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I really hate these euphemisms for abusive care givers. It isn't "tiger mums," more often than not it's just covert/vulnerable narcissistic parents. I'm not

I really hate these euphemisms for abusive care givers. It isn't "tiger mums," more often than not it's just covert/vulnerable narcissistic parents. I'm not saying it's always the case, but can we really appreciate parents that have so little empathy that they can't see how much suffering their egocentricity causes their own children? Edit: typo

jeroenhd 4y ago
I think the imagery of a tiger works quite well: a stalking, murdering animal that will strike when their prey is most vulnerable or least expect it. They can appear like soft, fluffy, playful cats on the outside, but like most carnivores, they simply cannot survive for long without killing other animals. They are also almosg always alone when they're not raising offspring, which is not necessarily something you'd want to associate yourself with as a human. I can't fathom how someone would abuse their own family for their personal gains. There must some something deeply wrong with the narcissistic parents that force their children to work for them. There are at least two subreddits about people raised by terrible parents like these and the problem is clearly more prevalent than I'd ever expect. It's one thing to be uninterested in your child's wants or needs, like Wil's dad appears to be, but also forcing them to work for your own betterment feels like something that only a Disney villain could do.
- spoiler 4y ago
  > I think the imagery of a tiger works quite well: a stalking, murdering animal that will strike when their prey is most vulnerable or least expect it. They can appear like soft, fluffy, playful cats on the outside, but like most carnivores, they simply cannot survive for long without killing other animals. They are also almosg always alone when they're not raising offspring, which is not necessarily something you'd want to associate yourself with as a human. That's an interesting take actually. I never considered it like that, because often these types of mothers pride themselves on being "tiger mum" that protect their "cubs". In my head that was always simply wrapping an abusive reality into a cute narrative.

jeroenhd 4y ago

I think the imagery of a tiger works quite well: a stalking, murdering animal that will strike when their prey is most vulnerable or least expect it. They can appear like soft, fluffy, playful cats on the outside, but like most carnivores, they simply cannot survive for long without killing other animals. They are also almosg always alone when they're not raising offspring, which is not necessarily something you'd want to associate yourself with as a human. I can't fathom how someone would abuse their own family for their personal gains. There must some something deeply wrong with the narcissistic parents that force their children to work for them. There are at least two subreddits about people raised by terrible parents like these and the problem is clearly more prevalent than I'd ever expect. It's one thing to be uninterested in your child's wants or needs, like Wil's dad appears to be, but also forcing them to work for your own betterment feels like something that only a Disney villain could do.

spoiler 4y ago
> I think the imagery of a tiger works quite well: a stalking, murdering animal that will strike when their prey is most vulnerable or least expect it. They can appear like soft, fluffy, playful cats on the outside, but like most carnivores, they simply cannot survive for long without killing other animals. They are also almosg always alone when they're not raising offspring, which is not necessarily something you'd want to associate yourself with as a human. That's an interesting take actually. I never considered it like that, because often these types of mothers pride themselves on being "tiger mum" that protect their "cubs". In my head that was always simply wrapping an abusive reality into a cute narrative.