Michelle Obama: We raise men to feel ‘entitled’

Michelle Obama is questioning whether men may feel “entitled” and “self-righteous” because of mothers’ inclination to protect them.

“It’s like the problem in the world today is we love our boys and we raise our girls,” the former first lady told poet Elizabeth Alexander Wednesday at the 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,” Obama, 53, said.

The mom to daughters Malia, 19, and Sasha, 16, continued, “And that’s a ‘we’ thing because we’re raising them.”

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“It’s powerful to have strong men but what does that strength mean?” asked Obama. “Does it mean respect? Does it mean responsibility? Does it mean compassion? Or are we protecting our men too much so that they feel a little entitled and a little, you know, self-righteous sometimes?”

“And that’s kind of on us, too, as women and mothers,” Obama added, “as we nurture men and push girls to be perfect.”

“Look, I don’t have boys; I’m not raising boys, I’m raising girls,” Obama told 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. 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,” she said.

“And I don’t know if that’s different for boys and girls — regardless of what they’re confronting in the world.”