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Andrea O’Reilly EDITOR
Encyclopedia of
Motherhood Andrea O’Reilly, GENERAL EDITOR York University
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Copyright © 2010 by SAGE Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information
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Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Encyclopedia of motherhood / Andrea O’Reilly, general editor. v. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4129-6846-1 (pbk.) 1. Motherhood--Encyclopedias. I. O’Reilly, Andrea, 1961HQ759.E52 2010 306.874’303--dc22 2009047934 This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Photo Credits: Page 1428.
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Published by SAGE Reference
A Golson Media Production
President and Editor Director, Author Management Layout Editors Copyeditor Proofreader Indexer
J. Geoffrey Golson Susan Moskowitz Stephanie Larson Mary Jo Scibetta Stephanie Larson Joyce Li J S Editorial
Vice President and Publisher Senior Editor Project Editor Cover Designer Marketing Manager Editorial Assistant Reference Systems Manager Reference Systems Coordinator
Rolf A. Janke Jim Brace-Thompson Tracy Buyan Ravi Balasuriya Amberlyn McKay Michele Thompson Leticia Gutierrez Laura Notton
Contents Volume 1 About the General Editor Introduction Reader’s Guide List of Articles List of Contributors Chronology of Motherhood Articles A to G
vi vii xi xix xxix xxxix 1–478
Volume 2 List of Articles Articles H to O
vii 479–958
Volume 3 List of Articles Articles P to Z Glossary Resource Guide Appendix: Motherhood Statistics Around the World Index
vii 959–1296 1297 1309 1315 1351
About the General Editor
Andrea O’Reilly, Ph.D., mother of three, is Associate Professor in the School of Women’s Studies at York University and is founder and director of the Association for Research on Mothering, founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering, and founder and editor of Demeter Press, the first feminist press on motherhood. She is cofounder of the Museum of Motherhood to open in Seneca Falls in 2011 and is cofounder of the International Mothers Network, the first international consortium of motherhood organizations now with 120 plus members worldwide. O’Reilly is author of Toni Morrison and Motherhood: A Politics of the Heart (2004) and Rocking the Cradle: Thoughts on Motherhood, Feminism and the Possibility of Empowered Mothering (2006) and is editor/co-editor of 14 books on motherhood including Motherhood at the 21st Century: Experience, Identity, Policy, Agency (2010); Textual Mothers/ Maternal Texts: Motherhood in Contemporary Women’s Literature (2010); Maternal Thinking: Philosophy, Politics, Practice (2009); Feminist Mothering (2008); Maternal Theory: Essential Readings (2007); Mother Outlaws: Theories and Practices of Empowered Mothering (2004); From Motherhood to Mothering: The Legacy of Adrienne Rich’s Of Woman Born (2004) and Mothers and Sons: Feminism, Masculinity and the Struggle to Raise our Sons (2001). She is currently at work on a monograph on “Mothers in the Academe” and completing two edited collections: one on the Motherhood Movement and another on Sarah Palin. She has received 16 Social Science Humanities Research Council of Canada grants and is the recipient of several awards and honors including: the Atkinson Deans Award for Research Excellence; the Lillian Robinson Fellowship at Concordia University; York University “Professor of the Year” award (in 1998 and 2009); and the Canadian Association of University Teachers Sarah Shorten Award in recognition of outstanding achievements in the promotion of the advancement of women in Canadian universities and colleges. vi
Introduction
In 1976, author Adrienne Rich wrote, “We know more about the air we breathe, the seas we travel, than about the nature and meaning of motherhood.” By 1998, some 20 years after the publication of Rich’s landmark Of Woman Born, many academic disciplines, from anthropology to women’s studies, were engaged in some form of motherhood research. And while scholarship on motherhood in some disciplines still struggled for legitimacy and centrality, there was the recognition that motherhood studies was emerging as a distinct field within the larger disciplines of feminist scholarship or women’s studies. In the last decade, the topic of motherhood has emerged as a distinct and established field of scholarly inquiry. Indeed, today it would be unthinkable to cite Rich’s quote on the dearth of maternal scholarship. A cursory review of motherhood research reveals that hundreds of scholarly articles have been published on almost every motherhood theme imaginable. The Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering alone has examined motherhood topics as diverse as sexuality, peace, religion, public policy, literature, work, popular culture, health, carework, young mothers, motherhood and feminism, feminist mothering, mothers and sons, mothers and daughters, lesbian mothering, adoption, the moth-
erhood movement, and mothering, race and ethnicity to name a few. In 2006, the General Editor of this encyclopedia, Andrea O’Reilly, coined the term motherhood studies to acknowledge and demarcate this new scholarship on motherhood as a legitimate and distinctive discipline, one grounded in the theoretical tradition of maternal theory developed by scholars such as Rich, Patricia Hill Collins, Sharon Hays, Paula Caplan, Susan Maushart, Fiona Green, Miriam Johnson, bell hooks, Patrice DiQunizio, Susan Douglas, Meredith Michaels, Alice Walker, Marianne Hirsh, and Sara Ruddick. Indeed, similar to the development of women’s studies as an academic field in the 1970s, motherhood studies, while explicitly interdisciplinary, cross-disciplinary and multidisciplinary, has emerged as an autonomous and independent scholarly discipline in the last decade. The publication of this encyclopedia on motherhood—the first ever on the topic—helps to both demarcate motherhood as a scholarly field and an academic discipline and to direct its future development. In Of Woman Born, Rich distinguished between two meanings of motherhood, one superimposed on the other: “the potential relationship of any woman to her powers of reproduction and to children,” and “the institution—which aims at ensuring vii
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that that potential—and all women—shall remain under male control.” In motherhood studies the term motherhood is used to signify the patriarchal institution of motherhood, while mothering refers to women’s lived experiences of mothering as they seek to resist the patriarchal institution of motherhood and its oppressive ideology. An empowered practice/theory of mothering, therefore, functions as a counter-narrative of motherhood: it seeks to interrupt the master narrative of motherhood to imagine and implement a view of mothering that is empowering to women. Empowered mothering may refer to any practice of mothering that seeks to challenge and change various aspects of patriarchal motherhood that cause mothering to be limiting or oppressive to women. Or, to use Rich’s terminology, an empowered maternal practice marks a movement from motherhood to mothering, and makes possible a mothering against motherhood. In the decades since the publication of Rich’s landmark book, motherhood research has focused upon the oppressive and empowering dimensions of mothering and the complex relationship between the two. Stemming from the above distinction, motherhood studies may be divided into four interconnected themes or categories of inquiry: motherhood as institution, motherhood as experience, motherhood as identity or subjectivity, mothering as agency. While scholars who are concerned with the ideology or institution investigate policies, laws, ideologies, and images of patriarchal motherhood, researchers who are interested in experience examine the work women do as mothers, an area of study paved with insights from Sara Ruddick’s concept of maternal practice. The third category, identity or subjectivity, looks at the effect that becoming a mother has on a woman’s sense of self; in particular, how her sense of self is shaped by the institution of motherhood and the experience of mothering, respectively. Since the turn of the millennium, a new theme in motherhood has emerged which scholars have termed agency. Motherhood scholarship, whether its concern is mothering as an institution, experience, or identity, has tended to focus on how motherhood is detrimental to women because of its construction as a patriarchal entity within the said three areas. For example, scholars interested in
experience argue that the gender inequities of patriarchal motherhood cause the work of mothering to be both isolating and exhausting for women, while those concerned with ideology call attention to the guilt and depression that is experienced by mothers who fail to live up to the impossible standards of patriarchal motherhood that our popular culture inundates them with. In contrast, little has been written on the possibility or potentiality of mothering as identified by Rich. This point is not lost on Fiona Green who writes, “still largely missing from the increasing dialogue and publication around motherhood is a discussion of Rich’s monumental contention that even when restrained by patriarchy, motherhood can be a site of empowerment and political activism.” More recently however, agency has emerged as a prevailing theme in motherhood scholarship. Specifically, the rise of a vibrant and vast motherhood movement in the United States over the last decade has paved the way for more meaningful exploration into the emancipatory potential of motherhood in the 21st century. The Encyclopedia The intent of the encyclopedia is to introduce readers to and provide information on the central terms, concepts, topics, issues, themes, debates, theories, and texts of this new discipline of motherhood studies as well as to examine the topic of motherhood in various contexts such as history and geography and by academic discipline. As with all scholarly fields, motherhood studies comprises a tradition or canon of theoretical texts that constitutes and directs the scholarship of that discipline. The encyclopedia includes an entry for all the influential theorists of maternal scholarship from the pioneering theories of Nancy Chodorow, Adrienne Rich, and Dorothy Dinnerstein of the 1970s; the leading African American maternal scholars such as bell hooks, Patricia Hill Collins, and Dorothy Roberts; to the more recent writings of Ann Crittenden, Judith Warner, and Ayelet Waldman. Additionally, the central and governing terms and concepts of maternal scholarship, such as daugher-centiricty, matraphopia, matroreform, cultural bearing, maternal thinking, motherline, mask of motherhood, intensive mothering, new momism, empowered mothering, homeplace, othermothering, to name but a few, are
all included in the encyclopedia. All the principal motherhood poets and novelists are also likewise referenced in the encyclopedia. As well, this reference work provides an overview of the topic of motherhood in many and diverse disciplines, such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, and philosophy, as well it examines the meaning and experience of motherhood in many time periods from classic civilizations to present day. Finally, as the encyclopedia provides a history of motherhood, it also covers issues and events of our current times to feature entries on the mommy blog, the motherhood memoir, terrorism, reproductive technologies, HIV/AIDS, LGBT families, the 21st-century motherhood movement (including entries for contemporary motherhood organizations). One particular highlight of the encyclopedia is its attention to geographical, cultural and ethnic diversity. The encyclopedia includes an entry for almost every country in the world as well as entries on Aboriginal, Latina/Chicana, South Asian, African American, lesbian, queer, immigrant, adoptive, single, nonresidential, young, poor mothers and mothers with disabilities as well as entries on topics such as motherhood and globalization and trans-nationalism. The creative writing entries likewise include authors and poets from numerous nationalities and ethnicities. As well, in recognition of the explicitly interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and cross-disciplinary nature of maternal scholarship the encyclopedia includes entries from a wide range of discipline as well it considers particular themes or issues from several disciplinary perspectives. Finally, while this is an encyclopedia on motherhood, the volumes, in their wide-ranging and far-reaching examination of the topic, cover material central to childhood, family and women’s studies, and the larger disciplines of sociology and humanities. Reading the entries in the encyclopedia, one could forget that maternal scholarship, as a discipline, is still in its infancy; coming into being in the late 1970s and only being established in the last 10 to 15 years. Returning to the words that close Rich’s Of Woman Born: “We need to imagine a world in which every woman is the presiding genius of her own body. In such a world women will truly create new life, bringing forth not only children (if and as we choose) but the visions, the
Introduction
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thinking necessary to sustain, console and alter human existence—a new relationship to the universe. Sexuality, politics, intelligence, power, motherhood, work, community, intimacy, will develop new meanings; thinking itself will be transformed. This is where we have to begin.” This encyclopedia, in its examination of motherhood from A to Z—from aboriginal mothering to zines—shows that motherhood studies, while still a new discipline, has given new meaning to our usual and familiar understandings of sexuality, work, power, community and the like: indeed it has transformed thinking itself. It is our hope that this encyclopedia will likewise provide a “place to begin” for the study of maternal scholarship. Acknowledgments In the acknowledgments to my 2004 book Toni Morrison and Motherhood: A Politics of the Heart, I cite the narrator’s words from Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon when she comments upon the importance of othermothering for the character Hagar Dead: “She needed what most coloured girls needed: a chorus of mamas, grandmamas, aunts, cousins, sister, neighbors, Sunday school teachers, best girl friends and what all to give her the strength life demanded of her . . . the humor with which to live it.” Scholars likewise, I wrote, need a “chorus of mamas” to think and write well. Fortunately, once again with this encyclopaedia I have been blessed with a symphony in my life. Indeed, as I spend these last few hours on the encyclopaedia, I realize that my “chorus of mamas” have done more than support my scholarship, they have given me the very words and music in which to write, or perhaps more appropriately, sing, it. This encyclopedia, the first ever on motherhood, is thus truly the work of many individuals; the many scholars who pioneered motherhood studies, the authors who wrote entries for the encyclopaedia, the scholars whose research informs this project, the many and diverse researchers on motherhood today, my extended kin of scholars and friends, and the many people at Sage Publications whose labor—in both thought and deed—made possible this encyclopedia of motherhood. So my words of thanks are many and wide-ranging. Thanks first to the pioneers of motherhood scholarship without who this encyclopedia and all
Introduction
motherhood research would not exist; most notably Adrienne Rich, Nancy Chodorow, Sara Ruddick, Miriam Johnson, Paula Caplan, Barbara Katz Rothman, and Patricia Hill Collins. My deepest appreciation as well to the more recent scholars on motherhood who have sustained and enriched the intellectual tradition of maternal scholarship that both made possible and created the need for an encyclopedia of motherhood, including Alice Walker, Mary O’Brien, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Baba Copper, Marianne Hirsch, Shari Thurer, Tuula Gordon, Sharon Hays, Valerie Walkerdine and Helen Lucy, Susan Maushart, Dorothy Roberts, Patrice di Quinzio, Ann Crittenden, Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels, Daphne de Marneffe, Judith Warner, Chris Bobel, Ariel Gore, Molly Ladd-Taylor, Andrea Doucet, Bonnie Fox, Kim Anderson, Patrizia Albanese, Marilyn Waring, and Lauri Umansky. I owe particular thanks to the many members of the Association for Research on Mothering (ARM): my thinking on mothering, as always, was nourished and sustained by this fine community of scholars. Indeed, it was the knowledge that I had the scholarship of the Association of Research on Motherhood to draw upon that gave me the confidence to do this encyclopedia, and it was the support of ARM members—in both mind and heart—that enabled me to complete it. Particular thanks are due to Enola Aird, Sharon Abbey, Linn Baran, Chris Bobel, Petra Bueskens, Deborah Byrd, Paula Caplan, Deidre Condit, Christina Cudahy, Jeanette Corbiere Lavell, Deborah Davidson, Rishma Dunlop, Regina Edmonds, Linda Ennis, May Friedman, Nancy Gerber, Diana Gustafson, Fiona Green, Lynn Hallstein-O’Brien, Linda Lisi Juergens, Amber Kinser, Kandee Kosior, Dawn Memee Lavell-Harvard, Gayle Letherby, Jenny Jones, Brenda McGadney, Joanne Minaker, Mary Ruth Marotte, Beth Osnes, Elizabeth Pod-
nieks, Marie Porter, Ruth Panofsky, Joy Rose, Sara Ruddick, Lorri Slepian, Lorna Turnbull, Nicole Willey, Judith Stadtman Tucker, Linda Hunter, Serena Patterson, Gail and Sarah Trimble, Jodi Vandenberg-Daves, and Gina Wong-Wylie. I am deeply indebted to the Social Science Research Council of Canada and its continued support of my research through various grants, most notably the Standard Research Grant. My deepest appreciation, as always, to Renée Knapp at ARM, whose brilliance, generosity, humor and grit, in work and play, make possible—and survivable—the scholarship I do. Special thanks are due to Geoff Golson and Susan Moskowitz at Golson Media. As someone who earns her income by writing, I am seldom at a loss for words, but in this instance language can not convey the deep appreciation I feel for all that Geoff and Susan have done to deliver this encyclopedia into our hands: tireless, talented, devoted, and diligent are but some of many superlatives that could be used to describe the superb and sustaining support and effort they provided throughout the long labor of this encyclopedia’s birth. Finally, my love and gratitude, as always, to my family; in particular my mother Jean O’Reilly, my sister Jennifer O’Reilly, my children Jesse, Erin, and Casey O’Reilly-Conlin, and my life partner Terry Conlin. Thank you for always believing in the importance of my motherhood scholarship. Virginia Woolf once wrote that a woman needs “a room of one’s own in order to write.” While I would agree that space and time enables a woman to write; it is, at least for me, the respect and support shown by my family for my need to both think and live that makes my writing possible. So thank you for knocking and for coming in. Andrea O’Reilly General Editor
Reader’s Guide
History of Motherhood Bible, Mothers in the Clytemnestra History of Motherhood: 2000 b.c.e. to 1000 c.e. History of Motherhood: 1000 to 1500 History of Motherhood: 1500 to 1750 History of Motherhood: 1750 to 1900 History of Motherhood: 1900 to Present History of Motherhood: American History of Motherhood: Ancient Civilizations History of Motherhood: Middle Ages History of Motherhood: Renaissance Jocasta Medea Myth, Mothers in Issues in Motherhood Abortion Anger Anxiety Attachment Parenting “Bad” Mothers Bisexuality Body Image Celebrity Motherhood Child Poverty Class and Mothering
Code Pink Conflict Zones, Mothering in Co-Parenting Cybermothering Employment and Motherhood Empowered Mothering Ethics, Maternal Ethics of Care Freud, Sigmund Girlhood and Motherhood Lone Mothers Maternal Absence Maternal Agency Media, Mothers in Momism Generation of Vipers Motherhood Denied Mothering as Work Mothering Versus Motherhood Mothers’ Pensions/Allowances Mothers Who Leave Myths of Motherhood: Good/Bad New Momism Nonresidential Mother Older Mothers Opt-Out Revolution Peace and Mothering Planned Parenthood xi
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Poverty and Mothering Pronatalism Prostitution and Motherhood Race and Racism Refugee Mothers Reproductive Justice/ Rights Movements Second Shift/Third Shift Security Mom SisterSong Slavery and Mothering Social Action and Mothering Spock, Benjamin Taxation and Motherhood Technology and Motherhood Teen Mothers Terrorism and Mothering Third Wave Foundation Transgender Parenting Transracial Mothering Unions and Mothers Unpaid Work Unwed Mothers War and Mothers Welfare and Mothering Welfare Warriors Work and Mothering Working-Class Mothers Motherhood and Family Absentee Mothers Adolescent Children Adult Children African American Mothers Alpha Mom Beta Mom Birth Mothers Care Giving Child Abuse Childcare Child Custody and the Law Childhood Childlessness Children Community Mothering Co-Mothering Dating and Single Mothers Daughter-Centricity
Daughters and Mothers Daycare Disabled Mothers Discipline of Children Divorce Education and Mothering Empty Nest Family Family Planning Family Values Fathers and Fathering Father’s Rights Movement Foster Mothering Full-Time Mothering Grandmothers and Grandmothering Grief, Loss of Child Home Births Home Place Home Schooling Housework Humor and Motherhood Incarcerated Mothers Incest Infanticide Infant Mortality Infertility Intensive Mothering Internet and Mothering Lesbian Mothering LGBTQ Families and Motherhood Marriage Maternity Leave Matriarchy Mental Illness and Mothers Midlife Mothering Military Mothers Mother and Multiple Partners Mother-in-Law Motherless Daughters Motherline Mother Role Versus Wife Role Mothers of Multiples Nannies Single Mothers Soccer Mom Stay-at-Home Mothers Stepmothers Young Mothers
Motherhood and Health Advice Literature for Mothers AIDS/HIV and Mothering Alcoholism Anxiety Artificial Insemination Attention Deficit Disorder Autism Becoming a Mother Birth Control Birth Goddesses Breastfeeding Breastmilk Cancer and Motherhood Childbirth Depression Displacement Domestic Labor Doula Drug Abuse Eating Disorders Emotions Environments and Mothering Eugenics Fertility Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Guilt Learning Disabilities Maternal Alienation Maternal Bodies Maternal Desire Maternal Eroticism Maternal Feminism Maternal Health Maternal Power/Powerlessness Maternal Practice Miscarriage Mommy Brain Mother Blame Mothering and Creativity Mothering Children With Disabilities Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy Obesity and Motherhood Obstetrics and Gynecology Natural Mothering Nursing (Profession) and Motherhood Overwhelmed Mothers Postmaternity
Reader’s Guide Postpartum Depression Pregnancy Prenatal Health Care Reproduction Reproduction of Mothering Reproductive Labor Reproductive Technologies Sexuality and Mothering Sons and Mothers Sterilization Stillbirth Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Surrogate Motherhood Violence Against Mothers/Children Wet Nursing Motherhood and Society Activist Mothers of the Disappeared Adoption Angel in the House Art and Mothering Autobiographies Brain, Child Buddhism and Mothering Carework Caribbean Mothers Chicana Mothering Christianity and Mothers Cultural Bearing Demeter Press DES Mothers Dramatic Arts, Mothers in Earth Mothers Equatorial Guinea Ethnic Mothers European Union Fairy Tales, Mothers in Film, Mothers in First Nations Gift Economy Hinduism Hip Mama Honduras Immigrant Mothers Islam and Motherhood Jewish Mothers Judaism and Motherhood La Leche League
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Latina Mami Law and Mothering Literary Mama Literature, Mothers in Mainstreet Moms Mamapalooza Mamazons Mammy Mask of Motherhood Maternal Wall Mexican Spirituality and Motherhood Midwifery Migration and Mothers Militarism and Mothering Million Mom March Modernism and Motherhood Mommy Blogs Mommy Lit Mommy Track Mommy Wars MomsRising Mother Centers International Network for Empowerment Mother Country Mother-Daughter Project Mother Earth Mother Goddess Motherhood Memoirs Motherhood Movement Motherhood Penalty Motherhood Poets Motherhood Project Motherhood Studies Mother Nature Mother Jones Mothers Acting Up (MAU) Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Mothers and More (MAM) Mothers Are Women (MAW) Mother’s Day Mothers of the Plaz de Mayo Mothers Movement Online Mothers of the Intifada Mothers Ought To Have Equal Rights (MOTHERS) Mother Wit Museum of Motherhood Music and Mothers National Association of Mother Centers
National Organization for Women Native Americans Nazi Germany Organizations Other Mothering Peace Movement and Mothers Poetry, Mothers in Poland Politics and Mothers Popular Culture and Mothering Preschool Children Public Policy and Mothers Religion and Mothering Republican Motherhood Residential School and Mothers/First Nations Roman Mothers Royal Mothers Rural Mothers Save the Mothers Sociology of Motherhood South Asian Mothers/Mothering Spirituality and Mothering Sports and Mothers Starhawk Suffrage Movement and Mothers Teachers as Mothers TV Moms Wicca and Mothering Zines Motherhood Around the World Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia
Reader’s Guide
Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of the Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Estonia Ethiopia Eritrea Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia (Nation) Germany Ghana Greece (and Ancient Greece) Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Hungary Iceland Indonesia Iran Iraq
Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Lithuania Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Mauritania Mexico Micronesia Moldova Mongolia Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan Palestine Panama
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Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia (and Soviet Union) Rwanda Samoa Saudi Arabia Senegal Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda Ukraine United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela Vietnam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Motherhood in the United States Alabama Alaska
Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Motherhood Studies Aboriginal Mothering Academe and Mothering Activism, Maternal African Diaspora Ambivalence, Maternal Animal Species and Motherhood Anthropology of Mothering Antiracist Mothering Association for Research on Mothering Biography and Motherhood Birth Imagery, Metaphor, and Myth Capitalism and Motherhood Communism and Motherhood Civil Rights Movement and Motherhood Consumerism and Motherhood Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Motherhood Dialectics of Reproduction Ecofeminism and Mothering Economics of Motherhood Economy and Motherhood Ectogenesis Essentialism and Mothering Feminism and Mothering Feminist Mothering Feminist Theory and Mothering Future of Motherhood Genocide and Mothers Globalization and Mothering Idealization of Mothers Infidelity and Motherhood Institution of Motherhood Intergenerational Trauma International Mothers Network Journal for the Association for Research on Mothering Maternal Abject (Kristeva) Maternal Authenticity Maternal Künstlerroman Maternal Mortality Maternal Pedogogy Maternal Subjectivities Maternal Thinking (Ruddick) Matraphobia Matricide Matrifocality Matrilineal Matroreform
Reader’s Guide Mauritius Mother/Daughter Plot (Hirsch) Motherhood Endowment (Rathbone) Mother Outlaws (Group) Mother Outlaws (Rich) Motherself Nationalism and Motherhood New French Feminism and Motherhood Noncustodial Mothering Paganism (New Paganism) and Mothering Patriarchal Ideology of Motherhood Philosophy and Motherhood Postcolonialism and Mothering Price of Motherhood (Crittenden) Psychoanalysis and Motherhood Psychology of Motherhood Scientific Motherhood Self-Identity Semiotic, Maternal (Kristeva) Sensitive Mothering (Walkerdine and Lucey) Social Construction of Motherhood Social Reproduction Transnationalism Waring, Marilyn Warner, Judith (Motherhood Religion) Prominent Mothers Adams, Abigail (Smith) Allende, Isabel Atwood, Margaret Benjamin, Jessica Bernard, Jesse Blakely, Mary Kay Bombeck, Erma Brooks, Gwendeolyn Buchanan, Andrea Bush, Barbara Caplan, Paula J. Chodorow, Nancy Cisneros, Sandra Clifton, Lucille Clinton, Hillary Rodham Collins, Patricia Hill Columbus, Christopher, Mother of Crittenden, Ann Danticatt, Edwidge
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Da Vinci, Leonardo, Mother of de Beauvoir, Simone de Marneffe, Daphne Demeter, Goddess Dinnerstein, Dorothy di Quinzio, Patrice Dove, Rita Edelman, Hope Edison, Thomas, Mother of Einstein, Albert, Mother of Eleanor of Aquitaine Elizabeth, “Queen Mum” Emecheta, Buchi Empress Matilda Erdrich, Louise Firestone, Shulamith Forcey, Linda Renee Fox, Faulkner Freud, Sigmund, Mother of Friedan, Betty Gilman, Charlotte Perkins Gore, Ariel Harper, Frances E.W. Hays, Sharon Hemings, Sally Hitler, Adolf, Mother of Hochschild, Arlie Hong Kingston, Maxine hooks, bell Hrdy, Sara Blaffer Jackson, Marni Jacobs, Harriet Jarvis, Anna Jefferson, Thomas, Mother of Johnson, Miriam Kennedy Onassis, Jacqueline Kincaid, Jamaica Kristeva, Julia Kumin, Maxine Lamott, Annie Laurence, Margaret Lazarre, Jane Lessing, Doris Lewin, Ellen Lincoln, Abraham, Mother of Lindbergh, Anne Morrow
Lorde, Audre Mary, Queen of Scots Maushart, Susan Mead, Margaret Mink, Gwendolyn Moraga, Cherríe Morrison, Toni Mother Teresa of Calcutta Oakley, Ann Obama, Michelle O’Brien, Mary Olds, Sharon Olson, Tillie Ostriker, Alicia Paley, Grace Palin, Sarah Parks, Rosa Pierson, Allison Plath, Sylvia Pollock, Sandra Pratt, Minnie Bruce Reagan, Nancy Rich, Adrienne Roberts, Dorothy Ross, Loretta Rothman, Barbara Katz Ruddick, Sara Sanger, Margaret Sexton, Anne Sheehan, Cindy Shelly, Mary Shriver, Lionel Solinger, Rickie Spencer, Anna Garlin Stalin, Joseph, Mother of Stanton, Elizabeth Cady Stone, Lucy Suleiman, Susan Rubin Tan, Amy Thurer, Shari Waldman, Ayelet Walker, Alice Warner, Judith Washington, George, Mother of Wollstonecraft, Mary Womanism
List of Articles
A Aboriginal Mothering Abortion Absentee Mothers Academe and Mothering Activism, Maternal Activist Mothers of the Disappeared Adams, Abigail (Smith) Adolescent Children Adoption Adult Children Advice Literature for Mothers Afghanistan African American Mothers African Diaspora AIDS/HIV and Mothering Alabama Alaska Albania Alcoholism Algeria Allende, Isabel Alpha Mom Ambivalence, Maternal Androgenesis Angel in the House Anger
Angola Animal Species and Motherhood Anthropology of Mothering Anti-Racist Mothering Anxiety Argentina Arizona Arkansas Armenia Art and Mothering Artificial Insemination Association for Research on Mothering Attachment Parenting Attention Deficit Disorder Atwood, Margaret Australia Austria Authentic Mothering. See Maternal Authenticity Autism Autobiographies Azerbaijan B “Bad” Mothers Bahrain Bangladesh Becoming a Mother xix
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List of Articles
Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Benjamin, Jessica Bernard, Jesse Beta Mom Bhutan Bible, Mothers in the Biography and Motherhood Birth Control Birth Goddesses Birth Imagery, Metaphor, and Myth Birth Mothers Bisexuality Blakely, Mary Kay Body Image Bolivia Bombeck, Erma Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brain, Child Brazil Breastfeeding Breastmilk Brooks, Gwendeolyn Buchanan, Andrea Buddhism and Mothering Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Bush, Barbara C California Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cancer and Motherhood Cape Verde Capitalism and Motherhood Caplan, Paula J. Care Giving Carework Caribbean Mothers Celebrity Motherhood Central African Republic Chad
Chicana Mothering Child Abuse Childbirth Childcare Child Custody and the Law Childhood Childlessness Child Poverty Children Chile China Chodorow, Nancy Christianity and Mothers Cisneros, Sandra Civil Rights Movement and Motherhood Class and Mothering Clifton, Lucille Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clytemnestra Code Pink Collins, Patricia Hill Colombia Colorado Columbus, Christopher, Mother of Communism and Motherhood Community Mothering Co-Mothering Conflict Zones, Mothering in Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of the Connecticut Consumerism and Motherhood Co-Parenting Costa Rica Crittenden, Ann Croatia Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Motherhood Cuba Cultural Bearing Cybermothering Cyprus Czech Republic D Danticat, Edwidge Dating and Single Mothers Daughter-Centricity Daughters and Mothers
Da Vinci, Leonardo, Mother of Daycare de Beauvoir, Simone Delaware de Marneffe, Daphne Demeter, Goddess Demeter Press Depression DES Mothers Dialectics of Reproduction Dinnerstein, Dorothy DiQuinzio, Patrice Disabled Mothers Discipline of Children Displacement Divorce Domestic Labor Doula Dove, Rita Dramatic Arts, Mothers in Drug Abuse E Earth Mothers East Timor Eating Disorders Ecofeminism and Mothering Economics of Motherhood Economy and Motherhood Ectogenesis Ecuador Edelman, Hope Edison, Thomas, Mother of Education and Mothering Egypt Einstein, Albert, Mother of Eleanor of Aquitaine Elizabeth, “Queen Mum” El Salvador Emecheta, Buchi Emotions Employment and Motherhood Empowered Mothering Empress Matilda Empty Nest Environments and Mothering Equatorial Guinea Erdrich, Louise
List of Articles Eritrea Essentialism and Mothering Estonia Ethics, Maternal Ethics of Care Ethiopia Ethnic Mothers Eugenics European Union F Fairy Tales, Mothers in Family Family Planning Family Values Fathers and Fathering Father’s Rights Movement Feminism and Mothering Feminist Mothering Feminist Theory and Mothering Fertility Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Film, Mothers in Finland Firestone, Shulamith First Nations Florida Forcey, Linda Rennie Foster Mothering Fox, Faulkner France Freud, Sigmund Freud, Sigmund, Mother of Friedan, Betty Full-Time Mothering Future of Motherhood G Gabon Gambia Genocide and Motherhood Georgia Georgia (Nation) Germany Ghana Gift Economy Gilman, Charlotte Perkins Girlhood and Motherhood
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List of Articles
Globalization and Mothering Gore, Ariel Grandmothers and Grandmothering Greece (and Ancient Greece) Grief, Loss of Child Guam Guatemala Guilt Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Harper, Frances E.W. Hawaii Hays, Sharon Hemings, Sally Hinduism Hip Mama History of Motherhood: 2000 b.c.e. to 1000 c.e. History of Motherhood: 1000 to 1500 History of Motherhood: 1500 to 1750 History of Motherhood: 1750 to 1900 History of Motherhood: 1900 to Present History of Motherhood: American History of Motherhood: Ancient Civilizations History of Motherhood: Middle Ages History of Motherhood: Renaissance Hitler, Adolf, Mother of Hochschild, Arlie Russell Home Birth Homeplace Home Schooling Honduras Hong Kingston, Maxine hooks, bell Housework Hrdy, Sara Blaffer Humor and Motherhood Hungary I Iceland Idaho Idealization of Mothers Illinois Immigrant Mothers
Incarcerated Mothers Incest India Indiana Indonesia Infanticide Infant Mortality Infertility Infidelity and Motherhood Institution of Motherhood Intensive Mothering Intergenerational Trauma International Mothers Network Internet and Mothering Iowa Iran Iraq Ireland Islam and Motherhood Israel Italy Ivory Coast J Jackson, Marni Jacobs, Harriet Jamaica Japan Jarvis, Anna Jefferson, Thomas, Mother of Jewish Mothers Jocasta Johnson, Miriam Jordan Journal for the Association for Research on Mothering Judaism and Motherhood K Kansas Kazakhstan Kennedy Onassis, Jacqueline Kentucky Kenya Kincaid, Jamaica Korea, North Korea, South Kristeva, Julia
Kumin, Maxine Winokur Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L La Leche League Lamott, Annie Laos Latina Mami Latvia Laurence, Margaret Law and Mothering Lazarre, Jane Learning Disabilities Lebanon Lesbian Mothering Lesotho Lessing, Doris Lewin, Ellen LGBTQ Families and Motherhood Liberia Libya Lincoln, Abraham, Mother of Lindbergh, Anne Morrow Literary Mama Literature, Mothers in Lithuania Lone Mothers Lorde, Audre Louisiana M Macedonia Madagascar Maine Mainstreet Moms Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Mamapalooza Mamazon Mammy Marriage Mary, Queen of Scots Maryland Mask of Motherhood Massachusetts
List of Articles Maternal Abject (Kristeva) Maternal Absence Maternal Agency Maternal Alienation Maternal Authenticity Maternal Bodies Maternal Desire Maternal Empowerment. See Empowered Mothering Maternal Eroticism Maternal Feminism Maternal Health Maternalism Maternal Künstlerroman Maternal Mortality Maternal Pedogogy Maternal Power/Powerlessness Maternal Practice Maternal Subjectivities Maternal Thinking (Ruddick) Maternal Wall Maternity Leave Matriarchy Matricide Matrifocality Matrilineal Matrophobia Matroreform Mauritania Mauritius Maushart, Susan Mead, Margaret Medea Media, Mothers in Mental Illness and Mothers Mexican Spirituality and Motherhood Mexico Michigan Micronesia, Federated States of Midlife Mothering Midwifery Migration and Mothers Militarism and Mothering Military Mothers Million Mom March Mink, Gwendolyn Minnesota Miscarriage
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Mississippi Missouri Modernism and Motherhood Moldova Momism Generation of Vipers Mommy Blogs Mommy Brain Mommy Lit Mommy Track Mommy Wars MomsRising Mongolia Montana Moraga, Cherríe Morocco Morrison, Toni Mother Blame Mother Centers International Network for Empowerment Mother Country Mother/Daughter Plot (Hirsch) Mother-Daughter Project Mother Earth Mother Goddess Motherhood Denied Motherhood Endowment (Rathbone) Motherhood Memoirs Motherhood Movement Motherhood Penalty Motherhood Poets Motherhood Project Motherhood Studies Mothering and Creativity Mothering as Work Mothering Children With Disabilities Mothering Versus Motherhood Mother-in-Law Mother Jones Motherless Daughters Motherline Mother Nature Mother Outlaws (Group) Mother Outlaws (Rich) Mother Role Versus Wife Role Mothers Acting Up (MAU) Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Mothers and More (MAM) Mothers and Multiple Partners
Mothers Are Women (MAW) Mother’s Day Motherself Mothers Movement Online (MMO) Mothers of Multiples Mothers of the Intifada Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Mothers Ought To Have Equal Rights (MOTHERS) Mothers’ Pensions/Allowances Mothers Who Leave Mother Teresa of Calcutta Mother Wit Mozambique Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy Museum of Motherhood Music and Mothers Myanmar Myth, Mothers in Myths of Motherhood: Good/Bad N Namibia Nannies National Association of Mothers’ Centers Nationalism and Motherhood National Organization for Women Native Americans Natural Mothering Nauru Nazi Germany Nebraska Nepal Netherlands Nevada New Caledonia New French Feminism and Motherhood New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New Momism New York New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Noncustodial Mother Nonresidential Mother
North Carolina North Dakota Norway Nursing (Profession) and Motherhood O Oakley, Ann Obama, Michelle Obesity and Motherhood O’Brien, Mary Obstetrics and Gynecology Ohio Oklahoma Older Mothers Olds, Sharon Olson, Tillie Oman Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy. See Kennedy Onassis, Jacqueline Opt-Out Revolution Oregon Organizations Ostriker, Alicia Other Mothering Outlaw Mothers. See Mother Outlaws (Rich) Overwhelmed Mothers P Paganism (New Paganism) and Mothering Pakistan Palestine Paley, Grace Goodrich Palin, Sarah Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Parks, Rosa Patriarchal Ideology of Motherhood Peace and Mothering Peace Movements and Mothering Pearson, Allison Pennsylvania Peru Philippines Philosophy and Motherhood Planned Parenthood Plath, Sylvia
List of Articles
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Poetry, Mothers in Poland Politics and Mothers Pollack, Sandra Popular Culture and Mothering Portugal Postcolonialism and Mothering Postmaternity Postpartum Depression Poverty and Mothering Pratt, Minnie Bruce Pregnancy Prenatal Health Care Preschool Children Price of Motherhood (Crittenden) Pronatalism Prostitution and Motherhood Psychoanalysis and Motherhood Psychology of Motherhood Public Policy and Mothers Puerto Rico Q Qatar Queer Mothering. See Lesbian Mothering; LGBTQ Families and Motherhood; Transgender Parenting R Race and Racism Reagan, Nancy Refugee Mothers Religion and Mothering Reproduction Reproduction of Mothering Reproductive Justice/Rights Movements Reproductive Labor Reproductive Technologies Republican Motherhood Residential School and Mothers/First Nations Rhode Island Rich, Adrienne Roberts, Dorothy Romania Roman Mothers Ross, Loretta Rothman, Barbara Katz Royal Mothers
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Ruddick, Sara Rural Mothers Russia (and Soviet Union) Rwanda S Samoa Sanger, Margaret Saudi Arabia Save the Mothers Scientific Motherhood Second Shift/Third Shift Security Mom Self-Identity Semiotic, Maternal (Kristeva) Senegal Sensitive Mothering (Walkerdine and Lucey) Sexton, Anne Sexuality and Mothering Sheehan, Cindy Shelly, Mary Shriver, Lionel Sierra Leone Singapore Single Mothers SisterSong Slavery and Mothering Slovakia Slovenia Soccer Mom Social Action and Motherhood Social Construction of Motherhood Social Reproduction Sociology of Motherhood Solinger, Rickie Somalia Sons and Mothers South Africa South Asian Mothers/Mothering South Carolina South Dakota Spain Spencer, Anna Garlin Spirituality and Mothering Spock, Benjamin Sports and Mothers Sri Lanka
Stalin, Joseph, Mother of Stanton, Elizabeth Cady Starhawk Stay-at-Home Mothers Stepmothers Sterilization Stillbirth Stone, Lucy Sudan Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Suffrage Movement and Mothers Suleiman, Susan Rubin Suriname Surrogate Motherhood Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria T Tajikistan Tan, Amy Tanzania Taxation and Motherhood Teachers as Mothers Technology and Motherhood Teen Mothers Television Moms. See TV Moms Tennessee Terrorism and Mothering Texas Thailand Third Wave Foundation Thurer, Shari Togo Transgender Parenting Transnationalism Transracial Mothering Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan TV Moms U Uganda Ukraine Unions and Mothers United Kingdom
List of Articles
Unpaid Work Unwed Mothers Uruguay Utah Uzbekistan V Venezuela Vermont Vietnam Violence Against Mothers/Children Virginia W Waldman, Ayelet Walker, Alice War and Mothers Waring, Marilyn Warner, Judith Warner, Judith (Motherhood Religion) Washington
Washington, George, Mother of Welfare and Mothering Welfare Warriors West Virginia Wet Nursing Wicca and Mothering Wisconsin Wollstonecraft, Mary Womanism Work and Mothering Working-Class Mothers Wyoming Y Yemen Young Mothers Z Zambia Zimbabwe Zines
