With stagnating wages and the rising cost of childcare many of the nation’s families are balancing more and more responsibilities with fewer and fewer resources. This week, as the President and the First Lady prepare to convene the White House Summit on Working Families, Melissa Harris Perry will host an extended look at the politics of parenting. At issue: how the social and economic realities of parenting shape the political identities of mothers and fathers across the country.
We’ll examine the 23 billion dollar industry that markets the latest childcare products and parenting advice, and we’ll look at how the consumer demands of parenting changes the decisions made by young people looking to start a family.
Melissa will also examine the social pressures placed on mothers, from society’s fixation with ‘losing the baby weight,’ to the 21st century body shaming of breastfeeding mothers on social media.
Don’t forget about, Dad! The role of fathers in modern day parenting is evolving rapidly from the images of detached Don Draper patriarchs that we once associated with fatherhood. We’ll talk with sociologist, author and father Dalton Conley who is known for experimenting on his own children.
Then we’ll take a look at family planning decisions as portrayed in film and popular culture in an interview with Gillian Robespierre, director of the acclaimed new film Obvious Child. We’ll also bring you an interview with Opera legend Jessye Norman on her new biography, and we’ll get to that story about three legged pantyhose that we ran out of time for on Saturday. Remember – when it comes to MHP, come for the beginning; stay through the end. Be sure to read what we’ve linked above, and watch Melissa Harris-Perry Sunday at 10am ET on msnbc! Also, don’t forget to join us on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #nerdland.
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