Somewhere in Africa, more than a million years ago, a line of apes began to rear their young differently than their Great Ape ancestors. From this new form of care came new ways of engaging and understanding each other. How such singular human capacities evolved, and how they have kept us alive for thousands of generations, is the mystery revealed in this bold and wide-ranging new vision of human emotional evolution. Mothers and Others finds the key in the primatologically unique length of human childhood. If the young were to survive in a world of scarce food, they needed to be cared for, not only by their mothers but also by siblings, aunts, fathers, friends—and, with any luck, grandmothers. Out of this complicated and contingent form of childrearing, Sarah Hrdy argues, came the human capacity for understanding others. Mothers and others teach us who will care, and who will not. From its opening vision of “apes on a plane”; to descriptions of baby care among marmosets, chimpanzees, wolves, and lions; to explanations about why men in hunter-gatherer societies hunt together, Mothers and Others is compellingly readable. But it is also an intricately knit argument that ever since the Pleistocene, it has taken a village to raise children—and how that gave our ancient ancestors the first push on the path toward becoming emotionally modern human beings.

When women in politics interact with reporters, opponents, and constituents, they are forced to confront their parental status. If they have children, they are questioned about their competence in both their public and private lives. If they don’t, they face criticism for not understanding or relating to key policy domains. This “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” conundrum raises difficult questions about the intersection of gender, parental status, and politics. Mothers and Others examines key areas of citizen engagement with the political system – political careers, the media, and political behaviour – to argue that being a parent is a gendered political identity that influences how, why, and to what extent women (and men) engage with politics. The first major comparative analysis of the role of parenthood in politics, Mothers and Others makes important observations about what we know and what we still need to find out.

This multi-layered and thought-provoking collection offers a new and alternative view to the cosy images of motherhood that we so often assume. Motherhood for the writers in this collection is by no means a simple state but involves searching questions about identity, writing, one’s place in society – the very nature of the self. Questions of adoption, childlessness, surrogacy, bereavement and abuse figure alongside poems and stories that explore the tender, the funny, the uplifting aspects of this most vital relationship, between children and their mothers at any age. Contributors include: Manju Kapur, Shinie Antony, Jai Arjun Singh, Jahnavi Barua, Meena Alexander, Mridula Koshy, Kishwar Desai, Shashi Deshpande, Bulbul Sharma, Tishani Doshi, Shalini Sinha, Jahnavi Barua, Smriti Lamech, Nisha Susan, Humra Quraishi, Sarojini N, Vrinda Marwah, Sarita Mandanna, Anita Roy, and other. Published by Zubaan.

'When are you having children?' 'Why didn't you have another child?' 'Well, I guess that's your choice, but...' They are questions asked of women of a certain age all the time. Beneath them is the assumption that all women want to have children, and the judgment that if they don't, they'll be somehow incomplete. And that's only the beginning... Being a mother, or not being a mother, has never been so complicated. The list of rights and wrongs gets longer daily, with guilt-ridden mothers struggling to keep on top of it all, and non-mothers battling a culture that defines women by their wombs. In this collection of fiction and non-fiction stories, Australian women reflect on motherhood: how it should be and how it really is. Their stories tackle everything from the decision not to have children to the so-called war between working and stay-at-home mums. Including special contributions by Rosie Batty and Deborra-Lee Furness, the stories explore every topic from infertility and IVF, to step-parenting and adoption, to miscarriage and breastfeeding, child meltdowns and marriage breakdowns, as well as giving a much-needed voice to those who won't ever be called 'Mum'. With its unflinching honesty and clear-eyed wisdom, Mothers & Others holds a mirror up to the most romanticised, demonised and complex roles women play: those of mother or non-mother, and daughter.

Interest in progressive education and feminist pedagogy has gained a significant following in current educational reform circles. Founding Mothers and Others examines the female founders of progressive schools and other female educational leaders in the early twentieth century and their schools or educational movements. All of the women led remarkable lives and their legacies are embedded in education today. The book examines the lessons to be learned from their work and their lives. The book also analyzes whether their leadership styles support contemporary feminist theories of leadership that argue women administrators tend to be more inclusive, democratic, and caring than male administrators. Through an examination of these women, this book looks critically at the ways in which the leaders' administrative styles and behaviors lend support to feminist claims.

A story of fertility, feminism, and family Jenn Berney was one of those people who knew she was destined for motherhood—it wasn't a question of if, but when. So when she and her wife Kelly decided to start building their family, they took the next logical step: they went to a fertility clinic. But they soon found themselves entrenched in a medical establishment that didn't know what to do with people like them. With no man factoring into their relationship, doctors were at best embarrassed and at worst disparaging of the couple. Soon Jenn found herself stepping outside of the system determined to disregard her. Looking into the history of fertility and the LGBTQ+ community, she saw echoes of her own struggle. For decades queer people have defied the patriarchy and redefined the nuclear family—and Jenn was walking in their footsteps. Through the ups-and-downs of her own journey, Jenn reflects on a turbulent past that has led her to this point and a bright future worth fighting for. With clarity, determination, and hope, The Other Mothers gives us a wonderful glimpse into the many ways we can become family.

In this essay collection in which feminist philosophy meets family memoir, the novelist and scholar moves effortlessly between stories of her mother, grandmother, and daughter to connect mothers to the broader meanings of maternity in a culture shaped by misogyny and fantasies of paternal authority.