xxvii
List of Contributors
Abbey, Sharon M. Brock University
Alcalde, M. Gabriela Kentucky Health Justice Network
Adams, Sarah LaChance University of Oregon
Allen, Sonja M. Queen’s University
Adeniran, Adebusuyi Isaac Obafemi Awolowo University
Allison, Jill Memorial University of Newfoundland & Labrador
Aird, Enola Independent Scholar
Altinay, Rustem Ertug Bogazici University, Istanbul
Aksit, Elif Ekin Ankara University
Antolini, Katharine Lane West Virginia Wesleyan College
Alban, Gillian M.E. Dogus University
Arista, Michele C. Independent Scholar
Albanese, Patrizia Ryerson University
Arreola, Veronica I. University of Illinois at Chicago
Al-Botmeh, Fatima Independent Researcher
Bailey-Fakhoury, Chasity Wayne State University
Alcalde, M. Cristina University of Kentucky
Baker, Carrie N. Smith College xxix
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List of Contributors
Baraitser, Lisa Birkbeck, University of London
Branch, Nicole T. Howard University
Barlow, Constance A. University of Calgary
Brooks, Kinitra D. University of Texas at San Antonio
Barnes, Diana Lynn Center for Postpartum Health
Brown, Geraldine Coventry University
Barnhill, John H. Independent Scholar
Brown, Ivana Rutgers University
Barry, Cheryl Leah University of Calgary
Bueskens, Petra Deakin University
Bastia, Tanja University of Manchester
Burkett, Jennifer L. University of Central Arkansas
Bauer, Deborah L. University of Central Florida
Burstrem, Jessica B. University of Arizona
Bjørnholt, Margunn University of Oslo
Burton, Wendy E. University of the Fraser Valley
Bobel, Christina University of Massachusetts, Boston
Busse, Erika University of Minnesota
Bode, Rita Trent University
Butterfield, Elizabeth Georgia Southern University
Boon, Sonja Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
Byrne, Nan Independent Scholar
Boslaugh, Sarah E. Washington University School of Medicine Bouvard, Marguerite G. Brandeis University
Cade, Roshaunda D. Webster University Campbell, Arlene York University
Bowles-Adarkwa, Linda San Francisco State University
Canelo, Kayla S. California State University, Stanislaus
Boyd, Susan B. University of British Columbia
Caplan, Paula J. Harvard University
Brady, Geraldine Coventry University
Caporusso, Catherine University of Illinois at Chicago
List of Contributors
Caron, Sarah W. Independent Scholar
Daigle, Christine Brock University
Carranza, Mirna E. McMaster University
Davidson, Adenike Marie Fisk University
Cash, Sherri Goldstein Utica College
Davidson, Deborah York University
Cellio, Jen Northern Kentucky University
Davidson, Diana University of Alberta
Chaban, Stephanie Independent Scholar
DeLap, Alpha S. University of Washington
Chamberlain Froese, Jean Save the Mothers
de la Porte, Susan Elizabeth University of KwaZulu-Natal
Cheney, Emily R. Spelman College
Deutsch, James I. Smithsonian Institution
Chernyayeva, Natalia University of Iowa
DeWan, Jennifer K. Independent Scholar
Cohen, Rina York University
Dillaway, Heather E. Wayne State University
Comerford, Lynn California State University, East Bay
Dombroski, Kelly Australian National University
Condit, Deirdre M. Virginia Commonwealth University Corfield, Justin Geelong Grammar School
Doucet, Andrea Carleton University Drew, Patricia California State University, East Bay
Coulter, Myrl University of Alberta
Duffy, Donna University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Craig, Lyn University of New South Wales
Duncan, Ann W. University of Virginia
Crawford, B. Scott Radford University
Dunnewold, Ann Independent Scholar
Cuomo, Amy University of West Georgia
Duquaine-Watson, Jillian M. University of Texas at Dallas
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List of Contributors
Dymond, Justine Springfield College
Friedman, May York University
Edmonds, Regina M. Assumption College
Froese, Jean Chamberlain Independent Scholar
Eichler, Margrit University of Toronto
Froese, Thomas Independent Scholar
Engeman, Cassandra D. University of California, Santa Barbara
Fumia, Doreen Ryerson University
Ennis, Jillian Davina Independent Scholar Ennis, Linda R. York University Esterberg, Kristin G. Salem State College Falvey, Kate New York City College of Technology Fancher, Jill B. Washington State University, Vancouver Federer, Lisa University of North Texas
Gamber, Cayo George Washington University Garrett, Sarah B. University of California, Berkeley Gatrell, Caroline Lancaster University Gillespie, Gill University of Northumbria Goettner-Abendroth, Heide International Academy HAGIA Gordon, Kelly Carolyn Brevard College
Feng, Yuan ActionAid International China
Gotlib, Anna State University of New York, Binghamton
Finn, Melissa York University
Gott, K.C. East Tennessee State University
Foster, Mira C. San Francisco State University
Graham, Natalie Michigan State University
Francis, Ara University of California, Davis
Green, Fiona Joy University of Winnipeg
Freiburger, Melissa A. University of Kansas
Grewal, Indera Royal Holloway, University of London
French, Sarah W. Washington State University
Griffith, Alison I. York University
List of Contributors
Grigorovich, Alisa York University
Hinton Riley, Michele St. Joseph’s College of Maine
Grzyb, Amanda University of Western Ontario
Holstine Vander Valk, Donna Independent Scholar
Guerrina, Roberta University of Surrey
Hryciuk, Renata Ewa Warsaw University
Gurr, Barbara University of Connecticut
Huang, Yu-ling State University of New York, Binghamton
Gustafson, Diana L. Memorial University of Newfoundland Hamil-Luker, Jenifer University of North Carolina at Greensboro Hant, Myrna University of California, Los Angeles Harper, Susan Mountain View College Hartsock, Ralph University of North Texas Hattery, Angela Wake Forest University Heitner, Keri L. University of Phoenix Henderson, Heike Boise State University Hernandez, Marcia University of the Pacific Herrera, Cristina California State University, Fresno Herzog, Shawna California State University, Fresno Hidalgo, Danielle Antoinette University of California, Santa Barbara
Hutner, Heidi State University of New York, Stony Brook Isgro, Kirsten State University of New York, Plattsburgh Jaeckel, Monika Independent Scholar Jennings, Miranda E. University of Massachussets Amherst Jolly, Natalie University of Washington, Tacoma Jones, Rita M. Lehigh University Justin, Shaista Independant Scholar Kaptan, Senem Sabanci University Kauppinen, Kaisa Finnish Institute of Occupational Health Kaur Sangha, Jasjit University of Toronto Kentlyn, Sue University of Queensland Kingston, Anna University College, Cork
xxxiii
xxxiv List of Contributors Kinser, Amber E. East Tennessee State University
Little, Christopher A.J.L. University of Toronto
Koritko, Andrea Independent Scholar
Liu, Lichun Willa University of Toronto
Korolczuk, Elzbieta Polish Academy of Sciences
Lovett, Laura L. University of Massachusetts
Kte’pi, Bill Independent Scholar
Lucas, Sheri Queen’s University
Kutz-Flamenbaum, Rachel V. University of Pittsburgh
Lyons, Nyla P. Howard University
Lang, Sharon D. University of Redlands
Maätita, Florence Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
Leane, Máire University College Cork
Mackinlay, Elizabeth University of Queensland
Lee, Joon Sun Hunter College City University of New York
Magwaza, Thenjiwe University of KwaZulu-Natal
Lengel, Lara Bowling Green State University
Maher, JaneMaree Monash University
LeSavoy, Barbara State University of New York, Brockport
Mahoney, Jill Murray State University
Letherby, Gayle University of Plymouth
Marksova-Tominova, Michaela Independent Scholar
Levine, Ronda Lee Independent Scholar
Marotta, Marsha V. Westfield State College
Lewiecki-Wilson, Cynthia Miami University
Marotte, Mary Ruth University of Central Arkansas
Lewis, Carolyn Herbst Louisiana State University
Marr, Elisha Ferris State University
Leyser, Ophra University of Kansas
Mayseless, Ofra University of Haifa
Li, Ke Indiana University Bloomington
Melis Yelsali Parmaksiz, Pinar Ankara University
List of Contributors
Mennill, Sally University of British Columbia
Nowlan Suart, Theresa Loyalist College
Mercado-López, Larissa M. University of Texas, San Antonio
Oakley Torres, Shirley University of Memphis
Miller, Kim Wheaton College
Oberman, Yael Independent Scholar
Milligan, Eleanor Griffith University
O’Brien Hallstein, D. Lynn Boston University
Minaker, Joanne C. Grant MacEwan College
Ojong, Vivian Besem University of KwaZulu-Natal
Monson, Sarah Minnesota State University, Mankato
O’Reilly, Andrea York University
Morganroth Gullette, Margaret Brandeis University
Ortiz, Christi Marie Aurora Behavioral Health
Morolong, Bantu L. University of Botswana
Ortiz, Fernando A. Alliant International University
Mortenson, Joani University of British Columbia, Okanagan
Osnes, Beth University of Colorado, Boulder
Muller, Vivienne Queensland University of Technology
Panofsky, Ruth Ryerson University
Murphy-Geiss, Gail Colorado College
Pantea, Maria-Carmen Babes Bolyai University
Musher, Sharon Ann Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
Pantuso, Terri B. University of Texas, San Antonio
Nagakura, Wakasa Columbia University
Parsons, Jacqueline Ciccio St. Mary’s University
Namaba, Edith G. Howard University
Pearson, A. Fiona Central Connecticut State University
Nemzoff, Ruth Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center
Pernigotti, Elisabetta Université Paris 8 Saint-Denis
Nichols, Tracy R. University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Perry-Samaniego, Lenora University of Texas, San Antonio
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xxxvi List of Contributors Peters, Carolyn J. University of Manitoba
Richards, Amy Independent Scholar
Petit, Joan Portland State University
Richter-Devroe, Sophie University of Exeter
Plant, Rebecca Jo University of California, San Diego
Robbins-Herring, Kittye Delle Mississippi State University
Podnieks, Elizabeth Ryerson University
Rodgers, Julie National University of Ireland
Polacek, Kelly Myer Fielding Graduate University
Rose, Joy Mamapalooza Inc.
Policek, Nicoletta University of Lincoln
Rosenzweig, Rosie Brandeis University
Porter, Marie University of Queensland
Roth-Johnson, Danielle University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Powell Wolfe, Andrea Ball State University
Rottenbrg-Rosler, Biri Haifa University
Premo Steele, Cassie University of South Carolina
Royce, Tracy University of California, Santa Barbara
Prono, Luca Independent Scholar Purdy, Elizabeth Independent Scholar
Ruah-Midbar, Marianna University of Haifa Samblanet, Sarah Kent State University
Randall, D’Arcy Clare University of Texas at Austin
Sanchez Walker, Marjorie California State University, Stanislaus
Reid-Boyd, Elizabeth Edith Cowan University
Sanmiguel-Valderrama, Olga University of Cincinnati
Reuter, Shelley Zipora Concordia University
Sardadvar, Karin University of Vienna
Reviere, Rebecca Howard University
Schalge, Susan L. Minnesota State University, Mankato
Reznowski, Gabriella Washington State University
Schultz, Renée Independent Scholar
List of Contributors xxxvii
Schwartz-Bechet, Barbara Bowie State University
Taylor, Tiffany Kent State University
Schwartzman, Jayme University of Connecticut
Theodor, Ithamar University of Haifa
Shroff, Farah Women’s Health Research Institute
Thern Smith, Jessica University of Tennessee
Siddique, Julie Ahmad City University of New York
Thibodeaux, Julianna E. Independent Scholar
Smith Koslowski, Alison University of Edinburgh
Thomas, Alice K. Howard University
Smith, Earl Wake Forest University
Thompson, Mary James Madison University
Smith, Tracy L. Indiana State University
Tolley-Stokes, Rebecca East Tennessee State University
Sobie, Sherryll Independent Scholar
Trammel, Juliana Maria Savannah State University
Soliday, Elizabeth Washington State University, Vancouver
Trevino, Marcella Bush Barry University
Spigel, Sigal University of Cambridge
Turnbull, Lorna A. University of Manitoba
Stackman, Valerie R. Howard University
Turner, Tracy Zollinger Independent Scholar
Stephens, Angela Sojourner-Douglass College
Vallance, Denise York University
Stitt, Jocelyn Fenton Minnesota State University
Vancour, Michele L. Southern Connecticut State University
Sulik, Gayle A. Texas Woman’s University
Vaughan, Genevieve Independent Scholar
Sutherland, Jean-Anne University of North Carolina, Wilmington
Villalobos, Ana University of California, Berkeley
Tayeb, Lamia High Institute of Human Sciences in Tunis
Villanueva, Karen Nelson California Institute of Integral Studies
xxxviii List of Contributors Wadhwa, Vandana Boston University
Willey, Nicole L. Kent State University
Wafula, Edith G. Howard University
Willey, Tiffany A. Independent Scholar
Walker, Susan University of Cambridge
Wilson, Corinne Coventry University
Walks, Michelle University of British Columbia
Wilson, Maureen E. University of Massachusetts Amherst
Walls, Lori A. Independent Scholar
Wilson Cooper, Camille University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Walters-Kramer, Lori State University of New York, Plattsburgh
Wong-Wylie, Gina Athabasca University
Wansink, Susan Virginia Wesleyan College
Woods, Laurie E. Vanderbilt University
Wasserman, Stephanie Merrimack College
Wright Miller, Gill Denison University
Watson, Alison M. S. University of St Andrews
Wright Williams, Dawn Georgia Perimeter College
Watson-Franke, Maria-Barbara San Diego State University
Wyatt-Nichol, Heather University of Baltimore
Weinberger, Margaret J. Bowling Green State University
Xu, Xueqing York University
Wies, Jennifer R. Xavier University
Zamir, Sara Ben-Gurion University, Eilat
Wilkins, Agata University of Warsaw
Žnidaršic Žagar, Sabina University of Primorska, Koper
Chronology of Motherhood
1570 b.c.e.—Queen Nefertari of Egypt defies cultural conventions by serving as adviser to her husband, King Ahmose, and co-rules Egypt with her son after her husband’s death. 1473 b.c.e.—Queen Hatsheput, a co-regent of Egypt along with her minor stepson since 1479, declares herself Pharaoh. Her tenure as ruler is the longest in Egyptian history for a female. Circa 1250 b.c.e.—The Romans begin celebrating mothers by honoring the Mother Goddess Cybele each March. 350 b.c.e.—Greek philosopher and empiricist Aristotle generates the theory that a woman’s uterus travels throughout her body in response to internal forces that include the woman’s own emotional state. Aristotle also posits that women are imperfect men who have never truly developed physically. 1405—French writer and single mother Christine de Pizan publishes The Book of the City of Ladies in an effort to rebut character attacks on women by presenting them as mothers, wives, and political and social leaders through the eyes of Lady Reason, Lady Rectitude, and Lady Justice.
1533—Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, becomes Queen of England. Later the same year she gives birth to Elizabeth I, who becomes one of the best-loved English monarchs of all time. Three years after Elizabeth’s birth, Boleyn is beheaded for high treason. In reality, her only crime is that she fails to provide the king with a male heir. 1568—The first incidence of planned family colonization in North America begins with the arrival of 225 Spanish settlers in what is modern-day South Carolina. 1587—One day after her arrival at Roanoke Island, British immigrant Eleanor White Dare gives birth to daughter Virginia, the first English child born in America. 1607—Twelve-year-old Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhattan, saves the life of Englishman John Smith. In 1614, Pocahontas marries Englishman John Rolfe and gives birth to a son. 1608—Anne Forrest and her maid, Anne Burras, are the first Englishwomen to arrive in Jamestown, Virginia. Forrest’s fate is unknown, but Burras marries John Laydon and bears four daughters. xxxix
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Chronology of Motherhood
1620—Arriving on the Mayflower, 13-year-old Mary Chilton is the first English female to set foot on Plymouth Rock. Her arrival is depicted in the painting The Landing of the Pilgrims. Chilton marries fellow Pilgrim John Winslow and gives birth to 10 children. 1630—Nurse and midwife Tryntje Jones immigrates to the United States from the Netherlands and becomes the first female to practice medicine in America. 1632—Commonly known as “The Woman’s Lawyer,” The Lawes and Resolutions of Women’s Rights: A Methodical Collection of Such Statutes and Customes, With the Cases, Opinions, Arguments and Points of Learning in the Law, as Do Properly Concerne Women becomes the first English-language book to be published on the rights of women. The author, who is known only as T. E., offers a detailed summary of marriage, divorce, courtship, and custody laws. 1637—A pregnant Anne Hutchinson, who ultimately gives birth to 15 children, is convicted of sedition in Boston because of her religious beliefs. She and her family are banished to Rhode Island. 1650—The poems of Anne Dudley Bradstreet, the mother of eight, are published without her knowledge in London, earning her a place in history as the first American female poet to be published in England. 1680—Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha defends the divine right of kings and the patriarchal system, which withholds political rights from women and prevents mothers from having authority over themselves and their children. 1689—John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government is published posthumously, refuting Robert Filmer’s arguments. Locke contends that mothers have equal authority with fathers over the children they have created. 1692 —The Salem Witch Trials begin in Massachusetts. Mary Easty, the mother of seven, is among
the victims. She and seven other accused witches are hanged on September 22. 1702—After the death of her brother William III, Queen Anne succeeds to the English throne. None of her 17 children survive her, and her German nephew, George III, becomes the king of England when she dies in 1714. His subsequent actions lead the American colonies to rebel against the Mother Country in 1776, creating the United States of America. 1704—On February 29, mothers in the settlement of Deerfield, Massachusetts, watch in horror as French and Abenaki attackers kill 25 children. Many victims are infants who are killed by bashing their heads against hard objects. 1716—The State of New York issues its first licenses to midwives. 1773—After helping to disguise the men who take part in the Boston Tea Party as Mohawk Indians, Sarah Bradlee Fulton becomes known as the Mother of the Boston Tea Party. During the Revolution, Fulton serves as a courier for American troops. 1776—On March 31, as the Continental Congress considers the ramifications of creating a nation, Abigail Adams writes to her husband John, a delegate and future president, chiding him to “remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.” Four of the Adams’s six children live to adulthood, and John Quincy became the sixth president of the United States in 1824. 1776—Although she never has children of her own, Mother Ann Lee becomes the matriarch and founder of the Shaker Colony in New York’s Albany County. 1776–1777—During the desolate winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, when American troops are starving, Catherine Littlefield Greene remains with her husband, Major General Nathanael Greene. Over the next eight years, Greene bears five children, naming the first two after George and Martha Washington.
1784—Midwife Martha Ballard, who gave birth to nine children, dies at the age of 77. She leaves a diary chronicling her lengthy career and depicting the daily lives of women in 18th-century America. 1789—Known as “Lady Washington,” Martha Washington, who has survived both of the children from her first marriage, moves into presidential headquarters with her husband and two grandchildren when George Washington becomes the first president of the United States. 1790—Along with other women, mothers who meet suffrage requirements are enfranchised in New Jersey. Woman suffrage is rescinded in the state in 1807. 1792—Mary Wollstonecraft, a British writer living in France, publishes A Vindication of the Rights of Women to refute the patriarchal argument that women do not deserve political rights because they are inherently incapable of rationality. Five years later Wollstonecraft gives birth to daughter Mary who pens the classic Frankenstein in 1818. 1793—Catherine Littlefield Greene, the widow of General Nathanael Greene and the mother of five children, proposes that her boarder Eli Whitney invent the cotton gin. Whitney’s invention revolutionizes the cotton industry and inadvertently increases the demand for slaves in the American South. 1797—Mother and daughter philanthropists Isabella Graham and Joanna Graham Bethune establish the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows and Small Children in New York City.
Chronology of Motherhood
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leads the explorers across thousands of miles from the Dakotas to the Rocky Mountains. 1811—During a 3,500-mile trek from Missouri to Oregon, Marie Dorian, gives birth to her third child while serving as a guide to fur-trading magnate John Jacob Astor. 1812—American missionary Ann Hasseltine Judson gives birth to two children while serving in Burma. Neither child survives. 1819—Kaahumanu, the favorite wife of King Kamehameha of Hawaii, inherits his throne, along with their son Liholiho (Kamehameha II). She establishes the first legal code of the islands, which include the right to trial by jury. 1821—Lucretia Mott, the mother of six children, is officially recognized as a minister by the Society of Friends. An active abolitionist, Mott soon realizes that women are discriminated against within the movement. 1821—A strong supporter of British writer Mary Wollstonecraft, Hannah Mather Crocker, a Bostonian mother of ten, publishes Observations on the Real Rights of Women. 1824—Mary Randolph, a member of the Virginia elite, publishes the first American cookbook. Of her eight children, only four survive to adulthood. 1826—Thomas Jefferson dies at Monticello after using his prodigious legal skills to write a will leaving his estate directly to his daughter Martha, bypassing the existing mandate that married women’s inheritances become the property of their husbands.
1800—Abigail Adams becomes the first in a succession of First Ladies to live in the White House. Her husband John loses the election to his friend and nemesis Thomas Jefferson, and the Adams family returns to Massachusetts after only a few months in Washington, D.C.
1827—Former slave Sojourner Truth convinces a court of law that her son Peter has illegally been transported to Alabama as a slave in violation of New York’s 1810 law ensuring gradual emancipation.
1805—Weeks after giving birth, Sacajawea, a Shoshone, begins serving as an unofficial guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The nursing mother
1828—Sarah Buell Hale, the widowed mother of five young children, begins publishing Ladies’ Magazine.
xlii
Chronology of Motherhood
1832—The Boston Lying-In Hospital is founded as a training ground for physicians. Unlike the poor women who become patients, the city’s more affluent women continue to give birth at home.
Falls Convention has significant impact on the life of mothers, demanding that public attention be paid to women’s issues ranging from suffrage to the right of married women to control their own property.
1836—Angelina Grimké, who has relocated from Charleston, South Carolina, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, issues An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South in which she draws attention to the fact that large numbers of black children are sired by white slave owners. Southerners are so incensed by her accusations that postmasters ban the book throughout the South.
1848—New York becomes the first state to pass a comprehensive Married Women’s Property Act. The act is motivated not by a desire to extend the scope of women rights but by the desire of fathers to see daughters rather than sons-in-law inherit property.
1837—Queen Victoria of England succeeds to the British throne at the age of 18. The mother of nine children, Victoria’s reign of 64 years is the longest in British history.
1849—Elizabeth Blackwell, a graduate of New York’s Geneva Medical College, is forced to attend classes for midwives and nurses when she arrives in Paris to begin postgraduate studies. In England, Blackwell is greeted cordially by the medical community with the exception of both males and females who work in the department of female diseases.
1838—In Alexandria, Virginia, a slave woman strangles two of her four children to prevent their being sold into slavery. The other children are rescued before they suffer a similar fate.
1850—Oregon passes the Land Donation Act, permitting a married woman to hold one-half of a couple’s allotted 640 acreage in her own name. Single women are also allowed to hold 320 acres.
1843—Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes generates heated debate by arguing that many new mothers are dying from puerperal fever because physicians spread germs by not washing their hands between seeing patients. 1847—Scottish physician James Simpson is the first to use anesthesia to mitigate the pain of childbirth.
1851—British philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor, who later becomes his wife, publish “The Enfranchisement of Women.” Mill is a strong advocate of birth control and insists that men do themselves a disservice by subjugating women and depriving society of all that women have to offer.
1847—In Vienna, a study is released indicating that the death rate in male-operated maternity rates is 437 percent higher than in a similar ward run by midwives.
1852—Abolitionist and mother of six, Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes the antislavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The book is credited with being a direct cause of the Civil War.
1847—A daughter is born to abolitionists Abby Kelly and Stephen Symonds Foster. The couple agrees that she will continue to lecture on slavery and women’s rights while he remains at home with baby daughter Alla.
1852—Feminist Amelia Bloomer launches a campaign to win the right for wives of abusive husbands to obtain divorces.
1848—After meeting at the London Anti Slavery Convention where women are hidden behind a curtain and prohibited from voting, Americans Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott make plans to hold a women’s rights convention. The Seneca
1854—Elizabeth Cady Stanton testifies before the New York legislature about the need for married women to gain additional control of inheritances and any wages they earn. 1855—Known as “Jennie June,” Jane Cunningham Croly, a New York Tribune reporter and the mother
of five, becomes the first American woman to work behind the desk of a major newspaper. 1855—Physicians Margaret and Emily Blackwell open the New York Infirmary for Women and Children with an all-female staff. Located in the Eleventh Ward, their clients are mostly immigrants. Throughout its history, the infirmary serves as a significant training ground for female physicians. 1862—German-born Dr. Marie Zakrzewska opens the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston. As in the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, the staff of the Boston hospital is composed entirely of females. 1867—After losing her husband and four children in a yellow fever epidemic, Mary Harris Jones, who becomes known as Mother Jones, devotes her life to improving working conditions in the United States. 1870—Louisa May Alcott publishes Little Women in two parts. Volume I follows the lives of Jo March and her sisters Meg, Beth, and Amy through the trials of growing up without their father, who is serving as a Union chaplain during the Civil War. Volume II depicts the lives of the surviving sisters as the eldest marries and gives birth to twins. Two sequels further chronicle the adventures of the March family. 1870—On December 10, the Wyoming Territory grants women legal equality, giving females the right to vote, own property, sign contracts, sue and be sued, and serve on juries. The Utah Territory follows suit, and Eliza A. Swain becomes the first women in the entire world to cast her vote in a general election. 1872—Jane Wells invents the baby jumper, providing mothers with a means of entertaining babies who are not yet walking. 1874—Jennie Jerome, a member of New York’s elite, marries Lord Randolph Churchill. Later that year, she gives birth to a son, whom she names Winston. He grows up to be one of the foremost statesmen of the 20th century.
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1879—In Copenhagen, Denmark, Henrik Ibsen publishes the play, A Doll’s House, in which his protagonist Nora Helmer challenges her husband’s contention that her most important role in life is that of wife and mother by insisting that her chief purpose is to be “a reasonable human being, just as you are.” 1880—Based on the rationale that mothers have a serious stake in the education of their children, the women of New York are granted the right to vote in school board elections. 1881—The first birth control clinic in the world opens in the Netherlands. Interested parties flock to the Netherlands to observe the clinic, which becomes the model for clinics in other countries. 1881—At Harvard, Williamina Fleming, a single mother, becomes the first female hired to do mathematical calculations. She is subsequently able to identify and classify some 10,000 celestial bodies. 1889—Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr open Hull House in Chicago to serve the needs of immigrant mothers and their children. 1891—Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt, an American, holds a one-woman show in Paris. Although she never became a mother, Cassatt’s favorite subjects are mothers and children. 1892—Charlotte Perkins Stetson (Gilman) publishes the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” which is ostensibly based on her own experiences with postpartum depression. 1897—Led by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst, the National Congress of Mothers is held in Washington, D.C. Although the two women expect a turnout of only 500 or so, more than 2,000 people attend the conference. This group forms the foundation for the Parent–Teachers Association. 1900—According to government reports, one-half of all babies born in the United States at the turn of the century are delivered by midwives.
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1902—Britain establishes a licensing and oversight board for midwives with the passage of the English Midwives Act. 1905—Dancer Isadora Duncan flaunts social mores by giving birth to a child out of wedlock. In 1913, she refuses to marry the father of her second child. Both children are later killed in an accident, and Duncan is killed in a freak accident in France in 1926 when her fashionably long scarf becomes entangled in an automobile wheel. 1906—New York public health official Dr. Josephine Baker encourages new mothers to breastfeed their babies in order to avoid exposing them to milk that may be contaminated. 1907—Women’s rights advocates in Austria launch a campaign to win six weeks’ maternity leave for new mothers and 10 weeks’ leave for nursing mothers. 1907—After the death of her financier husband, Russell Sage, Margaret Slocum Sage, establishes the Russell Sage Foundation and spends the rest of her life being active in philanthropic causes and documenting the history of women. 1908—Julia Ward Howe, the mother of six and the author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” becomes the first woman to be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. 1909—Writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman publishes Herland, a female utopian novel in which the burdens of motherhood are ostensibly lifted by instituting communal nurseries and kitchens. 1910—Writer Kathleen Norris chronicles the living and working condition of Irish immigrants to the United States in Mother. 1911—The new social insurance program in Great Britain provides for maternity allowances in a limited number of cases. 1912—After 10,000 female mill employees join a strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 35 mothers are charged with “child neglect.” Charges are later
dropped, and the women are instrumental in the strike’s success. Widowed mother Mary Heaton Vorse uses the strike to launch a career as an American labor journalist. 1912—Throughout the United States, debates rage concerning the rights of mothers to maintain custody in divorce cases, and legislators begin addressing the issue of government aid for mothers who are impoverished in cases of divorce and desertion. 1912—Although she never gives birth to a single child, Juliet Gordon Low finds a way to mother generations of young girls by founding the Girl Scouts in Savannah, Georgia. 1914—Congress establishes the second Sunday in May of each year as Mother’s Day. 1914—Birth control activist Margaret Sanger, whose mother had experienced 18 pregnancies, is arrested for including information on birth control in The Woman Rebel. 1914—Katharine Anthony, a niece of suffragist Susan B. Anthony, reveals in her study of the impact of harsh working conditions on Philadelphia mothers that 370 mothers have experienced the deaths of 437 babies. 1915—Norway passes the Castberg Law, which provides for children born to “unmarried parents” to carry the father’s name and inherit his property as long as paternity is not disputed. 1916—Margaret Sanger and her sister, Ethel Byrne, open a birth control clinic in Brooklyn, New York. After ten days in which they see more than 500 women, most of them poor immigrants, officials shut down the clinic. 1916—Russian-American anarchist Emma Goldman argues that her free speech rights have been violated when she is arrested for publicly advocating birth control. 1917—Government officials actively recruit American women to fill a variety of jobs necessary to the
war effort when the United States enters World War I on April 6. 1917—The Delaware legislature creates the Mother’s Pension Fund. 1918—The name of Margaret Sanger’s organization is changed from the National Birth Control League to the Voluntary Parenthood League. 1918—The Maternity Center Association is founded to promote better maternity care in the United States. 1919—Divorce rates soar, and the number of single mothers in the United States rises drastically in response to incidences of soldiers infecting their wives with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), which they have contracted abroad during World War I. 1919—World War I ends with an Allied victory, and acknowledgment of the numerous contributions of women during the war leads Austria, Canada, Ireland, Poland, and the United Kingdom to grant woman suffrage. 1920—The United States Congress passes the Nineteenth Amendment, guaranteeing American women the right to vote. Women in Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands are also enfranchised. 1921—In an effort to reduce American infant mortality rates, Congress passes the Sheppard Towner Act, which appropriates matching funds for states to establish maternity clinics. The act is repealed six years later, but Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal includes programs that continue this battle. 1921—General Mills creates Betty Crocker, an idealized homemaker, as a marketing tool. 1923—Suffragist Alice Paul’s proposal for an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the United States Constitution, which would mandate equal rights for women, is introduced in Congress. The ERA is revived during the women’s movement of the 1960s, but opponents manage to block ratification.
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1924—The mother of four sons, Nellie Tayloe Ross, a Democrat from Wyoming, becomes the first female governor in the United States after her husband, Governor William Ross, dies of complications from an appendectomy. 1925—Studies indicate that high infant mortality rates in immigrant sections of Pennsylvania and in poor areas of the Deep South are often the result of expectant mothers being overworked, malnourished, and neglected by the medical profession. 1929—In October, the beginning of the Great Depression ushers in a period of intense stress for American mothers who are sometimes unable to feed their children and who are often separated from family members who hit the road to find work. 1932—Twenty-month-old Charles Lindbergh, the child of aviator Charles Lindbergh and writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh, is kidnapped and subsequently murdered, leading the United States government to make kidnapping a federal crime. 1932–1945—Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Franklin Roosevelt and the mother of five children, assumes unprecedented duties as First Lady because of her husband’s physical frailties that resulted from a bout with polio in 1921. 1933—Dr. Gracie Langdon becomes the Child Care Director of Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Project Administration, undertaking the responsibility for establishing 2,000 government-funded childcare centers. 1934—A distinctly different kind of mother–daughter relationship is depicted when Fannie Hurt’s Imitation of Life becomes a movie. The film focuses on a young biracial woman who rejects her African American mother in order to pass as white in a society that discriminates against those whose African American ancestry is discernible. 1935—The notorious criminal “Ma” Barker, who has formed a bank-robbing gang with her three sons, is gunned down in a shootout in Florida.
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1936—Clare Booth Luce’s play, The Women, addresses the issue of single mothers displaced in their husband’s affections by younger women. 1938—Maria von Trapp escapes from occupied Austria with her husband, Captain Georg von Trapp, and seven stepchildren. Maria gives birth to three children after the escape. In 1959, a fictionalized version of their story is turned into a play, The Sound of Music, which in turn becomes an awardwinning movie in 1965. 1939—Anna Mary Robertson Moses, better known as Grandma Moses, begins painting at the age of 80. Over the course of the next 20 years, she completes 1,500 works. 1940—In New York, Mary Margaret McBride begins hosting a radio show that targets mothers and other homemakers. 1941—Grieving mothers respond with outrage when the Japanese attack the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, killing 2,403 people. Congress declares war on Japan on December 11, and the lives of American mothers change as their sons and husbands join the military, and American women enter the work world in droves. 1942—Rationing begins in May, and mothers lead the patriotic campaign to conserve essential war materials. 1942—The government begins actively recruiting nurses to serve in the military and intensifies efforts to identify women who chose to remain at home and raise families after graduating from nursing schools. 1943—Mothers who lose sons in World War II become known as Gold Star Mothers. Alleta Sullivan loses five sons at once when the USS Juneau is sunk during a naval battle in Guadalcanal. The following year, their story receives national attention with the releases of the movie, The Sullivans. The United States subsequently institutes a Sole Survivor Policy to protect surviving siblings after a family member is lost in war.
1943—Susan B. Anthony II, a journalist and niece of the noted suffragist, publishes Out of the Kitchen—Into the Wars chronicling the participation of American women, many of them mothers, during World War II. 1945—For the first time in American history, Congress holds debates on drafting women to serve as military nurses. The Nurses Selective Service Act passes Congress but becomes moot when the war ends in April. 1946—In order to reunite families, Congress passes the War Brides Act, allowing the foreign wives of American military personnel to enter the country. 1950—French feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir publishes The Second Sex in which she argues that women are always defined as “the other” because males are considered “the norm.” During the following decades, this work continues to have significant impact on the emerging women’s movement. 1952—Elizabeth II becomes Queen of England. She gives birth to Prince Charles, the heir apparent and the eldest of her four children, in 1948. 1952—Marion Donovan invents the disposable diaper. Her initial diaper is made from a folded-up shower curtain and absorbent padding. 1952—The Voluntary Parenthood Leagues changes its named to Planned Parenthood Association and continues to be a major force in family planning. 1953—On January 19, actress Lucille Ball becomes the most famous mother in television history by giving birth to Little Ricky on the popular sitcom I Love Lucy. The show garners a 72-percent audience share. That same night, Ball gives birth to her real-life son, Desi Arnaz, Jr. 1953—Ethel Rosenberg, the mother of two small children, is executed for espionage along with her husband Julius. The case continues to arouse controversy for decades, and many people believe Ethel, unlike her husband, was innocent of the crime.
1955—In August, 14-year-old Emmett Till is brutally murdered by segregationists while visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi. His mother, Mamie Till Mobley, allows Jet to publish photographs of her son’s mutilated body so that Americans can understand the impact of violence against innocent African American children. Two men confess to the murder, but they are never brought to justice. 1956—In Illinois, a group of seven nursing mothers found the La Leche League to promote breastfeeding. The group, which evolves into an international organization, continues to promote the health benefits of nursing and provides advice to nursing mothers. 1957—Writer Better Friedan polls her former classmates from Smith College to determine whether or not they are fulfilled as mothers and wives. She finds widespread dissatisfaction, and identifies this phenomenon as “the problem that has no name.” 1957—In Little Rock, Arkansas, Daisy Bates, a newspaper publisher, serves as a mentor for the nine African American students who integrate Central High School. Her civil rights activities earn her numerous awards and the eternal gratitude of African American mothers who dream that their children will be able to live in a more equal society. 1958—The Childbirth Without Pain Association introduces the Lamaze method of childbirth to the United States, encouraging American mothers to experience childbirth naturally. 1959—Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, a tale of transitioning family life in the African American community, wins the New York Drama Critics Circle Award.
