What Do Mothers Need? Motherhood Activists and Scholars Speak Out on Maternal Empowerment for the 21st Century

by O'Reilly, Andrea

• ISBN13: 9781927335079
• ISBN10: 1927335078
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-12-01
• Publisher: Demeter Press

Summary

This volume, developed from the public forum “What Do Mothers Need?” and hosted by the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI) in 2012, examines what mothers need in twenty-first century North American society in order to adequately care for their children while living full and purposeful lives. The contributors to the volume include representatives from various motherhood organizations—Ontario/Canadian Native Women’s Association, Hip Mama, National Association of Mother Centres, Mothers & More, Mocha Moms, Welfare Warriors—as well as the leading motherhood scholars including Paula Caplan, Amber Kinser, Barbara Katz Rothman, Pamela Stone, and Judith Warner. The twenty-six chapters, organized into six sections—“Redefining Motherhood,” “Empowering Mothers,” “Mothers, Children and Families: Health and Well-Being,” “Mothers, Education and Social Change,” “Mothers, Partners and Parenting,” and “Mothers and Work”—explore what changes are needed in public/social policy, health, education, the workplace, maternal support/advocacy, and the family in order to afford full and lasting gender equity for mothers in the twenty-first century. 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.This volume, developed from the public forum “What Do Mothers Need?” and hosted by the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI) in 2012, examines what mothers need in twenty-first century North American society in order to adequately care for their children while living full and purposeful lives. The contributors to the volume include representatives from various motherhood organizations—Ontario/Canadian Native Women’s Association, Hip Mama, National Association of Mother Centres, Mothers & More, Mocha Moms, Welfare Warriors—as well as the leading motherhood scholars including Paula Caplan, Amber Kinser, Barbara Katz Rothman, Pamela Stone, and Judith Warner. The twenty-six chapters, organized into six sections—“Redefining Motherhood,” “Empowering Mothers,” “Mothers, Children and Families: Health and Well-Being,” “Mothers, Education and Social Change,” “Mothers, Partners and Parenting,” and “Mothers and Work”—explore what changes are needed in public/ social policy, health, education, the workplace, maternal support/advocacy, and the family in order to afford full and lasting gender equity for mothers in the twenty-first century

Author Biography

Andrea O’Reilly is a Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at York University and is founder and director of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (mirci). She is the author and editor of eighteen books on motherhood and the editor of the first Encyclopedia of Motherhood.