6 ms·

I'm convinced the original article by the Chinese mother was some kind of satire. I simply can't believe a reasonably intelligent person (a Yale prof!) can writ

by angdis 16y ago

I'm convinced the original article by the Chinese mother was some kind of satire. I simply can't believe a reasonably intelligent person (a Yale prof!) can write that with a straight face-- the bit about not letting kids participate in school plays takes the cake.

ghshephard 16y ago
Three things to note: o Amy Chua did not come up with the Title of the WSJ article. o The WSJ went out of their way to string the most controversial elements. Think of it as LinkBaiting.. They certainly got a lot of attention. o The actual book is much more nuanced, and, to some degree, comes to different conclusions than the article about the true nature of parenthood. I've spent quite a bit of time reading the reviews, and snips from the book, and have come to the conclusion that the WSJ editors, indeed, did a great job of writing a satirical review of that style of parenting. The high level of conversation certainly demonstrates that they accomplished their mission. See Jeff Yang's Great Review of the "True Story" behind the "Chinese Mother" essay at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/01/13/apop011311.DTL http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/01/13/...
- kenjackson 16y ago
  Yes, this rebuttal article is horrible. Somone with a PhD, presumably a researcher, should have read the source material (Amy's book).
Herring 16y ago
Of course it's trolling, but people respond seriously because (apparently) this style of parenting is common.
- gaoshan 16y ago
  >because (apparently) this style of parenting is common. It is not common. Every Chinese mother I know (that would be quite a few) found the Amy Chua article to be repulsive. Just like the American moms did, except that they knew people would equate them with Chua's ideas so it makes them even angrier. My own wife (a Chinese mom) and her friends and relatives have been circulating the Chua article and talking about it and the consensus is a universal "WTF is wrong with this woman?!" Then you read that the Wall Street Journal article was, at least to a certain extent, not representative of the actual tone of the book and you realize that this piece, so disliked by real Chinese mothers is an exaggeration of the whole phenomenon. People like the mom in this linked article are responding to an exaggeration of a caricature (and should be aware of this, though, from their own defensive and annoyed tone I suspect are not) and it strikes a chord because people are too sensitive to perceived criticism of things that matter deeply to their psyches... like the job they do raising their kids. So the WSJ takes an extreme point of view, exaggerates it to fit a caricature of a certain racial stereotype, people get annoyed at this mostly made up thing and start reacting angrily and the WSJ and those involved in the book make money off of the whole mess. Shameful.
  - JoeAltmaier 16y ago
    Really? Asian Moms aren't like that? Anecdotally, let me assure you that my son's high school is full of them. All but one of the best musicians are Asian. All the best mathematicians are Asian. These young folks have little life outside of lessons and competitions. All those 'quite a few' Chinese mothers you know, you said were repulsed. But how many of them fit the description?
    - gaoshan 16y ago
      As extreme as Chua is in the article? No. They are certainly strict especially when compared to the stereotypical "white" mother, but not like Chua. I have to admit, most (not all) of the Chinese moms I know are rather more liberal and open-minded about child rearing. Still much more grade/achievement focused than most American moms I know, but not as extreme as this Chua woman. I mean, even the more strict Chinese moms in my social circles wouldn't prevent their kids from attending sleep overs, as one example. Yes the kids study a lot (and do test prep plus attend Chinese school on weekends) and play an instrument (with much longer practice times than one might expect) and would be chewed out for anything less than an A (A- for the easy going moms) but still... not as draconian and goal oriented as Chua is portrayed the article. With one mom in particular, who is one of the more disgusted with this article (she called the other day and we spent a good half hour talking about the WSJ article), I know her sons consider her a pretty typical "chinese mother", and probably moan about her to their friends (I'm their uncle/godparent, btw), and while she is strict and expects a lot she is still nothing as bad as the caricature in that article.
      - zasz 16y ago
        Well, I'll counter your anecdotal Chinese mothers with mine. I didn't get to do sleepovers, ever, and my parents drove over to pick me up from school if they thought I was spending too much time on extracurriculars and not working on math homework. It was pretty fucking humiliating.
        gaoshan 16y ago
angrycoder 16y ago
The had the woman who wrote the book on NPR today, it actually sounds like a very honest and interesting book. It is funny that what people are responding to with so much furvor is the Murdoch cliff's notes version of the story.
rue 16y ago
"YHBT. HTH, HAND"