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1962—The publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring helps to launch the environmentalist movement in the United States, geared in large part toward making life safer for future generations. 1962—Europe experiences an outbreak of birth defects caused by pregnant women taking thalidomide to control morning sickness. In the United States, Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey of the Federal Drug Administration manages to keep the drug off the market. 1963—Jackie Kennedy becomes the only First Lady in American history to be pregnant in the White House. She gives birth on August 7, but Patrick Bouvier Kennedy dies two days later. 1963—Betty Friedan launches the Second Wave of the women’s movement with the publication of The Feminine Mystique, arguing that women are dissatisfied with their lives because their individual identities have been submerged by their roles as wives and mothers. 1963—President John F. Kennedy establishes the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. States. The commission identifies major issues and concerns that affect the lives of American women. 1963—On Sunday, September 15, four African American mothers lose daughters to civil rights violence when a bomb explodes at a Birmingham, Alabama, church. 1965—Based on the grounds of privacy within marriage, the Supreme Court holds in Griswold v. Connecticut that married couples have a constitutional right to obtain birth control.
1959—At age 41, Phyllis Diller, the mother of five, launches a career as a stand-up comic and becomes one of the best loved American comediennes.
1967—Anne Moore invents the Snugli, which allows parents to carry infants close to their bodies while leaving their arms free. The young mother becomes a multimillionaire as sales soar.
1960—The birth control pill is approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Since the pill is the most effective birth control method available to date, it promotes more efficient family planning.
1968—In Boston, Massachusetts, members of Mothers for Adequate Welfare campaign for increased aid to mothers of small children by chaining themselves to furniture inside a welfare office.
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1968—On April 4, Coretta Scott King, the mother of four children, becomes a widow when civil rights leader the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. 1968—Pope Paul VI announces that the only method of birth control supported by the Catholic Church is the rhythm method, which involves abstaining from sexual intercourse on days when women are fertile. Determined to engage in responsible family planning, many Catholic women ignore the dictates of the Church.
1975—The first World Conference on Women is held in Mexico City, Mexico, aimed at improving the lives and status of women around the world. Future conferences are held at five-year intervals in a number of other cities. 1976—In Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth, the Supreme Court decides that a married woman does not have to obtain her husband’s consent to obtain an abortion.
1968—Singer and actress Diahann Carroll, who plays a single mother on the sitcom Julia, becomes the first African American to headline a regular series on American television.
1976—In General Electric v. Gilbert, the Supreme Court upholds the right of employers to exclude pregnancy from benefit plans, legitimizing the practice of employers paying benefits for the pregnant wives of male employees but not for pregnant female employees.
1970—Affectionately known as “the grandmother of the Jewish people,” Russian-born Golda Meir, who grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, becomes the prime minister of Israel.
1976—Congress passes the Hyde Amendment, stipulating that poor women cannot use Medicaid funds to pay for abortions except in cases of rape and endangerment to the life of the mother.
1971—Congress passes new legislation that awards federal subsidies for both public and private childcare centers.
1976—The publication of Adrienne Rich’s Of Woman Born opens debates on the differences between motherhood as experience and motherhood as an ideal espoused by the institution of patriarchy.
1972—In Reed v. Reed, the Supreme Court determines that fathers should no longer be given precedence over mothers when managing estates of minor children. The case clears the way for a new examination of legal discrimination on the basis of sex according to the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 1973—In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court holds that the right of privacy guarantees pregnant women a constitutional right to obtain an abortion within the first three months of a pregnancy. Roe proves to be one of the most controversial cases in the Court’s history, and so-called pro-life advocates launch a campaign to have the decision overturned. 1975—The year is proclaimed the International Year of the Woman, and international and national groups launch a series of programs aimed at improving the quality of life for women and their children.
1977—The inauguration of Georgian Jimmy Carter draws public attention to his colorful mother, “Miss Lillian.” At the same time, Carter’s wife Rosalynn proves to be a hands-on mother to their young daughter Amy. 1978—Congress passes the Pregnancy Discrimination Act as an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, banning workplace discrimination against pregnant women and essentially overturning the Supreme Court’s actions two years earlier in General Electric v. Gilbert. 1979—The United Nations General Assembly sponsors the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which produces an international bill of rights for women, specifying behavior that constitutes discrimination and offering solutions for dealing with violations.
1979—In the wake of a scandal over advertising of prepared infant formulas in developing countries, the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) is created to force the manufacturers of baby food formulas to cease unethical practices. 1979—The groundbreaking film, Kramer v. Kramer, highlights changing perceptions of the roles of both mothers and fathers. 1979—China establishes a one-child-per-couple policy designed to limit population growth. The policy proves to be detrimental to female infants who become the victims of infanticide. Other girl babies are abandoned or put up for adoption. 1980—After her daughter is killed by an inebriated driver with three prior convictions, Candy Lightner founds Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), which becomes Mothers Against Drunk Driving in 1984. The group is devoted to keeping drunk drivers off the road and educating the public about the dangers of drinking and driving. 1980—The first in vitro fertilization clinic opens in Norfolk, Virginia. 1981—Republican Sandra Day O’Connor, the mother of three sons, becomes the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. She finds her niche by becoming the important swing vote in a number of cases dealing with women and children. 1981–1988—The elections of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush are marked by a period of strong conservatism in the United States. “Reaganism” results in significant cuts to programs designed to help poor women and their minor children, and views on abortion become a litmus test for federal judicial appointments. 1984—Running with Minnesota Democrat Walter Mondale, Geraldine Ferraro, a Democratic Congresswoman from New York and the mother of three children, becomes the first women in American history to be considered a viable candidate on a major party ticket.
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1984—A group of Canadian feminists establish Mothers Are Women to celebrate a mother’s right to decide to serve as the primary caregiver for her child. 1985—Congress passes legislation mandating the creation of state programs to collect child support from delinquent fathers. 1985—Divorced mother of two, Wilma Mankiller becomes the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation. 1986—Teacher Christa McAuliffe, the mother of two young children, is killed when the space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after liftoff. 1986—The issue of surrogate motherhood receives national attention when Mary Beth Whitehead, who has received $10,000 to serve as a surrogate for William and Elizabeth Stern, reneges on the agreement. Ultimately, a judge places “Baby M” with Stern, who is her biological father, and Elizabeth Stern adopts her. 1987—The World Health Organization launches the Safe Motherhood Initiative designed to slash maternal mortality in half by the year 2000. 1988—The State of California passes legislation guaranteeing job security for mothers who take maternity leave. 1988—Toni Morrison’s Beloved wins the Pulitzer Prize. Based on a true story, the novel tells the story of Sethe, a slave woman who kills her daughter to prevent her from becoming a slave. 1989—In Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, the conservative Supreme Court allots states greater control over access to abortions without overturning Roe v. Wade, as had been predicted. 1990—For the first time, the term “mommy track” is used to describe professional women who choose a slower career track that allows them more time with their families over an ambitious fast-track to success.
Chronology of Motherhood
1991—To celebrate and encourage the contributions of midwives to maternal and child health, the first International Day of the Midwife is held on May 5 and becomes an annual tradition. 1991—In Rust v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court upholds the Reagan/Bush policy of forbidding health care professionals receiving federal funds to inform clients about abortion rights. This so-called “gag rule” is one of the first conservative policies overturned by Democrat Bill Clinton when he assumes office in January 1993. 1992—The year is designated the Year of the Woman in the United States as women are elected to political office at all levels of government and begin using that power to fight for the rights of women and children. 1992—The first Take Our Daughters to Work Day is held on April 28 in the United States to encourage young girls to recognize that their career possibilities are limitless. 1993—Congress passes the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows both parents to take time off to care for a new or adopted baby or a sick child. 1993—Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the mother of two, becomes the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court. A Democrat, Ginsburg tends to be supportive of women’s issues. 1994—Abortion provider Dr. John Byard Britton and clinic escort Lieutenant Colonel James Barrett are murdered at a family planning clinic by radical pro-lifer Paul Hill. 1994—Congress passes the Violence Against Women Act, making it a federal offense to travel across state lines to commit violent acts against a spouse or domestic partner. 1995—The Fourth World Conference on Women is held in Beijing, China, generating the Platform for Action designed to empower women throughout the world.
1996—Democrat Madeleine Albright, the mother of three daughters, becomes the first female Secretary of State in American history. 1996—First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton publishes It Takes a Village in which she argues that raising children should be a societal responsibility. 1998—The Association for Research on Mothering is established as the first feminist international organization exclusively devoted to motherhood. 2001—Former First Lady and popular grandmother figure Barbara Bush becomes only the second woman in American history to become both the wife and mother of a president. 2002—The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) opens an investigation into the possibility of establishing a national policy on paid maternity leave. 2002—A group of mothers in New York found Mothers Ought To Have Equal Rights (MOTHERS) designed to promote economic security and political clout for mothers and others who serve as primary caregivers for children. 2004—Australia passes the lump sum Maternity Allowance and Baby Bonus to assist new parents at the time of a child’s birth. 2005—The Save the Mothers Program establishes a Master’s Degree Program in Public Health Leadership in Uganda under the leadership of the Intersave Canada Board in an effort to improve the experience of motherhood in developing countries. 2006—Author Leslie Morgan Steiner publishes the Mommy Wars, which includes interviews with 26 mothers who discuss their personal perceptions of motherhood in the 21st century. 2007—The World Health Organization celebrates the 20th anniversary of its Safe Motherhood Initiative as part of an ongoing effort to improve the health of pregnant women and decrease maternal mortality levels.
2007—Former First Lady and current Senator from New York Hillary Rodham Clinton announces her bid for the presidency and becomes the most viable female candidate for high elected office in American history. 2008—Governor of Alaska and the mother of five, Sarah Palin becomes the first Republican female to be considered a viable candidate for the office of Vice President.
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2009—Michelle Obama, the mother of two young daughters, becomes the first African American First Lady of the United States. 2009—Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the mother of an adult daughter, is sworn in as the third female Secretary of State in American history. Elizabeth Purdy Independent Scholar
A Aboriginal Mothering The term mothering was constructed to describe the caregiving role and work of female parents. Aboriginal refers to cultural groups that originated in certain geographic areas prior to the European settlers’ arrival in the late 1800s, primarily in North America, New Zealand, and Australia, although there is evidence of some other locations. The word Aboriginal generally means “from the beginning,” or the first inhabitants. Typically, Aboriginal people do not refer to themselves as first inhabitants by comparing themselves to European migrants. Aboriginal identity is not claimed by all who have an Aboriginal heritage. In some circles, an Aboriginal identity is thought to be a spiritual and cultural heritage; others believe it is an intrinsic connection to the land, nature, and animals, while still others believe that it is a biological and racial identity. Despite many different geographical locations, diverse histories, and distinct cultural norms, Aboriginal mothering does have common elements. Aboriginal mothering embodies some similar values, parallel histories of oppression, and enduring forces of womanhood, which integrate caregiving for dependents, indigenous knowledge, and the keepers of the environment.
Demographics and Government Interaction Demographically, Canada reports approximately 4 percent of its population as Aboriginal, which includes Inuit, Métis, and First Nations people; while in the United States, approximately 1.5 percent of the population is Aboriginal. In Australia, just over 2 percent of the population is Aboriginal, while the Maori in New Zealand represent 14 percent of the population. Reporting statistics may not be accurate, as some Aboriginal communities are remote and do not always report their census data, while other communities have reported being suspicious of governmental efforts to enumerate Aboriginal people. Two trends appear consistent in all locations. The reporting of Aboriginal identities seems to be increasing, and there is a trend toward urbanization among Aboriginal populations. Aboriginal mothers are usually at the heart of their communities and these trends reflect their life experiences. A consistent experience across Aboriginal communities is the history of colonization and systemic, state-sanctioned oppression. Aboriginal mothers were at the center of these experiences because many governmental policies were aimed at children, families, and cultural practices. The European settlement brought with it new diseases, new treaties, and laws. In addition, a new community
Aboriginal Mothering
organizational structure was enforced, called reservations (reserves), which relocated Aboriginal people to live apart from the European settlements. By the early 1900s, Australia, Canada, and the United States had legislated acts that specified rights and restrictions of Aboriginal mothers, including the loss of the right to practice spiritual ceremonies. Compulsory, government-run educational programming, which in many cases meant children were removed from their families and communities to be educated in other locations, also contributed to the loss of indigenous knowledge, traditional medical practices, and language. Without the rights to teach, parent, and heal their own children and community members, Aboriginal mothers lost their roles and rights as community members. In some regions, when Aboriginal women married non-Aboriginal men, they and their children lost their legal Aboriginal status. This legislation was not overturned in some areas until the late l900s. Child welfare policies and practices authorizing Aboriginal children to be placed in non-Aboriginal families and communities also had devastating effects on entire generations. These policies are still in effect in some locations. Such child welfare practices have been widely criticized for providing a legal vehicle to continue to control and dominate Aboriginal mothers and their communities by essentially cutting children off from their culture and heritage. This, in turn, left a generation of children without guidance from their Aboriginal mothers—what is sometimes referred to as the lost generation. There continues to be lingering negative health effects, poor access to medical treatment in some communities, and shorter life spans for many Aboriginal people. There is also a greater threat of dying young because of higher risks of violence, higher rates of children in foster care, and higher rates of poverty. Shared Values Among Diverse Communities There is a considerable diversity among Aboriginal communities, cultural practices, and values. However, there are also some parallels illustrating the beliefs and knowledge that are gradually being reclaimed throughout many Aboriginal communities. Historically, Aboriginal communities were frequently organized as collective cultures with cooperative values emphasizing sharing of resources and
parenting roles among adults. Aboriginal mothering philosophy has been passed along the generations and has been preserved in some locations. In Aboriginal communities, the relationship between adults and children is frequently multilayered. In addition to daily caregiving, adults and elders are responsible to pass on lessons that take the long view of life. The life cycle from birth to death and the many lessons that can be learned or passed on throughout this journey are inherent in the way Aboriginal mothers guide their children. In many Aboriginal traditions, everything is connected. The life cycle lessons are linked to the environment with its four directions, respect for nature’s animals, and the changing seasons. Women and their spirituality have typically had a place of honor in traditional Aboriginal communities. A woman’s menstrual period was frequently referred to as her “moon,” and women were treated with special respect during their moon time. In some traditions, “dreaming” can be understood as a way of thinking or imagining, or a way of remembering ancestors or important historical events. Dreaming can also be a narrative of what matters or what is important to Aboriginal women as they pass on their stories and knowledge. Aboriginal mothering values share some common principles. Parenting is based on non-aggressive, interpersonal respect, where relationships are understood to be collaborative and primarily nonhierarchal. Aboriginal mothering values frequently emphasize nonverbal teaching and learning styles that encourage children to explore their environment and make decisions while mothers show children what can be learned from their choices. Subtle humor and teasing are also integral to Aboriginal mothers’ guidance practices. Some of these values are in sharp contrast to many modern social values, which often emphasize individualized competition and direct communication. Mother Roles Historically, many Aboriginal people were hunters and gatherers. Some communities were also organized by gender, where women had specific roles and responsibilities that differed from men. There is also evidence that some Aboriginal tribes were matriarchies. These gender roles and the place of
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Bibliography Lavell-Harvard, D. Memee, and Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, Eds. “Until Our Hearts Are On the Ground”; Aboriginal Mothering, Oppression, Resistance and Rebirth. Toronto: Demeter Press, 2006. O’Reilly, Andrea, Marie Porter, and Patricia Short, eds. Motherhood: Power and Oppression. London: The Women’s Press, 2005. Carolyn J. Peters University of Manitoba
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An early-20th-century Eskimo mother carries a child on her back. Aboriginal mothering philosophy focuses on the life cycle.
honor women had in their communities changed dramatically when European settlers introduced trading, alcohol, and an organized legal system, which many scholars indicate continues to be oppressive. Some fear that there is too much reliance today on Aboriginal mothers to lead the healing and restoration work, risking a depletion of their vigor and capacities. Despite lingering oppressive conditions, Aboriginal mothering resilience is illustrated in how Aboriginal women are reclaiming indigenous knowledge and practices to pass on to future generations. See Also: Community Mothering; First Nations; Native Americans; Race and Racism; Residential School and Mothers/First Nations.
Abortion is illegal in Uganda; practically mandated in India and China, where there are one-child-perfamily policies; a form of birth control in Russia; and perhaps the most contentious issue in the United States. In some countries, abortion doctors are criminalized, while in other countries, abortion providers as well as women who have abortions can be fined or jailed. In the United States, abortion doctors and clinic staff have been murdered, and recently in Brazil, a bishop excommunicated a 9-year-old girl and a doctor over an abortion. This girl was pregnant with twins after allegedly being raped by her stepfather; the doctor performed the abortion because he didn’t think her 80-pound body could carry a pregnancy to term. Brazil allows abortion only in cases of rape and in order to save the life of the mother. The vast array of circumstances with abortion around the world gives the impression that there is no consensus on the issue—yet, some protest that the shared goal among many of these practices and restrictions is a desire to control women. Abortion rights supporters believe that the decision to terminate a pregnancy should be the woman’s alone (in consultation with medical professionals); supporters of the right to life publicly denounce abortion as murder. History of Abortion Women have sought to induce abortions since ancient times, and medical recipe books dating from the colonial period in the United States commonly
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included descriptions of herbal abortifacients (substances that cause abortion), sometimes couched in ambiguous terms such as “remedies to restore menstruation.” In the early 19th century, laws prohibiting abortion began to appear, beginning with Connecticut in 1821, and such laws became common in the 1860s. By 1900, abortion was illegal in most American states, although some states allowed exceptions, such as in the case of rape or incest. Abortion remained widely restricted until the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade in 1973, which prohibited states from restricting women’s access to abortion in the first trimester (three-month period).
Roe v. Wade In the United States, abortion policies are most synonymous with the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which determined that abortion should be legal in all 50 states and available up until the point of viability (around 24–28 weeks), which in the past had been a similar cutoff described as quickening. At the time of the Roe decision, pregnancies were dated from the time of conception; currently, the medical community uses a standard 40 weeks, dating all pregnancies from the first day of the last period, which means that what was once a 28-week-old fetus could now be labeled a 30week pregnancy. This form of dating places more emphasis on number of weeks pregnant rather than the age of the fetus. The Roe v. Wade decision is credited with allowing women to terminate a pregnancy, but it’s equally a decision about determining pregnancy; giving women the right to decide if and when they want to carry a pregnancy to term. The decision is also highly regarded as a privacy case—women had the right to this private decision, and thus, some become supporters of Roe entirely because of protecting this right, separate of their feelings about abortion. Since Roe became the law, there have been numerous attempts to reduce its power by creating state-based restrictions—which are allowed under Roe—such as parental consent laws, waiting periods, and limits on funding. Most of these challenges have come via the courts, but abortion issues have been equally mired in the legislative and executive branches. An example is the Hyde Amendment, which restricted public funding for abortions,
including those receiving Medicaid or using Indian Health Services, as well as U.S. Military families and Peace Corps members. According to the Guttmacher Institute, women who use Medicaid are more than twice as likely to seek abortions. There is also the Global Gag Rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy, which under the Bush administration prevented U.S. funds for international family-planning agencies that provided abortions or even offered counseling or referrals. Roe is far from a comprehensive decision. The Canadian equivalent, known as the Morgantaler Decision, legalized abortion and took it out of that country’s criminal code—and it is respected for being a more straightforward decision and less vulnerable to the diminishment of Roe. Types of Abortions Medically speaking, an abortion is a procedure that removes a pregnancy by emptying the contents of a woman’s uterus. There are medical and surgical abortions; most abortions happen in the first trimester, within the first 12 to 14 weeks of pregnancy. Medical abortions are a newer invention and are less invasive. The only marketed medical abortion product is Mifiprex, popularly referred to as RU486, which is prescribed by a doctor and requires a follow-up appointment, but can be administered at home and usually happens around the eighth week of pregnancy. Regardless, surgical abortion remains the most prevalent in nations where abortions are legal: 87 percent in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is a third type of abortion—unsafe methods such as drinking turpentine or bleach, inserting herbal preparations, or inserting foreign objects such as chicken bones or sticks. Worldwide, these abortions account for 48 percent of all abortions, thus a higher percentage than any other form. Surgical abortions are either the more common, manual vacuum aspiration or other variations involving dilation of the cervix—either dilation and curettage (D&C), or dilation and extraction (D&X). The latter is sometimes referred to as partial-birth abortion, so called because the procedure requires the mother’s uterus to contract and then expunge the fetus. In instances when the fetus is too large to be expelled otherwise, or because the doctor
feels the need for greater precision, a doctor might induce labor and thus have the woman “birth” the fetus. These later-term abortions are often because a fetus died in utero (miscarried), or because a mother chose to terminate the pregnancy due to a detection of a fetal abnormality. These procedures account for about 1 percent of abortions and are used most often after 16 weeks of the pregnancy. Assisted Reproductive Technologies With the increasing popularity of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), which includes in vitro fertilization (IVF) and inter-utero insemination (IUI), selective reductions are also increasingly used as a form of abortion. In this case, doctors reduce multiple fetuses to a lesser number. With most instances of IVF and IUI, women are given hormones to overproduce eggs that are later implanted into the uterus, or donor eggs are used. To increase the likelihood that a pregnancy results, doctors often implant more than one egg, sometimes as many as a dozen, on the premise that most of these eggs will naturally weed themselves out. Many countries limit how many eggs can be implanted; the United States has no restrictions. Because carrying more than two babies to term has inherent risks, doctors use selective reductions to reduce the number of fetuses. Though this procedure resembles an abortion, it is rarely described as such, both by the women choosing it and in the medical community. This is likely because at least one or more babies are preserved (countering the assumption that abortion ends a pregnancy) and these procedures are performed in hospitals or private practices with the guidance of hi-tech sonograms, which presents it as a legitimate medical procedure. It’s also a much more costly procedure, and thus unlikely to become a more mainstream option. The aftermath of selective reduction is an interesting challenge to pro-life supporters: there is no matter that is expunged from the uterus—whatever exists reattaches to the remaining placenta. Stem cell research is another new challenge to those ambivalent about abortion, as the stem cells culled from aborted fetuses and unused embryos from IVF procedures are used in research. Some interpret this government-sanctioned research, which is hailed as leading the way to a cure for diseases, as an endorse-
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ment or even encouragement of abortion. Yet, supporters point to the number of annual abortions as proof that there would never be a need to abort simply for stem cells. Grounds for Legalization Ultimately, abortion has been legalized in most countries on the premise that because it happened underground, it was unsafe and unsterile, and women were needlessly dying. It was considered medically imperative that the procedure be legalized; at least to the extent that it was available to save the life or health of the mother. Now, according to the Guttmacher Institute, “termination of pregnancy is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in the United States.” No correlation had been established between illegal or legal abortion laws and abortion rates; in other words, laws have not been a deterrent for most women who seeking an abortion. This is still true in countries where abortion is illegal or otherwise censored. The abortion rate in Africa, where abortion is predominantly illegal, is 26 abortions per 1,000 births; and in Europe, where it is available with few restrictions, the rate is 29 abortions per 1,000 births. But a woman’s economic status did have some bearing on her choices and access to an abortion in the past: rich and middle-class woman could usually find a doctor, either through a private practice or by traveling to another country, while poorer women often resorted to abortions performed by questionable medical professionals, had self-trained people conduct the procedure, or they had the child. Some women used desperate techniques in order to selfabort, such as coat hangers, horseback riding, or throwing themselves down the stairs In many countries, the legalization process contextualized the procedure as a public health concern. As of 2009, Ireland’s attempt to invoke an international human rights standard posits that denying women access to abortion is denying them their human rights. Women on Waves, a Dutch organization that uses a human-rights-based approach, provides abortions and health care to women in nations where abortion is illegal by providing their services on a boat offshore. Many other countries have used the rhetoric of “rights” or “choice,” which has more recently evolved into “justice.” Most of the battles to
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preserve and confirm a woman’s access to abortion have been fought legislatively through the state, federal, or national courts, but more recently using international courts. Most initiatives introduced over the past 30 years have attempted to further restrict women’s access to abortion, thus putting abortion crusaders on the defensive and requiring them to advocate and lobby for women’s access. In the United States, a somewhat new tactic is using ballot initiatives, which gives the vote directly to the people. Generally, U.S. polls in 2008 indicated that roughly just over half of Americans have confirmed that they feel the procedure should be legal in all or most cases. Health Care Systems The issue is further complicated in the United States simply by dint of its primarily private health care system. Even with supportive laws, there are many obstacles, such as cost, insurance, finding a doctor, or clinic locations. Doctors are not mandated to provide abortions. Similarly, insurance companies can simply decide what procedures (if any) to cover. Other countries that offer a national system of health care may or may not include abortion. Religious Beliefs One of the biggest opponents of abortion has been those of religious faith, particularly the Catholic Church, which argues that abortion is murder, so much so that some Catholic leaders oppose an exception to preserve a mother’s health or life. There is some correlation between religious views on abortion and women who have them. In the United States, Catholic women have the same rate of abortions as women from the general public. Protestants have about 69 percent as many abortions as the general public, and born-again Christians have 39 percent as many. This religious deterrent also isn’t consistent. For instance, it doesn’t apply in China, with its one-child-per-family policy; nor in India, where abortion is strongly encouraged for anyone who has more than one child. Support and Opposition Though there is much public outcry against abortion, many doctors and all major medical associations (including the American Medical Association) endorse the availability of abortion. Some doctors
are uncomfortable performing the procedures, which is why in the United States there is a decadesold conscience clause that exempts doctors from performing abortions. But many doctors feel that the long-term benefits of abortion outweigh the impact of the undue stress of an unwanted pregnancy on mothers, and are also familiar with the affects of raising children who are diagnosed with severe impairments. In the past, abortion was a less contentious issue, primarily because it was less discussed and less available. With the professionalization of the medical community—around the turn of the 20th century—there was a move to undermine women’s medical expertise, especially midwives, who had administered the majority of women’s health care. Confirming abortion as a medical procedure meant that it could be transferred from the hands of midwives and into a profitable venture. Pro-Life Movement The pro-life movement in the United States was formed in opposition to the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which invalidated most state laws prohibiting abortion and made it a legal medical procedure available to most women for the first time since the early 19th century. Pro-life activists contend that human life begins at the moment of conception, and therefore, an embryo or fetus is a person; hence, performing an abortion means killing a person. Many but not all are Christians and find support for this point of view in the Bible. Although they have not been successful in overturning Roe v. Wade and thus prohibiting abortion outright, pro-life activists have succeeded in protesting abortion by picketing buildings where abortions are performed (discouraging doctors from performing an abortion and women from obtaining the procedure), promoting legislation that requires additional procedures before an abortion can be obtained (such as a mandatory waiting period), and requiring spousal notification for adults and parental consent for minors. Family Planning and Choice One attempt at preserving and destigmatizing abortion politics has been to contextualize abortion under the larger and more comprehensive heading
of family planning or reproductive rights, arguing that abortion is simply one part of women’s reproductive lives—alongside birth control, prenatal care, maternal health, and menopause. And while it was initially true that abortion services occurred in clinics providing a fuller range of services, it’s increasingly true that the procedure is marginalized into clinics that don’t offer the full range of women’s gynecological and obstetric care. There is an increasing push for abortion to be mainstreamed in family medicine, which would make it less vulnerable and marginalized, and represented as one piece of a woman’s reproductive life. Under this system, nurses and midwives would again be allowed to administer abortions. Ultimately, family planning didn’t represent abortion heavily enough, so the language morphed into a “choice” framework, which postulated that women should be endowed with decision-making power and should also have a full range of choices available to them. However, “pro-choice” is often identified as being pro-abortion. This is partly a consequence of a very successful backlash against abortion, and partly a consequence of individuals coming to terms with their own complicated relationship with the issue. Increasingly, choice is a strongly decisive term that does not represent how most people feel. Today, the abortion battle is over the issues of “legal to what extent” and “for whom,” which are harder issues to mobilize around when women find themselves at many positions on that spectrum. The abortion debate has presented abortion and motherhood in conflict rather than as related, but a clear majority of women who have abortions are or will become mothers. According to the Guttmacher Institute, six in 10 U.S. women having abortions are already mothers, while more than half intend to have (more) children in the future. In fact, most women who have abortions are weighing the issues of motherhood more than the issues of abortion—if they are ready to be a parent now, if their relationship is where they want it to be, or if they are financially and emotionally confident enough to raise a child. For instance, a Guttmacher Institute poll in 2004 reported that 23 percent of women cited “not being able to afford a baby right now” as their primary reason for having an abortion.
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The New Rhetoric: Reproductive Justice Today, reproductive justice is becoming the favored term, and is meant to reflect the interconnectedness of issues. While the abortion movement would likely be aided by aligning itself with other movements, such as environmental, prisoners’ rights, and immigrants’ rights, those movements in the process might be stymied. Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice, one group that has pioneered this linking, defines reproductive justice in this way: “We believe that by challenging patriarchal social relations and addressing the intersection of racism, sexism, xenophobia, heterosexism, and class oppression within a women-of-color context, we will be able to build the collective social, economic, and political power of all women and girls to make decisions that protect and contribute to our reproductive health and overall well-being.” This lens focuses building alliances with other organizations and movements by “place[ing] reproductive justice at the center of the most critical social and economic justice issues facing our communities, such as ending violence against women, workers rights, environmental justice, queer and transgender rights, immigrant rights, and educational justice.” Second Thoughts and Regret Many women who have had an abortion, whether their political beliefs are pro-choice or pro-life, describe it as a very difficult decision which left them with regrets, sometimes describing a period of mourning for the child that would never be born. Pro-life activists have used testimonials by these women to discourage others from seeking an abortion; for instance, the Website www.gargaro.com/ regrets.html. However, a 2008 literature review conducted at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health found that few women suffered long-term psychological distress following abortion. Still a Hotly Contested Debate The political debate over abortion continues to rage. Opinions on abortion are often challenged by another person’s choices. Abortion rarely means the same thing to two people—one woman’s doctorordered termination is another woman’s abortion. Each person has their own threshold, and thus it is often discussed purely in terms of legal or illegal.
Absentee Mothers
Even determined pro-choice defenders are conflicted on how to best present the issues. For instance, they often argue that they are protecting access to abortion for those communities that are most vulnerable, but in the process they can often further expose those individuals and also present an assumption that abortion is primarily benefiting those communities. This is reminiscent of the fight for legal birth control for nonwhite women, which was funded in part by eugenics and thus muddled with racist associations. Besides the racial problems with choice, the abortion debate is further complicated by the use of ART, which is unregulated in the United States. This type of genetic manipulation is leading the way to cloning and other manipulations that will inevitably prioritize certain communities of people over others. For decades there has been no consensus on this debate, and likely won’t be in the foreseeable future. Thus, abortion supporters are left to prioritize protecting the procedure and to make it seem less vilified. People are divided because of religion, race, misogyny, and a host of other issues. Another obstacle is women’s ambiguity about their own wants and needs (as are men), and thus often find it more comfortable to be told what to do rather than be in a position of acting out. See Also: Adoption; Artificial Insemination; Central African Republic; Family Planning; Fertility; Reproductive Justice/Rights Movements. Bibliography Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice. www .reproductivejustice.org (accessed April 2009). Ehrenreich, Barbara, and Deirdre English. For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts’ Advice to Women. New York: Anchor Books Revised Edition, 2005. Garago.com. “Abortion and the Regrets.” www .gargaro.com/regrets.html (accessed August 2008). Guttmacher Institute. “Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives.” www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3711005 .pdf (accessed April 2009). Mundy, Liza. Everything Conceivable: How the Science of Assisted Reproduction Is Changing Our World. New York: Anchor Books, 2008.
Mundy, Liza. “Too Much to Carry?” Washington Post (May 20, 2007). PollingReport.com. “Abortion and Birth Control.” www.pollingreport.com/abortion.htm (accessed April 2009). Roberts, Dorothy E. Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction and the Meaning of Liberty. New York: Pantheon Books, 1997. Sedgh, Gilda, Stanley Henshaw, Susheela Singh, Elisabeth Ahman, and Iqbal Shah. “Induced Abortion: Estimated Rates and Trends Worldwide.” The Lancet, v.370/9595 (October 2007). Amy Richards Independent Scholar
Absentee Mothers An absentee mother is a woman who lives apart from her minor children on a temporary or permanent basis. The decision leading up to these formal and informal arrangements vary, but are often linked to women’s social and economic disadvantages. The effect of absence on a woman, her children, and the mother–child relationship also differs depending on whether she was involved in the decision or had it imposed on her. A mother’s absence may result from a court decision that denies her some or all of her parental rights and restricts physical access to her minor children on a temporary or permanent basis. In the past, unmarried women felt social, economic, or religious pressures to surrender their newborns for adoption, thus permanently absenting themselves from their child’s life. Many such women mourned, often in silence, the loss of their child and a life unlived together. Some adopted children grew up feeling bewildered, angry, or unlovable because of their birth mother’s difficult decision. However, laws and social attitudes are changing, and many absentee mothers and their now-adult children are attempting contact. Depending on the life histories and expectations of mother, adult child, and their respective families, these reunions have varying outcomes: Some planned reunions are called off before they occur because of mistrust or mixed messages;
Academe and Mothering
some reunions are one- or two-time events that satisfy one or both parties, or neither, leaving emotions raw and many questions still unanswerable; still other reunions end a mother’s long absence and begin a more or less satisfying relationship between her and her adult child. The courts may remove a child from a mother who is experiencing difficulty parenting because she lacks adequate economic or social supports or parenting skills, or because she is incarcerated, has poor mental or physical health, or problems with drugs or alcohol. A mother will be absent from her child’s life as long as the courts deem that the state or another relative is better able to provide for her child. When a marriage or civil union ends, the courts may decide in favor of paternal or joint custody. Depending on the living arrangements, a mother may be absent from her child’s life for days or weeks at a time.
other factors are more predictive of long-term child well-being: adequate household income, access to supportive social networks, a safe and stable physical environment, cooperation between parents, and absent parent involvement. Although parenting from a distance is difficult, absentee mothers are more likely than absentee fathers to stay in touch through letters, phone calls, and regular and extended contact, resulting in closer and more durable relationships with their children. Some notable absentee mothers include Ann Dunham, mother of American President Barack Obama; Canadian singer-songwriter, Joni Mitchell; and CBC-TV host and journalist, Anne Petrie.
Other Factors Economic imperatives push many mothers in countries such as the Philippines and the Caribbean to migrate, leaving behind their own children to work as domestics or nannies caring for other people’s children. An absentee mother’s income provides education and health care for her children and greater financial security for her family at the expense of her own well-being during her long years of absence. Similarly, some women temporarily absent themselves from their children’s lives to seek seasonal work that supports their families living in poor communities. In other informal arrangements, a mother may live apart from her children because she feels physically or emotionally unable to care for a child or because she wants to pursue her education, career goals, or other personal aspirations. There are widely held cultural, social, and religious beliefs in a woman’s natural ability to nurture, love, and therefore, be present in her children’s lives. An absentee mother challenges these beliefs and may be regarded as a selfish, irresponsible, or deviant woman regardless of whether her absence is by choice, circumstance, or court order. Children were often believed to be negatively affected by a mother’s absence, especially during their formative and adolescent years. However,
Bibliography Cohen, Shellee. “Like a Mother to Them: Stratified Reproduction and West Indian Childcare Workers and Employers in New York.” In F. Ginsberg and R. Rapp, eds. Conceiving the New World Order. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. Gustafson, Diana L. Unbecoming Mothers: The Social Construction of Maternal Absence. New York: Routledge Press, 2005. Petrie, Anne. Gone to an Aunt’s: Remembering Canada’s Homes for Unwed Mothers. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1998.
See Also: Adoption; Birth Mothers; Caribbean Mothers; Maternal Absence; Mothers Who Leave; Noncustodial Mother; Nonresidential Mother; Philippines; Unwed Mothers.
Diana L. Gustafson Memorial University of Newfoundland
Academe and Mothering In the United States, women were not admitted to college until 1837, and it took the Civil War, declining enrollments, and over 30 years for more colleges to expand their admissions to include women. By 1900, 70 percent of higher education institutions were coeducational, and women accounted for approximately 30 percent of the student body. Women typically pursued higher education to fulfill
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their hopes of teaching secondary and higher education. Even then, a college degree increased their chances of getting a better job; however, women could be hired for much less than men. Society viewed teaching as an appropriate female occupation. Throughout history, women continued to enter college in increasing numbers until World War II. The war and its aftermath resulted in a sharp decline in the admissions and graduation of women, which did not return to its prewar rate until 1970. The 1970s were a time of change for women that involved rising aspirations, delayed marital and family development, and the feminist movement. This led to a drive for equal educational opportunities, and diversity in pursued major area of study; not just teaching any more. In 1900 the proportion of women on college faculties was 20 percent. It took over 70 years to rise to 25 percent, but since 1970 the percentage of academic women has risen steadily. Currently, approximately 38 percent of academic positions are held by women. Initially, women faculty concentrated in the lower ranks and in less prestigious institutions, and in education, social work, home economics, and nursing disciplines. Now, there is more diversity in discipline, but women are still disproportionately represented at lower ranks. Nationwide, women currently make up approximately 46 percent of assistant professors, 38 percent of associate professors, and 23 percent of full professors, according to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). Mothers in the Professoriate Although most faculty women taking positions in academe in the early years were single and many women remain childless within academe today, with time mothers joined and continue to join the ranks. Being a mother in academe is said to present women with many challenges. Faculty women find it difficult to balance their careers with motherhood, which is likely due to the demands placed upon them in academia. There are increasingly excessive pressures to attract grants, conduct and publish research, advise students, participate in meetings, and implement creative teaching strategies. Further, university life requires tasks to ensure retention, tenure, and promotion; long hours, ser-
vice work, and an exemplary teaching record; and commitment to the profession and community. All of this is expected to be accomplished while simultaneously meeting the demands of motherhood, which involve childcare, educational activities (such as learning a second language, tutoring, or art classes), and opportunities for enrichment (including piano lessons, soccer camp, and storytelling at the library). In addition to the approximately 50 hours per week faculty women spend working in academia, they spend an additional 15 hours a week engaged in housework and 27 hours engaged in childcare, according to Mason and Goulden. According to Ann Crittenden, mothers also make most of the sacrifices in their lives when it comes to childcare, such as arranging for childcare, transporting their children to and from childcare, changing their work schedules to accommodate their children’s needs, taking time off from paid labor to provide primary care, paying for childcare out of their own paychecks, declining promotions, and inevitably decreasing their total workload. Further, academic mothers seem to disproportionately encounter other challenges, such as infringed boundaries at work and home due in large part to technological advances, such as e-mail; primary responsibility for elder care; and finding time for the pursuit of extracurricular activities that include health-promoting and protective behaviors, such as physical activity and stress management, compared to their male and childless female counterparts. As a result, academic mothers struggle to overcome obstacles to advancement as they maneuver through their careers at the expense of their own health. The combination of motherhood and paid work are competing demands, which often inhibit women’s participation in health-promoting behaviors. The plight of many contemporary women is their perceived failure to “have it all.” As such, many women are choosing to opt out of their professions and become stay-at-home mothers, or exit the professoriate (or are expected to do so) in order to find better balance for themselves and their families. However, Leslie Bennetts’s The Feminine Mistake posits that women can, as many do, have it all. Bennetts urges women to hold on tightly during the exhilarating roller-coaster ride that is having it all—a successful career and family.
