Former first lady Michelle Obama speculated Wednesday that society may be protecting men to the extent that they feel “entitled” and “self-righteous.” She said the focus is on raising strong girls and protecting boys.
“It’s like the problem in the world today is we love our boys, and we raise our girls,” Obama said at the first ever Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago. “We raise them to be strong, and sometimes we take care not to hurt men -- and I think we pay for that a little bit.”
Former first lady Michelle Obama: "Are we protecting our men too much, so that they feel a little entitled, a little self-righteous?" pic.twitter.com/xtmNPEhNhm
— ABC News (@ABC) November 1, 2017
“Are we protecting our men too much so they feel a little entitled and … self-righteous sometimes? But, that’s kind of on us too as women and mothers, as we nurture men and push girls to be perfect," she said.
She added that men needed to have support networks of friends the way women do.
“Y’all should get you some friends,” Obama joked. “And talk to each other, because that’s the other thing [women] do -- we straighten each other out on some things, our girlfriends.”
“Talk about why y’all are the way you are,” she said.
“Look, I don’t have boys; I’m not raising boys, I’m raising girls,” Obama acknowledged to the crowd. “So a lot of my focus as a mother — I’m thinking about how do I make sure these girls are sturdy and able to exist in this world? And it is a world that is dangerous for women.”
“We have to raise our children to be people,” she concluded. “Whether they have had struggles or whatever the world has for them, we have to raise them to be ready to be independent, well-meaning, kind, compassionate people.”