This book presents new interdisciplinary and intersectional research about women as mothers, highlighting that alternative accounts of mothering can challenge normative societal assumptions and broaden understandings of women as mothers, mothering and motherhoods. Mothering occurs within unequal power relations associated with the disadvantages and privileges of an unjust and patriarchal society. Social inequalities associated with gender, race, class, age, ability, sexuality, violence and nationalism intersect in the lives of women as mothers, to shape their lived experiences and perspectives on mothering. Showcasing the breadth and depth of feminist research on mothering, this book gives attention to the diversity of ways in which mothering is constructed and responded to as well as how mothering is experienced. Drawing on intersectional feminist thought, the book challenges normative visions of ‘good mothering’ and interrogates constructs of ‘bad mothering’. It brings together insights from multidisciplinary scholars who use feminist approaches in their research on mothering, to inform policy development and practice when working with women as mothers in diverse circumstances. Intersections of Mothering highlights the complexities of mothering in a contemporary world, show the benefits of considering mothering through an intersectional feminist lens, make visible lived experiences of mothers and provides challenges to dominant imaginings of and service responses to women as mothers. Intersections of Mothering will be essential reading for interdisciplinary scholars and students in criminology, gender and women’s studies, motherhood studies, social welfare, social work, social policy and public health policy, in addition to practitioners and policy workers that respond to women as mothers.

This collection broaches the intersections of critical motherhood studies and feminist geography. Contributors demonstrate that an important dimension of the social construction of motherhood is how mothering happens in space and place, leading to the articulation of diverse maternal geographies. Through 16 concise chapters divided into three thematic sections, the contributors provide an account of motherhood and mothering as spatial practices that are embedded in relations of power across time and place. While some contributors explore how dominant discourses of motherhood seek to keep mothers in their place, others take up the notion of maternal geographies as productive in their own right and follow their subjects as they create a new sense of place. Collectively, the authors demonstrate that mothers are produced and regulated as subjects in relation to space and place, and also that practices of mothering produce spatial relationships.

To be a young mother is almost by definition to be considered an “unfit” mother. Thus, it is not surprising that young Canadian, U.S. and Australian mothers are often scorned, stigmatized and monitored. This is a book about being young, being a mother, and grappling with what it means to inhabit these two complex social positions. This book critiques the dominant, negative construction of young motherhood. Contributors reject the notion that the “ideal” mother is a 30ish, white, middle-class, able-bodied, married, heterosexual woman situated in a nuclear family. This collection privileges the insights and stories of a diverse array of young mothers such as; a young mother coerced into giving her child up for a adoption, a young queer mother who has been parenting a child borne by her trans partner and who is now pregnant herself and many more. The tales analyzed and recounted in the collection record experiences of pain and joy, frustration and success, struggle and resistance, oppression and empowerment. We invite readers to hear the all too often silenced stories of young mothers, to learn what prevents and what allows these mothers to lead lives of grit, determination, authenticity, and agency as they strive to lovingly care for themselves, their children, and in many cases, other young mothers.

This volume explores the intersections of welfare, gender, and mothering work in the context this political reality. It explores austerity and the policies of neoliberal governments that work to deprive some mothers of their welfare. This volume also explores how motherhood is socially constructed in various social locations and places around the world. Last, it examines different ways of thinking about mothering and what changes to laws and policies are required to assist all who are mothering and provide better support to their families.

Essays explore a wide range of contemporary feminist mothering practices.

The two phenomena highlighted in this edited volume 'motherhood/mothering and masculinities' are each recent areas of development in critical Feminist and Men's Studies. In contributing to these areas of gender studies, this book draws attention to the fact that much can also be gained when we explore relationships between them, an idea that may not readily come to mind. While femininities and masculinities are co-constructed, motherhood and mothering bring additional perspectives to the study of femininity that affect the construction of masculinity in complex ways. The 12 chapters in this volume allow readers to ponder some of these complexities and may suggest other issues that require investigation. Spanning many continents, the essays have both a global and historical reach emphasising cultural differences and historical changes. Of import is the idea that mothers have agency and are active in constructions affecting their lives. They are able to bring motherhood out of the shadows as they strive to build, re-evaluate, or alter their roles within families and communities. These have an impact on developments in masculinities. The book is divided into three parts and the chapters investigate a wide range of issues including cultural constructs, gender in parent/child, relationships, non-binary developments, the impact of war on mothering, decolonisation struggles, and much more.

Feminist motherhood is a surprisingly unexplored subject. In fact, feminism and motherhood have been often thought of as incompatible. Profound, provocative, and innovative, Feminist Art and the Maternal is the first work to critically examine the dilemmas and promises of representing feminist motherhood in contemporary art and visual culture. Andrea Liss skillfully incorporates theory with passionate personal reflections on the maternal, and in doing so she advances a fresh and necessary perspective on both feminism and art.