In Search of Balance Giving up a job to spend more time with family would be downsizing roles to balance one’s life. Some stress the implementation of programs, policies, and practices that would support academic mothers and their success. Women have campaigned for a climate change in favor of a more family-friendly environment that respects and provides ways for its employees to survive and thrive. In the same way, individuals and groups have worked toward institutional change and demand improvements. Academic accommodations designed to recruit and retain academic women and mothers have been growing on a number on campuses across the country. Offering work-life initiatives has demonstrated a reduction in absenteeism, an improvement in accountability, an increase in positive results of recruitment and retention efforts, an increase in productivity, and a reduction in health insurance premiums. Another important reason cited for changing academic accommodations is for the effect it will likely have on student mothers. Between 1970 and 2001 in the United States, women took the lead over men in their pursuit and attainment of higher education degrees, and currently represent over 56 percent of undergraduates. Further, there is an increasing trend toward more nontraditional students entering colleges and universities than traditional students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, students may be considered nontraditional for several reasons, including delayed enrollment, enrolled in college part time, and married and/or having children. Frequently, women may be nontraditional for a combination of each of these reasons. Many women delay entry into higher education or attend part time because they become mothers or are mothers already. Although women are encouraged to earn a college education in the United States, there are often insufficient supports for them to take full advantage of a higher education. For example, mothers may not be able to afford or find quality childcare for their children while they are attending classes. When childcare centers are opened on college campuses, they typically are available to student parents as well as faculty and staff mothers. A climate of inclusiveness tends to affect student satisfaction,
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attendance, and success. Mothering in academe is a reality that is gaining popularity, and mothers across the country are urging to have their needs addressed to maintain their advancement in society. See Also: Breastfeeding; Childcare; Childlessness; Daycare; Economics of Motherhood; Education and Mothering; Employment and Motherhood. Bibliography Bassett, Rachel Hile, ed. Parenting and Professing: Balancing Work With an Academic Career. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 2005. Bennetts, Leslie. The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much. New York: Hyperion, 2007. Crittenden, Ann. The Price of Motherhood. New York: Henry Holt, 2001. Evans, Elrena and Caroline Grant, eds. Mama PhD: Women Write About Motherhood and Academic Life. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2008. Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering. Mothering in the Academy [special issue], v.5/2 (Fall/ Winter 2003). Williams, Joan. Unbending Gender: Why Family and Work Conflict and What to Do About It. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Michele L. Vancour Southern Connecticut State University
Activism, Maternal Historically, women have found that they could take up a public political role—one often traditionally denied to them through the prevailing political process—by advocating for causes that had a social currency. Although such women did not take on causes merely to aid their own fight for equality, their voices became heard more strongly than ever in mainstream political discourse. In the case of mothers, this public role has been a particularly obvious one. The increasing delineation of gender roles during the 19th century—with males belonging to the public world of work while females inhabited the domestic world of the home—made it necessary for women to use their motherhood both as a tool
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Activism, Maternal
Motherhood activism often revolves around health care and a better life for children. Mariama Diamanka (left) discusses the advantages of Kolda’s new mutual health organization in Senegal with fellow women’s activist Khady Balde.
to establish their rights, and as a way of bringing about the possibility of social justice. Moreover, at the same time, government propaganda of the idealized mother as representative of the nation gave mothers a certain moral authority that other groups found more difficult to achieve, something that has also translated into the role of mothers as activists. Examples of Maternal Activism Maternal activism crosses ethnic, class, and racial divides and may be the result of a direct assault on one’s own family. An example is the work of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina, who came together in an attempt to find their missing sons and daughters who had been abducted during the years known as the Dirty War (1976–83). Many of those sons and daughters had been tortured and killed, and the Mothers campaigned for the prosecution of those responsible. Similar examples
include Mothers Against Guns in London, who aim to prevent more young people becoming victims of gun crime; and Mothers Against Drink Driving, a campaigning organization founded by two mothers in the United States. The role of mothers has also been a recurring theme in examinations of the Palestinian conflict. Some maternal activism is an extension of the mother’s ethic of care in general. Often, it is mothers who are at the forefront of campaigns such as the improvement of the environment or of health care provisions, not only because it would aid their own child’s development, but because they feel it would impact children in the community in general. Such everyday activism has also been greatly facilitated by the development of online blogs, not only because these often serve as a force for mobilization, but because they alert mothers who may not have a particular political goal to become active in a cause for
the common good. An example of this is the Mama to Mama initiative developed by Amanda Soule at soulemama.com, where handcrafters are encouraged “to connect . . . with mothers, children and families in need of a little bit of handmade love,” and whose projects include, amongst others, an initiative to send caps for newborn babies in Haiti. Blurring the Lines What is striking about all of these initiatives— whether radical or everyday—is that they blur the lines between the public and the private spheres, and in so doing play very much into the notion of the personal being political, which has been critical to second-wave conceptions of feminism. The case of maternal activism is significant because the variety of roles inhabited by women actually enables them to speak with the moral authority and community engagement through which their goals will be realized. Moreover, while mothers may become activists whatever their educational, ethnic-racial, or class backgrounds, the tools they use in order to mobilize and realize their activism may be different depending upon each background. Mothers’ use of online resources is more likely if they have the financial and educational circumstances to achieve such access, while community activism may be more difficult for those who do not have a recognized community around them. Finally, it is important to emphasize the continuing gendered nature of maternal activism. Paternal activism is not discussed in any significant sense, and those groups that do exist, such as Fathers for Justice, are generally perceived not to be protesting the life conditions of children per se, but rather the impact of the relationship between men and women on them. In a very real sense, it remains the case that it is women, and often mothers specifically, who are usually assumed to be primarily qualified to advocate on behalf of a child. It is not necessary to be a biological mother to be an activist mother, nor to be motivated primarily by concern for one’s own children. Naples found that the concept of mothering extended beyond the actual family group among female African American and Latina community activists combating racism and classicism: Those with children of their own said they were motivated by concern for their chil-
Activist Mothers of the Disappeared
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dren’s welfare, and those who did not have children of their own were motivated by a sense of responsibility for the community, including other women’s children. Cheryl Gilkes and Patricia Hill Collins both found that such “other mothers” who help build the community were particularly important in inspiring young women to activism. Additionally, bell hooks emphasizes the responsibility middleclass African American mothers have felt, from the 19th century to today, to improve the health and welfare of African American mothers less fortunate than themselves. See Also: Activist Mothers of the Disappeared; African American Mothers; Collins, Patricia Hill; hooks, bell; Mothers Acting Up (MAU); Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD); Mothers of the Intifada; Mothers Movement Online; Palestine. Bibliography Bouvard, Margurite. Revolutionizing Motherhood: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. Lanham, MD: SR Books, 2002. Jetter, Alexis, Annelise Orleck, and Diana Taylor, eds. The Politics of Motherhood: Activist Voices From Left to Right. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England, 1997. Naples, Nancy A. Grassroots Warriors: Activist Mothering, Community Work and the War on Poverty. New York: Routledge, 1998. O’Reilly, Andrea. Feminist Mothering. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008. O’Reilly, Andrea. You Say You Want a Revolution?: The 21st Century Motherhood Movement. Toronto: Demeter Press, 2010. Kim Miller Wheaton College
Activist Mothers of the Disappeared Activist Mothers of the Disappeared are groups of mothers who form collectives to seek reunification with their “disappeared” children. Also referred to as forced disappearances, abductions of young children and adults by both the state and the
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Activist Mothers of the Disappeared
government opposition are common in countries embroiled in civil and political unrest. Though these disappearances are treated as kidnappings, it is generally assumed that the victim has been murdered, most likely after enduring a period of torture. Disappearances are currently more often associated with state terrorism, though they are also understood to be a tactic of other forms of systemic oppression. Activist mothers protest these disappearances by performing and projecting images of maternity in public spaces and challenging fixed constructions of maternal identity and motherhood. Cultural Expectations and Maternal Identity Efforts to locate the “disappeared” have been catalyzed by mothers of all social and economic classes, though most organizations are more commonly associated with mothers from the working class with little social or political mobility. Many of these activist mothers are citizens of developing countries that are dominated by traditions of patriarchy and, in some cases, are still experiencing vestiges of colonial rule. Though women tend to be both formally and informally oppressed in these countries, mothers maintain a degree of reverence, especially in areas with more religious presence. Because the patriarchal culture in these countries expects that women become mothers, the activist mothers maintain some leverage and mobility in that they are acting within their culturally prescribed maternal identities. Though they have transgressed their expected gender roles by challenging the boundaries of the private and public spheres, activist mothers remain relatively protected by their maternal identity. Performances of Maternity as Tactic Activist mothers are keenly aware of the extent of their power as mothers, and will draw from, and even emphasize, their maternal and gender identities to deploy their tactics. By projecting traditional characteristics of maternity, such as pain, suffering, and submission, the mothers deploy their identity in subversive ways. A famous example is the wearing of white shawls on the heads of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo as they marched in the streets to protest the disappearances during Argentina’s Dirty War. The white shawls were worn to imitate
religious mantillas that were traditional, but were not owned by all the mothers, as a means of distinguishing the activist mothers from the other women. The shawls were also embroidered with children’s names to symbolize the baby blankets of the disappeared children. Though other activist mother organizations have considered such practices, some reject the use of gender-encoded items such as mantillas and even shawls in their efforts to challenge traditional paradigms. In the Americas Activist mothers of the disappeared have formed collectives around the world, but the most recognized of these mothers hail from South and Central America. The Argentine Madres de Plaza de Mayo organized one of the most documented movements to protest the disappearances of their own children as well as between 11,000 and 30,000 desaparecidos (disappeared) during a military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983. These activist mothers not only challenged the dictatorship, but also destabilized rigid cultural constructions of motherhood. Their desire to find their children necessitated that they transgress the expectations of “good” motherhood by, most of all, taking their struggle out of the private sphere and into the public sphere. The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo have become powerful archetypes for other activist mother organizations. In Juárez, Mexico, and along the U.S.Mexico border, the estimated 500 disappearances and femicide of Mexican girls and women have prompted mothers to organize. Hijas de Regreso a Casa (May Our Daughters Return Home) and Justicia para Nuestras Hijas (Justice for Our Daughters) are two regional groups that have formed to seek answers and have continued the legacy of maternal activism. These groups are in solidarity with established activist mother groups in Mexico, such as Union of Mothers with Disappeared Children of Sinaloa. Other activist mothers groups have organized to protest the disappearances of children during times of civil unrest and dictatorship in Latin American countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Chile. Since the beginning of the century, forced disappearances have occurred, and continue to occur, in many countries, such as India, Algeria,
Adams, Abigail (Smith) 15
Pakistan, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Germany. Though nongovernmental organizations such as Amnesty International have worked to address this global problem, legal and cultural barriers in many of these countries impede formal organizing by mothers. See Also: Activism, Maternal; Argentina; Genocide; Mexico; Mothers of the Intifada; Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo; Patriarchal Ideology of Motherhood; Social Action and Motherhood. Bibliography Amnesty International. “Middle East/North Africa: Day of the ‘Disappeared’—Time to Tell the Whole Truth.” www.algeria-watch.org (accessed July 2009). Bejarano, Cynthia L. “Las Super Madres de Latino America: Transforming Motherhood by Challenging Violence in Mexico, Argentina, and El Salvador.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies, v.23/1 (2002). Fisher, Josephine. Mothers of the Disappeared. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 1999. Guzmán Bouvard, Marguerite. Revolutionizing Motherhood: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. Lanham, MD: SR Books, 2002. Portillo, Lourdes. Señorita Extraviada. Film, 2001. Taylor, Diana. Disappearing Acts: Spectacles of Gender and Nationalism in Argentina’s “Dirty War.” Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1997. Wright, Melissa. “Urban Geography Plenary Lecture— Femicide, Mother-Activism, and the Geography of Protest in Northern Mexico.” Urban Geography, v.28/5 (2007). Larissa M. Mercado-López University of Texas, San Antonio
Adams, Abigail (Smith) Abigail Smith (1744–1818) was born at Weymouth, Massachusetts, and married John Adams in 1764. While she was the first woman to be the wife a President and mother to another, she may be better remembered for her letter writing, especially to John during the Continental Congress of 1776. Her appeal to John to “remember the ladies” makes
her one of the United States first feminist icons even among women who may scoff at the label: “. . . remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice or Representation.” Regardless of whether John listened to her or not, women were not written into the Constitution until the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote. Abigail’s letter has been argued to be the start of the American feminist timeline. She continued to be a vocal supporter of women’s rights and abolition throughout her life, including during her duty as First Lady. The amount of travel that John performed during the early days of the United States instigated the letter writing that stands as a document to the country’s birth. Abigail had been asked to publish her letters during her lifetime, but she felt her letters were too private for public reading. She confided to her daughter how stressed she was as First Lady. Abigail would say one thing in public, complain to her daughter about the same thing, and then exhort her daughter to say that her mother was very happy. Her letters to John were finally published years after her death by her son, and was the first such publication focused on a First Lady. During John’s travel, Abigail also raised their five children and managed the family farm on her own. However, she did not live to see her son, John Quincy, become President; she died in 1818. Abigail was a trusted confidante to her husband throughout their marriage. Their correspondence during the war and his diplomatic journeys to Europe reveal that John sought out her advice. During John’s Presidency, Abigail was both beloved and hated for her counselor role, much as Hillary Rodham Clinton was in the 1990s. In one instance during his Presidency, after John Adams had made an unpopular appointing in this wife’s absence, he wrote to inform her: “O how they lament Mrs. A’s absence. . . . She is a good counselor!” The dichotomy between Abigail and Martha Washington was night and day. Abigail espoused the role of First Lady as a Mrs. President,
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while Martha crafted the more traditional role of the good hostess. Abigail saw the role of First Lady as not just a hostess, but as a partisan defender of her husband’s policies, which she did splendidly. Abigail Adams’s role in the birth of the United States was predominately featured in the HBO miniseries John Adams in 2008. Laura Linney received a Golden Globe award for her portrayal. See Also: Clinton, Hillary Rodham; Kennedy Onassis, Jacqueline; War and Mothers. Bibliography Caroli, Betty Boyd. First Ladies: An Intimate Look at How 38 Women Handled What May Be the Most Demanding, Unpaid, Unelected Job in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. First Lady Biography. “Abigail Adams.” http://www .firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography =2 (accessed April 2009). The White House. “Biography of Abigail Smith Adams.” http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/ aa2.html (accessed April 2009). Veronica I. Arreola University of Illinois at Chicago
Adolescent Children Adolescence is a developmental period within the human life span that separates childhood from adulthood. It is marked by multiple transitions such as the onset of puberty and its corresponding rapid developmental growth, cognitive gains, transitions in schooling, shifts in familial and social relationships, and increasing autonomy and choice. Adolescence is typically considered to begin when a child reaches age 13; however, many biological, social, and psychological changes have already begun in the preadolescent years. Puberty refers to the physical changes that occur as a child’s body becomes capable of reproduction. Pubertal changes include rapid physical growth; redistribution and/or increases in body fat and muscle tissues; acquiring secondary sexual characteristics, such as breasts and pubic hair; menarche (for
girls); and spermarche (for boys). Other changes that occur with puberty include acne and increases in body odor, strength, and endurance. Overall puberty takes five to six years to complete for most individuals. While often thought of as a marker for entry into adolescence, hormonal changes begin in middle childhood (approximately 8 years old for girls and 10 years old for boys). However, the onset of puberty can vary greatly by individual. The adolescent period is often divided into three stages: early adolescence, middle adolescence, and late adolescence/young adulthood. Early adolescence refers to children aged 11 to 14 who are still undergoing many of the physical changes of puberty. Other transitions that can occur at this period include multiple school transitions, increased responsibilities in the home, and an increasing desire to conform to peer influences. The middle adolescent stage includes children aged 15 to 17 years old, while late adolescence/young adulthood is typically applied to individuals between the ages of 18 and 21. While these later stages involve multiple transitions as well—including school changes, initiation of intimate relationships, and paid employment— most adolescents have achieved their adult height and full reproductive capacity by this time. The end point of adolescence is not well defined, and often differs by culture as markers for reaching adulthood status are culturally determined. Entry to adulthood can include independent living; the ability to perform certain functions within the society, such as voting or serving in the armed forces; parenthood; and/or full-time employment. In many Western societies, adolescence has been extended into the early 20s due to increased expectations of postsecondary education and monetary dependence upon parents. Adolescent Health Adolescence, while a fundamentally healthy time in an individual’s life, is also associated with an increase in unhealthy and/or risky behaviors that are associated with poor health outcomes later in life. Adolescence is marked by an increase in sedentary behaviors and the development of unhealthy eating habits, as well as experimentation with risky situations such as drug use and unprotected sexual activity.
Parents play a critical role in the formation of their adolescent children’s health habits through role modeling, communication efforts, and the setting of household policies and practices. Stronger associations have been found for the intergenerational transmission of health habits and risky behaviors for mothers than for fathers, with the strongest effects occurring between mothers and daughters. Adolescent children talk more with their mothers than their fathers, in part because mothers are perceived as being more emotionally available and empathetic and in part because mothers are more physically available in the lives of adolescent children. Adolescent reports of frequency of sexual communication with mothers is associated with safer sex practices, such as more condom and other contraceptive use, fewer intercourse episodes, fewer days of unprotected sex, and delayed sexual initiation. Reproductive Timing The timing of reproductive transitions, specifically whether a transition occurs around the same time as the rest of a cohort or off time (earlier or later than their cohort) has been found to affect adolescent health and well-being. Early maturation in girls is linked to greater alcohol, tobacco, and/or substance use; earlier initiation and possibly faster progression from cigarette and alcohol use to other drugs; and higher rates of substance abuse disorder by mid adolescence. Early maturing girls may also show higher rates of depression and conduct disorders than other girls. Early maturing girls, because they appear older, are often thrust into social situations for which they are not prepared. Therefore, deficits in social interactions may be a pathway from early maturation to subsequent externalizing symptoms and possibly drug use for girls. Reproductive timing effects have been found for the wellbeing of boys as well, but they are not as strong as the effects found for girls. Associations have been found between early-maturing boys and both depression and tobacco use. In addition, late-maturation among boys has also been associated with adjustment difficulties, including greater internalizing problems and more problems with school. Like adolescence, the onset of menopause, or the perimenopausal period, is also defined by multiple transitions, including changes in body image, repro-
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ductive role, and social status, as well as hormonal fluctuations that may affect mood, sleep, and general well-being. Most mothers enter the perimenopausal period around the time their children are adolescents. The timing of both maternal and adolescent reproductive transitions within the family may play a critical role in the formation of risk behaviors for adolescents as well as affect mothers’ health behaviors and stress levels. Mothers are facing new challenges in parenting and potentially changing feelings about their own bodies, reproduction, and health. Mother–Adolescent Relationships Adolescent children undergo shifts in their relationships with their parents. Earlier developmental models viewed separation, or a break in the parent–child relationship, to be necessary for optimal growth and eventual individuation. Adolescence was seen as a stormy and difficult phase for the family. More recent research has supported the permanence of parent–child ties throughout the adolescent period and point to satisfaction in parent–child relationship as the norm in most families. However, parent–child conflict does increase during this timeframe, and is considered both developmentally appropriate and healthy. Conflict within families increases due to adolescents’ emerging ability for abstract thought, which allows them to critically examine previously accepted rules and norms. In addition, adolescent’s increased need for autonomy and interest in peer relations create fodder for parent–child disagreements with regard to daily routines and activities. Parent–child conflict occurs most frequently in early adolescence (11–14 years old) and is generally more common between adolescents and mothers, particularly between mothers and daughters. Mother–adolescent relationships are often perceived as strained by both parties, in part due to the increase in conflict that is experienced. However, it is primarily adolescents who experience this dissatisfaction; while mothers may perceive more negative interactions with their adolescent children, they also report more positive interactions, resulting in a largely stable sense of relationship satisfaction. The daily stresses and strains that affect mothers’ lives do not have a significant affect on their adolescent children, yet the hassles and mood shifts experienced by adolescents have been shown to have an
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affect on mothers’ emotional states. The emotional well-being of mothers is related to the level of intensity of conflict between mothers and their adolescent children. This relationship has not been found for fathers. On the far end of the continuum of parent–adolescent conflict is parental abuse. While parental abuse is not normative, it is also not inconsequential, with estimates ranging from 7 to 11 percent of the general population. This range may be an underestimation, since family abuse is often underreported. Abuse of parents by their adolescent children occurs primarily to mothers and is mostly perpetrated by sons, although daughters can be abusive as well. Explanations for parental abuse include adolescent substance abuse and/or psychiatric disorders, continuation of abuse originally modeled by the father after a separation, and a sense of entitlement by youth in a society that has become overly youth focused. Gender Differences Spending time with their mothers is an important protective factor for boys. This is particularly true for spending time alone and/or talking with their mothers. For girls, the amount of time spent with their mothers is not as important to their wellbeing as is the quality of the time they spend together. Attachments between mothers and sons tend to be less intense than those between mothers and daughters, and greater emotional enmeshment has been found in mother–daughter relationships than in mother–son relationships, with boys reporting more emotional autonomy from their mothers than girls. Little research has been conducted on mother– son relationships in adolescence; however, a large body of literature exists on mother–daughter relationships at this developmental period. Mother– daughter relationships during adolescence combine a unique blend of closeness, conflict, and control. Mothers tend to be more critical of their daughters than their sons and have been shown to interrupt them more often. Due to differences in attachment and communication processes, mother–daughter conflicts occur more frequently and are of a longer duration than mother–son conflicts. Gender-specific theoretical perspectives have claimed that adolescent girls’ psychological development occurs through their connections with signifi-
cant others and that they desire to maintain these connections, particularly with their mothers, throughout adolescence. Mother–daughter relations during adolescence may serve as either a risk or a protective factor for girls’ engagement in a variety of healthcompromising behaviors. The timing of reproductive transitions (puberty and perimenopause) between mothers and daughters may be particularly salient to mother–daughter relations. For mothers of adolescent girls, watching their daughters enter puberty while they are entering or anticipating menopause may play a unique role in their feelings toward their daughters’ bodies and may alter how they interact with their daughter as well as the behaviors they themselves are modeling in the home. Psychologist Carol Gilligan’s studies detailed the loss of confidence often suffered by female adolescents just as they are preparing to enter adulthood. Elizabeth Debold and collaborators trace this loss to pressure girls feel in adolescence to discard their individuality and intellectual ambitions in order to fit a societal “mold” in which they are judged primarily by how well they meet narrowly focused definitions of beauty and personality. In Mother Daughter Revolution (1993), Debold argues that mothers traditionally play a primary role in encouraging their daughters to conform to societal norms while boys are encouraged to value their individuality and take their place in the world. This research has been criticized on many grounds: that it depends heavily on questionable interpretations of psychological interviews, that it primarily applies to the white upper-class girls who were Gilligan’s initial subjects, and that it overemphasizes small difference among male and female adolescents. Changes to Maternal Practice Mothers play a unique role in the family system. The maternal role typically involves executive functions for the planning, organization, and delivery of daily household routines as well as family traditions and rituals. Mothers spend more time with their children than fathers and often act as the emotional support system for the family as well as the family’s health care provider. Acting in these capacities, mothers tend to become more intimately involved with their adolescent children than fathers or other adult family members and, as a consequence, are
Adoption
subject to more parent–child conflict over family routines and policies. Developmental transitions experienced by adolescent children affect the family system as well as alter maternal roles and responsibilities. Due to their increasing autonomy and competence, adolescent children require less daily care than younger children, allowing mothers more time for their own pursuits and interests. At the same time, parenting adolescent children requires the acquisition of new strategies and skills to support adolescents’ initial attempts at autonomy and independence as well as to assist them as they navigate adulthood status, including living independently. While issues of childcare take a backseat once children reach adolescence, they do not disappear completely. The after-school hours have been identified as a critical time for adolescents’ engagement in problem behaviors, such as drug use, delinquency, and risky sexual behaviors. Unsupervised time has been linked with greater engagement in problem behaviors. Although many adolescents are involved in extracurricular activities during the after-school hours, availability of these programs is highly dependent upon socioeconomic status and location, with poor and rural families having far fewer options. Many extracurricular activities do not cover all the hours needed for families with working parents, and many may require drop-off and pickup service. Families are often forced to create patchwork coverage to meet the needs of both the working parents and the adolescent. Making and sustaining these accommodations often becomes the work of mothers. See Also: Adult Children; Children; Daughters and Mothers; Sons and Mothers. Bibliography Archibald, Andrea B., Julia A. Graber, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. “Pubertal Processes and Physiological Growth in Adolescence.” In Gerald R. Adams and Michael D. Berzonsky, eds., Handbook on Adolescence. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2005. Kurz, Demie. “Work-Family Issues of Mothers of Teenage Children.” Qualitative Sociology, v.23/4 (2000). Larson, Reed, and Maryse H. Richards. Divergent Realities: The Emotional Lives of Mothers, Fathers, and Adolescents. New York: Basic Books, 1994.
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Stewart, Michel, Ailsa Burns, and Rosemary Leonard. “Dark Side of the Mothering Role: Abuse of Mothers by Adolescent and Adult Children.” Sex Roles, v.56 (2007). Tracy R. Nichols University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Adoption Adoption has been a part of parenting for centuries. The Babylonians, Egyptians, Hebrews, and Hindus of ancient times all made reference to adoption in their laws and codes, and adoption is also mentioned in the Bible. Early History of Adoption Roman law permitted adoption, but unlike today, where it is usually done in the best interests of the child, earlier adoption occurred primarily to benefit those doing the adopting. Roman adoption law provided an opportunity for childless couples to maintain family inheritances by adopting sons who would carry on both the family name and religious requirements that families have sons. Adoptees were all male and usually adults. English law did not address adoption because there did not appear to have been a need, since inheritance could occur only through blood lineage. History of Adoption: 18th–19th Centuries By the 17th century, adoption had become unnecessary, as orphaned children or those whose parents could not care for them were most often placed in other homes for domestic service, indenture, and apprenticeship. Children who were not yet old enough to be “put out” to homes for work were placed in almshouses—public institutions for children—until they were 6 or 7 years old. The first American almshouses were built in the 1700s, but by the mid-1800s most of them were gone. Often, 80 percent of the people in the almshouses were mentally ill, and the remaining children were often abused and neglected. Nineteenth-century adoption laws were put into place in order to take better care of children who were dependents of
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the system. In 1851, Massachusetts became the first state to enact such a law, which contained the following provisions: (1) the natural parents or legal guardian must give written consent; (2) both adoptive parents must consent to the adoption; (3) an adoptive child 14 years or older must also consent to the placement; (4) the judge involved in the adoption must be satisfied that the parents were suitable to care for the child; (5) once the adoption was approved by the court, the child’s status would be the same as if he or she were a biological child, and (6) the biological parents forfeited all legal rights and obligations to the child. This law was the precursor to much of adoption law as it exists today. In 1853, the Children’s Aid Society of New York City began a program to deal with orphaned, abandoned, and otherwise homeless children on the streets of the city. The society began sending children ages 2–14 to live with farm families for permanent placement to provide farm labor, in an effort to keep the children from falling victim to life on the streets. This program included the orphan train movement, where children were placed on a train in eastern cities and then shipped westward to be adopted by farmers. There was such a demand for the children that the train stops were announced in advance; farmers showed up to inspect the children, selected them, and take them home. Historians estimate that as many as 100,000 children were placed on farms throughout the Midwest during the time the orphan train movement existed from 1854 to 1904, although a few trains ran as late as 1929. Unfortunately, there was no follow-up to ensure that the children were formally adopted by the farmers; apparently, many of the children had parents who had not forfeited their rights nor knew that their children had been sent to the rural communities. History of Adoption: Early 20th Century Another attempt to care for America’s homeless, dependent children included foundling homes— public and private institutions that housed and cared for them. With the influx of immigrants to America and the problems of poverty and urban slums, the foundling homes soon became overwhelmed. Mortality rates in foundling homes were extremely high, due in part to the absence of the nursing mothers. Illnesses such as measles, influenza, and other child-
hood diseases, along with the overcrowded conditions, were particularly disastrous for the children who resided in the homes. The developmental delays that physicians saw in the children because of their lack of personal attention and nurturing contributed to efforts to find placements for them in private homes. Infants were adopted out to families in increasing numbers, often with inadequate supervision, little or no investigation of the adoptive families, and no follow-up with the children. Legislation to protect the children was greatly needed. Eventually following the lead of Massachusetts, by 1929 all states had passed some sort of adoption legislation. The “best interests of the child” was foremost in the statutes of most states. By midcentury, secrecy, anonymity, and sealing of records became standard adoption practice. Minnesota was the first state to initiate such laws, enacted primarily to shield the proceedings from the public eye, rather than to protect the identities of those concerned. Initially, the statutes permitted access to the information only by involved parties and their attorneys, but eventually most states barred any and all persons from the ability to inspect records, unless ordered by a judge. The original birth certificate was sealed and any and all birth and adoption information was kept from the biological parents, the adoptive parents, and the child. During the 1920s, following World War I and the nation’s influenza pandemic, there was a decrease in the birthrate, which resulted in an increase in demand for babies. The result was an influx of what came to be called baby brokers, unregulated agencies that found homes for infants; and black market adoptions, babies who were sold to adoptive parents. Private adoptions became the norm. As a result, most states passed legislation requiring investigations of adoptive parents and their homes, as well as approval of a judge before an adoption could be finalized. History of Adoption: Post–World War II After World War II came another period of high demand for adoptable infants, but during that time the number of available infants nearly matched the requests for adoption. More than half of the babies up for adoption were the offspring of unwed mothers, 40 percent of whom were teenagers. The remainder of the babies were available due to the many divorces
that followed World War II. By the mid-1950s, the tide had turned again and the demand for babies far outweighed the adoptable infant population. This mismatch continued until the mid-1970s, when many agencies refused to accept new applications for white, healthy babies. The wait was often three to five years with both public and private adoption agencies. A number of factors probably contributed to the lack of available infants for adoption: birth control, an increased incidence of infertility, abortions following the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, and finally, the increase in the number of unwed, white mothers who elected to keep their babies. Although white infants were in high demand for adoption, children with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities; older children; and children of color were not. Individuals and families willing to adopt children with disabilities were in short supply. The numbers of older children, children with disabilities, and children of color continued to increase, and by the latter part of the 20th century, children with AIDS became part of that group of “special needs” children, children for whom adoption was highly unlikely. Many special needs children spent their early lives in foster care. Also in the latter part of the 20th century, adoption rights advocates began lobbying for more openness in the adoption process. Professionals, caregivers, and other practitioners found that adopted children suffered from self-esteem issues, identity confusion, and other problems that they attributed to the secrecy surrounding their birth parents. As that same cohort grew to adulthood, they formed activist groups and challenged the lack of access to their birth records and other pertinent information. In 1971, adoptee Florence Fisher founded the Adoptees Liberty Movement Association (ALMA), and not long afterward, a group of birth parents formed Concerned United Birthparents (CUB). Opponents to the idea of opening birth records and losing their anonymity formed their own groups, one of which is called Association for the Protection of the Adoptive Triangle (APAT). Organizations such as ALMA provide a central clearinghouse for adoptees and birth parents who are trying to locate each other. For a one-time $50 fee, persons wishing to register can provide pertinent information about themselves in the hope that
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the child or parent, as the case may be, is also looking. With the advent of the Internet, registration and searching has streamlined the process somewhat, and ALMA boasted 170 matches in the year 2008 alone. In the mid-1970s, in part because of an effort to avoid the problems with closed adoptions, many private agencies began arranging “open” adoptions. In this type of agreement, birth parents and prospective adoptive parents meet one another; exchange information; and decide how much contact, if any, the birth parents will be permitted with the child. Advocates of open adoption believe that involving the birth parents in the adoption process can provide valuable medical and genetic information for the child, as well as giving the adopted child a sense of identity that the closed adoption prohibits. Adoption Home Study All adoptions in the United States, whether public or private, special needs or international, require a home study. Home studies are conducted to determine the prospective parents’ suitability for parenting, motivation to adopt, financial stability, family environment, physical and health history of the prospective parents, and criminal background of the potential adoptive parents. A home study can take from three to six months, but may take longer when conducted by a public agency. Education for prospective parents is also a part of the home study, and most agencies require that parents attend a series of training sessions before the home study can be completed. Current Adoption Practices Today there are essentially four different types of adoptions: (1) domestic adoptions of newborns through public and nonprofit agencies, both open and closed; (2) private adoptions, usually open to some degree; (3) domestic adoptions of “special needs” children; and (4) international adoptions of various types and ages of children from as many as 75 different countries. The cost of adoption runs anywhere from no fees for a child adopted from foster care, to $40,000 for a private domestic adoption. International adoptions usually cost between $10,000–$25,000, but may run more than $35,000. The following is a description of the practices and procedures of each type of adoption:
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Domestic Adoption Through Agencies Domestic adoptions of newborns are becoming increasingly rare in the United States, in part because of the cultural acceptance of single mothers. Young women who previously would have placed their babies for adoption by prospective parents are now choosing to raise the children themselves. The availability of services for single teen mothers, including the right to remain in public schools, childcare in high schools, welfare programs, and medical benefits for dependent children have made the possibility of keeping their babies more realistic for unwed mothers. Older, single women who might otherwise have placed their babies for adoption are better able to take care of both themselves and their children and are more likely to keep them, regardless of their marital status or the presence of a father. Most newborn adoptions in the United States, especially of white babies, are done through private or nonprofit agencies. Typically, parents place their names on waiting lists with one or more adoption agencies, depending on their ability to pay. The wait for a white baby can be as long as five years, although many agencies advertise that their average wait time is much less. The fees associated with the adoption include a charge for the home study, medical expenses for the birth mother, and the placement fee. African American babies are available to adoptive parents at a reduced fee from many adoption agencies. Because there are more African American and biracial babies than white babies, the wait time is considerably less than for white babies, and infants as young as a few days old are often available. Parents who are not African American but wish to adopt children who are African American or biracial are usually required to attend seminars on the special issues that multiracial families face. Private Domestic Adoptions Private (or independent) adoption is a legal method of building a family through adoption without using an adoption agency for placement. In private adoption, the birth parents relinquish their parental rights directly to the adoptive parents, instead of to an agency. Some of the advantages of a private adoption include the ability for the birth and adoptive parents to meet each other to discuss the future
of the baby, the ability to get firsthand information from the birth parents about their backgrounds and medical histories, the possibility for adoptive parents to take an infant directly home from the hospital after birth, and for some, a shorter waiting period. Disadvantages include the inability to select the sex of the child, unpredictable medical costs (versus set medical costs through most agencies), and the stress caused by concern over whether or not either party might change their minds. In some private adoption cases, a birth mother will move in with the adoptive parents for a period of time before the birth, giving her an opportunity to get to know them better, while also giving the adoptive parents a certain amount of control over how the birth mother cares for herself. The adoptive parents pay the medical expenses of the birth mother, and once the infant is born, they leave the hospital with the newborn. Some prospective parents use newspaper and Internet ads to search for pregnant women willing to place their babies for adoption. A typical ad might read: “We are looking to adopt a baby. We could give him or her a loving home and everything a child could want or need! Please consider us!” Websites are set up for prospective adoptive couples who can post lengthy essays about themselves and their backgrounds, along with photos, in the hope that they will be chosen to adopt a child from a willing birth mother. One such Website provided profiles of more than 300 potential adoptive parents, available to be read by prospective birth parents. Prices for these Web postings start at about $100 per month. Although accurate statistics are not available, it is estimated that one-half to two-thirds of all infant adoptions that take place in the United State are private. Some jurisdictions require that birth and adoptive parents have direct contact with each other, and private adoptions must still be handled by adoption attorneys in order to file all the necessary paperwork with the appropriate courts, as well as protect both the birth and adoptive parents. Open Adoption Because the term open adoption has so many interpretations, it has become somewhat meaningless and varies from state to state. According to the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse:
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Open, or fully disclosed, adoptions allow adoptive parents, and often the adopted child, to interact directly with birth parents. Family members interact in ways that feel most comfortable to them. Communication may include letters, emails, telephone calls, or visits. The frequency of contact is negotiated and can range from every few years to several times a month or more. Contact often changes as a child grows and has more questions about his or her adoption or as families’ needs change. It is important to note that even in an open adoption, the legal relationship between a birth parent and child is severed. The goals of open adoption are: • To minimize the child’s loss of relationships. • To maintain and celebrate the adopted child’s connections with all the important people in his or her life. • To allow the child to resolve losses with truth, rather than the fantasy adopted children often create when no information or contact with their birth family is available. Special Needs Adoption A child is usually designated as “special needs” if he or she is older than 10 (this can vary by state); has physical, medical, or emotional issues that require medication or therapy; has AIDS or is HIV-positive; or is biracial or nonwhite. Sibling groups are also considered special needs, as they are typically more difficult to place. Most states have active social welfare agencies that work to place foster children in permanent homes, once the children become available for placement. Unlike an infant adoption, where the parents are searching for a child who will fit into their lives, older-children adoptions are handled to match the prospective parents to the child or children, with the needs of the children considered first. Children may spend years in foster care while their birth parents deal with their own issues, and the children may go back and forth from the birth parents to foster care before the parental rights of the biological parents are finally terminated. Some children languish in foster care while waiting to be
The National Adoption Clearinghouse, a nonprofit agency, helps place children and teenagers with U.S. families.
adopted. Other children, when they reach a particular age, will be given the choice whether to make themselves available for adoption or to “age out” of the system. Sibling groups are particularly difficult to place, and while effort is made to place children together, it does not always occur. Siblings may be placed in different foster homes and eventually, permanently placed in different homes. In most states, adoptions of special needs children through a state Department of Children’s Services or similar agency, are done at no or very little cost to the adoptive parents. Additionally, special needs children usually qualify for adoption assistance payments—for medical expenses, psychological counseling, and other needs. These payments vary from child to child and from state to state. Most children are covered under a state’s public medical and dental plans, if needed. In some states, medical expenses not covered by the adoptive parents’ private insurance may be paid by the state. Public agencies looking to find parents for foster children employ various methods to bring parents and children together. Many agencies partner with television and newspaper outlets to feature children in Wednesday’s Child segments and the like. Children are featured on billboards, in advertisements, and on Websites. A match party, sometimes called an adoption party, is a carefully planned event
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designed to bring together children who are waiting to be adopted with families interested in adopting them. In some cases, this means only families who have been approved to adopt; in other cases, the party may be open to those who may have been thinking about adoption. The parties are designed to place children in an informal setting where they can meet prospective parents. As a nonprofit agency that helps place older children and teenagers with families all over the United States, the National Adoption Clearinghouse’s motto is, “There are no unwanted children, just unfound families.” The organization was started in 1972 by two women who were both adoptive parents of hardto-place children from the foster care system. Since that time, the organization has cooperated with the federal Department of Children’s Services and operates a national program to find families for children around the country whose parents are unable to care for them. Although all states have public agencies that deal with children in foster care and their availability for placement in permanent homes, sometimes a match cannot be made in the child’s home state. Occasionally, it is in the best interests of the child or children to be placed in a home geographically distant from their biological parents or other influences. Between 1972 and 2008, the National Adoption Clearinghouse placed or participated in the placement of more than 21,000 children nationwide. Prospective parents wanting to adopt infants and younger children are increasingly looking to foreign countries. Each country that permits international adoption has its own criteria to determine whom they will permit to remove their children to the United States. Although many abuses of the adoption system have been reported in international adoptions, some systems have been put in place in an effort to standardize the process. One such system was the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (referred to as the Convention). The Convention is a treaty signed in 1993 in the Hague, Netherlands, and its principles are as follows: . . . to strengthen protections for children, birthparents, and prospective adoptive parents in the adoption process. The Convention provides a framework for Convention
countries to work together to ensure that adoptions take place in the best interests of children and to prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children in connection with intercountry adoption. The United States signed the Convention in 1994. Congress passed the Intercountry Adoption Act (IAA) in 2000, which provided a means for implementation of the tenets of the Convention. The United States Department of State oversees the regulations, policies, and acts to ensure that appropriate steps are followed in the intercountry adoption process for the more than 75 countries that are part of the Convention, which requires that adoption agencies be accredited. Most, but not all, countries from which prospective U.S. parents attempt to adopt are members of the convention. Accreditation regulations require that intercountry adoption agencies have a written policy expressly forbidding the agency, its employees, or anyone who operates on behalf of the agency from giving money to a birth parent or anyone else as an incentive to release the child for adoption. Incentive fees paid to persons for locating children for adoption are also forbidden, but agencies without accreditation may not follow the same guidelines. In fiscal year (FY) 1998 (October 1, 1997 through September 30, 1998), there were nearly 16,000 adoptions to the United States from other countries. In FY 2004, adoptions to the United States peaked at nearly 23,000, the majority of which came from China, Russia, and Guatemala. The three countries accounted for 71 percent of adoptions to the United States. By FY 2008, the number of adoptions had fallen to 17,438, with the highest number of adoptions coming from Guatemala, followed by China. Adoptions from Russia had dropped from 5,865 in 2004 to 1,861 in 2008, in part because of media coverage surrounding at least one adoptive child from Russia who was killed by an adoptive parent, and the resulting moratorium that Russia placed on adoptions to the United States. Nearly one-fourth of all adoptions to the United States came from Guatemala in 2008, with an additional 22 percent from China. Other countries providing a significant number of children for intercountry adoption were Ethiopia, South Korea, and Vietnam.
