As a feminist, there are all sorts of things I want and need my son to learn and know about women. More than anything I want him to know that women, just like men, are not all the same. I want him to take the time to get to know the women that become important to him, instead of generalizing or relying on outdated stereotypes.

Of course, dads can be (and are) feminists, too, so I asked a few to tell me what they consider to be the most important thing they want their sons to know about women. Their answers showed me that men and women really aren't so different after all (and regardless of what more than a few famous books would lead you to believe). In the end, we all want our children to be kind, caring, and to avoiding hurting anyone.

I want my son to treat women (and, honestly, all people) with respect and dignity, and to be an ally to anyone who is marginalized. It makes me quite happy that my little one is still at the age where gender doesn't present any challenge to his ideas about who he should play with, how they should behave, look ,or dress, or the toys they should choose. I intend to continue developing his natural openness and commitment to equality and judging by the answers of these following dads (and even though some of them aren't necessarily what I would consider the "most important" thing we can teach our sons about women), I'm not the only one.