by angdis 16y ago

ghshephard 16y ago

Three things to note: o Amy Chua did not come up with the Title of the WSJ article. o The WSJ went out of their way to string the most controversial elements. Think of it as LinkBaiting.. They certainly got a lot of attention. o The actual book is much more nuanced, and, to some degree, comes to different conclusions than the article about the true nature of parenthood. I've spent quite a bit of time reading the reviews, and snips from the book, and have come to the conclusion that the WSJ editors, indeed, did a great job of writing a satirical review of that style of parenting. The high level of conversation certainly demonstrates that they accomplished their mission. See Jeff Yang's Great Review of the "True Story" behind the "Chinese Mother" essay at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/01/13/apop011311.DTL http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/01/13/...

kenjackson 16y ago
Yes, this rebuttal article is horrible. Somone with a PhD, presumably a researcher, should have read the source material (Amy's book).

Herring 16y ago

Of course it's trolling, but people respond seriously because (apparently) this style of parenting is common.

gaoshan 16y ago
>because (apparently) this style of parenting is common. It is not common. Every Chinese mother I know (that would be quite a few) found the Amy Chua article to be repulsive. Just like the American moms did, except that they knew people would equate them with Chua's ideas so it makes them even angrier. My own wife (a Chinese mom) and her friends and relatives have been circulating the Chua article and talking about it and the consensus is a universal "WTF is wrong with this woman?!" Then you read that the Wall Street Journal article was, at least to a certain extent, not representative of the actual tone of the book and you realize that this piece, so disliked by real Chinese mothers is an exaggeration of the whole phenomenon. People like the mom in this linked article are responding to an exaggeration of a caricature (and should be aware of this, though, from their own defensive and annoyed tone I suspect are not) and it strikes a chord because people are too sensitive to perceived criticism of things that matter deeply to their psyches... like the job they do raising their kids. So the WSJ takes an extreme point of view, exaggerates it to fit a caricature of a certain racial stereotype, people get annoyed at this mostly made up thing and start reacting angrily and the WSJ and those involved in the book make money off of the whole mess. Shameful.
- JoeAltmaier 16y ago
  Really? Asian Moms aren't like that? Anecdotally, let me assure you that my son's high school is full of them. All but one of the best musicians are Asian. All the best mathematicians are Asian. These young folks have little life outside of lessons and competitions. All those 'quite a few' Chinese mothers you know, you said were repulsed. But how many of them fit the description?
  - gaoshan 16y ago
    As extreme as Chua is in the article? No. They are certainly strict especially when compared to the stereotypical "white" mother, but not like Chua. I have to admit, most (not all) of the Chinese moms I know are rather more liberal and open-minded about child rearing. Still much more grade/achievement focused than most American moms I know, but not as extreme as this Chua woman. I mean, even the more strict Chinese moms in my social circles wouldn't prevent their kids from attending sleep overs, as one example. Yes the kids study a lot (and do test prep plus attend Chinese school on weekends) and play an instrument (with much longer practice times than one might expect) and would be chewed out for anything less than an A (A- for the easy going moms) but still... not as draconian and goal oriented as Chua is portrayed the article. With one mom in particular, who is one of the more disgusted with this article (she called the other day and we spent a good half hour talking about the WSJ article), I know her sons consider her a pretty typical "chinese mother", and probably moan about her to their friends (I'm their uncle/godparent, btw), and while she is strict and expects a lot she is still nothing as bad as the caricature in that article.
    - zasz 16y ago
      Well, I'll counter your anecdotal Chinese mothers with mine. I didn't get to do sleepovers, ever, and my parents drove over to pick me up from school if they thought I was spending too much time on extracurriculars and not working on math homework. It was pretty fucking humiliating.
      - gaoshan 16y ago

angrycoder 16y ago

The had the woman who wrote the book on NPR today, it actually sounds like a very honest and interesting book. It is funny that what people are responding to with so much furvor is the Murdoch cliff's notes version of the story.

rue 16y ago

"YHBT. HTH, HAND"