Adoption Disruption and Dissolution According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the term disruption is used to describe an adoption process that ends after the child is placed in an adoptive home and before the adoption is legally finalized, resulting in the child’s return to (or entry into) foster care or placement with new adoptive parents. The term dissolution is used to describe an adoption that ends after it is legally finalized, resulting in the child’s return to (or entry into) foster care or placement with new adoptive parents. An estimated 10–25 percent of adoptions disrupt, and the older the adoptive child, the more likely a disruption will occur. Adoption dissolutions are less common, but accurate statistics are difficult to determine because children’s names and social security numbers may be changed, their original birth certificates may be sealed, and follow-up information is unreliable. The Birth Mother’s Point of View Historically, interest in the adoption process has focused on the well-being of the child and their psychological adjustment. More recently, psychologists have become interested in the adoption experience from the point of view of the birth mother. A 1999 literature review by Askren and Bloom found that many suffered from long-term grief that often remained unresolved and had physical and psychological repercussions, and researcher Ajoi found that feelings of disenfranchisement played an important role in the grief of mothers who relinquished their children to adoption. Ge and coauthors report that open adoptions, in which the birth mother may maintain contact with the relinquished child, result in better psychological adjustment by the birth mothers. Controversial Adoptions Recently, nontraditional adoptive parents, such as gay or lesbian couples or single people, have been allowed to adopt children in some states. A 2005 literature review by Tasker concluded that children adopted by gay and lesbian children have similar experiences of family life and comparable psychological and developmental outcomes as do children adopted by heterosexual couples. Feigelman and Finley found comparable psychological outcomes among children living with a single adoptive parent or single biological parent.
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See Also: Abortion; China; Foster Mothering; Guatemala; Russia. Bibliography Adoptees Liberty Movement Association. www.alma society.org (accessed April 2009). BabyCenter.com. “The Truth About Domestic Adoption.” www.babycenter.com (accessed April 2009). Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. A Guide for Prospective Adoptive Parents. United States Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, October 2006. Hochstadt, N.J., P.K. Jaudes, D.A. Zimo, and J. Schachter. “The Medical and Psychosocial Needs of Children Entering Foster Care.” Child Abuse & Neglect, v.11/1 (1987). Maskey, Trish. Our Own—Adopting and Parenting the Older Child. New York: Snowcap Press, 1999. National Adoption Clearinghouse. www.adopt.org (accessed April 2009). National Adoption Information Clearinghouse. www .calib.com/naic (accessed April 2009). Sokoloff, B. “Antecedent of American Adoption.” The Future of Children, v.3 (Spring 1993). Laurie E. Woods Vanderbilt University
Adult Children Mothering adult children is used to describe mothering a child with mental retardation or other disabilities that require the mother to continue her daily caretaking tasks into the child’s adult years. It is also often used in connection with mothering children who are alcoholics. However, the most common category of mothers of adult children, though relatively little has been written about this group, is the parent of a child who is gown and is now an adult person. The use of this oxymoron adult child is necessitated by the lack of vocabulary in English to describe the relationship between parent and child once the child has matured. In the United States and Canada, defining when adulthood begins is difficult as graduations and marriage, the traditional
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markers of the end of childhood, no longer define a shift in life stage. Both children and parents go back and forth between work and education and between married and single life. When childhood ends and when adulthood begins is ambiguous. Mother and child do not know what their obligations are; they are a mixture of choice and obligation on both parties. This confusion is fostered by the government, since U.S. states have different ages for various financial obligations. Thus, in some states parents can claim their children as dependants on their health insurance until age 26, but in others they cannot. In addition, there is no constancy among U.S. government agencies in marking adulthood. The Internal Revenue Service parameters are not the same as of those of the legal system. Canadian law is also marked by inconstancies, and like the United States, has few laws that require children and parents to remain connected after whatever age of maturity the law specifies. In any case, maternal affection and feelings of obligation and worry do not end when the child becomes an adult, by whatever definition one chooses to mark that stage. With increasing life spans, this second stage of mothering, which is defined as being a relatively healthy parent to a grown child, extends for many more years than mothering a young dependent child—up to 50 years in some cases. Though similar to a friendship, this relationship cannot be entered into and disregarded at will. It persists over time and great distances; it is both involuntary and permanent. Even when mother and child have little contact with one another, the relationship remains an emotionally significant one. Mothers are no longer required by law to provide for their children’s needs or safety; however, out of affection and habit, mothers often wish to be or are involved in their children’s lives. Shared history connects parents and children, and social norms encourage the two generations to identify themselves with each other over the course of life. Children and parents must balance competing loyalties of new family members and friends. Boundaries are ambiguous and are dependent on personal taste, subculture norms, and life events. The daily intensity of the relationship varies over the life course and is affected by life events. Spouses, significant others, and grandchildren can compli-
cate and enhance or detract from the intensity of the relationship. Differing expectations often confound communication. Thus, mothers and grown children must continually redefine how and when they wish to receive aid and emotional support from one another. Mothers who have maintained connections with their children are more likely to receive adequate elder care. Research also notes the stronger one’s social networks, the lower one’s mortality rate. See Also: Daughters and Mothers; Midlife Mothering; Mother-in-Law; Postmaternity. Bibliography Coleman, Joshua. When Parents Hurt. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. Fingerman, Karen. “The Role of Offspring and Children-in-Law in Grandparents Relationships with Grandchildren.” Journal of Family Issues, v.25/8 (November 2006). Gullette, Margaret Morganroth. “Postmaternity as a Revolutionary Feminist Concept.” Feminist Studies, v.28/3 (2002). Knoester, Chris. “Transitions in Young Adulthood and the Relationship Between Parents and Offspring Well-Being.” Social Forces, v.81/4 (2003). Marek, Lydia I., and Jay A. Manici. “The Mother-Child Relationship Quality and Support Patterns in Adulthood.” Seattle, WA: National Council on Family Relationships Annual Meeting (1990). Mayur, P., et al. “Unmet Need for Personal Assistance With Activities of Daily Living Among Older Adults.” The Gerontologist, v.41 (2001). Miller-Day, Michelle. Communication Among Grandmothers, Mothers, and Adult Daughters. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2004. Nemzoff, Ruth. Don’t Bite Your Tongue: How to Foster Rewarding Relationships Between Parents and Adult Children. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Nielson, Linda. Between Fathers and Daughters. Nashville, TN: Cumberland House Publishing, 2008. Silverstein, Merrill. “Do Close Parent-Child Relationships Reduce Mortality of Older Parents?” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, v.32/4 (December 1991). Ruth Nemzoff Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center
Advice Literature for Mothers Advice literature for mothers includes books, magazine articles, newsletters, pamphlets, Websites, and other popular literature, typically written by professionals, aimed at instructing mothers in the care of children. In traditional societies, parenting advice is spread informally, passing through family and community networks. As literacy and geographic mobility spread, along with declines in the number of children per mother, advice literature became more popular in the United States through the 1800s. Prior to the early 19th century, little advice literature was aimed specifically at mothers, as fathers— in their role as patriarchs—were seen as ultimately responsible for the education and moral upbringing of their children. Men were seen as possessing reason and authority, qualities women were considered lacking; thus, men were the natural audience for advice literature. Seventeenth-century philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) thus cautioned fathers to bring up their children with discipline so that they may develop into civilized adults possessing reason. A century later, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78), in his treatise Emile (1762), outlined a philosophy of education opposing routines, stressing children’s natural goodness and the differences between the sexes. Separate Spheres and 19th-Century Advice By the early 19th century in the United States, with the development of separate spheres for middle-class women and men, women were charged with taking primary responsibility for child rearing. Advice literature aimed at mothers began to develop, fueled in part by growing literacy rates and rising availability of print materials. One of the more popular manuals was The Mother at Home, published by Rev. John S.C. Abbott in 1833, and “written for mothers in the common walks of life.” Early 19thcentury advice literature, produced by physicians and members of the clergy, stressed motherhood as central to shaping children’s character. Children’s moral development was of great concern to these writers. Motherhood was seen as the central task of women’s lives and key to the development of civi-
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lization. By producing virtuous children, women could rear virtuous citizens. Some advice books were written by women as well, including Catharine Beecher’s Treatise on Domestic Economy, aimed at providing a more scientific education for housewives and mothers; and Lydia Marie Child’s The Mother’s Book, published in 1831. The Mother’s Book, dedicated “to American mothers, on whose intelligence and discretion the safety and prosperity of our republic so much depend,” gave mothers “plain practical good sense” advice. Other books by women included Mary Palmer Tyler’s The Maternal Physician, published anonymously in 1811, which provided the view that mothers had a duty to raise virtuous citizens and also criticized male physicians for giving women advice on topics such as nursing an infant, which they themselves did not have the capacity to do. Through the 1820s and 1830s, middle-class women formed a variety of mothers’ organizations, many of them religiously based, which gave support and advice to members, established libraries, and circulated advice literature and domestic novels to their members. Several published journals such as the Mother’s Magazine, The Mother’s Assistant and Young Ladies’ Friend, and The Mothers’ Journal. Throughout these decades and through the end of the 19th-century, middle-class women were increasingly seen as morally superior and the natural caretakers of children. The cultural suggestion was that women’s calling lay in creating a moral home and nurturing children, who were increasingly seen as tender innocents in need of protection from the harsh, outside world. Women were advised to care for their charges lovingly, in sharp contrast to the advice that was to follow. Notably, this advice literature was aimed at native-born, literate women rather than the growing immigrant population. Rise of Scientific Motherhood By the end of the 19th century, physicians began to predominate among purveyors of advice to mothers. As the medical profession gained standing, pediatricians became seen as advisers on children’s growth and development, not just to upper-class women but to poor women as well. Increasingly, the view was that women needed to be trained in scientific motherhood—that women’s maternal “instincts”
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were no longer sufficient to guide them in proper care of the young. Dr. L. Emmett Holt’s The Care and Feeding of Children, the most influential of the period, was first published in 1894 and remained an important source of information for mothers through several revised editions. Focusing on the physical care and hygiene of children and drawing on new information about sanitation and health, the text appealed to mothers’ desire for scientific advice about childcare. In the 20th century, advice to mothers took a scientific turn. With the publication of books by G. Stanley Hall (1904) and John Watson (1928), mothers were urged to adhere to rigid schedules for feeding and toilet training and to carefully suppress any unwanted behaviors in children. Mothers were cautioned against “spoiling” their children with too much affection. Professionals urged women to beware of maternal indulgence, cautioning mothers against picking up their babies or comforting them when they cried, lest they develop undesirable habits. Watson advised against maternal kisses and hugs, suggesting instead a maternal handshake in the morning and, if necessary, a single kiss on the forehead at bedtime. Mother love was seen as potentially toxic by some, and women as in need of rigorous scientific training so that their children would become well-trained and self-regulated adults. Thus, child-rearing experts advised women to control their natural impulses and suppress their natural characteristics of emotionality, sentimentality, and weakness. Another important source of advice for mothers in the early decades of the 20th century included Infant Care, a popular series of pamphlets published by the Children’s Bureau beginning in 1914. Although early editions of Infant Care mirrored the rigidities of the times, advocating strict scheduling and early toilet training, the advice aimed to relieve the difficulties women experienced raising children in isolated rural areas and to reduce infant mortality. Thousands of women wrote to the Children’s Bureau, which often replied with tangible assistance and personalized advice. Throughout this time, the greater mobility of the population led to increasing popularity of advice books and child rearing manuals. Although women still relied on family networks and friends, they began to turn to advice literature
when extended family networks were no longer available, as evidenced both by the popularity of Infant Care and the volume of letters women wrote to the Children’s Bureau. Rise of Permissive Child Rearing Strategies The shift to more permissive child rearing strategies—still popular in the early 2000s, in revised form—began in the late 1930s, although they did not become ascendant until the postwar era. Dr. Benjamin Spock’s famous Baby and Child Care, first published in 1946, is often credited with the rise of the permissive era; others were also influential. Anderson and Mary Aldrich’s Babies Are Human Beings, published in 1938, suggested that infants have a “developmental plan,” which parents—mothers—needed to study. This developmental approach suggested a more individualized method of child rearing, with mothers encouraged to pay attention to each individual child’s wants and needs, and to follow—rather than mold—the child’s developmental. In a similar vein, Yale psychologist Arnold Gesell, along with his colleagues Frances Ilg and Louise Bates Ames, popularized a series of books on infant and childcare that stressed a developmental approach. Ilg and Ames published a widely syndicated newspaper column from the 1950s to the early 1970s. The Ascent of Dr. Spock Permissive parenting was labor intensive, a style firmly established by Dr. Spock (1903–98), who remained the most popular parenting expert for decades in the 20th century. Baby and Child Care, which by 2008 was in its eighth edition (updated and revised by Dr. Robert Needleman), sold three-quarters of a million copies in its first year of publication. As women in the postwar era invested heavily in family and children, Spock’s advice, both in his book and in a popular magazine column printed during the 1950s and 1960s in The Ladies Home Journal and subsequently in Redbook, was that women knew more than they thought they did, and that all would be well if they followed their own instincts—and the advice of their pediatricians. Spock was followed in the late 1960s and 1970s by two other popular childcare experts: pediatrician
T. Berry Brazelton, whose book Infants and Mothers was first published in 1969; and British psychologist Penelope Leach, author of Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age 5 (1977). Both Brazelton and Leach published copiously from the 1980s to the early 2000s. These three best-selling authors— Spock, Brazelton, and Leach—provided the main source of advice literature for parents throughout the last decades of the 20th century, with their books spinning off into television shows, advice columns, Internet sites, and parenting institutes. Modern Advice Literature In more recent decades, the series What to Expect When You’re Expecting (and its companion volumes, including What to Expect the First Year and What to Expect the Toddler Years) has rivaled Spock, Brazelton, and Leach in popularity. Written by mother Heidi Murkoff during her first pregnancy in 1984 (and co-authored with a medical writer and a nurse), this popular series has sold more than 27 million copies. Following the rise in the Internet as a source of information, this book, now in its fourth edition, also has a Website that connects women with each other, with advertisers, and with an array of services, products, and information. The tone of contemporary advice literature is double edged. On one hand, women are reassured that they can, by following their baby’s lead, learn to understand “what every baby knows.” The tone is soothing, designed to give mothers confidence, yet mothers are still urged to consult pediatricians—true experts—with any real difficulty. Mothering is presented as an intensive occupation in which a primary caregiver is expected to follow the child’s lead. Although the tone has changed over the decades—subsequent editions acknowledge that women work outside the home, that men may serve as primary caretakers of children, and that families may come in a variety of forms—the books are primarily aimed at women, for whom child rearing is seen as a core part of their identity. In the last decades of the 20th century, a more fragmented advice literature developed, heterogeneous in form and aimed at mothers in a more diverse array of family types. Thus, advice books and Websites for stepparents helped mothers cope
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with the arrival of older children in a blended family. Adoptive parents were counseled on both the tangible steps needed to complete an adoption and on the special care of raising adopted children, and lesbian mothers were presented with a wide array of advice literature counseling them on steps toward family formation. The Lesbian Parenting Book, considered the “Dr. Spock for lesbian families,” is only one of a wide variety of advice books, written predominantly by therapists and lesbian parents, aimed at same-sex couples. Christian parents are provided with a biblically based form of parenting in books such as Dare to Discipline by evangelical Christian and child psychologist Dr. James Dobson. In the contemporary era, it is clear that parents are reading advice literature, and with greater frequency than earlier generations. At least some evidence suggests that the greater use of advice literature is related to a tendency to consult expert advice more generally. It is not clear that mothers follow the advice they receive uncritically. The use of Internet sites connecting mothers directly suggests that expert advice may be tempered by practitioners’ own experiences. See Also: History of Motherhood: American; Mother Blame; Republican Motherhood. Bibliography Esterberg, K.G. “Planned Parenthood: The Construction of Motherhood in Lesbian Mother Advice Books.” In Feminist Mothering, A. O’Reilly, ed. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008. Geboy, M.J. “Who Is Listening to the ‘Experts?’ The Use of Child Care Materials by Parents.” Family Relations, v.30/2 (1981). Graebner, W. “The Unstable World of Benjamin Spock: Social Engineering in a Democratic Culture, 1917– 1950.” Journal of American History, v.67/3 (1980). Grant, J. Raising Baby by the Book: The Education of American Mothers. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1998. Hays, S. The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996. Jones, K.W. “Sentiment and Science: The Late Nineteenth Century Pediatrician as Mother’s Advisor.” Journal of Social History, v.17/1 (1983).
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Meckel, R.A. “Educating a Ministry of Mothers: Evangelical Maternal Associations, 1815–1860.” Journal of the Early Republic, v.2/4 (1982). Ryan, M.P. The Empire of the Mother: American Writing About Domesticity 1830–1860. New York: Harrington Park Press, 1985. Shields, S.A. and P. Steinke. “The Double Bind of Caregiving: Representation of Gendered Emotion in American Advice Literature.” Sex Roles, v.33/7 (1995). Walker, S.K. “Use of a Parenting Newsletter Series and Other Child-Rearing Information Sources by Mothers of Infants.” Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, v.34/2 (2005). Weiss, N.P. “The Mother-Child Dyad Revisited: Perceptions of Mothers and Children in the Twentieth Century Child-Rearing Manuals.” Journal of Social Issues, v.34/2 (1978). Kristin G. Esterberg Salem State College
Afghanistan Motherhood is a defining feature of women’s lives in contemporary Afghanistan. Yet mothers in that country face a situation that is quite unique. As a result of decades of war, religious fundamentalism, gender ideology, widespread poverty, and limited access to health care and education, motherhood continues to pose serious risks for Afghan women. Although recent efforts by national and international entities alike have attempted to improve the situation of Afghan mothers, significant challenges remain. Women’s lack of basic human rights in Afghanistan has a profound influence on their maternal experiences. Afghan women had gradually gained rights throughout the 20th century. However, conflicts of the late 20th century resulted in those rights being systematically stripped away. These conflicts included the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1979–89, followed by civil war and government collapse, and then Taliban control of the country from 1996–2001. The Taliban was especially significant as it enforced strict gender segregation and forbade women from attending school, working outside the
home, leaving the home unless accompanied by a male relative, appearing in public without wearing the burqa, or seeing a male doctor. During Taliban rule, women’s social roles were limited to that of wife and mother; those who stepped outside of these social roles could be stoned, beaten, and even executed. There are a number of documented instances where mothers were publicly beaten or jailed when their daughters were accused of extramarital affairs or other gender-related infractions. Plight of Mothers Although the Taliban was removed from power in 2001, the situation in Afghanistan remains a difficult one as demonstrated by the plight of mothers. It is common for girls to be married as young as 15, and women are typically not allowed to divorce their husbands. Marriage may happen against a woman’s will and may be used to secure tribal alliances. Contraceptive use is rare, largely because of religious influences. As a result, when a woman gets married, she is likely to find herself in a continual cycle of pregnancy and childbirth (or miscarriage) that continues until she dies or reaches menopause. The average birth rate is 6.7 live births per woman, the highest in the region. Over half of the population in Afghanistan lives in absolute poverty. Consequently, many suffer from food shortages and lack access to even basic health care services. Prenatal care is rare, and it is common for pregnant women to suffer from malnutrition, anemia, severe morning sickness leading to dehydration, and psychological stress. During delivery, conditions such as obstructed birth, slow delivery, significant blood loss, and sepsis are common. Lack of prenatal care has also been linked to birth defects. The majority of births take place at home and are not attended by trained medical personnel. Access to emergency obstetric care is limited due to both poor health care infrastructure and geographical constraints. While women who live in urban areas may have better access to such care, those who live in rural areas may have to travel (often on foot, horseback, or being carried by relatives) for days to receive emergency obstetrical care. Despite the efforts of various international organizations, hospitals and clinics remain severely underfunded. As a result, medical facilities frequently lack supplies, medicines, trained
African American Mothers
staff members, and the ability to provide even basic emergency procedures such as blood transfusions and Ceasarean sections. The maternal mortality rate is 1,650 per 100,000 live births, one of the highest in the world. In rural regions, it can be as high as 6,500 per 100,000 live births, the highest ever recorded. Nearly 50 Afghan women die every day from pregnancy-related causes. Neonatal, infant, and child mortality rates are correspondingly high. In recent years, the situation has improved slightly. The Safe Motherhood initiative, established in 1997 in order to promote maternal health care services, has expanded. In addition, midwifery schools reopened after the overthrow of the Taliban. Since 2001, the number of licensed midwives in Afghanistan has tripled. Yet inadequate funding, poor coordination of relief efforts, and lack of infrastructure have resulted in limited gains for the mothers of Afghanistan. See Also: Maternal Mortality; Midwifery; Poverty and Mothering; War and Mothers. Bibliography Ahmed-Ghosh, Huma. “A History of Women in Afghanistan.” Journal of International Women’s Studies. v.4/3 (May 2003). Bartlett, Linda A., et al. “Where Giving Birth Is a Forecast of Death.” The Lancet. v.365/9462 (2005). Brodsky, Anne E. With All Our Strength. New York: Routledge, 2004. Currie, Sheena, et al. “A Bold New Beginning for Midwifery in Afghanistan.” Midwifery, v.23 (2007). Das, Minakshi. Taliban’s War on Women. London: Asia Research Centre, 2006. Mawji, Shairose. Safe Motherhood Initiative in Afghanistan. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2000. Mojadidi, Sedika. Motherland Afghanistan. New York: First Run Features, 2006. Waldman, Ronald and Homaira Hanif. The Public Health System in Afghanistan. Kabul, Afghanistan: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, 2002. World Health Organization (WHO). Afghanistan in the 21st Century. Geneva: WHO, 2000. Jillian M. Duquaine-Watson University of Texas at Dallas
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African American Mothers In North America, mothers are caretakers of their homes, their partners, and their children. In many ways, African American mothers are no different from mothers of any other ethnic group, race, religious background, or class. They struggle, like all mothers, to raise healthy children who will grow up to be productive citizens. Yet, in the contemporary United States, African American mothers have a history and challenges that are unique. From their arrival on American shores in 1619 through today, the African American woman has been the bedrock of the African American family. Several particular, key markers—slavery, civil rights (the Jim Crow era), and the prison epidemic—have shaped the experiences of African American mothers. Slavery Although African American women were not legally able to form family unions during slavery, there is evidence that they performed the role of “wife” under the slave mode of production. Sociologist E. Franklin Frazier, in his magnum opus on the African American family, demonstrated empirically that the unjust system of slavery that African Americans lived under for over 300 years did not fundamentally break their belief in and reliance on family for survival. The research of historian Herbert Gutman verified Frazier’s work, wherein he showed that at the first point of freedom, the most consistent act among African American men and especially women was to set out to find their love partner. To describe the system of chattel slavery in the United States as antifamily would be an understatement. The system of chattel slavery, which allowed people of African descent to be bought and sold as cattle or hogs, was antifamily by design. African American women worked to create families within the system of slavery, overcoming severe barriers to doing so. For example, slaves were not legally able to marry; thus, they created the tradition of “jumping the broom,” which signified their commitment to each other. However, this commitment was not recognized by their masters, and it was not uncommon for slave masters to sell one partner to another plantation. Slave masters not only refused to respect familial relationships between slaves, they also frequently
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African American Mothers
detested them, because these relationships had the potential to make it more difficult for them to rape and impregnate these slave women, thus increasing their slave holdings. Yet, African American women, despite being raped by their masters, continued to forge relationships with their partners. Additionally, they raised their children, often the progeny of these rapes, as best they could. Noted African American orator Frederick Douglass writes of this experience. As noted, there is strong evidence that when the institution of slavery finally ended, there were many intact African American families who did everything they could to reunite with relatives who had run away or been sold off. Jim Crow Era Immediately following emancipation, many newly freed slaves continued to work as sharecroppers on the plantations where they had spent their whole lives. Just as during slavery, African American women continued to work in the fields alongside the men as well as to work in the master’s house doing cooking, cleaning, taking care of children, and even wet nursing. This tradition, coupled with the intense rules of segregation that barred African American men and women from most social, political, and economic institutions, created a widespread pattern that persisted well in the middle of the 20th century: the role of African American women as domestics. During the 20th century, unlike many white women, the majority of African American mothers were employed, especially after they became mothers. African American families depended on women’s wages primarily because there were so few job opportunities for African American men, and those that did exist often paid salaries that were much too low to maintain a family. And, although those who were able to be educated could work in the professions as nurses and teachers, which were set up by African Americans in an attempt to service their own segregated communities, the majority of African American women found work as domestics. As Judith Rollins and Patricia Hill Collins document, these women would work six and sometimes seven days a week, 12 to 14 hours a day in other people’s homes—usually white homes. In some cases, these women, even when they were married and/ or had children, lived with the families for whom
they worked. If they were married, they might “live in” all week long and be allowed to return to their own homes for a visit on Sunday. If they were unmarried—with or without children—and with no home, they “lived in” permanently. Janet Langhart Cohen, wife of former Senator from Maine and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, writes in her memoir From Rage to Reason: My Life in Two Americas about her experiences living with white families in Indianapolis in the early 1950s while her mother was a domestic. Gregory Howard Williams, President of City College of New York, recalls in his autobiography Life on the Color Line: The Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black, watching the woman who raised him—Miss Sally— trudge home, her shoulders weighed down by stress and her legs heavy from exhaustion after working very long days as a domestic in a white home on the other side of segregated Muncie, Indiana. This labor-intensive work often resulted in neglect in their own homes. Many black women writers recount their mothers coming home after long hours of domestic labor and somehow, miraculously, finding the energy to prepare hot meals for their own families and braid their daughters’ hair. As adults they understood, but even as children, they remember knowing that the burden of caring for other people’s homes and children somehow robbed them of the attention that their mothers should have been paying to them. Black feminists have long argued that the backbone of the Civil Rights movement was really women. Many women, including Coretta Scott King, Fannie Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisholm, Angela Davis, Dorothy Height, Daisy Bates, and Ella Baker played key roles in the Civil Rights Movement. For example, the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955 was engineered almost entirely by women. Many of the famous leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesse Jackson, and Reverend Shuttlesworth had wives at home whose dedication to their homes and the raising of their children allowed these men to crisscross the country giving fiery speeches and being jailed for acts of civil disobedience. The women of the Civil Rights Movement—many of them mothers—have not only been neglected by history, but have often been rendered invisible.
Drug/Prison Era As much promise as the accomplishments of the Civil Rights era seemed to hold, the struggles for African American mothers have not diminished, only morphed. Beginning in the late 1960s, with the War on Poverty under way, a new trend developed: a steep decline in the number of African Americans getting married. In fact, by 2008, almost half (46 percent) of all African American women over age 18 had never married, as compared to only a quarter of white women. Low rates of marriage do have serious consequences, namely poverty and the stresses of single motherhood. In 2008, three-quarters (75 percent) of African American babies were born to single mothers. Though it is important to point out that the majority of these births—in contrast to mainstream media images—were to adult women, not teenagers.
Future African American mothers have unique challenges— fewer eligible men, single and teen motherhood, and poverty.
African American Mothers
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In fact, there has been a slow but steady decline in the rate of teenage pregnancy and childbearing among African American women. More than half of these single-mother households fall below the poverty line. And, the consequences of poverty are severe. Infant mortality rates among African Americans are twice the national average. Hunger and homelessness rates for African American children are more than double the national average, and African American children are three times more likely to be poor than white children. Thus, the consequences of living in households headed by single mothers are devastating. Thus, a major challenge African American mothers face in the 21st century is raising healthy children while living in severe poverty. Why are African American women facing motherhood alone? There are many reasons, including some that are not unique to African American women. First, overall, rates of marriage are declining, and rates of single motherhood are rising across all populations. That said, African American mothers face challenges that are unique; namely, the lack of marriageable men—what William Julius Wilson refers to as the “marriageable pool”—which is a result of two key factors: unemployment and incarceration. Unemployment rates for African American men are double the national average at nearly 20 percent. And, in some of the hardest-hit communities like Detroit, the unemployment rate for African American men nears 50 percent. Unemployment tends to lower marriage rates; however, with unemployment rates so high, it is unlikely that marriage would improve these mothers’ economic conditions. Perhaps the greatest challenge facing African American mothers today is the overincarceration of African American men. The latest Bureau of Justice statistics reveal that of the 2.3 million Americans who are incarcerated in any given day in the United States, half—or more than 1 million—are African American men. Mirroring the trend in declining marriage rates among African Americans beginning in the late 1960s, beginning in the early 1970s with the passage of the Rockefeller drug laws, incarceration rates began to soar to the heights we see today. There are serious racial disparities with regards to sentencing. For example, in March 2009, Human Rights Watch
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African American Mothers
released a comprehensive state-by-state analysis that demonstrated that although rates of drug use are similar across racial/ethnic groups, rates for incarceration for drug possession—which account for 80 percent of all drug sentences—were 5.5–11.3 percent higher for African American men between 2000 and 2008. Today, approximately one-third of all African American men will be incarcerated, as compared to fewer than one in 10 white men. The impact of incarceration on African American mothers and their children is devastating. Effects of Incarceration Clearly, incarceration brings financial challenges to families; a breadwinner or potential breadwinner is removed from the household. Or, in the case of single mothers, a source or potential source of child support is removed. Additionally, incarceration is expensive for families. In addition to court costs, there are the costs associated with legal defense, as well as the expensive collect calls from prison— often $3–$4 per minute—that mothers may feel are essential. Similarly, the cost to travel to visit partners and children’s fathers can be extraordinary, as most inmates are moved far from the high-population areas of their residence to the low-density areas where many prisons are built. The cost to stay in physical contact with lovers, husbands and children’s fathers, therefore, may become prohibitive. For example, in New York, the vast majority of incarcerated African American men had been living in New York City at the time of their incarceration, but the majority of state prisons are in upstate New York. Thus, most African American men incarcerated in New York are locked away hundreds of miles from their families. Another side effect of overincarceration on African American mothers is the increasing role they play in raising their grandchildren. As they are often the only stable person in the families of incarcerated men, the burden of raising their children increasingly falls to their own mothers. Just as they are entering retirement, many African American mothers find that they are left to mother their grandchildren. A recent study by Devah Pager showed only 3 percent of African American men with felonies are likely to find employment, which also increases the likelihood of domestic violence. Living with domes-
tic violence and escaping from its grasp is a yet another hurdle—and a very high one—facing many African American mothers. The war on drugs has added a unique and difficult struggle to the role of mother in African American families. Removing African American men from their families and communities leads to lower rates of marriage and higher rates of divorce, and creates an overall instability in both African American families and communities. And, of course, it is African American mothers and grandmothers who are left to pick up the pieces. African American Feminist Studies Early studies of African American mothering styles reported that compared to white mothers, African American mothers were more authoritarian, more punitive, less consistent, less affectionate, and more likely to use physical punishment. However, such studies are often confounded by the socioeconomic status of the mothers studied, as African American women are more likely to have children in adolescence, be a single parent, and be employed and be poor, relative to white mothers. They also are more likely than white mothers to rely on an extended kinship and community network to assist in child rearing. Recently, many African American feminists have challenged the evaluation of African American motherhood as deficient when compared to a white, middle-class model of a selfcontained, two-parent household. They also argue that behaviors characteristic of African American parenting, such as demanding self-sufficiency at a young age and showing less affection to children, may be based in the practical necessity of preparing children for a hostile world. Conclusion Although African American mothers are in many ways no different than other mothers, particularly with regards to the love they feel for their children and the goals they have in raising them, they have been and continue to be faced with enormous and unnecessary barriers to mothering. From slavery up to the present drug and prison epidemic, African American mothers have struggled to keep their families together and to raise healthy children to become productive citizens.
African Diaspora
See Also: African Diaspora; Civil Rights Movement and Motherhood; Collins, Patricia Hill; Incarcerated Mothers; Motherline; Other Mothering; Poverty and Mothering; Single Mothers; Slavery and Mothering. Bibliography Blades, Joan and Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner. The Motherhood Manifesto. New York: The Nation Books, 2006. Blassingame, John. The Slave Community. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979. Davis, David Brion. Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Frazier, Edward Franklin. The Negro Family in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1939. Hattery, Angela J. and Earl Smith. African American Families. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2007. Langhart, Janet Cohen. From Rage to Reason: My Life in Two Americas. New York: Kensington, 2004. Collins, Patricia Hill. “Shifting the Center: Race, Class, and Feminist Theorizing About Motherhood.” In Mothering: Ideology, Experience, and Agency, E. Glenn, et al., eds. New York: Routledge, 1994. Hull, Gloria T., et al., eds. But Some of Us Are Brave: All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men: Black Women’s Studies. New York: Feminist Press, 1982. Rollins, Judith. Between Women: Domestics and Their Employers. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1985. Williams, Gregory Howard. Life on the Color Line: The Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black. New York: Dutton Publishing, 1995. Wilson, William Julius. When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor. New York: Knopf, 1996. Angela Hattery Wake Forest University
African Diaspora The term African Diaspora is generally understood to refer to the forced migration of African peoples to the Americas, Europe, the Caribbean, and Latin
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America in the modern period from the 15th to the 19th centuries. The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was a major conduit for the forced transportation of peoples from the African continent. An estimated 12–15 million Africans were captured and transported by slave traders across the Atlantic Ocean regularly over a period of about 400 years. The majority were taken to the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States to work as slaves on agricultural plantations. African men were the majority of those captured and sold in the transatlantic slave trade. Ratio by gender is estimated to have been two men for every female. The uprooting of African women disrupted traditional African family life. However, under slavery, certain African child rearing practices, such as community parenting, other mothering, and fictive kin networks, were reinforced and became essential to the survival of the black family in the African Diaspora. In precolonial West African societies, motherhood accorded the African woman a high degree of prestige and influence within the community. In both matrilineal and patrilineal African societies, the bond between mother and child was regarded as the foundation of all social and community life. In addition, within these African societies, the concept of mothering extended beyond an individual’s biological offspring. Children belonged to the community and women as well as men were responsible for the day-to-day nurturing and well-being of every child. Mothering was an activity to ensure the health and continuance of the society. Under slavery, however, family life and mothering were directed toward the production of capital for the landed class of slave owners. Black women from Africa were valuable for their labor production as agricultural workers and also for their capacity to reproduce slave labor. Motherhood and Slavery Enslaved women worked the same as slave men, clearing land, cutting trees, digging ditches, and planting and harvesting crops. In addition, they were encouraged or coerced to have many children in order to increase the slave labor population. Some slave owners allowed families to remain together if many children were produced. Thus, if the female slave wanted to keep her family united and remain
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African Diaspora
rooted to a particular plantation with friends and family, motherhood became the primary method for her survival and well-being. Ironically, slaves were encouraged to have children, but ultimately the task of mothering was not seen as a central activity for enslaved men and women. Women who had just given birth and had to return to work in the field, relied on other women to help with the task of motherhood. In slavery, community mothering was a way to assist with childcare, which was the responsibility of elderly women and men who did not work in the fields; of children who were too young to work as laborers; and of a variety of other women, including slave midwives, nurses, relatives, and friends. Communal motherhood also provided care for children whose parents were sold or had died. Females who were not blood relatives assumed the fictive-kin mother role. Similar to the extended family structure in Africa, where relatives were provided a safety net of care and security, in America the slaves relied on nonrelatives acting in various familial roles. The enslaved child could rely on this family network of related and nonrelated kin to look after his or her needs. After Emancipation In the United States, slaves were emancipated in 1865. Former slave men and women searched for family members and children separated by slavery. Freedmen were eager to legitimize their family and children through registered marriages. African Americans formed stable families from the time of emancipation until the mid-20th century. Until the 1960s, 75 percent of African American families included both a husband and a wife. During these decades, cooperative mothering continued because many black women had to work outside the home to support their families. In rural areas, women depended on female relatives for assistance with childcare. Women who migrated to the larger northern cities beginning in the 1930s sent for relatives from the South to help with childcare. As well, African American clubwomen were professional, middle-class women who devoted their efforts to uplifting the black community. In urban areas throughout the country, they established orphanages and day nurseries to take care of orphans as well as children whose mothers worked.
