Coming into Being Mothers on Finding and Realizing Feminism

by Green, Fiona Joy; Bailey, Victoria; O'Reilly, Andrea

• ISBN13: 9781772584493
• ISBN10: 1772584495
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2023-07-25
• Publisher: Demeter Press

Summary

This collection explores how becoming and being a mother can be shaped by, and interconnected with, how mothers realize feminism and/or become feminists. Experiences of motherhood can involve unique discriminations and oppressions, as well as new challenges and possibilities. What may have been overlooked, tolerated, or perhaps even gone unnoticed before becoming a mother, can become overtly apparent or even unavoidable afterwards. Becoming a mother may also lead to a questioning of current feminist priorities and practices, and a recognition of the need for, or even demand for, a mother-centred mode of feminism. This anthology, separated into three sections – ‘ Losing and Finding,’ ‘ Challenging and Critiquing,’ and, ‘ Connecting and Conversing’ – provides intersectionally sensitive and broad-ranging interdisciplinary insights into mothers’ perceptions of, connection to, and realizations of, feminism. International contributors examine this complex topic through a wide variety of texts including personal and scholarly essays, creative non-fiction, letters and Q and A style discussion, poetry, art, and photography.

Author Biography

Fiona Joy Green is a cisgender, temporarily able-bodied, straight feminist mother who believes in the power of revolutionary feminist parenting. She is a White Settler and holds the position of professor in the Department of Women’ s and Gender Studies at the University of Winnipeg, located within Treaty No. 1 Territory. Dr. Green is the author of Practicing Feminist Mothering (ARP) and co-editor of five Demeter Press collections that address evolving feminist parenting practices and maternal pedagogies Victoria Bailey is currently completing a PhD in Creative Writing and has a Master’ s in Women’ s Studies. Her writing has been included in a wide range of publications including other Demeter Press anthologies. She is also a feminist mother of three. Andrea O’ Reilly, PhD, is full professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’ s Studies at York University, and publisher of Demeter Press. She is coeditor/editor of twenty plus books including Maternal Theory, The 2nd Edition (2021), and Maternal Regret: Resistances, Renunciations, and Reflections (2022). She is editor of the Encyclopedia on Motherhood (2010) and coeditor of the Routledge Companion to Motherhood (2019). She is author of three monographs including Matricentric Feminism: Theory, Activism, and Practice, The 2nd Edition (2021).