Motherhood Politics

Striking the right balance between career and motherhood is one of the most stressful, heart-wrenching tasks facing women today. In Torn, 46 women examine the conflict between the need to nurture and the need to work, and reveal creative solutions for having the best of both worlds. The stories in the collection offer hope and inspiration, but they also reveal the messy realities of modern motherhood and life's inevitable crises, both small and large.

Sweet, supportive, dependable, selfless. Long before she had children of her own, journalist Carrie Mullins knew how mothers should behave. But how? Where did these expectations come from—and, more importantly, are they serving the mothers whose lives they shape? Carrie's suspicion, later crystallized while raising two small children, was that our culture’s idealization of motherhood was not only painfully limiting but harmful, leaving women to cope with impossible standards—standards rarely created by mothers themselves.

Versorgerin, Businesswoman, Mom I’d Like to Fuck - Mütter sollen alles sein und dabei bitte glücklich. Egal, ob es um Arbeit, Geld, Sex, Körper, Psyche oder Liebe geht: Stereotype, Klischees und gesellschaftlichen Druck gibt es überall, auf Instagram, im Bett und im Büro. Dass unter diesem Druck das Wohlbefinden von Müttern leidet, ist kein Wunder. Mareice Kaiser schreibt poetisch und politisch, faktenreich und persönlich, modern und mutig über Mutterschaft und zeigt, wo Mütter heute stehen: noch immer öfter am Herd als in Entscheidungspositionen. Und, wo sie stehen sollten: dort, wo sie selbst sich sehen, frei und selbstbestimmt.

Genitori in coppia, coniugata e di fatto, più di due genitori, un figlio ad ogni costo, genitori omosessuali: diversi modi di essere madri e padri e una molteplicità di forme di famiglia.

In this spiritual memoir, a white woman in an interracial marriage and mixed-race family paints a beautiful path from white privilege toward racial healing, from ignorance toward seeing the image of God in everyone she meets.

Marianne Leone's Ma is in many senses a larger-than-life character, one who might be capable, even from the afterlife, of shattering expectations. Born on a farm in Italy, Linda finds her way to the United States under dark circumstances, having escaped a forced marriage to a much older man, and marries a good Italian boy. She never has full command of English, especially when questioned by authorities, and when she is suddenly widowed with three young children, she has few options.

Being a parent is a powerful experience, but often we don't anticipate the many ways it will change us. Expectant and new parents will find this book helpful because it examines the real effects children exert on a parent's sense of self, concept of love, personal and work goals, and your family relationships and friendships, and it explores the basis of the deep satisfaction we derive from being a parent - as well as areas that create stress.

In one week, a house and marriage violently disintegrate. Alone raising an infant in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Julie is surrounded by the rubble of her life - stripped bare by love and loss. Suddenly a single mother, Freed's prose captures the love and adoration for her daughter, the indomitable spirit of her New England family and her father's unwavering devotion. Touching ties survive even the most powerful surge Mother Nature delivers.

Your child is getting married! Congratulations! Oh, No, They're Engaged! will help any mother carry off her parental role in planning with dignity and common sense while explaining the execution of a traditional wedding. Included is vital information on advising the couple on emotional decisions, relationship issues, and budget concerns. From controlling expenses to managing the guest list, this handy guide provides all of the information necessary to helping a son or daughter have the wedding of their dreams.

Why life is harder on American families than it's been in decades? This book takes the blame away from moms and puts it where it really belongs. Pressed for time and money, unable to find decent affordable daycare, wracked with guilt at falling short of the mythic supermom ideal-working and non-working American mothers alike have it harder today than they have in decades, and they are worse off than many of their peers around the world. Why? Because they're raising their kids in a family-unfriendly nation.

Written with a blend of wit, snark, and raw intimacy, Belabored is an impassioned and irreverent defense of the autonomy, rights, and dignity of pregnant people.

Since the world’s first test-tube baby was born in 1978, in vitro fertilization has made the unimaginable possible for millions of people, but its revolutionary potential remains unrealized. Today, fertility centers continue to reinforce conservative norms of motherhood and family, and infertility remains a deeply emotional experience many women are reluctant to discuss.

In Forget "Having It All", Westervelt traces the roots of our modern expectations of mothers and motherhood back to extremist ideas held by the first Puritans who attempted to colonize America and examines how those ideals shifted - or didn't - through every generation since.

Part manifesto, part memoir, and part guide, this book unflinchingly flips conventional thinking surrounding motherhood on its head. From Danusia Malina-Derben, mother of 10, entrepreneur, thought leader, and critically acclaimed podcast host - this is a long-awaited, no-holds-barred book on why our current thinking about modern motherhood is overdue a radical overhaul.

Part memoir, part popular science, and part social commentary, Bottled Up probes breastfeeding politics through the lens of Barston’s own experiences as well as those of the women she has met through her popular blog, The Fearless Formula Feeder. Incorporating expert opinions, medical literature, and popular media into a pithy, often wry narrative, Barston offers a corrective to our infatuation with the breast. Impassioned, well-reasoned, and thoroughly researched, Bottled Up asks us to think with more nuance and compassion about whether breastfeeding should remain the holy grail of good parenthood.

Socialists and feminists have long targeted the family as an enemy, even the enemy. For socialists, the family is an obstacle to the full power of the progressive state. For feminists, the family denies female independence and equality. Today, however, the battle has grown even fiercer, as socialists and feminists have found a global ally in the United Nations, which is using its extraordinary power to undercut the authority and the sanctity of the family around the world - even in the United States.

In this anthology of creative nonfiction, 28 writers set out to discover what they know, and don't know, about the person they call Mother. Celebrated writers Samia Serageldin and Lee Smith have curated a diverse and insightful collection that challenges stereotypes about mothers and expands our notions of motherhood in the South. The mothers in these essays were shaped, for good and bad, by the economic and political crosswinds of their time.

An activist calls for better support of young families so they can thrive and reflects on her experiences as a Black mother and college student fighting for opportunities for herself and her child. Pregnant Girl presents the possibility of a different future for young mothers - one of success and stability - in the midst of the dismal statistics that dominate the national conversation.

What you're not expecting, when you're expecting.... Bec Judd has been pregnant quite a lot: three pregnancies, three deliveries and four gorgeous newborn babies. From carrying a baby to delivering it, feeding it and raising it, Bec has experienced almost everything motherhood can throw at you, and she wants to share the secrets and stories that she has learned along the way.

C. J. Schneider found herself in the middle of a perfect storm after giving birth to her third child and moving to a new neighborhood. Conditions for misery and postpartum depression were ideal: She was isolated, lonely, and exhausted with three young children at home. As she started talking with other mothers, she realized that she was not alone in her experience of feeling alone. In her unique voice, Schneider intelligently and compassionately offers practical advice on how to create the essential community that mothers need.