Contemporary Mothering Since the 1960s, the negative effects of urbanization and other socioeconomic factors have impacted black families adversely. Current statistics on marriage and living arrangements indicate that only 45 percent of black families in the United States include a married couple. More than 50 percent of black households are headed by a single woman, and unmarried black women constitute a majority of childbearing black women. Black single mothers in the United States tend to live with members of their extended family who assist with childcare. The trend of African American grandmothers becoming “new mothers again” is increasing. Instead of providing occasional childcare, these grandmothers assume the role of primary caregiver to their grandchildren in cases where their adult children are unable or unwilling to take on the parenting role. Motherhood in other regions of the African Diaspora is also characterized by a high representation of female-headed households. In addition, in regions such as the Caribbean, separation of mother and child occurs frequently as a result of mothers immigrating to North America and other countries to seek work or educational opportunities. In these cases, the children left behind are generally cared for by grandmothers and other female relatives. Mothering in the African Diaspora is not universal. However, there are common historical and contemporary practices that have resulted from a shared history of slavery and oppression. See Also: African American Mothers; Caribbean Mothers; Childcare; Grandmothers and Grandmothering; History of Motherhood: 1750 to 1900; History of Motherhood: American; Mammy; Other Mothering; Single Mothers; Slavery and Mothering. Bibliography Gaspar, David Barry and Darlene Clark Hine. More Than Chattel: Black Women and Slavery in the Americas. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996. McAdoo, Harriette Pipes. Black Families. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2007. Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering. Mothering in the African Diaspora [special issue], v.2/2 (Fall/Winter 2000).
AIDS/HIV and Mothering
Terborg-Penn, Rosalyn, Sharon Harley, and Andrea Benton Rushing. Women in Africa and the African Diaspora. Washington, DC: Howard University Press, 1987. Linda Bowles-Adarkwa San Francisco State University
AIDS/HIV and Mothering The acquired immune-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV is transmitted by the exchange of bodily fluids through sexual activity, blood and plasma transfusions, injection drug use (IDU) and unsterile syringes, and mother-to-child transmission (MTCT). HIV/AIDS cannot be cured, but antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) can help prevent opportunistic infections that occur as a result of HIV’s attack on the body’s immune system. ARTs also help prevent MTCT and significantly delay the onset of fatal complications related to AIDS. Today, women of reproductive age (15–49 years) are increasingly bearing the brunt of HIV/AIDS. In areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, women account for 60 percent of all cases. HIV/AIDS is often the result of war, where systematic rape is sometimes used as a tool of control. For example, during the Rwandan genocide (1994), Interahame militia raped hundreds of thousands of Tutsi women and girls, resulting in HIV infection and unwanted pregnancies. Additionally, children in many parts of the world remain highly vulnerable due to difficult access to MTCT prevention therapies. The high vulnerability of women and children to HIV/AIDS raises many issues around the topic of mothering, including motherhood choices and mothering experiences of HIV-positive women and their placement in deviancy discourses. The latter refers to practices and preferences that diverge from the perceived ideal or norm dictated by society. Other relevant issues are the intensive care giving often required for persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), be it the mother or her child, and the shifting of the mothering role to persons other than the birth mother when HIV/
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AIDS debilitates or claims the mother. This complex, multifaceted relationship between HIV/AIDS and mothering also raises many policy-related concerns that are considered in the last section. Impact of HIV/AIDS on Women and Children AIDS was first identified in the United States in 1981, but later found to have existed in Africa at least since 1959. Stigma, lack of accurate understanding and awareness of the disease, and the unavailability of ARTs in many parts of the world quickly resulted in a global epidemic, or pandemic. By 2008, AIDS had already claimed more than 25 million lives worldwide. Over 30 million persons were living with HIV, over 90 percent of them in low- and middle-income countries with inadequate socioeconomic resources. Additionally, care-giving duties within the pandemic have fallen disproportionately on women, but in most traditional societies, HIV-positive women are not entitled to similar care. Globally, the overall rate of increase of the HIV/AIDS epidemic has slowed in recent years, but the absolute number of PLWHAs has increased partly due to growing numbers of new HIV infections, half of which occur in women and almost one-sixth in children alone. HIV-Positive Mothering Experiences In most cultures of the world today, motherhood has become a social institution in itself and is considered central to women’s sense of identity and self. Most women themselves perceive motherhood and related acts of nurturing and mothering as essential to realizing their core identity. Therefore, it is not unexpected that women with HIV/AIDS also want to experience this role and responsibility. However, whether HIV-positive women have children prior to infection, found out during pregnancy, or opted for motherhood despite their diagnosis, they often find themselves the focus of double binds and deviancy discourses. Double Bind The double bind constitutes a situation where conflicting messages from an authoritative figure or institution present a no-win situation. HIV-positive women, like others, internalize and respond to the dominant social message that motherhood and
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mothering are vital to realizing their identity. However, unlike most others, they are caught in a double bind of a contrary message that to reproduce would be uncaring and selfish. At this point, deviancy discourses become relevant as well. Dominant discourses of mothering ascribe idealized attributes of self-sacrifice and selfless care giving to this role, diametrically at odds with discourses of deviancy that carry connotations of selfishness, cruelty, and lack of caring. A recurrent deviancy discourse within mothering is that of mothers with HIV/AIDS, who often report feeling stigmatized. They are thought of as selfish and cruel, putting their need for experiencing motherhood ahead of the child’s welfare due to risk of MTCT and the assumed inability of the HIV-positive mother to perform demanding mothering tasks. As with other discourses pertaining to social institutions and structures, deviancy discourses regarding HIV and mothering are also characterized by interstices of race, ethnicity, class, and HIV/AIDSspecific attributes such as IDU and other risk behaviors. Negative signals from society become more pronounced if the HIV-positive mother belongs to a marginal social category. However, there are also discourses of resistance and resilience from the same margins, with many HIV-positive women looking to their cultural and family contexts for strength. For example, HIVpositive women with current or past histories of IDU face stigma as unfit mothers from society and the state. However, like other mothers, most of these mothers gain a connection and purpose to life through nurturing and everyday tasks associated with mothering. In the developing world, additional and/or different double binds exist for HIV-positive women who find themselves caught in the conflicts between indigenous practices and Western understandings. For example, health professionals with Western viewpoints and experiences still encourage HIV-positive mothers to refrain from breastfeeding, despite evidence that the lack of potable water and sanitary conditions often means higher chances of morbidity and mortality for infants on breastmilk alternatives. Moreover, risk of MTCT is considerably offset by adopting modified breastfeeding practices and the use of appropriate ARTs such as nevirapine, which
can reduce risk of MTCT by 50 percent in a single dose. On the other hand, women who do not follow traditional mothering practices such as breastfeeding are often regarded as promiscuous, selfish, or deviant within their cultures. Disruption of the Mothering Experience Observations show that regardless of geography, HIV/AIDS has a definite and usually disruptive effect on mothering experiences, although the degree of disruption varies depending on social location, access to physical resources, and emotional support systems. Recurrent themes in mothering situations for HIVpositive women range from fearing that the myriad tasks associated with mothering might be a burden on their own health, to its reverse, such as their own ill health preventing them from undertaking these essential tasks, guilt at presenting risk of HIV/AIDS to their children, anxiety regarding the ability to shield them from stigma, and whether or not to share the burden of their diagnosis with their children. HIV/AIDS undoubtedly takes a toll on the mother’s health and energy. In such cases, role reversal might take place, sometimes to a significant degree, where the mother herself might require mothering. In developing countries, HIV-positive mothers are often aided in their care-giving and mothering roles by older siblings in the family who might perform household chores, care for younger siblings, and even undertake economically gainful activities to sustain the family. In Western societies, women also report such support, but emotional or psychological sustenance is more prevalent than functional help. The emotional and substantive ramification of this role reversal on women and children is an important strand of the deeply entwined HIV/AIDS-mothering relationship. Mothering HIV-Positive Children The greater need for care and self-care of HIV-positive mothers often does not diminish their mothering responsibilities in the eyes of society. Women parenting children with HIV/AIDS face additional challenges that become more intense in resourcestrapped areas of the world, where mothers are often forced to make hard decisions between their own and their family’s needs—decisions where usually neither emerge winners. Regardless of
geography, ensuring adequate and appropriate ART regimens, the emotional task of explaining the situation to the child, dealing with issues of stigma, and procuring medical and social support for their children all fall under their extra mothering responsibilities. Discussions on mothering typically, although not exclusively, allude to care giving to a dependent child, which is widely understood to refer to children under 18 years of age. As with other chronic illnesses, HIV/AIDS creates situations of emotional and at times physical dependency of adult children on their families of origin, particularly on their previous primary care giver, usually the mother. Since mothering involves emotional and practical dimensions, both aspects are often called into play in the form of moral support, acceptance, and care giving when dealing with adult children with HIV/AIDS. However, mothering capabilities, child rearing practices, and the mother’ philosophy are often questioned and blamed for causing the situation, often to the point of mothers internalizing the guilt. Mothering When AIDS Claims the Mother Globally, 15 million children have been orphaned by AIDS; sub-Saharan Africa accounts for over 80 percent of them. During 1997–2002, 6 percent of maternal mortality in Africa could be attributed to HIV/AIDS, directly affecting household structures and care-giving configurations. Despite the enormity of the issue, few official systemic and structural safety nets exist for these children, even in the most affected countries. AIDS orphans have so far usually been absorbed and fostered by the households of their uncles and aunts, particularly in Africa. However, there has been an increasing shift toward parenting responsibilities being taken up by grandparents, primarily grandmothers. Additionally, there is a growing trend of mothering roles being taken over by older siblings, signaling increasing strains on the extended family system. The impact of HIV/AIDS on mothering does not stop here. Since women are often primary care givers even in extended family and community situations in many societies across the globe, children may face a loss of mothering toward them if their mother is tending to others, often the father or another relative with HIV/AIDS.
AIDS/HIV and Mothering
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Policy Considerations Ironically, one of the reasons for the increase in PLWHAs has been the greater availability of ARTs. However, in the developing world, ARTs have only reached one-third of HIV-positive women. Infants remain highly vulnerable, with a vast majority succumbing to AIDS-related diseases before ever being diagnosed and treated. The first step to assuring safe motherhood and improved mothering experiences for HIV-positive women and children is the better provision of ARTs. Therefore, many countries have instituted mechanisms specifically targeted toward these demographics to allow for cheaper and easier access to ARTs, which has already resulted in better survival rates and health outcomes. Fighting HIV/AIDS with ARTs is a necessary strategy for boosting women’s health and mothering experiences, but is incomplete without addressing the inherent vulnerabilities of local communities, such as poverty, food shortages, violence, substance abuse, and lack of basic health care and survival resources. Other important strategies need to address increased inclusion of men in various care activities and greater sensitivity from health care personnel regarding the emotional and physical needs of HIV-positive mothers. See Also: “Bad” Mothers; Care Giving; Disabled Mothers; Genocide; Grandmothers and Grandmothering; Maternal Health; Mothering as Work; Mothering Versus Motherhood; Rwanda; War and Mothering. Bibliography Arendell, Terry. “Conceiving and Investigating Motherhood: The Decade’s Scholarship.” Journal of Marriage and Family, v.62/4 (November 2000). Coovadia, H.M. and R.M. Bland. “Preserving Breastfeeding Practice Through the HIV Pandemic.” Tropical Medicine and International Health, v.12/9 (September 2007). Ingram, Deborah and Sally A. Hutchinson. “Double Binds and the Reproductive and Mothering Experiences of HIV-Positive Women.” Qualitative Health Research, v.10/1 (January 2000). Moenasch, R. and J. Ties Boerma. “Orphanhood and Childcare Patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Analysis of National Surveys From 40 Countries.” AIDS, v.18/S2 (2004).
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Sandelowsky, Margarete and Julie Barroso. “Motherhood in the Context of Maternal HIV Infection.” Research in Nursing & Health, v.26 (2003). Thompson, Elizabeth A. “Mothers’ Experiences of an Adult Child’s HIV/AIDS Diagnosis: Maternal Responses to and Resolutions of Accountability for AIDS.” Family Relations, v.49/2 (April 2000). United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). “Caregiving in the Context of HIV/AIDS.” http://womenandaids.unaids.org/documents/ 20081002_Caregiving_in_context_of_AIDS_EN.pdf (accessed August 2009). UNAIDS. “Fast Facts About HIV/AIDS.” http://www .unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Resources/ FastFacts/ (accessed August 2009). UNAIDS. “2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic.” http://data.unaids.org/pub/GlobalReport/2008/ jc1510_2008_global_report_pp1_10_en.pdf (accessed August 2009). Vandana Wadhwa Boston University
Alabama The state of Alabama closely resembles the general U.S. population in some statistical indices of motherhood, but varies widely in others. For example, 49.7 percent of all Alabama households were married-couple families, and 39.6 percent of those families had children of their own under 18 years; the comparable figures for all households in the United States were 49.8 percent and 43.5 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) for 2005 through 2007. In Alabama, 14.5 percent of all households were headed by women with no husband present, and 57.8 percent of those households had children under 18. In the United States, those figures were 12.5 and 59.6 percent, respectively. The average family size in Alabama was 3.04 persons, just slightly lower than the national average of 3.19. Although the rates of both marriage and divorce in Alabama have been steadily declining since the mid-1990s, women are more likely to be wed and divorced than their counterparts elsewhere in the
country. In Alabama there were 8.6 marriages and 4.8 divorces per 1,000 persons in 2006, compared with national marriage and divorce rates of 7.5 and 3.6 per 1,000 persons, according to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. Fertility and Teen Mothers The ACS shows some similarities, but also significant differences, in fertility statistics between Alabama and the rest of the nation. In the case of women aged 15 to 50, the numbers are identical: 55 per 1,000 women gave birth during a 12-month period, both in Alabama and the United States at large. However, in the case of teenage births, the rate in Alabama was significantly higher: 37 per 1,000 women, compared with 27 per 1,000 women in the United States. The higher birth rate among teenagers might also account for the lower rate of abortions in Alabama: 10.2 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 in 2005, compared to a national average of 19.4. Most studies indicate that children born to teenage mothers have lower educational achievements. According to the ACS, the percentage of persons over the age of 25 who did not have a high school diploma was 20 percent in Alabama, higher than the U.S. figure of 16 percent. Poverty also affected educational attainment; according to the ACS, 20.3 percent of all Alabama families with related children under 18 had incomes below the poverty level, compared to 15.1 percent in the United States at large. Among Alabama families with related children under 18 and no husband present, 47.3 percent were below the poverty level, significantly higher than the figure of 36.9 percent for all such families in the United States. As a result, Alabama has a higher percentage of families receiving public assistance than the national average. For instance, 5.6 percent of all Alabama households received Supplemental Security Income and 10.2 percent received food stamp benefits, according to the ACS. The comparable figures in the United States at large were 4 and 7.9 percent. On the other hand, fewer children in Alabama received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in 2006 than the national average: 2.8 percent of all children in Alabama, compared to 3.9 percent of all children nationally, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Alaska
Like the rest of the country, Alabama has made significant strides in motherhood since the mid19th century. Diaries and letters from Alabama in the 1840s and 1850s report a continual pattern of maternal difficulties and child mortality. Improvements in medical technology have made childbirth considerably safer since that time. In 1850, 119 Alabama mothers died in childbirth (0.6 percent of all 20,375 live births) and 2,024 infants died before they reached the age of 1 (9.9 percent). In 2005, 10 maternal deaths in childbirth (0.01 percent) and 561 infant deaths (342 neonatal and 219 postneonatal, or 0.6 percent of 60,262 live births) were reported. Numerous mothers in the state have been influential, but two deserve special recognition: Kate Adams Keller, who gave birth to Helen Keller on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia; and Leona Edwards Parks, who gave birth to Rosa Parks on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee. When Helen became deaf and blind at 19 months, her mother resisted calls to institutionalize her, and helped arrange for Anne Sullivan to educate the child. As a reformer and advocate for persons with disabilities, Helen Keller became one of Alabama’s most noted citizens. Leona Parks was a schoolteacher who taught her children to be proud of themselves even while living under racist conditions. Her daughter Rosa always felt her mother gave her the strength, determination, and self-respect to confront the challenges of life. After Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery in 1955, she became known as the mother of the Civil Rights Movement. See Also: Georgia; Mississippi; Parks, Rosa; Reproduction; Teen Mothers; Tennessee. Bibliography Alabama Center for Health Statistics. “Vital Statistics at a Glance.” www.adph.org/healthstats (accessed May 2009). McMillen, Sally G. Motherhood in the Old South: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Infant Rearing. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1990. Schwartz, Marie Jenkins. Birthing a Slave: Motherhood and Medicine in the Antebellum South. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006.
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Wilkie, Laurie A. The Archaeology of Mothering: An African-American Midwife’s Tale. New York: Routledge, 2003. James I. Deutsch Smithsonian Institution
Alaska Alaska is the largest and least densely populated state in the United States: about two-thirds of the state’s 683,000 residents live in urban areas. The population of Alaska is unusually young compared to the United States as a whole: 26.7 percent of Alaskans are age 18 or younger, ranking fourth among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Total fertility rate (an estimate of the number of children born to each woman) in 2003 was over 2.2, among the highest in the United States. Poverty is a serious problem that impacts the quality of life of Alaskans. In 2007, 16.9 percent of Alaska’s population lived below the poverty level: only five states had higher percentages of people living in poverty. Of Alaska families with children under 18 years of age, 11.2 percent of the families live in poverty; for families with children under 5 years of age, the figure is 10.9 percent. Femaleheaded households have a much higher rate of poverty: 28.6 percent of such families with children age 18 or younger live below the poverty line, as do 32 percent of female-headed families with children under 5 years of age. This is despite a higher-thanaverage rate of persons in the labor force: 71.4 percent of Alaskans over age 16 are in the labor force (66 percent of women) as opposed to 64.7 percent in the United States as a whole. In many Alaskan families with children, all parents are employed: 59.4 percent of families with children under age 6 and 70.3 percent of families with children ages 6 to 17 fit this description. Educational levels are also low: just 21.4 percent of Alaskans age 25 and over held at least a bachelor’s degree in 2007, ranking the state 44th in the United States. In 2006, about 5,300 marriages were conducted in Alaska, for a rate of 7.8 per 1,000 residents, which is slightly above the U.S. average of 7.5 per
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1,000 residents; in the same year, approximately 3,000 divorces were finalized for a rate of 4.4 per 1,000 population, well above the U.S. average of 3.6 per 1,000. The marriage rate is higher for women in Alaska than for men, a reverse of the situation in the United States as a whole: 48.9 percent of men in Alaska age 15 or older are married, with 52 percent for women (in the United States as a whole, 52.6 percent of men over age 15 are married, with 48.5 percent for women).
U.S. Census Bureau. “State & County Quick Facts: Alaska.” http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/ 02000lk.html (accessed May 2009).
Maternal and Child Health Alaska ranks poorly on many measures of maternal and child health. For instance, the state’s infant mortality rate in 2007 was 9.4 per 1,000 live births, ranking 4th in the United States: only Mississippi, South Carolina, and Maine have higher rates. Among the 26 states that report data to the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Assessment System, Alaska mothers ranked poorly on many risk factors, including tobacco use (30.9 percent), alcohol use (53.3 percent), and experience of physical abuse (4.3 percent). Reported rates of postpartum depression (16.6 percent) were also higher than the average of the 26 states included in the reporting data. In 2005, 2,207 legal abortions were performed in Alaska (386 to women aged 19 years or younger), for a ratio of 211 per 1,000 live births and a rate of 15 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15–44.
Albania is a country in the Balkans in southeast Europe, and has a population of 3.17 million (2008). Many Albanians live overseas, in neighboring countries, Italy, the United States, and Australia. Albania has a birth rate of 15.1 per 1,000, and an infant mortality rate of 20.7 per 1,000 live births. The crude divorce rate in the country is 0.95 divorces per 1,000 marriages. Traditionally, the population in Albania since the 16th century has been largely Muslim, and the population today is officially regarded as 70 percent Muslim, with 20 percent Albanian Orthodox, and 10 percent Roman Catholic—the most famous Albanian being the Nobel laureate Mother Teresa from an Albanian family from nearby Skopje, in modern-day Macedonia. Historically, the major role of women in Albanian society was that of a homemaker, and few had much opportunity to leave their native villages or towns. The English traveler Edith Durham visited Albania from the 1900s, and she found an intensely tribal society. In one case, a man told her that if he married a “writing woman” (i.e., one who could read and write), “that king would not fetch wood and water” for him. In 1918, the average family size was 4.6 persons in Tirana, and 3.8 in Durrës. Under King Zog, his six sisters were used as role models in Albanian society; the younger three never married. The period of the Italian occupation saw a small change in the role of women, and a tenth of the Communist partisans during World War II were reported to be women. Social mobility was transformed during the period of Communist rule from 1944 until 1992, as was medical care; education became compulsory (and enforced) for all girls as well as boys. The Faculty of Medicine at Tirana University helped improve health care, and there was a widespread
See Also: Aboriginal Mothering; Alcoholism; Poverty and Mothering. Bibliography Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Reproductive Health: Data and Statistics.” http://www .cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/Data_Stats/index .htm#Abortion (accessed May 2009). D’Angelo, Denise, Letitia Williams, and Brian Morrow, et al. “Preconception and Interconception Health Status of Women Who Recently Gave Birth to a LiveBorn Infant—Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), United States, 26 Reporting Areas, 2004.” http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/ mmwrhtml/ss5610a1.htm (accessed May 2009). U.S. Census Bureau. “The 2009 Statistical Abstract: The National Data Book.” http://www.census.gov/ compendia/statab/ (accessed May 2009).
Sarah E. Boslaugh Washington University School of Medicine
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availability of midwifery services. With one of the highest literacy rates in the world (99 percent for women), better access to hospitals and midwives led to a dramatic fall in the infant mortality rate. In spite of this, women’s participation in the country’s government remained one of the lowest in Europe (around 6 percent). This increased after the end of Communism, and with the provision of even better health care, the infant mortality rate continues to be reduced. There have also been many programs to reduce the rates of domestic violence against women. Although the country’s fertility rate has fallen from 4.4 in 1975 to 2.1 in 1999, it has been the highest in Europe on both occasions. See Also: Bulgaria; Macedonia; Mother Teresa of Calcutta; Religion and Mothering. Bibliography Douglas, Carol Anne. “Albania: Feminism and Post Communism.” Off Our Backs, March 1994. Gruber, Siegfried. “Household Structures in Urban Albania in 1918.” The History of the Family, v.13/2 (August 2008). Kolsti, John. “From Courtyard to Cabinet: The Political Emergence of Albanian Women.” In Women, State and Party in Eastern Europe, Sharon L. Wolchik and Alfred G. Meyer, eds. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1985. National Library of Australia. The Albanian Woman: a Great Force of the Revolution. Tirana, Albania: 8 Nëntori Publishing, 1978. Prifti, Peter R. “The Albanian Women’s Struggle for Emancipation.” Southeastern Europe, v.2/2 (1975). Whitaker, Ian. “A Sack for Carrying Things—The Traditional Role of Women in Northern Albanian Society.” Anthropological Quarterly, v.54/3 (July 1981). Justin Corfield Geelong Grammar School, Australia
Alcoholism Alcohol is a culturally acceptable, legal drug that is part of the lives of many women. However, alcohol dependency can occur when alcohol is continually
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consumed despite negative consequences to one’s overall health and well-being. The American Medical Association considers alcohol dependence, also commonly known as alcoholism, to be characterized by tolerance, the need to consume increasing amounts of alcohol to feel its effects, and the appearance of physical symptoms when alcohol use is discontinued. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR) a standard for diagnosis in psychiatry and psychology, defines alcohol dependence as the repeated use of alcohol despite recurrent adverse psychological and physical consequences such as depression, blackouts, and liver disease. Two types of alcohol that are commonly abused are ethyl alcohol, found in beer, wine, spirits and liqueurs; and methyl alcohol, in household substances such as solvents, paint thinners, and antifreeze. Maternal Alcohol Addiction While the physiological effects of alcohol addiction are well-documented as potentially life threatening to both men and women, a primary focus of literature pertaining to maternal alcohol addiction is related to the effects on children. Maternal alcohol addiction not only affects children prior to their birth, but also impinges on their ongoing relationship with their alcoholic mothers and their functioning as adult children. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), partial fetal alcohol syndrome (p-FAS), fetal alcohol effects (FEA), alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD), and neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) are terms used to describe the permanent physical and mental challenges faced by children who were prenatally exposed to alcohol. Postnatal risks are considered in relation to a compromised home environment resulting from maternal incapacity. The impact of paternal and maternal addiction is evident in the Adult Children of Alcoholics Syndrome (ACOA), based on the premise that, as a result of their childhood experiences, individuals who grow up in alcoholic families have similar characteristics. Intersecting Oppressions Women with alcohol addiction frequently inhabit a culture of silence that is perpetuated by complex, intersecting oppressions that act interdependently,
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Poverty compounds the stress levels of mothers with alcohol addiction, and exposes children to an increased risk of victimization. Addicted mothers fear the removal or loss of their children, which can dissuade them from entering a treatment center.
simultaneously, and reciprocally. Societal silencing mechanisms imposed on mothers with addiction include marginalization, surveillance, and censure by child welfare authorities and lay members of society. Like most women in Western societies, mothers with alcohol addiction are influenced by discourses of motherhood that call for sacrificial, intensive mothering. The ideal image of the “good mother” is one who raises her children in the “right circumstances,” meaning two heterosexual parents, preferably married, with the mother (not too young or too old) who is the caregiver and the father who is the breadwinner. There also exists an underlying assumption that the ideal mother is mentally stable, without any interference of abuse. When mothers with alcohol addiction exhibit socially unacceptable or stigmatized behaviors that challenge the ideal image, they are criticized and labeled “bad mothers” and face punitive and stigmatizing judgment.
In addition, mothers with alcohol addiction frequently suffer from mental health disorders. In response to the high rates of co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders, the term dual diagnosis was coined, which resulted in the integration of substance abuse and mental health services. However, for some women, dual diagnosis is further complicated by a history of violence in the form of childhood physical and/or sexual abuse, and is often followed by adult partner abuse. Current research supports the link between abuse histories and subsequent mental health problems as well as subsequent addiction issues. Often, women suffering from these challenges are faced with multiple barriers to effective mothering, such as inadequate income, as well as difficulty meeting basic needs such as food, housing, transportation, and adequate childcare. Exposed to severe, chronic stressors within their families and communities, women in poverty are especially vulnerable
to psychological distress and problem drinking. They and their children are at increased risk of victimization due to their compromised living environment. Challenges to Recovery Alcoholics Anonymous is a long-standing and highly regarded peer support program that is a crucial aspect of recovery for both women and men. In part, its efficacy is related to supportive and challenging relationships that facilitate breaking the silence of addiction, an important first step in recovery. Although few in number, professionally managed, publicly funded treatment programs for mothers have been developed in the larger societal context that equates the mother with an alcohol addiction to poor care for her children. Therefore, a justification for publicly supported treatment programs for mothers has been made, and is seen as the first step toward a comprehensive preventative program for children who are considered “at risk” for a wide range of problems. A common argument for enhanced, gender-specific recovery programs for women is that costs to the public are reduced when women recover from their addiction and are able to care for their children. Historically, treatment programs for alcoholism focused almost exclusively on patterns of drug and alcohol use among men, with little attention given to the disparate social, emotional, and economic realities of women’s lives. Justification for this partiality was based on men having higher rates of addiction with more visible social consequences and being more likely than women to access treatment, stay longer, and have better rates of treatment completion. Cultural beliefs that excessive drinking is more acceptable for men than for women, women’s drinking was often treated as invisible. As a result, many women with alcohol abuse problems often concealed their addiction. However, with the women’s movement and concomitant advances in research on women’s issues, the traditional, malecentered recovery programs based on the premise that what holds true for men can also be applied to women was challenged, leading to the creation of gender-based recovery programs. Though treatment plays a vital role in helping women with alcohol addiction stabilize and reestablish their lives, the number of custodial mothers
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who enter, stay, and complete residential recovery programs is low. Several factors contribute to this circumstance. The possible removal or loss of children is a powerful sanction that is feared by many mothers and can induce concealment and underlie their reluctance to seek help. Therefore, deciding whether to enter a recovery program is often poses a dilemma for the custodial mother. Although they feel unable to provide adequate emotional support while experiencing distress, and believe sobriety and mental health would contribute significantly to the ability to mother effectively, they soon discover that most treatment centers are unable to accommodate children: mothers are often required to relinquish their children to relatives or the state while undergoing treatment. The double-barreled stigma associated with addiction and voluntary relinquishment of child custody leads to feelings of guilt and failure and is often the greatest challenge for mothers in recovery. As well, entering a residential treatment program often elicits an overwhelming sense of grief stemming from multiple losses, including the loss of their parental rights and responsibilities, their role as a mother, and the meaning and significance derived from a relationship with their children. Treatment Programs An examination of treatment needs for women in recovery suggests a general consensus that treatment should be gender specific with an acknowledgment of the differences for women in relation to the effects of substance use, the patterns of use, and societal responses to women’s addictions. Given the multiple locations of women in relation to class and race, the context of their addiction and their experience in treatment is varied and complex. Finding common ground to support mothers with addiction remains an ongoing challenge to the development of effective recovery programs. Research indicates that vocational training, education, self-care strategies, nutritional information, support from family and friends, and access to community resources are factors that mediate recovery. Also, a growing body of literature suggests that many women who have also experienced childhood sexual abuse and/or domestic violence find that a supportive environment that enables the development of their spirituality provides a context for the development of hope.
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In relation to programming, effective recovery centers also incorporate facilities for children as well as childcare, prenatal care, mental health programming, and workshops on women-centered topics. Treatment programs that honor the importance of the therapeutic relationship and mutual support as the cornerstone for the provision of ongoing emotional support is a crucial aspect of intervention. Including children in the recovery journey is an evolving aspect of treatment efficacy. The children have witnessed the detrimental effects of substance abuse and other concurrent challenges while suffering the multiple consequences of these issues. Not only do children need to witness their mother’s progress in treatment in order to reestablish trust in her and their relationship, they also need support to overcome the issues they face as a result of their mother’s struggles. Where it is not possible for children to be on-site at the recovery center, having access to their children is a vital part of the recovery process for mothers. However, a mother’s access to her children depends on a variety of variables, such as physical distance between mother and child, schedule compatibility, custody orders, and agreements on behalf of the custodial parent. Visits maintain the mother–child relationship, help families cope with the transitions and changes that accompany recovery, and provide a base for transition back into the home, as well as reassure the child of the mother’s continued interest in the their lives. Interventions such as mothering skills and including children in the recovery process can promote resiliency in the mother, the child, and the relationship as well as serve to link children to supportive services. While recovery programs for mothers have yielded positive results, they may shroud the untenable life circumstances that have led to addiction. Therefore, in addition to recovery programs aimed at the individual, simultaneous effort is required to address the larger societal context that currently fails to address the more global stressors faced by women, such as family violence, sexual abuse, poverty, oppression, and mental health challenges. From a holistic perspective, the context of a woman’s life—including her physical, emotional, and spiritual health, as well as the social and occupational components of overall wellness—must be deemed
equally as important as symptoms, diagnosis, and individual counseling. See Also: “Bad” Mothers; Drug Abuse; Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; Poverty and Mothering. Bibliography American Medical Association. American Medical Association Complete Medical Encyclopedia. New York: Random House, 2003. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2000. DeVault, M. L. Liberating Method: Feminism and Social Research. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1999. O’Reilly, A. Mother Matters: Motherhood as Discourse and Practice. Toronto: Association for Research on Mothering, 2004. Constance A. Barlow University of Calgary
Algeria Algeria, officially the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, is the second-largest country in Africa, stretching from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea down into the Sahara. It became a socialist state in 1962, after winning independence from France, its former colonial ruler. Arabic is the only official language, though Berber dialects have received some recognition, and French is still used in education and in certain media. In the 1970s, improvements in the health system increased the fertility rate to 7–8 children per mother, though the rate has since decreased dramatically due to changes in society, reaching a yearly birth rate of 1.82 births/woman in 2008, with the number of children born per woman in her childbearing years projected to be 2.38 by 2010. Population Growth and Allowances Before 1980, there was no official birth control program in Algeria; most people lived in extended fami-
lies, patriarchal and patrilineal, with an emphasis on producing as many children—particularly sons—as possible. The rapid demographic growth, however, led the government to establish a family planning program with the emphasis on “birth spacing” and family well-being. Maternal and Infant Protection Centers were created to provide advice and contraceptives to interested women. Religious authorities found birth control compatible with Islam as long as it was voluntary, and included neither abortion nor sterilization. By 1989, when the United Nations Fund for Population Activities set up a new program of education and health care in Algeria, it was estimated that 35 percent of Algerian women of childbearing age were using contraception. By 1990 the infant mortality rate had decreased to 67 per 1,000 live births. A system of family allowances for certain employed persons, begun by the French in 1943, has gradually been extended to more categories of workers, but still offers little for single or divorced mothers. In 2008, the population reached approximately 34 million, almost equally divided between males and females. More than half of university students are women. Though women now represent some 70 percent of lawyers and 60 percent of judges in Algeria, as well as predominating in medicine, the movement of women into the general workforce is slow, in part because overall unemployment is high. Official statistics state that 25 percent of Algerians were out of work in 2004, for example, and some observers think that 50 percent of males under 30 are without full-time employment today. Many men immigrate to other countries to find work. In the cities, large groups of young men without jobs lounge in the cafés and plazas. In April 2007, a conference on women in the workplace was held in Algiers, concentrating on issues such as access to employment and sexual harassment on the job. Women currently make up only 15–20 percent of the workforce. Childcare providers are in short supply, and the recent increase in nuclear families living apart from relatives makes it difficult for mothers to work outside the home. Societal Standards for Algerian Mothers Algerian women are expected to be quiet, modest, decorous, virgins until marriage, and faithful
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wives afterward. A new bride traditionally lives with her husband in or near the bridegroom’s family home; there is frequently a difficult relationship with her mother-in-law. New mothers, since they gain status by producing boys, favor their sons and often nurse them longer than they do daughters. The tie between mother and son remains warmly intimate, and is often the closest connection in the family. Even when a married woman has a house or apartment she is, as L. Massignon remarks, “a stranger in her own home,” because there is no community property between husband and wife in Algerian law. The legal system is a combination of French and Islamic law. The Algerian Family Code of 1984 reinforced fundamentalist attitudes toward women and actually restricted women’s rights, despite the fact that women fighters, porteuses de feu (bomb carriers), played a significant part earlier in the War of Independence. Helen Metz finds that through their participation in the war effort, Algerian women “thus achieved a new sense of their own identity and a measure of acceptance from men that they had not enjoyed before.” Whereas the French discouraged the practice of veiling, after independence the number of women wearing veils in public increased both because of social pressure to conform and the entry of more women into situations outside the home. The limited emancipation achieved by Algerian women gives them an uncertain status in society. Sociologists report that women today are both “more religious” and “more modern” than earlier generations. The 2005 revision to family code paradoxically makes it easier for men to divorce their wives and avoid support payments. In the cities, there are numerous divorced women and children who are homeless. Reliable information on divorce rates is difficult to find; popular blogs state that “everyone” is getting divorced these days, but official reports vary. Additionally, civil wars and natural disasters have created many orphans, who may be assisted by such organizations as the Foundation Mahfoud Boucebi or the Algerian branch of SOS Kinderdorf International. Formal adoption in the Western sense is not permitted by Islamic law, but the government has established a program of foster parents to care for orphans.
