Taboo on Tenderness

By Kindred Media
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Why are parents forcing independence on their babies?

Psychotherapist Ian D. Suttie in his book, The Origins of Love and Hate, pointed to a significant taboo in US/European society in the early 20th century: the taboo on tenderness. He noted at the time when he wrote the book that it was a greater taboo than sex.

In the century since he wrote, I believe it has only gotten worse. We are inundated with images and discourse that assumes that toughness-without-tenderness is part of being masculine. Women are trying to validate themselves with this same notion as they are told to abandon putting family first and put their primary focus on work and getting ahead.

From Grit Training for Babies, by Darcia Narvaez.

Read it here on Kindred.

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Kindred Media

Kindred World began as a grassroots, consciousness-raising organization of parents and professionals in 1996, twenty-five years into America’s fifty year decline to the bottom of all developed nations' indicators for family, maternal, infant, and children's health. Today, Kindred World’s nonprofit mission and vision of a Wisdom-based, Wellness-informed Society, are more relevant and important than ever.

During the current climate crisis, pandemic, and political upheaval, Kindred World’s quarter century of investigating and sharing a New Story of Our Human Family is a blazed path to wholeness and wellness ready for others to follow. With a consistent dedication to serve, Kindred World's leaders, contributors, volunteers, and community participants have explored the interconnectedness of the “categories” you will find on this website. This holistic approach – looking for the connections between all of life’s interdependent and diverse forms – has allowed us to discover integrated insights into creating lifelong wellness.

Kindred World, and it's nonprofit initiative, Kindred Media, have explored this New Story from the ground up - in grassroots’ communities - and from the top down - with frontier science researchers and social changemakers. This New Story comes with its own language, phrases like Cultural Creatives, Bio-Cultural Conflict, Grounded Expansion, Harmonic Family Resonance, Phronesis, the Evolved Nest, Original Brilliance and the Ecology of the Child, can be found in our New Story Glossary. If we're going to tell a New Story, we will need new language.

What is needed at this time is a safe gathering place, a sanctuary, created with great compassion to inspire and welcome our imaginations to engage in open dialogue, to create connected community, and to identify resources that support an adventurous exploration of thriving.

Welcome to that safe gathering space.

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