many of our problems that exist in the world.” Both parents begrudge the fact that women, on average, spend 39 days more per year caring for children. The horror! Indeed, Gavin calls the statistic “ominous.” Traditional roles for fathers and mothers are not societal constructs. They are the natural order of life that begets thriving and well-adjusted children and in turn, a flourishing civilization. Fathers typically offer the provisions and protections necessary for survival and stability like an income, a home, and structure. They are the ones to pass on healthy risk taking to their children, sons and daughters. They are more likely to say “shake it off” and instill resilience. Mothers offer sustenance (literally for the first year or more of a child through breastfeeding) and nurturance. They are the soft place to land, the one that tends to soothe hurt feelings and bruised egos. Upsetting these natural functions can lead to dysregulated and dysfunctional family dynamics. According to Mrs. Newsom, disparities in the job market are the result of the proverbial “war on women,” not a natural byproduct of the inherent sociological differences between the sexes. She has proposed legislation that will hold “tech companies accountable and be a force for good in our kids and family’s lives,” so that they “don’t go down this rabbit hole of very, very dangerous and limiting narratives around ultimately what it means to be a girl and what it means to be a boy.” Biology and human nature must be corrected, according to Mrs. Newsom. Even in her own family. Biology and human nature must be corrected, according to Mrs. Newsom. Even in her own family. The First “Partner” of California demonstrates the worst of feminine instincts: performative virtue signaling, condescension, and disrespect for the men in her life. Gavin Newsom seems to have given his wife everything she could ever want. Status, ethically questionable funding for her political nonprofit, and most importantly—although she may not perceive them to be as such—four beautiful gifts in the form of her children. Yet she can’t even muster the decency to call herself “First Lady,” acknowledging the fact that she is, indeed, his wife. There is nothing less attractive than an ungrateful woman. Men created civil society for women and children, yet feminists insist on destroying the very thing that has protected and provided for them for eons. At a time when fertility rates have crashed to an all-time low , it is the musings of women like Siebel Newsom that will ensure the destruction of civilization as we know it. She has said she doesn’t know if our country is “ready for First Partner .” Let’s hope we don’t have to find out. Jennifer Galardi is a senior policy analyst in the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Human Flourishing.