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Allende, Isabel
Algerian Literature Modern Algerian literature, like culture, is divided between Arabic, French, and local dialects. The most famous writer from Algeria is Nobel laureate Albert Camus (1913–60), born of French-Algerian settlers in Mondovi. He hoped to find ways to establish a free and cosmopolitan society in Algeria. Despite political failures, his work is much appreciated by readers in the land of his birth that he describes so beautifully in Noces (Nuptials). Assia Djebar (1936) is another well-known Algerian writer of French expression; she is especially concerned with the situation of Algerian women before, during, and after the War for Independence from France. Motherhood is a recurrent theme in her fiction, and mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and female friends are important in her writings. She values the feminine culture of traditional Islamic societies, yet criticizes the restrictions placed on women by Islamic men. Ahlam Mosteghanemi is the first Algerian woman to publish a novel in Arabic, Memory in the Flesh (1985). Poet/singer/ painter Houria Niati (1948) now lives in England where she works in French, English, and Arabic. See Also: France; Islam and Motherhood; Postcolonialism and Mothering; Sons and Mothers. Bibliography Carroll, David. Albert Camus the Algerian: Colonialism, Terrorism, Justice. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. Charrad, Mounira M. States and Women’s Rights: The Making of Postcolonial Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. Djebar, Assia. Women of Algiers in Their Apartment. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992. Hintz, Martin. Algeria. New York: Scholastic, 2006. Metz, Helen Chapan, ed. Algeria: A Country Study. Washington, DC: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1994. Phillips, John and Martin Evans. Algeria: Anger of the Dispossessed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008. Ringrose, Priscilla. Assia Djebar: In Dialogue With Feminisms. New York: Rodopi, 2006. Kittye Delle Robbins-Herring Mississippi State University
Allende, Isabel Isabel Allende, a Chilean American novelist/memoirist now residing in San Rafael, California, merges feminist political-social commentary with family sagas, myth, and personal history. Born in Lima, Perum in 1942, she says her mother Francisca is her greatest supporter. The caption of a photo of her mother and herself, viewable in Allende’s current online album, reads: “My mother is the longest love affair of my life. We have never cut the umbilical cord.” Letters to her mother form the basis of the memoir The Sum of Our Days (2008), and she frequently visits her in Chile. Earlier, while working for the United Nations in Santiago, Isabel married Miguel Frías. In 1963 she gave birth to her daughter Paula, and in 1966 to her son Nicolás. Reflections in Allende Literature One of her first publications was Grandmother Panchita, a story she told her own children. In 1973 the assassination of her cousin Salvador Allende sent her into exile in Venezuela. When she got word her grandfather was dying, she began a letter for him that became her first novel, The House of the Spirits (1982). Her grandparents were the models for the two characters in the book, Esteban Trueba and Clara del Valle. Susan Dobrian notes: this novel established “a political stake in motherhood” and “a feminine genealogy that stands against patriarchal repression.” Then came Eva Luna (1987) and The Stories of Eva Luna (1989). Her sensuous style and lyrical storytelling have been called magical realism, but Allende sees her novels “as just being realistic literature,” imposing fictional order on chaos by a long, trancelike process like “an elephant’s pregnancy.” The illness and death of her daughter led the author to reflect on her own childhood in her first openly autobiographical writing, Paula (1994). It begins: “Listen, Paula. I am going to tell you a story so that when you wake up you will not feel so lost.” Allende paints herself as the character of Demeter and her daughter as Persephone. Pregnancy and parturition play a large role in her fiction, where bellies swell like watermelons, bodies are ruined by births and miscarriages, and a dead boy’s ghost haunts his mother. The major maternal theme in these writings is mother–daughter relationships, but
Alpha Mom
with significant attention to mother–son relationships as well. In Tosca, an opera-mad young wife leaves her newborn son at home while she follows a honey-voiced medical student out into the South American oilfields, yet she never loses the sense of visceral connection to her child: “the animal pain that sank its claws in her every time she thought of her son.” Years later she wants to reconcile—but cannot—with husband and son. In her short story “The Judge’s Wife” in her book The Stories of Eva Luna, the evocatively named Juana la Triste hangs herself in shame because her outlaw son has abandoned her to the judge’s public cruelties, thus indirectly bringing about her son’s own death. In The Sum of Our Days (2009) Isabel recounts how she sought and found a second wife for her son Nico, a woman so perfect for him that the two fell in love at first sight. Daughters, stepdaughters, foster daughters, and daughters-in-law abound in these stories. Eliza in Daughter of Fortune (1999) is reared by two devoted foster mothers: the shrewd Victorian spinster Miss Rose, who educates her as a proper young lady, and the cook/housekeeper Mama Fresia, who gives the girl the physical affection and Indian wisdom that nurture her spirit. In contrast, Elena in Wicked Girl is neglected by her biological mother who, “exhausted by heat and the grind of running her boardinghouse, had no energy for tenderness or time to devote to her daughter.” The heroine of Inés of My Soul (2006), however, becomes the founding mother of the whole nation of Chile. The mother knot, for joy or woe, ties each woman to her children. See Also: Autobiographies; Chicana Mothering; Chile; Literature, Mothers in. Bibliography Correas de Zapata, Celia. Isabel Allende: Life and Spirits. Houston, TX: Arte Publico Press, 2002. Dobrian, Susan. “Writing in the Margin: Maternal and Indigenous Space in Entrada Libre.” College Literature, v.22 (1995). Dulfano, Isabel. “The Mother/Daughter Romance— Our Life: Isabel Allende in/and Paula.” Women’s Studies, v.35 (2006). Zeff, Jacqueline. “What Doesn’t Kill You, Makes You Fat: The Language of Food in Latina Literature.”
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Journal of American and Comparative Cultures, v.25 (2002). Kittye Delle Robbins-Herring Mississippi State University
Alpha Mom Originally coined by graphic designer Constance Van Flandern for the launch of a cable TV program The Mommy Channel in 2004, the expression alpha mom describes educated and well-off mothers who aim to reach excellence in motherhood. They believe that motherhood does not come naturally, so excellence in motherhood cannot be achieved simply by trusting their instinct. Alpha Moms believe motherhood to be like a job: they diligently and scrupulously look for the latest information on how to raise a child and regard their duty as similar to a manager in a corporate business. As the mission of Alpha Mom Website reads, “Alpha Mom was started because, as counter-intuitive as it may seem, motherhood is not a natural instinct for many (many) women. Rather, connectedness is a new mom’s first instinct. And, with nonjudgmental support and advice from other moms and parenting professionals, we try to help women embrace motherhood with confidence.” Because of their influence on American society, Alpha Moms have become an important focus for the marketing campaigns of major corporations and have been described as “hyperactive purchasing agents.” As so-called Soccer Moms and Yoga Moms before them, Alpha Moms have gained visibility as influential consumers and as an influential social group within American society. Van Flandern’s client was Isabel Kallman, herself a new mother and a former senior vice-president at Salomon Smith Barney, who decided to launch a cable channel on parenting when she could not find anything regarding motherhood on TV. The channel was launched in 2005, obtaining distribution deals with Comcast and Cox. Although the channel struggled in its early days, its name has come to designate a new conception of motherhood and its influence on American society has grown steadily. Important
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companies such as Nintendo, General Motors, and Procter & Gamble have increasingly recognized the power of Alpha Moms as trendsetters and highly social networkers. Part of the success of the Wii console game was due to the endorsement it received from Alpha Moms. General Motors decided to focus Cadillac campaigns—in the words of Liz Vanzura, one of its marketing directors—to “moms who wouldn’t be caught dead in a minivan. . . . Type A moms who hit one goal, then are off to the next.” In their projected image as efficient, technologically expert, and successful mothers both inside and outside the home, Alpha Moms combine two crucial American values: the work ethic and domesticity. See Also: Beta Mom; Consumerism and Motherhood; Intensive Mothering; Mommy Wars; Mothers Movement Online; New Momism; Technology and Motherhood. Bibliography AlphaMom.com. www.alphamom.com (accessed August 2008). Horovitz, Bruce. “Alpha Moms Leap to Top of Trendsetters.” USA Today (March 27, 2007). http://www .usatoday.com/money/advertising/2007-03-26-alpha -mom_N.htm (accessed August 2008). Patterson, Randall. “Empire of the Alpha Mom.” New York Times Magazine (June 12, 2005). http://nymag .com/nymetro/news/features/12026/ (accessed August 2008). Luca Prono Independent Scholar
Ambivalence, Maternal The changes and emotions associated with the arrival of a new baby are usually love, joy, and happiness. While most women take pleasure in having a baby, they may also feel exhausted, overwhelmed by the responsibilities of childcare, lonely if they take care of their child without sufficient social support, or confused about their new identity. Yet cultural images of new mothers rarely present such feelings. The difficulties, stress, or feelings of aggression that can be triggered by the transition
to motherhood thus take many women by surprise. The concept of maternal ambivalence captures the simultaneous experience of positive and negative feelings, beliefs, or thoughts about motherhood and the relationship between mother and child. While most mothers probably feel conflicted about their children and their motherhood role at some point, societal perceptions of ambivalence as somehow wrong or deviant make mothers feel guilty about their feelings. Ambivalence is generally defined as having both psychological and social components. Conflicting feelings, cognitions, and motivations appear on the subjective, psychological level, while contradictions between social roles, statuses, and norms emerge on the social-structural level. Psychological Perspectives The psychological understanding of maternal ambivalence is based on a presence of loving and hating feelings between a mother and an infant. In the works of psychoanalytic theorists like Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein, and Donald W. Winnicott, love and hate are rooted in the unconscious and can coexist. For the infant, feelings of ambivalence represent an important developmental step in the achievement of the separation from the mother. Mothers’ ambivalence stems from the contradictory emotions that they experience in the relationship with the infant, from the process of their separation, and the fear of losing the child. According to the psychological theories, the contradictory feelings become problematic if they become unmanageable or if they are suppressed. A mother’s awareness of the conflicted emotions can turn against her own self and result in an overwhelming sense of guilt and, possibly, depression. The focus of traditional psychoanalysis, however, is primarily on the infant and the environment the mother creates for the child’s psychological development. Contemporary psychotherapist Rozsika Parker, in her study on maternal ambivalence Torn in Two, extends this understanding and turns the attention to the significance of ambivalence for maternal psychological development. In this perspective, the achievement of ambivalence and a mother’s awareness of the coexistence of love and hate for the baby can actually be beneficial, as it promotes a sense of concern and responsibility toward the baby and a mother’s sense of self-autonomy.
Manageable ambivalence thus enables the mother to form a more fulfilling relationship with the baby. However, unmanageable ambivalence can develop into anxiety or depression due to cultural idealization of mothers. Since every mother has a desire to be considered a “good mother,” and experiencing anger and negative emotions toward the child is not a part of the “good mother” image, awareness of the contradictory feelings can increase the anxiety and guilt mothers feel about motherhood. The psychological relationship based on love and hate is thus also shaped by social and cultural conditions of mothering and the internalized image of a “good mother,” which women try to achieve. Behind the Mask of Motherhood In contemporary Western society, the conflicted and negative aspects of motherhood are, in the words of author Susan Maushart, hidden behind “the mask of motherhood,” which keeps maternal ambivalence concealed to non-mothers. The social pressure to be a “good mother” allows only for the expression of maternal ambivalence in the form of humor, as something that can easily be overcome. The negative aspects, doubts, or anger associated with mothering are culturally represented as a deviance or an illness that needs to be treated with therapy or medications—for example, as in postpartum depression. The mask of motherhood thus obscures the full spectrum of the mothering experience, leaving new mothers to face the discrepancy between the idealized expectations and the harsh realities of motherhood. Results of qualitative sociological research by Tina Miller, Martha McMahon, and Deborah Lupton suggest that this lack of preparation and understanding of the true reality of the motherhood experience represents one of the factors central to the presence of maternal ambivalence. Social and Cultural Contradictions As mothers’ relationships with children exist under particular historical, social, and cultural conditions that affect both how a mother feels about mothering and the role of mother, social theorists locate ambivalence not only in interpersonal relationships but also in conflicting social norms and expectations oriented toward the mothering role. Modern societal conditions are characterized by increas-
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ing choices, contradictions, and demands, as well as conflicting role-related norms and expectations. Mothers can thus experience maternal ambivalence as a result of the different norms and expectations connected to the mothering role. Social theorists agree that social expectations for contemporary mothers are historically very high. Contemporary mothers are expected to mother according to the prevailing ideology of intensive mothering. Intensive mothering, as characterized by Sharon Hays, requires a mother to be the central caregiver to the child, follow the advice of experts, always put the child’s needs ahead of her own, be fully absorbed emotionally with the child, and spend significant time and financial resources for the benefit of the child. Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels refer to this set of norms promoted by media as new momism and posit that increasing standards of perfection make it difficult for mothers to either achieve the prescribed ideal or carve a space for individual identity. This creates anxiety, guilt, and ambivalence for the motherhood experience. In the course of their mothering, mothers encounter numerous contradictory, cultural, and social expectations that have the potential to trigger ambivalent feelings. For example, while contemporary mothers are expected to devote a lot of time and energy to their children, there is also an opposite expectation that they remain women with their own identities, interests, or careers. The cultural debate of whether stay-at-home or employed mothers make better mothers, sometimes referred to as mommy wars, represents this cultural contradiction, which can leave mothers ambivalent about their mothering regardless of which direction they choose. Maternal ambivalence can also originate in the conflict between prevailing and internalized norms of immediate attachment between a mother and a baby, and a mother’s actual experience of forming a bond with the child that does not involve falling in love at first sight. In this way, any mothering experience that contradicts the prescribed norms of mothering can create feelings of ambivalence. Intergenerational Ambivalence Maternal ambivalence is often associated with new mothers or mothers with young children due to the
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intensity and dramatic changes related to the transition to motherhood and demands of the early childcare. However, many sources of conflicted feelings remain, and new contradictions appear, once the children are older or even grown up. The ambivalence and dilemmas in the relationships between adult children and their older parents are referred to as intergenerational ambivalence. Maternal ambivalence, in these cases, stems from the contradiction of the societal expectations on children’s achievement and behavior (for example, achieving financial independence, taking care of the elderly parents) and their actual practices (not having a job, living with the parents). Social Structural Differences Mothers also experience maternal ambivalence differently according to their position in social structures and the resources they have to resolve it. Structural conditions and relations (race, ethnicity, class position) differentiate how mothers in various social settings experience maternal ambivalence. For example, for white, middle-class mothers, issues of personal identity or balancing work and family can produce strong feelings of ambivalence. However, for low-income or African American mothers, who have historically high rates of participation in the paid labor force, ambivalent feelings can be produced by another set of conflicting social norms, such as an expectation to provide quality education to their children or keep them safe in neighborhoods that do not have satisfactory schools or safe streets. Social, structural, and cultural conditions of mothering thus also affect experiences of maternal ambivalence and need to be considered along with the traditional psychological view of maternal ambivalence. See Also: Becoming a Mother; Freud, Sigmund; Intensive Mothering; Mommy Wars; New Momism; Postpartum Depression. Bibliography Douglas, Susan J. and Meredith W. Michaels. The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined Women. New York: Free Press, 2004. Hollway, Wendy and Brid Featherstone. Mothering and Ambivalence. New York: Routledge, 1997.
Lupton, Deborah. “Love/Hate Relationship: The Ideals and Experiences of First-Time Mothers.” Journal of Sociology, v.36/1 (2000). Maushart, Susan. The Mask of Motherhood: How Becoming a Mother Changes Our Lives and Why We Never Talk About It. New York: Penguin Books, 1999. McMahon, Martha. Engendering Motherhood: Identity and Self-Transformation in Women’s Lives. New York: Guilford Press, 1995. Miller, Tina. “Is This What Motherhood Is All About? Weaving Experiences and Discourse Through Transition to First-Time Motherhood.” Gender & Society, v.21 (2007). Parker, Rozsika. Torn in Two: The Experience of Maternal Ambivalence. London: Virago Press, 1995. Peskowitz, Miriam. The Truth Behind the Mommy Wars: Who Decides What Makes a Good Mother? New York: Seal Press, 2005. Pillemer, Karl and Kurt Luescher, eds. Intergenerational Ambivalences: New Perspectives on Parent-Child Relations in Later Life. Maryland Heights, MO: Elsevier, 2004. Ivana Brown Rutgers University
Androgenesis The term androgenesis (from the Latin andro, meaning male, and genesis, meaning life) originates in biology but has recently emerged in popular culture to describe reproduction inside the male body. In the scientific literature, the term first appeared in a 1916 Glossary of Botanical Terms (3rd edition) and narrowly referred to the growth of a life form from a male cell. Over time, it has come to mean the development of an embryo with only paternal chromosomes, which results from the failure of the egg nucleus to participate in fertilization. The resulting embryo is thus a parthenogenic offspring, or clone of the father. Most recently, however, androgenesis describes reproduction in the male body, exemplified by some species of fish, including sea horses, sea dragons, and pipefish, which reproduce through male pregnancy and ges-
tation. Feminist scholarship has used the term to describe the process whereby human males might eventually reproduce their offspring in their own bodies, with the help of current and future reproductive technologies. Historical Interest Academic discussions of the feasibility and desirability of human androgenesis note that evidence of human interest in and desire for male pregnancy litters our history. Aristotle described human reproduction in distinctly androgenetic terms, claiming for men the power to form life and leaving to women the menial task of gestation. Androgenetic folklore abounds in Western culture, including the story of Zeus birthing Athena from his head. In Norse folklore, the god Loki allegedly twice gave birth, once after transforming into the body of a mare and once in his original form after eating a burnt ogress. According to some interpretations, even the Christian virgin birth story displaces Mary as the agent of generation in favor of a wholly procreative male God. Seventeenth-century spermists explained human reproduction as a function of the transmission of an homunculus, or “little man,” in sperm, that is then transferred into a woman to grow into a child. The idea of human androgenesis has gained increasing traction in both popular culture and scientific research during the last third of the 20th century. Male pregnancy is the theme of several commercial films, including Night of the Blood Beast (1958), A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), and Rabbit Test (1978). It was Ivan Reitman’s 1994 blockbuster, Junior, featuring a pregnant Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, that ignited recent widespread interest in the possibility of pregnant men. Four years after Junior, artist Lee Mingwei’s “World’s First Pregnant Man” Website (www .malepregnancy.com) claimed to report in “real time” on the scientific breakthrough of the world’s first pregnant man. The site sports a continuous fetal heartbeat rhythm, articles about the science of male pregnancy, and videotaped interviews with the pregnant mom/dad-to-be. Though repeatedly revealed as an elaborate fabrication, Mingwei’s site, which he maintains and regularly updates, still receives numerous daily hits, 11 years after its
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inception. Androgenesis is also the focus of recent science fiction literature as well, including Stanley Pottinger’s Fourth Procedure and Sherrie Tepper’s The Fresco. Further evidence of keen interest in male pregnancy was demonstrated by the response to the 2008 announcement that transgender American Thomas Beatie was pregnant. Mr. Beatie became an overnight media favorite. He starred in a quickly produced Discovery Channel documentary, and Seal Press published his autobiography by the year’s end. The public announcement of his condition ignited a worldwide conversation about the ethics and desirability of male pregnancy and gestation. For Thomas Beatie, conception, gestation, and birth were possible because he was born with female reproductive anatomy and only later, in adulthood, underwent the hormonal (but not surgical) transition required to become male. According to some researchers, however, the science of human male pregnancy may soon be technologically feasible for men born without the benefit of Beatie’s female reproductive organs. Overcoming Challenges Researchers are studying challenges once thought insurmountable for male pregnancy. Men have two key physical features that prevent human androgenetic reproduction: they lack a uterus, and produce a hormonal environment at odds with a growing fetus. Many infertile women share one or both of these barriers, however, and research aimed at solving these problems for them could be equally applied to men. For example, recent successes in uterine transplantation, using either a donated organ or an artificially grown organ, could potentially be applied to both men and women. Alternatively, mounting histories of some women’s successful ectopic pregnancies challenges arguments about the need for a uterus altogether. Finally, looking into the future, some suggest that pre-implantation genetic interventions could allow parents to choose to have their male children grow a uterus—just in case they should some day wish to use one. Science is also addressing the hormonal environment issue. New endocrinology reveals that the pregnancy itself produces hormones, possibly in sufficient
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amounts, to allow a “pregnant dad” to support a fetus in his otherwise testosterone-rich body. Other research has documented the presence of dramatic reductions in testosterone, and concurrent increases in estrogens, in the male partners of pregnant women during pregnancy and delivery. Scientists hypothesis that such hormone shifts occur naturally to bond father to baby, while the baby remains in the mother’s womb. The well-documented phenomenon of couvades, or sympathetic pregnancy, may be the result of these dramatic shifts in men’s biochemistry during their female partner’s pregnancies. One possible outcome of such discoveries could be the realization of human androgenesis that has, up until this point, existed only in the spate of science fiction works that have tackled the ethics and political implications of such a turn in human history. See Also: Aristotle; Artificial Uterus; Ectopic Pregnancy; Hormone Therapy; In Vitro Fertilization; Pregnancy; Uterine Transplantation. Bibliography Graves, Jen. “Getting Patrick Pregnant.” The Stranger (July 11, 2007). Hedtke, Shannon M., Kathrin Stanger-Hall, Robert J. Baker, and David M. Hillis. “All-Male Sexuality: Origin and Maintenance of Androgenesis in the Asian Clam Corbicula.” Evolution, v.62/5 (2008). McKeen, Catherine. “The Female in Aristotle’s Biology.” Philosophical Books, v.48/1 (2007). Morel, Jim. “Male Pregnancy: Seahorse Style!” Science in Africa, www.scienceafrica.co.za/2003/february/ shorse.htm (accessed February 2003). Polinski, Michael. “Feeling Her Pain: Male Pregnancy Experience.” http://includes.iparenting.com/layout /article_print.php?aid=2045&type=1 (accessed May 2009). ScienceDaily.com. “Male Pregnancy: Genetic Archaeology Offers Clues to Gender-Bending Mystery.” http:// www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/0612069536 .htm (accessed December 2008). Teresi, Dick and Kathleen McAuliffe. “Male Pregnancy.” In Sex/Machine, P. Hopkins, ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998. Deirdre M. Condit Virginia Commonwealth University
Angel in the House The Angel in the House was an idealization of womanhood embraced by Victorian society, especially the middle class. Its origins lie in the patriarchal belief that women, because of their sex, are reproductive and domestic beings. The term comes from Coventry Patmore’s poem of the same title, published between 1854 and 1862, but the image of the domestic paragon who finds fulfillment and happiness in motherhood and family life was already well established by mid-century. Restricted to the home yet powerful through her moral influence, the Angel is a contradictory figure who reflects some of the challenges to women’s social position in the Victorian period and beyond. The domestic Angel emerges as loving, good and pure, always gentle, pious, submissive, and above all, selfless and self-sacrificing. Without troubling about self-identity, she consistently places others, especially her husband and children, first. In the privacy of the home, she creates a haven of peace and benevolence, and a sanctuary from the morally suspect public sphere. She submits to her husband, but her innate female goodness makes her superior to the male sex. She is her home’s moral center, providing guidance and exerting influence on the entire household. The Angel in the House, although popularized by Patmore, was familiar to the readers of novels and women’s advice manuals by the time of his poem’s publication. Charles Dickens privileges female characters like Agnes Wickfield in David Copperfield (1849–50) whom David deems his better angel and identifies with a church’s stained glass window. In her popular conduct guides, like The Women of England (1838) and The Mothers of England (1843), Sara Stickney Ellis advocates domestic and maternal duties as the paramount means of fulfillment for womankind’s angelic nature. The Angel also had an American counterpart in the 19th-century ideal of the True Woman. In its insistent association of women with the private sphere, the Angel ideal placed significant limitations on the majority of women’s lives, but the conduct manuals suggest that her domestic responsibilities could also prove empowering. Her duties in the home education of the very young, both male
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ing. Woolf’s admitted difficulty in permanently banishing the persistent angelic presence reflects the power of the Angel into the 20th century. See Also: Essentialism and Mothering; History of Motherhood: 1750 to 1900; Idealization of Mothers; Literature, Mothers In; Myths of Motherhood (Good/Bad); Nursing (Profession) and Motherhood; Patriarchal Ideology of Motherhood; Republican Motherhood.
Victorian photos capture the demure persona of the Angel in the House, who was expected to be gentle, pious, and selfless.
Bibliography Helsinger, Elizabeth, Robin Lauterbach Sheets, and William Veeder. The Woman Question: Society and Literature in Britain and America 1817–1883. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983. Langland, Elizabeth. “Nobody’s Angels: Domestic Ideology and Middle-Class Women in the Victorian Novel.” PMLA, v.107/2 (January 1992). Poovey, Mary. Uneven Developments: The Ideological Work of Gender in Mid-Victorian England. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988. Rita Bode Trent University
and female, meant a role in the moral development of the nation’s citizens. Her comforting, orderly home required strong managerial skills and also signified social status, which middle-class women, no less than their husbands, desired. Through shifting societal needs, her image came to benefit her unmarried, childless sisters; Florence Nightingale’s vision of nurses as ministering angels, practicing the care and mothering associated with womanhood, helped promote nursing as an acceptable occupation for single women. The Angel, however, casts a long shadow. Modernist writer Virginia Woolf records her personal struggles with the angelic presence. The character Mrs. Ramsay, in To the Lighthouse (1927), based in part on Woolf’s own mother, personifies the intense appeal of selfless maternal care; at the same time, Woolf shows Mrs. Ramsay’s husband and children as continually depleting her emotional and spiritual inner life to nurture their own. In addressing the subject of Professions for Women (1931), Woolf tells of the Angel’s phantom urgings to display her feminine charms rather than her mind in her writ-
Angola Situated on the Atlantic, in southwestern African continent, Angola has a population of 12.3 million (2007), and a life expectancy of 39.8 for females and 37.5 for males. Its birth rate is 45.1 per 1,000, and an infant mortality rate of 180.2 per 1,000 live births, making it the highest in the world. The maternal mortality rate, at 17 per 1,000 births, is the fourth highest in the world. The fertility rate at 6.2 births per woman (2008) is the tenth highest in the world. With the arrival of the European settlers in the 17th century, Queen Nzinga (1582–1663) became a heroine leading the resistance to the Portuguese, who had already devastated sections of Angolan society with the slave trade. The Portuguese, who occupied Angola until 1975, built little infrastructure in the country. Independence came after war, and was followed by a civil war between the leftwing government and right-wing rebels, which led
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to a further devastation of much of the countryside, and destruction of what little government infrastructure existed. As a result, when the war ended in 2002, the country’s health care system was in disarray, with many societal problems. Access to Health Services In traditional Angolan society, women had the role not only of taking care of children, cooking, and cleaning, but were also expected to plant and harvest crops and fetch water. Considered the property of their husbands, women remained illiterate and infant mortality rates were high. Access to health services and education was limited for all Africans in the country, and more so for women who, during the fighting that started in 1961, had the task of holding together families. The revolutionary M.P.L.A. government of Agostinho Neto, which came to power in 1975, promoted itself on the basis of providing better health care for women; the Liga da Mulher Angolana (League of Angolan Women) was later established to help promote this. Since 1963, the Organização da Mulher Angolana (Organization of Angolan Women) had operated within the left-wing Movimento Popular de Liberatção de Angola (MPLA). In politics, there were 20 members of the National Assembly, and a number of women in mainstream politics such as Albina Assis as oil minister; Fátima Jarden as minister of fisheries; and Josefina Pitra Diakite as ambassador to the United States. Analia de Vitoria Pereira contested the country’s 2002 presidential election. See Also: Botswana; Congo; Congo, Democratic Republic of; War and Mothering; Zambia. Bibliography Angolan Women Building the Future: From National Liberation to Women’s Emancipation. London: Organization of Angolan Women & Zed Press, 1985. Hunt, Simon. Situation Analysis of Children and Women in Angola. Oxford: University of Oxford, International Development Centre, Food Studies Group, 1992. James, W. Martin. Historical Dictionary of Angola. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. Shapiro, Martin Frederick. Medicine in the Service of Colonialism: Medical Care in Portuguese Africa
1885–1974. Los Angeles: Ph.D. Thesis, University of California, 1983. Justin Corfield Geelong Grammar School, Australia
Animal Species and Motherhood Motherhood in animal species can be defined as those behaviors directed toward the care and maintenance of offspring and often the offspring of close relatives. These behaviors can start before conception in some species, and can continue well into the young animal’s life in others species. Maternal behavior is very varied among the animal species and can fall anywhere along this spectrum of care. In some cases, the maternal behavior is aberrant and includes behaviors such as cannibalism. Biological, experiential, and environmental mechanisms can be used to understand the observed maternal behavior in animals. Additionally, the study of animal maternal behavior has been used to provide a model for human maternal behavior. Variation in Maternal Interaction The spectrum of maternal behavior ranges from animals that never see their young to others that prepare for their offspring before and after conception. The digger wasp is an example of an organism that prepares for its offspring by digging a hole in the ground as a nest. She puts a food supply (such as caterpillars) in the nest with her egg and then closes up the nest. The wasp then leaves her offspring to develop on their own using the food supply she had provided. Birds are examples of mothers that alter their feeding and daily routine to create a suitable nest to incubate their eggs. Once their chicks have hatched, the mother bird and her mate will feed and care for them. Elephants also spend extensive time with their calves, which have been known to still sporadically nurse from their mothers at age 4. Normal and Aberrant Maternal Behavior In animals that give live birth, such as dogs or cats, licking and nursing are the first maternal behaviors
exhibited at the birth. In the case of dogs, the licking dries the puppy, stimulates its respiration, and guides it to nurse. The puppies usually nurse until they are weaned by the mother around 8 weeks. Although kittens are seen being carried by their mothers, puppies will return to their mother when she licks their head. These behaviors result in the retrieval of the babies so that they are moved back to the safety of the nest area. Maternal behavior patterns can go awry in animals. Maternal aggression, aberrant retrieving, and cannibalism have been observed. Explanations for these behaviors range from biological or offspring characteristics to experiential causes. An elephant in the zoo may never have observed a birth before, so their own childbirth experience will be their first exposure. Explained as a result of inexperience and or confusion, the new elephant mother may demonstrate aggression, such as kicking, toward her newborn calf. The calf is temporarily removed from the mother and then later reintroduced. In multi-dog households, a new mother dog may move her offspring from place to place in the house. She aberrantly retrieves them rather than settling down and finding a location to nurse the new puppies. This negative pattern can sometimes be corrected by isolating her from the other dogs in the house and changing her environment. In a more extreme case, cats will sometimes kill and eat their offspring. They may reject offspring that is not the correct size (indicative of a health issue). In one example, a cat’s offspring were removed at birth and brought back an hour later. The cat rejected the kittens that had been cleaned and no amniotic fluid was present. The non-cleaned kittens were accepted. Biological Basis of Animal Mothering Mothering in animals is sometimes described as instinct, or of having a biological basis. From the field of ethology, Konrad Lorenz studied egg-rolling behavior in the graylag goose. He notes that a brooding goose will return an egg outside of her nest back into her nest by rolling it. The way in which the goose performs this behavior is mechanical, since the goose will roll items such as beer cans and balls. Additionally, if she starts to roll an egg and it is removed, she will still complete the roll-
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ing pattern on the now missing egg. Lorenz hypothesized that the sight of any egg-like object outside the nest provides a sign stimuli that results in the fixed egg-rolling pattern. Another example of a sign stimuli is baby birds opening their mouths and for their mother to feed them. This behavior stimulates the genetically predetermined feeding behavior. Another example of the biological basis of motherhood in animals is the presence of hormones in the mother before, during, and after pregnancy. These hormones are used to time the arrival of the offspring and start the appropriate maternal behavior. Studies of rats has shown that a cross-blood transplant between rats with new offspring and rats without offspring will result in maternal behaviors in the rat without offspring. Imprinting has been defined as an animal following the first item/individual that it sees after birth. In the wild, imprinting allows a young bird to identify its mother. Researchers had believed that animals could imprint to non-species-related items (such as a teddy bear or ball). This understanding of imprinting was challenged by Gilbert Gottlieb in his study of waterfowl and other precocial bird species. Research in the field had reported that young birds were very drawn to a unique call used by various species. When tested in the laboratory, Gottlieb found that young birds were drawn to the maternal calls of members of their own species, even if they had never heard them before. The young birds would go toward these species-specific calls despite having previously been considered imprinted on an experimentally induced inanimate object. He later concluded that the prenatal auditory input the chick received (hearing the mother’s call before hatching occurred) was more powerful than any visual-stimulus imprinting after being hatched. Animal Mothers, Research, and Humans A scientist of note in the application of animal motherhood to human mother/infant relationships was Harry Harlow and his monkey love experiments. Harlow studied baby rhesus monkeys in order to gain insight into the infant/mother relationship. He removed infant rhesus monkeys from their mothers soon after birth and provided two types of surrogate mothers. The surrogate mothers—one made of wire alone and one made of wire with a terry cloth
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covering—were both able to dispense milk to the infant monkey. In his series of experiments, Harlow found that maternal attachment was greater than meeting physical needs such as one of hunger/thirst. When able to choose, the baby monkeys preferred the terry cloth mother, even if all food was dispensed by the wire mother. Harlow then put the monkeys in with either a terry cloth or a wire mother. The baby monkeys raised with a terry cloth surrogate were better able to soothe themselves when compared to an infant monkey raised with a wire surrogate. Finally, Harlow placed monkeys in seclusion for the first 8 months of their life, during which time they received no exposure to any other monkeys or either type of surrogate mothers. They found that baby monkeys could only develop attachment and
Horses are follower species and are always near their young; both mother and foal show extreme distress upon separation.
normal social interactions if their period of solitary confinement lasted no more than 90 days. After that critical period, damage to the monkey was irreversible. In human infants, this critical period was estimated to be six months. Thus, the role of motherhood in monkeys was used to elucidate the role of motherhood in humans. The ethics of this research has been called into question due to concerns about animal welfare and the suffering the infant monkeys endured. Leonard Rosenblum, a student of Harlow, also studied maternal deprivation. He found that pigtail Macaque monkeys were severely disturbed when removed from their mothers. The level of protest at removal from the mother, as well as the subsequent depression at the separation, was experimentally explored. The baby monkeys did show some effort to cope with the loss of their mother and would engage in foraging behavior, which was identified by Rosenblum as therapeutic. In the Bonnet monkey, the infants’ status in the group hierarchy was a key factor in the ability of the foraging behavior to rehabilitate or reverse the partial isolation-induced, disturbed behavior. Animals and Their Amazing Mothers Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly. Bats use echolocation to locate their food and their offspring. In captivity, a bat does fly until about five to six weeks postnatal, and will still nurse for three months. Before they are weaned, the mother bat will feed the baby bat the masticated food from their cheek pouches. The baby bats vocalize, as done in echolocation, to communicate with their mothers. A mother bat is able to identify her baby by their vocal signature, or unique isolation call. Even on first foraging flights, the baby bat may maintain vocal contact with their mother throughout the flight in this same fashion. Opossum are the only North American marsupials and are nocturnal omnivores. In response to predators, they will freeze or “play dead.” A baby opossum is born blind, deaf, and hairless. These tiny babies crawl into their mother’s pouch where they nurse for three months. Even for a few weeks after they are weaned, the baby still rides in the mother’s pouch while she hunts. The baby is then ready to leave the pouch.
