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Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'
Cheaper by the Dozen by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Frank B. Gilbreth
1 review
thatgirlinblack's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
I grew up in a big family that was raised entirely the wrong way by parents who idolized “the good old days” so this book was excruciatingly familiar, plus worse. Yes there’s something to be said for the closeness of siblings and all the interpersonal relations you learn in a setting like that but there’s so much baggage that comes with that: overprotection, parentification, neglect, anti-socialization, loss of self, and straight up abuse to name a few — all of which I’ve undergone or witnessed.
The dad admirably teaches the kids a myriad of things but still prizes them like trophies and I know from experience how icky that feels. The mom is well-educated in her own right but it’s literally admitted that having a dozen spawn was his idea/quest.
Sure in some ways this family was a lot like any other, dealing with siblings, allowances, makeup, dating and more. But the misogynistic gender roles BS of the times (plus casual racism!) is impossible to ignore.
It’s past time to stop throwing out excuses like “but they loved all their kids,” “but the parents did the best they could,” “well I turned out fine” and actually start talking about how shit was not ok and sometimes traumatic.
The dad admirably teaches the kids a myriad of things but still prizes them like trophies and I know from experience how icky that feels. The mom is well-educated in her own right but it’s literally admitted that having a dozen spawn was his idea/quest.
Sure in some ways this family was a lot like any other, dealing with siblings, allowances, makeup, dating and more. But the misogynistic gender roles BS of the times (plus casual racism!) is impossible to ignore.
It’s past time to stop throwing out excuses like “but they loved all their kids,” “but the parents did the best they could,” “well I turned out fine” and actually start talking about how shit was not ok and sometimes traumatic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Misogyny and Death of parent