The book explores the diverse meanings and practices of motherhood through various maternal perspectives. Each chapter delves into the unique challenges and opportunities faced by different groups of mothers, offering contextual background and insights. It also highlights potential avenues for future research, making it a comprehensive examination of the complexities of mothering.
The oppressive and the empowering dimensions of maternity, as well as the complex relationship between the two, first identified by Adrienne Rich in Of Woman Born, has been the focus of feminist scholarship on motherhood over the last three decades. While feminist research on motherhood has focused on many topics, these studies have been informed and shaped by larger inquiries: namely, how do we challenge patriarchal motherhood? How do we create feminist mothering? And finally, how are the two aims interconnected? Rocking the Cradle, composed of twelve essays, will explore these questions.
The 2nd edition includes a new preface that considers how matricentric feminism in positioning mothering as a verb affords a gender-neutral understanding of motherwork and allows for an appreciation of how motherwork is deeply gendered and how this may be challenged and changed through empowered mothering The book argues that the category of mother is distinct from the category of woman, and that many of the problems mothers face are specific to women's role and identity as mothers. Indeed, mothers are oppressed under patriarchy as women and as mothers. Consequently, mothers need a feminism of their own, one that positions mothers' concerns as the starting point for a theory and politic of empowerment. O'Reilly terms this new mode of feminism matricentic feminism and the book explores how it is represented and experienced in theory, activism, and practice.
Focusing on the concept of motherhood, the book explores how Toni Morrison's works redefine black motherhood through the lens of black women's experiences. Andrea O'Reilly analyzes Morrison's novels, essays, and speeches to reveal that for Morrison, motherhood serves as a powerful act of resistance against racism and sexism. This perspective positions mothering as essential to black women's empowerment and cultural well-being, ultimately advocating for a transformative vision of a better world through Morrison's maternal theory—a politics of the heart.
Explores how Rich's work has influenced feminist scholarship on motherhood.
The themes and issues explored are many: midwifery, intensive mothering, food allergies, workplace flexibility, family meals, childcare, education, popular culture, “opting out,” maternal empowerment, fathers, maternal activism, poverty, shared parenting, and work/life balance, and are examined from a wide range of perspectives including Aboriginal, Latina, African American/Canadian, military, single, poor, young, at-home, waged mothers, as well as mothers with disabilities. The volume argues that what is needed is a new “cultural conversation” on, and “a reframing” of, motherhood; one that is appreciative of the diversity of mothers’ lived experiences, attentive to the specific social context of twenty-first century motherhood, and audacious enough to imagine radical and transformative ways to mother and be mothered."--pub. desc.
Focusing on the 21st century motherhood movement, this anthology presents a comprehensive exploration of maternal identities and activism across seven sections. It features over eighty global motherhood organizations, detailing their history, challenges, and future goals. The introduction contextualizes the movement within feminist theory, highlighting its unique practices and strategies. By affirming the distinct nature of this social movement, the book advocates for a necessary mother-centered theory and politic in contemporary feminism.
A central aim of motherhood studies is to examine and theorize normative motherhood. Where does it come from? What are its defining features and demands? How does it work as a regulatory discourse and practice across differences of age, class, race, ability, sexuality, and region? What is the impact of normative motherhood on women?s lives? What does an intersectional analysis of normative motherhood reveal? How is normative motherhood reflected and enacted in public policy, workplace practices, family arrangements and so on? How is normative motherhood represented and resisted in literature, art, photography, and film? How do or may women resist normative motherhood? This collection explores these questions of normative motherhood under three interrelated Regulations, Representations, and Reclamations.