Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

[[File:Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.jpg|thumb|165px|The title is a little bit misleading because a literal tiger would probably be a better parent than Amy Chua.]]
{{books}}
{{cquote|Chua, who wrote an entire book about being the world's strictest mother and did nothing to counter the shallow stereotype that Chinese parents are as emotionally accessible as a pair of boulders, existed this year specifically so that parents could read her book and say, "Fuck that lady. And fuck China." Listen, Amy Chua. Just because you spent hours every night pushing the violin on your daughter doesn't make ''me'' the asshole.|||Drew Magary, "The 25 Least Influential People of 2011"}}
'''''Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother''''' ({{Isbn|9781594202841}}) is a book by {{wpl|Amy Chua|'''Amy "Tiger Mom" Lynn Chua'''}} {{lived|1962}}, a [[Chinese]]-[[American]] Professor of Law at Yale University (sorry Yale) who seeks to import the "Asian Tiger" [[economic]] model into parenting. Chua outlines the severe 'worse than helicopter mom' regime she imposed on her two daughters, Lulu and Sophia, to ensure their [[academic]] success, a strategy she attributes to her own upbringing as a second-generation immigrant.

==Tiger mothering==
Among other things, her daughters were not allowed to watch TV, play [[Video game|computer games]], host/go on playdates or sleepovers, appear in school plays, get any grade less than an A, not be the number 1 student in any subject except drama and gym, choose their extracurricular activities, play any [[music]]al instrument aside from the piano or violin, or refrain from playing either of those instruments. On one occasion, she called one of her daughters "garbage."<ref>Kira Cochrane (February 7, 2014). [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/feb/07/truth-about-tiger-mothers-family-amy-chua "The truth about the Tiger Mother's family"]. ''The Guardian''.</ref>

On another, Chua rejected a handmade card one of her daughters made her for Mother's Day on the grounds that it wasn't good enough. On still another, she threatened to burn her daughter's stuffed toys if she could not master a piano piece, and made her practice it dozens of times into the night, refusing to even allow her to go to the bathroom. That sounds [[sadist]]ic, but hey, [[Not as bad as|at least she didn't]] [[To Train Up a Child#Consequences|beat her daughter to death with a pipe for mispronouncing a word]].

==Controversy==
On January 8, 2011, the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' published the core of the book's argument, under the heading "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior."<ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior"], ''Wall Street Journal''. January 8, 2011.</ref> A predictable firestorm of controversy erupted. Left and right, people exclaimed, "No, my own mother was not like this, not all [[Asia]]n parents are like this!" and "Chua has no right to speak for all [[Chinese]] parents!" and so on. There were also, of course, those who defended her, claiming an antithesis to the "[[West]]ern style of parenting." Chua has gone on to say that the book is not so much a how-to manual as a self-reflective, self-deprecative memoir, and her daughter has defended her, saying that much in the book that sounds harsh was not really as bad in real life (though her upbringing may have led her to perceive her experience as less harsh than others would, or maybe she's just glad it's over).

[[Poe's Law|It is possible, of course]], that the events in the book are [[PIDOOMA|partially or entirely made up]] and that Chua's intention was merely to make some [[money]] and garner some attention by pandering to Westerners' worst [[stereotype]]s of East Asians. If such is the case, she has certainly succeeded.

==Implications==
Jeremiads of [[child]]-rearing have been a regular feature in publishing for almost as long as books have existed. But in American society, the discussion has become urgent. The very next year after the publication of ''Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother'', author Pamela Druckerman produced ''Bringing Up Bébé'', another story of alternate parenting that has produced results from almost the opposite approach (an imitation of [[French]] parenting that might be labeled "tactical neglect"). Yes, this is how it starts.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/22/bringing-up-bebe-do-frenc_n_1294273.html 'Bringing Up Bebe': Do French Parents Have A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi?], ''Huffington Post''. February 2, 2012.</ref>

In ''Battle Hymn,'' Chua points out that the children of Asian immigrants are unusually successful, [[statistic]]ally speaking.<ref>[http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/06/19/the-rise-of-asian-americans/ The Rise of Asian Americans], Pew Research Center. June 19, 2012</ref> The crux of the matter is whether or not this success is a matter of [[culture]] and circumstance, or comes from the harsh expectations and methods to which Chua ascribes the success. And of course, always present&nbsp;— though unspoken&nbsp;— are the implications of race that always arise when any large ethnic group is [[Self-fulfilling prophecy|ascribed a specific set of traits]].

Another question that reporters should be asking Chua is why Asian Americans are increasingly voting for the [[Democratic Party|political party most affiliated with social equality]].<ref>{{wpa|Asian Americans in government and politics#Voting trends|Asian Americans in politics}}</ref>

==Later regrets==
In a 2016 interview, Sophia stated the book was "more like a 'don’t try this at home guide’' and not about "telling everyone else they should do this with their kid."<ref name="S2023"/> Lulu also had mixed feelings about her childhood, stating: "There were happy moments and difficult moments and it was maybe a less carefree childhood than a lot of other people's. I lost that childhood innocence, that sense of joy and wonder, and I definitely felt a lot of stress."<ref name="AsAmNews2023"/> After a serious hospitalization, Chua herself expressed some regrets about the worst excesses of her parenting style in a 2023 interview with the ''[[Daily Mail]]'', though she did not regret writing the book. When worried that she may actually die from her illness, she regretted that she hadn't praised her children more often. She added, "I still believe achieving excellence can bring a lot of benefits, and I'm glad I instilled a sense of grit in my kids. But the things I regret more are the harsh things I said to them and losing my temper."<ref name="S2023">Ryan General (October 3, 2023). [https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/tiger-mom-amy-chua-reveals-200820991.html "'Tiger Mom' Amy Chua reveals biggest regrets in her strict parenting journey"]. ''NextShark'', via Yahoo News.</ref><ref name="AsAmNews2023">Randall (October 2, 2023). [https://asamnews.com/2023/10/02/tough-parenting-regrets-doubts-motherhood-near-death-experience/ "Tiger Mom Amy Chua mellows with age and a serious illness"]. ''AsAmNews''.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Biological determinism]]
*[[Child abuse]]
*[[Corporal punishment]]
*''[[To Train Up a Child]]''

==External links==
*[http://timharford.com/2014/02/the-seductive-appeal-of-cultural-stereotypes/ The seductive appeal of stereoypes], Tim Harford
*[https://www.wsj.com/articles/kavanaugh-is-a-mentor-to-women-1531435729 Kavanaugh Is a Mentor To Women], Amy Chua, July 12, 2018, Wall Street Journal.
*[https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna911571 Amy Chua reportedly grooms female clerks for judge Brett Kavanaugh]. Tiger Mother did what?

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{title-italics}}

[[Category:Books]]
[[Category:Orientalist woo]]
[[Category:Parenting]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Stereotypes]]

Categories: Books, Orientalist woo, Parenting, Racism, Stereotypes