Seahorse mothers are perhaps one of the most unusual animal mothers in that she deposits her unfertilized eggs into the male seahorse’s pouch. After this, the male seahorse takes over and the female seahorse is no longer involved in the offspring’s survival. Dolphin mothers are considered to be some of the most dedicated mothers. They help their babies to learn how to breathe, eat, and swim. As the baby dolphin grows, the mother continues to protect and guide them about appropriate behavior in the pod. Humpback whales stay with their offspring for up to a year, and usually wean the baby by 11 months. When with groups, the mother whale will position herself between the calf and any possibly aggressive juvenile associates. An American black bear, which normally gives birth to two or three cubs at a time, may walk away from one born alone, calculating that it’s better to wait for a multiple birth next year than exhaust herself with a singleton now. The mother bear protects her cubs, warms them, and nurses them, sometimes sitting and cradling them in her forelegs while licking their heads and nursing them. Foraging mothers come immediately when their cubs cry. Mothers continue to lead and protect their cubs until the cubs are about 17 months old, when the mother becomes ready to mate again. Then she suddenly becomes intolerant of her yearlings and threatens them by chasing them away. Tasmanian Devil mothers put in a lot of effort to care for their young. The mother can give birth to about 20 or more, but only the four toughest will survive, as the mother has only four teats in her pouch. The mother carries her young in the pouch for about four months. When they are ready to leave, the mother puts them in a simple den to get accustomed to the outside world. She comes back regularly to feed them milk and teach them how to catch their own food. The pups are weaned at about 10 months and are mature when they are 2 years old. Tasmanian Devils only live about 5 or 6 years on average. Mothers of Precocial Offspring These species are generally grazing animals such as horses and sheep, and live in huge social groups of more than one female with one male. Behaviors
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immediately after birth are directed toward recognition of the infants and formation of a bond between mother and infant. Intense maternal licking is done so the mother can form an olfactory memory of her young. Within this class of maternal behavior, there are two distinctive maternal strategies: hiders and followers. The follower species, such as horses and sheep, are always near their young after giving birth. Both mother and young have separation issues and show extreme distress upon separation. Hider species such as cattle and deer leave the young hidden (after birth and initial licking) to rejoin the social group. These mothers nurse their young a few times during the day, but mostly maintain large distances from their young. Marine mammals are a diverse group of roughly 120 mammal species that are primarily ocean-dwelling or depend on the ocean for food. These animals consist of whales, dolphins, porpoises, manatees, dugon, seals, walruses, otters, and polar bears. Most of the marine mammals give birth to only one calf or pup at a time. Maternal care is very important to the survival of offspring that need to develop a thick insulating layer of blubber. Milk from the mother is more than 50 percent fat, which supports the development of blubber in their offspring. Marine Mothers Mother polar bears are extremely protective of their young, willing to risk their own lives in their cub’s defense. Polar bears stay with their mothers for up to 30 months, whether or not they are still nursing, as they depend on their mother for survival. When the cubs are 30 months old, the mother is ready to breed again and the cubs are chased away. Harbor seal mothers leave their pups during the nursing period so they can forage at sea instead of fasting, which their bodies cannot handle. The seals are able to nurse on both land and at sea. The harbor seal mother is extremely attentive and noses the pup often while the pup is nursing. After weaning, the mother shows no more interest in the pup. A mother sea otter aggressively defends her young against any intruders. The mother spends the majority of her time grooming her pup for the first three months. She carries her pup on her belly. When the mother dives for food, the pup is wrapped in kelp
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to keep it from drifting away. If the mother senses danger, she grabs the pup by the loose skin of the neck and dives until they get to safety. Walruses are extremely protective of their calves. The mother walrus will defend and protect her calf and shelter it under her chest between her foreflippers. Typically, calves ride on their mothers’ backs while they are in the water. Most calves are nursed for about two years or longer if the mother hasn’t produced another calf. Animal Mothers in the Desert Animals that live in the desert usually have special adaptations that allow them to survive the extreme temperatures and conditions. Some of the animals of the Sahara include the dromedary camel, fennec fox, addax, dama gazelle, and Saharan horned viper. Some of the animals of the Sonoran include the Sonoran desert toad, desert bighorn sheep, cactus wren, pronghorn antelope, and western diamondback rattlesnake. Snakes stay close to their offspring. Since newborn snakes are not able to see well through their soon-to-be-shed skin and do not have a striking force yet, the mother stays nearby to deter predators and keep the young babies warm. The Hairy Desert Scorpion’s offspring (generally as many as 20) stay very close to their mother, where they molt. After a week or two, the young scorpions will disperse and leave the mother. Desert bighorn sheep offspring stay constantly by their mother’s side for five to six months until they are weaned. The ewes isolate their lambs for the first few weeks. Each mother remains the leader of her offspring. Camels generally only give birth to a single calf. Calves remain close to their mothers until they reach maturity at 5 years of age. Mother camels will nurse their calves for one to two years. Animal Mothers in Australia Australia is home to some of the most unique and interesting groups of animals, the marsupials. These are mammals that carry their babies in a pouch until the baby matures. The koala is one of Australia’s best-known animals. Females usually give birth to only one joey a year. In the pouch, the tiny joey—weighing less than
0.35 ounces attaches itself to one of the mother’s teats, which swells in its mouth, preventing it from being dislodged from its only source of nutrition. The joey stays in its mother’s pouch for about six or seven months. After leaving the pouch, the joey rides on its mother’s abdomen or back and returns to the pouch to nurse until it is too big to fit inside the pouch. The joey leaves its mother’s home range somewhere between 1 and 3 years of age. The chudditch (Western quoll) is located in southwestern Australia. A chudditch is ready to breed at only 1 year of age. Females give birth to only one litter (which can include up to eight young) every year. About three months after they are born, the young leave the pouch but stay within the group. The Australian dingo can be found in almost any part of the Australian mainland, which provides access to drinking water. The dingoes are mature at 1 year of age and take a lifelong mate at that time. The dingo will give birth to between one and eight pups during the year. Both dingo parents take part in raising the pups, which stay with their parents for up to three years. The mother nurses the pups for two months and then the mother regurgitates food for the pups until they are about 4 months old. Kookaburras are birds that inhabit woodland areas of eastern and southwestern Australia. Kookaburras typically live in pairs or in small groups in open woodland. Both mother and father will incubate the eggs for a period of 25 days. The young leave the nest 30 days after hatching, but the parents continue to feed them for another 40 days. Animal Mothers in the Rainforest Rainforests are located across the world, generally around the equator between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Central and south America, Africa, India, southeast Asia, parts of Indonesia, and Australia all contain rainforests. There are many different species of plants and animals in the rainforest, such as butterflies, beetles, spiders, ticks, snakes, lizards, frogs, parrots, toucans, sloths, and jaguars. Orangutans, like humans, will give birth to one or two infants at a time. Orangutan mothers learn how to care for an infant by watching their own mother. Young orangutans have the longest maternal dependency period of all mammals. Newborns
cling to their mothers for approximately 10 months and may continue to nurse up to age 5. Orangutan offspring generally leave the immediate vicinity of their mothers at around 5 years of age. Bengal tigers typically give birth to two to four cubs, which will stay with their mother until they reach 2 years of age. The mother will nurse for eight weeks and then bring them prey to eat. The cubs will be able to hunt on their own in 11 months. Spider monkeys produce one offspring at a time. The mother will carry her newborn around her belly for only the first month. After one month, the baby will travel on the back of its mother. Spider monkey mothers are very protective of their young and are considered good mothers. They grab their young and put them on their back for protection and assistance in navigating from tree to tree. Mothers will also groom their young. A young spider monkey relies exclusively on its mother for the first 6–10 months of its life. Pink dolphins, which live in the Amazon rainforest in the areas of the Orinoco River systems in South America, are very protective mothers. The pink dolphin usually gets assistance from the other dolphins in the pod. The mother raises and protects the calf for up to three years. To protect the calf, the mother hides them by her side and covers her calf with her own body. Once the calf leaves its mother, it joins a pod or group with others about the same age. With this group, it protects itself from predators. Toucans nest in holes in trees. Parents of toucans are very impatient and rarely sit on their eggs for more than an hour at a time. The parents will care for their young for about eight weeks. Both parents share the work of bringing food. Golden lion tamarins live in the coastal lowland Amazon rainforest of Brazil. They are one of the most endangered mammals in the world. The father plays a dominant role in raising their young and is only with their mother while nursing and for the first few weeks of their lives. At 3–5 months old, the young are ready to be on their own, but will die of loneliness if they get separated from their family for a long period of time. When the female tamarin is about 15 months of age, the mother will send the female away so it will find her own family and avoid incest.
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Animals in Africa Africa is very fortunate to have the largest variety of animals in the world. It is home to more than 800 bird species, 150 mammal species, about 50 snake and lizard species, 11 tortoise species, and thousands of invertebrate animals like insects and arachnids. Mothering skills are just as important as foraging or protection against predators. In the region of southern Kenya and for the period from July to October, the harsh environment provides an acid test for motherhood. Most water holes are dry, the grasses are dead, and only a very few shrubs produce fruit. The animals have to work very hard to survive. The black rhinoceros is native to the eastern and central areas of Africa. There is only one calf born to a mother, which can follow its mother around after just three days. The calf is weaned at around 2 years of age and the mother and calf stay together for two to three years until the next calf is born. The female calves may stay longer and form small groups. African lions are very protective of their young and will share the duties of protecting and nursing their cubs, as more than one female in the pride typically gives birth around the same time. Generally, a female will give birth to up to four cubs at a time. After giving birth in a secluded area, she then introduces the cubs to the pride when they are about 2 months old. Mothers will nurse for up to eight months, even though they begin to take their cubs on animal kills as young as 3 months old. When the cubs are almost a year old, they start learning to hunt with the pride. Mothers will take care of their cubs until they are about 2 years old, at which time the mother is ready to produce a new litter. The giraffe lives in the savannahs of Africa. The mothers are protective animals and will stand over and defend her calf against predators. Even though they are very protective, half to nearly threefourths of calves fall prey to lions and spotted hyenas in the first months. Within the first weeks of life, a calf will lie down half the day and most of the night guarded by its mother. The mother stays very close to her calf for the first two weeks, although the mother may stay over 100 yards from a calf (when the calf is hidden) and even leave it alone to get water. There is a maternity group that
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guards calves in a crèche, which increases security and allows a mother to go farther away and stay away longer. Calves are hardly ever left totally unattended. Mothers that leave typically return before sunset to nurse their calves and stay with them through the night. Giraffes are weaned and nutritionally independent at about 16 months, but the maternal bond lasts up until the young one is almost 2 years old. The hippopotamus lives in western, central, eastern, and southern parts of Africa, living in lakes and rivers near grasslands. The hippopotamus mother will stay alone with her calf for 10 to 44 days before she rejoins the herd. The calves will begin grazing at about 5 months of age and become completely weaned by about 8 months of age. Small calves are often guarded by crèches while mothers go to pasture. The mothers will mob bulls that create a disturbance in their mist, as trampling is the main danger to calves during fights, chases, and stampedes that are generally caused by bulls. Elephants are found in the southern portion of the Sahara, and are most commonly found in southern and eastern Africa. The elephant mother is one of the most tender and loving of animal mothers, and the bond between mother and daughter lasts up to 50 years. They are extremely protective of their young; rarely does a predator succeed in taking a baby elephant, as the whole group of elephants will defend and protect the babies. For the first year, a calf will remain in constant touch with its mother, and if it strays more than 20 yards away, the calf is retrieved. Gradually, the calf will assume the burden of staying close by, developing the leader-follower ties that bind an elephant herd. At 4–5 years of age, the young elephant is weaned, and at 9 years of age, the young elephant still spends half its time within a few yards of its mother’s side. Animal versus Human Mothers In her 1999 book Mother Nature—Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species, Sarah Hrdy argues that maternal instinct does not exist and that human mothers use a variety of practical strategies in dealing with their offspring that weigh the probability of their own survival as well as that of their children. For instance, widespread infanticide and child abandonment has been
observed in contexts where adequate food is not available: Hrdy interprets this as mothers rationally choosing to not waste resources on a child that would be unlikely to survive anyway. Hrdy’s theory is based on sociobiology and is informed by her studies with langurs (a type of monkey) in which she observed competing evolutionary strategies (including infanticide and promiscuity) intended to increase the probability of survival-related offspring. Many scientists disagree with applying such studies to humans, arguing that it oversimplifies the motivations of human conduct and disregards the importance of cultural traditions and ethical principles. See Also: Attachment Parenting; Association for Research on Mothering; Absentee Mothers; Child Abuse; Childcare; Childhood; Family; Maternal Absence; Maternal Health. Bibliography Abitbol, M.L. and S.R. Inglis. “Role of Amniotic Fluid in Newborn Acceptance and Bonding in Canines.” Journal Maternal Fetal Medicine, v.6/1 (1991). Bonner, Nigel W. The Natural History of Seals. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1990. Brown, Patricia E., Timothy W. Brown, and Alan D. Grinnell. “Echolocation, Development, and Vocal Communication in the Lesser Bulldog Bat Noctilio Albiventris.” Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, v.13/4 (1983). Carpenter, C.R. “Behavior of Red Spider Monkeys in Panama.” Journal of Mammalogy, v.16/3 (1935). Dewsbury, D.A. and Raymond Corsini, eds. “Animal Parental Behavior.” In The Encyclopedia of Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 1994. Gottlieb, Gilbert. Development of Species Identification in Birds: An Inquiry Into the Prenatal Determinants of Perception. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971. Hanson, B.M., L.J. Bledsoe, B.C. Kirkevold, C.J. Casson, and J. W. Nightingale. “Behavioral Budgets of Captive Sea Otter Mother-Pup Pairs During Pup Development.” Zoo Biology, v.12 (1993). Harlow, Harry F. “Love in Infant Monkeys.” Scientific American, v.200 (June 1959). Houpt, K.A. “Small Animal Maternal Behavior and Its Aberrations.” In Recent Advances in Companion
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Animal Behavior Problems. Ithaca, NY: International Veterinary Information Service, 2000. Lorenz, Konrad. Evolution and Modification of Behavior. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965. Milius, Susan. “The Social Lives of Snakes: From Loner to Attentive Parent.” Science News (March 27, 2004). Perry, Richard. The World of the Walrus. New York: Taplinger Publishing, 1968. Rheingold, H.L. “Maternal Behavior in the Dog.” In Maternal Behavior in Mammals. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 1963. Miranda E. Jennings University of Massachusetts Amherst
Anthropology of Mothering The anthropology of mothering is the cultural study of mothering. In this field, as with all other topics of study, anthropologists focus on cultural beliefs and practices holistically and through cross-cultural comparison. This is similar but different from the sociological approach that focuses on social structures, social relations, and social interactions. Since anthropology is comprised of four fields—archaeology, physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistics—anthropological studies of mothering cross species as well as historical and geographical lines. The Anthropology of Mothering recognizes that while motherhood exists universally, practices of mothering vary worldwide and historically. Thus, the Anthropology of Mothering offers cross-cultural examples of different types of mothering, in addition to a plethora of ideas about who can mother, and what a mother can be. Perspectives of Mother and Mothering The anthropological perspective acknowledges that mothering is not restricted to reproduction and the carework done by biological and legal mothers. Most anthropologists, in fact, acknowledge that mothering is not just done by women. Thus, the scope of who engages in mothering or who is considered a mother includes, but is not limited to nannies, fathers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, foster mothers, adoptive mothers, surrogate mothers, step-
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mothers, coparents, females from the same human community or nonhuman primate group, teachers, and wet nurses. Consequently, mothering includes such behaviors as biological reproduction, breastfeeding, bathing and preening, language teaching, engaging in play, facilitating interaction within the community, and general care giving. Due to this broad understanding of who and what a mother is, and the cross-cultural, historical, and cross-species evidence to support such scope, anthropological research related to mothering has influenced theories of human child rearing—such as the importance of mother–child bonding—particularly since the 1950s. Since then, such research has also become important in public discussions about who can or should count as a legitimate mother and family, with respect to new reproductive technologies (NRTs), and the rise of “alternative” family forms like same-sex parented families. Scant Anthropological Research on Mothering Despite its current advocacy role regarding respect for diverse types of mothering, and anthropologists’ concern for kinship, the explicit focus on mothering—and not just human reproduction or kinship—is a recent shift of gaze. In fact, less than five anthropologists are known to have explicitly researched mothering or motherhood before the mid-1990s. Published research on mothering has increased significantly since the turn of the millennium, and can be partially credited to the rise of Third Wave feminism. While most of this research has been conducted by cultural anthropologists, the work of archaeologists, physical anthropologists, and linguists has also been significant. Archaeology Archaeology is the study of past cultures through material remains and environmental data, such as artifacts, architecture, landscapes, and biofacts. In terms of mothering, archaeological studies of artwork (i.e., paintings, pottery), artifacts (tools, jewelry), and biofacts (bones/bone structure), as well as archival and interview research (with descendants or others who can supply an oral history) are key. Despite the numerous potential sources of information, explicit studies of mothering are almost completely neglected in archaeology. Significant
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archaeological attention to female-bodied figurines, breastfeeding, and kinship/women’s roles in houses and culture, have all implicitly considered “mothering,” but the explicit, in-depth study of mothering has been limited to one book-length archaeological publication: Laurie Wilkie’s The Archaeology of Mothering: An African-American Midwife’s Tale. Patriarchal methods and gazes still dominate archaeological work, and an archaeology of gender has only emerged in the last 15 years. Misplaced Assumptions in Archaeology Anthropologists’ explanations or theories of “Others” often either explicitly support the status quo of the anthropologist’s home culture, or directly challenge it by offering a utopian alternative. This is most problematic in archaeology, as no living person, and limited concrete evidence, is available to correct the misplaced assumptions. This is particularly exemplified in studies regarding the cultural roles of women, andmothers in particular. Kathleen Bolen notes, “Women today are believed to be unequal, weaker, biologically inferior, and evolutionarily unimportant; under patriarchal, androcentric, and traditional archaeological frameworks, this ideology creates similar women in the past.” Conversely, when feminist archaeology first emerged, “evidence” was found to demonstrate strong, equal, politically active women and mothers of past generations. The hope was that this research would foster equality between men and women in Western cultures. Archaeologists now have to develop theories surrounding their “evidence” more critically in order to withstand the controversy from both patriarchal and feminist archaeologists. Archaeological Fertility Symbols The biggest archaeological controversy regarding the status of women and the importance of fertility and motherhood, prehistorically, has centered on statuettes depicting women, also known as the Venus figurines. Debates focus on the importance and role of these figurines (i.e., regarding fertility and women’s cultural status), as well as if they were meant to physically represent particular people and/ or goddesses, or simply made to be representational of women in general.
Breastfeeding and Archaeology The other major area in which mothering has been studied implicitly relates to the practice of breastfeeding. Archaeologists study breastfeeding through skeletal remains, tooth enamel, archives, and art. While the cultural practice, significance, and attitudes toward breastfeeding cannot be completely known, some archaeologists have been able to determine, through studying tooth enamel, children’s age at weaning and introduction of food. Others have looked to skeletal remains to study the process of lactation and weaning. Data has also been gathered through archives; for example, Norwegian archives on child mortality report breastfed children survived at three times the rate of nonbreastfed children. Lastly, artwork depicting breastfeeding or wet nurses can be found in various parts of the world. Tomb carvings, paintings on vases and other pottery, and terra-cotta figurines from classical Greece all reflect the dominant cultural views that existed regarding mothering and breastfeeding. Elite mothers are depicted by the presence of naked male babies, which are depicted suckling on animals. Alternatively, wet nurses are depicted as ugly and large breasted, in contrast to the slim, smallchested, elite mothers. These images illustrate views of breastfeeding being animalistic and uncivilized, while also showing the social importance for women to become mothers by bearing male offspring. Physical Anthropology Physical anthropology, also called biological anthropology, directs its attention to the evolution of human biology, and in particular the interaction of biology with culture. As with anthropological research in the other branches, physical anthropology is often interdisciplinary. Thus, psychologists or behavioral scientists often conduct work as physical anthropologists or simply conduct research relevant to the discipline. While there are multiple branches of Physical Anthropology, the two that have the most research relating to mothering are the study of human evolution and the study of nonhuman primates. Research and hypotheses in these areas include, but have not been limited to mother–son bonding, the invention of baby carriers (i.e., the sling), child “caches” and infant “parking,” breastfeeding, co-sleeping, mother–child communica-
tion, and care giving by those other than biological mothers, also known as allomothering. Of these, the most prominent are allomothering and mother– infant bonding. Primate Research on Mother–Infant Bonding Research on mother–infant bonding among primates has influenced human childcare theory and practice. Harry Harlow’s 1950s psychological experiments with rhesus monkeys are the most notorious studies of primate mother–infant bonding. Infant monkeys were placed with wire “surrogate mothers,” wire and cloth “mothers,” or with no mothers. The monkeys “raised” with no mothers were not capable of forming affectionate, longterm social bonds, whereas the monkeys with cloth and wire “mothers” were. Moreover, the monkeys raised with no mother were incapable of copulating, and the female monkeys who were later forcibly inseminated neglected or reacted aggressively toward their offspring. This study, in addition to more recent studies of nonhuman primates in their natural habitat, demonstrates the importance of mother–infant bonding. For nonhuman primates in their natural environment, this bond is often lifelong, maintained through mother–child grooming as well as female offspring learning to be competent mothers. Infants who had experienced sensory and social deprivation, however, demonstrated social behavioral deficits and unusual, self-directed behavior (such as hugging oneself and rocking back and forth). As was demonstrated by the wire and cloth monkeys, the bonding required does not have to occur with the biological mother. Allomothering Allomothering is also called aunt behavior, babysitting, alloparenting, fostering, adopting, or depending on the circumstances, kidnapping or infant stealing. In nonhuman primates, when the biological mother is still living, allomothering may be performed by female kin; biological or social fathers; juvenile females from within the biological mother’s group or from a rival or different group; or, more rarely, an older female from within the group. Multiple hypotheses consider why allomothering occurs, as well as the possible benefits and detriments to those involved. In most instances,
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allomothering is a consensual act, giving respite to the mother or allowing her to forage sans enfant, while providing a learning opportunity for juvenile females to gain mothering skills, or strengthening the pair-bond between mother and father when care is provided by the biological father. In other instances, when infants are kidnapped by either higher-status females from with the group or by a different group, the benefits are less evident; often, death of the infant and/or the mother results. It is hypothesized, however, that this type of alloparenting occurs when mothers are deemed by others to be incapable, and thus evolutionarily speaking, it benefits the group by eliminating the genes and/or socialization related to poor mothering. Linguistic Anthropology Linguistic Anthropology is the study of language and its relation to culture. It encompasses, among other foci, the study of language acquisition, discourse analysis, pragmatics, and semantics. In relation to mothering, two particular areas are key: language acquisition, and the meaning and words attributed to reproduction and breastfeeding, as well as their effects on mothers and mothering. Language acquisition refers to the learning of language both by infants gaining knowledge of their mother tongue, as well as by children and adults’ learning of their first or additional languages. Mothers play a key role in language acquisition as the mother–child dyad is universally recognized as the primary locus of language acquisition. This relationship is recognized through the term motherese, which refers to infant-directed communication, although the term caregiverese is now gaining prominence. When mothers are not able to pass on their mother tongue due to various cultural circumstances, maternal grandmothers often fill in this role. One example of this is explained in Jenanne Ferguson’s study of the Southern Tutchone of Yukon Territory, Canada. Here, a strong bond between grandchildren and grandmothers is culturally celebrated. Since today’s parents were students of residential schools that successfully “Westernized” them, grandmothers play a pivotal role in teaching the dän k’è language and traditional culture to their grandchildren, through reading, singing, dancing, and sewing, among other activities.
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Anthropology of Mothering
Feminist anthropologists have studied the practices of childbearing, reproduction, and breastfeeding in various cultures, taking particular note of the language used with reference to these practices and how they differ cross-culturally. With respect to breastfeeding, Penny Van Esterik notes that Euro-American culture privileges a discourse that speaks of “prolonged breastfeeding rather than premature weaning,” obviously placing a value on what is “good” mothering practice. Regarding human reproduction, various anthropologists have studied and critiqued phrases and words frequently used in relation to conception and birth in Western cultures. This includes narratives of conception expressing active sperm and passive ova; how gender and personhood is attributed to fetuses at earlier stages of gestation, through language; and the words that attribute physical and intellectual authority to medical personnel while situating birthing mothers as unknowing, incapable, vulnerable patients waiting for their child to be “delivered to” them, as opposed to “birthed by” them. Anthropologists have demonstrated the significance of these language practices in enculturating mothers, through exemplifying what is expected of them as mothers—passivity, obedience, humility, and self-sacrifice, to name but a few. Cultural Anthropology Cultural anthropology focuses on present-day cultural practices. While research explicitly focusing on mothering in the past was sparse, as only three cultural anthropologists are widely recognized for English-language publications before 1995— namely Margaret Mead from the 1920s to 1970s, and Sheila Kitzinger and Ellen Lewin, both from the 1970s through the 1990s. Research focused on mothering became much more prominent after the 1995 publication of Rayna Rapp and Faye Ginsburg’s edited volume, Conceiving the New World Order: The Global Politics of Reproduction. The anthology put forth “two agendas: to transform traditional anthropological analysis of reproduction and to clarify the importance of making reproduction central to social theory.” A few of the chapters highlighted anthropological work on mothering or motherhood, and together with Jane Collier and Sylvia Yanagisako’s 1987 anthology, Gender and
Kinship: Essays Toward a Unified Analysis, helped to develop an anthropological focus on mothering. In the last 15 years, mothering and motherhood research has evolved considerably to include studies of mothering’s relationship to consumption and consumerism; the new or more visible roles of mothering made available through NRTs; the effects of race, ethnicity, geographic location, and class on mothering; the pressure to mother and the effects of being childless in varying cultures worldwide; the effects of globalization on mothering; and studies of the role of class, religion, immigration, disability, gender, sex, and sexuality on mothering. While diverse in their focus, much of this work addresses the universal pressure for women to mother. Cultural Expressions of Motherhood While not many experiences of mothering or motherhood are universal, the pressure for women to become mothers is. This pressure, however, is expressed differently in each culture, and the understanding of who is or should be recognized as a mother also differs culturally. The necessity of motherhood is most predominantly expressed in research on infertility and childlessness. In EuroAmerican cultures, infertility usually centers on the notion of complete childlessness, as the concept of “subfertile” is nonexistent. In other cultures, however, the concept of “infertility” expands to include notions of not having enough children or not having enough male children, or simply not getting pregnant within a month or two of marriage. Western couples are not medically considered infertile until they have spent a year or two without use of contraceptives while actively attempting to conceive. Conversely, in some societies in Chad and Cameroon, for example, newlyweds may be considered infertile after only a month or two of marriage; and in fact, before a year has passed, a lack of pregnancy—interpreted as a sign of infertility—can be grounds for divorce. Moreover, in some cultures, having only one or a few children may still not be enough to avoid the social label of being “infertile,” especially if none (or only one) of them is male. Children, and sons in particular, are culturally recognized for their importance in carrying on family names; their ability to participate in warfare; the expectation that they will look after their par-
ents economically and socially; and, in some cases, ability to ensure their passage to the next world via reincarnation. In some cultures, a lack of cultural recognition as a mother can result in her not being recognized as a woman (only as a girl); lead to divorce, poverty, or ostracization, and sometimes even legitimize her killing. The universality of the pressure to mother is always associated with cultural concepts of who should and should not be a mother, and who makes a good mother and who makes a bad mother. While the specifics differ cross-culturally, women are often judged on their capacity to mother, and their capacity to be a good mother based on their class, race, ethnicity, politics, age, gender presentation, sexuality, marital or relationship status, geographic location, and disability. Behaviors that are linked to good mothers and bad mothers change constantly both with time and as different cultures influence others. This is exemplified in Françoise Guigné’s study of medical recommendations and the experiences of infant feeding among mothers with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Guigné found that mothers living with HIV were considered both “good” and “bad,” as they navigated poverty, access to formula, stigmatization due to their HIV status, and different notions of what is healthier for themselves and their children. While the current policy in Saskatoon for women with HIV is “no breastfeeding,” Guigné argues that women there know “breast is best.” Some of these women are also aware that in other areas of the world (i.e., where clean water is not as accessible), women living with HIV are told to exclusively breastfeed their infants. Tensions like these are not uncommon to discourses of “good” and “bad” parenting, as different expectations and standards are placed on women of different contexts. The anthropological gaze, though, is able to bring attention to these situations, with the hope of creating more understanding of and respect for diverse cultural practices. See Also: Animal Species and Motherhood; “Bad” Mothers; Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Motherhood; Greece (and Ancient Greece); Lewin, Ellen; Mead, Margaret; Social Construction of Motherhood.
Anthropology of Mothering
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Bibliography Bolen, Kathleen M. “Prehistoric Construction of Mothering,” Exploring Gender Through Archaeology: Selected Papers From the 1991 Boone Conference. Madison, WI: Prehistory Press, 1992. Fairbanks, Lynn A. “Reciprocal Benefits of Allomothering for Female Vervet Monkeys.” Animal Behavior, v.40 (1990). Fernandez-Duque, Eduardo, Claudia R. Valeggia, and Sally P. Mendoza. “The Biology of Paternal Care in Human and Nonhuman Primates.” Annual Review of Anthropology, v.38 (2009). Ginsburg, Faye D., and Rayna Rapp, eds. Conceiving the New World Order: The Global Politics of Reproduction. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. Iqbal, Isabeau. “Mother Tongue and Motherhood: Implications for French Language Maintenance in Canada.” The Canadian Modern Language Review, v.61/3 (March 2005). Lewin, Ellen. Lesbian Mothers: Accounts of Gender in American Culture. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1993. Mead, Margaret. Male and Female: A Study of the Sexes in a Changing World. New York: William Morrow, 1949. Ragoné, Heléna and France Winddance Twine, eds. Ideologies and Technologies of Motherhood: Race, Class, Sexuality, Nationalism. New York: Routledge, 2000. Spencer-Wood, Suzanne M. “Feminist Gender Research in Classical Archaeology.” In Handbook of Gender in Archaeology, Sarah Milledge Nelson, ed. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 2006. Taylor, Janelle S., Linda L. Layne, and Danielle F. Wozniak, eds. Consuming Motherhood. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2004. Van Balen, Frank, and Marcia Inhorn, eds. Infertility Around the Globe: New Thinking of Childlessness, Gender, and Reproductive Technologies. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. Van Esterik, Penny. “Contemporary Trends in Infant Feeding Research.” Annual Review of Anthropology, v.31 (2002). Wilkie, Laurie A. The Archaeology of Mothering: An African-American Midwife’s Tale. New York: Routledge, 2003. Michelle Walks University of British Columbia
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Anti-Racist Mothering
Anti-Racist Mothering Anti-racist mothering is an approach to childrearing used to combat the racial oppression of children by imparting in them a healthy self-esteem, a positive sense of racial/cultural identity, an awareness of societal racism, and strategies for resisting racism. Mothers employ this practice to help their children survive and prosper emotionally, psychologically, and physically despite any racial bias they encounter. Anti-racist mothering can also entail teaching children to accept, respect, and be open minded toward people who are racially and culturally different from them so they do not form racist ideologies or socially reproduce discriminatory practices. In addition, anti-racist mothering strategies can be used to care for women’s biological or nonbiological children, and it can also be community based. Combating Racism The harsh realities of societal racism have motivated mothers to engage in anti-racist mothering, particularly mothers of color like those of African, Asian, and Latino descent, as well as those from indigenous cultures, such as Native American and Australian Aborigine mothers. The racism that mothers strive to counteract can encompass general, day-today discriminatory practices faced by marginalized racial groups such as the legally enforced segregation that African Americans were subjected to in the United States prior to the mid-20th century. Likewise, anti-racist mothering can combat discriminatory practices specifically targeted toward racial and cultural minority families. For instance, during U.S. slavery, from approximately 1619 to 1865, African American slave women were regarded as property and child breeders. Their children were customarily taken from them and sold to white male plantation owners. Whereas in Australia, from approximately 1869 to 1970, the Australian government allowed white Australians to forcibly remove Aborigine children from their families without any proof of maltreatment—a practice ratified under the Aborigines Protection Amending Act in 1915. In total, both implicitly racist social climates and explicitly racist public policies have influenced the racial consciousness and child-rearing practices of mothers of color around the world. Mothers of color in vari-
ous nations have fought to retain and protect their children and families from harm and exploitation. Anti-racist mothering, which some scholars refer to as racial ethnic mothering, racially conscious mothering, or motherwork, is an important survival tactic for families of color. It is also an enduring tradition that has been modeled and passed down for many generations in marginalized racial and ethnic communities. Anti-racist mothering has helped children avoid or escape persecution, and it has helped preserve culture. Some Latino mothers have intentionally raised their U.S.-born children to be bilingual, thereby teaching them their family’s native language in addition to English in order to resist expectations that their children be fully assimilated to English-speaking U.S. culture. Other anti-racist strategies entail mothers’ passing on positive stories of racial history and resilience to their children in order to affirm their sense of cultural pride and defy stereotypic depictions of their racial group. White Mothers and Children White mothers who raise biological, multiracial children or nonbiological, adopted children of color may also engage in anti-racist mothering that attempts to shield their children from the harmful effects of racial oppression. White mothers who engage in the anti-racist mothering of white children strive to raise their children’s sociopolitical consciousness about the perniciousness of systemic racism so they, as members of the dominant racial group, will develop anti-racist ideologies, treat others fairly, and challenge inequitable power structures. Given that mothering is a culturally relevant and socially constructed practice, various women’s cultural norms and experiences with racism also influence their anti-racist mothering identities, consciousness, and strategies. The anti-racist mothering of women of color is not only informed by a maternal desire to protect and nurture their children, it is also influenced by their firsthand experiences with racism and their racialized identities that stem from being part of a racial minority group. White women’s antiracist mothering is informed by their membership in the dominant, white racial group. Critical white scholars and feminist theorists of color further contend that white women benefit from the social and political privileges that come with having dominant
Anxiety
racial status, even if their children do not. Mothers of color and white mothers participate in anti-racist mothering with different degrees of social influence. Power dynamics is an important aspect of anti-racist mothering, since women perform anti-racist mothering in both private and public spaces. In total, antiracist mothering is a form of cultural and political resistance most often linked to mothers’ efforts to love, care for, protect, and nurture their children and families. Yet, anti-racist mothering can entail women working to uplift their communities through mentoring, social activism, institutional reform, and other means of communal care that are also referred to as other mothering. Anti-racist mothering, whether it assists individual children, families, and/or communities, can be empowering and transformative. See Also: African American Mothers; Australia; Other Mothering; Race and Racism; Slavery and Mothering. Bibliography Aanerud, Rebecca. “The Legacy of White Supremacy and the Challenge of White Anti-Racist Mothering.” Hypatia, v.22/2 (2007). Australian Human Rights Commission. “Bringing Them Home—Part 2” (April 1997). http://www.human rights.gov.au/social_justice/bth_report/report/ch3 .html (accessed November 2008). Collins, Patricia Hill. “Shifting the Center: Race, Class, and Feminist Theorizing About Motherhood.” In Mothering: Ideology, Experience, and Agency, Evelyn Nakano Glenn, et al., eds. New York: Routledge, 1994. Cooper, Camille Wilson. “School Choice as “Motherwork:” Valuing African American Women’s Educational Advocacy and Resistance.” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, v.20/5 (2007). Camille Wilson Cooper University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Anxiety Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension that is a normal reaction to everyday life stressors. Feelings of anxiety are generally experienced in momentary
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instances due to the stress of daily life. When anxiety persists and affects the ability to function adequately in everyday activities, this is considered a sign of an anxiety disorder. Motherhood is a life experience that is often accompanied by anxiety. Child rearing can create levels of worry, stress, guilt, and feelings of inadequacy, which are all precursors to anxiety. When mothers venture off into new ways of mothering, there can be levels of guilt, stemming from the pressures to reach perfection. This guilt may be experienced by stay-at-home mothers who may not contribute financially to the household or feel they are not viewed as a strong role model as an at-home mother, or mothers who work outside the home and feel guilty because of the limited time available to spend physically with their children. Factors, Diagnosis, and Types A large factor that contributes to anxiety in mothers is economics. Economics affect childcare and health care options for both mother and child. Economics often dictates housing location, living conditions, and education options for children. Anxiety disorders are diagnosed based on characteristics such as performance of repeated acts or avoidance of particular activities in attempt to avoid feeling anxious. There are symptoms that are common to anxiety disorders, such irrational fear of death and insanity, fatigue, and irritable bowels. Depression often accompanies anxiety disorders. The most common feature of several anxiety disorders is panic attacks. Panic attacks are episodes of intense fear and panic that produce at least four or more of the following symptoms: sweating, shortness of breath, feeling of choking, dizziness, increased heart rate, feelings of confusion or detachment, fear of losing control or dying, chest pain, abdominal irritation, hot flushes, tingling, or chills. The main anxiety disorders, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), are panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, social phobia (also referred to as social anxiety), obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and specific phobias. Panic disorder is reoccurring episodes of intense fear without a notable stimulus. This condition is
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Women who become mothers as teenagers or in their early 20s are more likely to suffer depression during pregnancy.
diagnosed when four or more panic attacks are experienced in a month or one panic attack that produces prolonged fear of having more attacks. Panic disorder without agoraphobia is where one experiences panic attacks but remains active in day-to-day activities. Panic disorder with agoraphobia occurs when avoidance of certain activities or places happens out of fear of anticipating panic attacks. Agoraphobia is fear and avoidance of any trigger that may produce panic and panic attacks. Examples of some triggers are enclosed, public, and open spaces; and being alone or without a “safe” person, place, or thing. Agoraphobia can become so severe that loss of employment, family, and friends results. Individuals with social anxiety have an excessive and irrational fear of social interaction and judgment by others. Social anxiety creates an extreme fear of humiliation and avoidance of situations that require social engagement, such as public speaking, interviewing, office meetings, interacting at social events, dating, and talking on the telephone and
online chatting. The levels of anxiety and avoidance can become severe enough to jeopardize employment and social networks. Obsessive-compulsive disorder has the double component of repetitive thoughts combined with repetitive physical behavior, usually the completions of rituals, where both are irrational and involuntary. Combined, these thoughts and behaviors monopolize the time and lives of those with this disorder, who find themselves engrossed in completing rituals to relieve anxiety produced by their irrational thoughts. This negatively impact their normal day-to-day activities. The symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder are similar to panic disorder, although panic is not the primary feature. Excessive worry about day-today activities is the main focus. While those with this disorder are not paralyzed by worry, high levels of anxiety do affect them physically. Posttraumatic stress disorder is the direct result of exposure to a traumatic event, either experienced directly or as a witness. The reaction is intense horror and can be triggered by dreams, smells, and visual images. Specific phobias are limited to a specific object, such as animals or bridges. These usually do not impact the ability to function normally unless the phobia occurs in everyday situations such as the fear of elevators or birds. Treatments for anxiety and anxiety disorders range from traditional treatments to alternative remedies. Medications like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and cognitive behavioral therapy have proven effective for treatment of severe cases. As well, yoga, meditation, exercise, and diet modifications have all had positive results in the lowering of anxiety levels. See Also: “Bad” Mothers; Depression; Emotions; Fears; Full Time Mothering; Guilt; Mental Illness and Mothers; Postpartum Depression; Working-Class Mothers. Bibliography Castle, David, et al. Mood and Anxiety Disorders in Women. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Warner, Judith. Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety. New York: Riverhead Books, 2005.
Argentina
Wilson, Robert R. Don’t Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks. New York: HarperPerennial, 1996. Dawn Wright Williams Georgia Perimeter College
Argentina In Argentina, the third Sunday of October is the Dia de la Madre (Mother’s Day). Mother’s Day is a special day because in this culture, mothers are elevated to a position of respect and admiration. In the past, mothers were relegated to stay home with children. However, Argentina’s history of motherhood shows a remarkable trend in mothers leaving the traditional role in the private realm to secure political platforms in the public arena. The cultural norms of motherhood have changed, and motherhood has become a more modern institution, one in which holds the role of worker, politician and activist, and currently, president. Argentina is the second-largest country in South America. The population is roughly 40 million, and an estimated 92 percent are Roman Catholics. Approximately two children are born per woman, and the birth rate is approximately 18 births per 1,000 women, with an infant mortality rate of around 12 per 1,000 live births. Abortions are illegal in Argentina, yet an estimated 450,000 abortions are practiced each year. One of the most profound changes in motherhood in this country is in the area of birth control practices and laws. In 2009, the Argentine Congress passed a reproductive health law that provides for free birth control methods and advice to women nationwide. Promotion of birth control had been previously forbidden by the government of Argentina, although in 2001, the Chamber of Deputies originally passed the bill with slight modifications. In 1974, a government executive decree had ordered all family planning institutions to be closed, and oral contraceptive pills were prescribed only if a physician found absolute medical indications and then only on a special prescription in triplicate. This previous decree called for the Minister of Social Welfare to carry out a study in Argentina of all possible means to counteract the supposedly alarming demographic situation in Argentina. The
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current bill was opposed by the Catholic Church, an institution that holds much political power in Argentina, that based its opposition to the bill on the argument that it encouraged abortion, the use of “abortive” birth control methods, and state meddling in the question of sex education among minors. Famous Mothers The Virgin Mary is perhaps the most famous of mothers in Argentina. December 8 is Día de la Inmaculada Concepción (Immaculate Conception Day), also known as Día de la Virgen (Virgin Mary’s Day). A controversial figure in Argentina, Maria Eva Duarte de Perón was known by her union supporters as the Mother of the Nation, although she never had children. Revered as a saint by many Argentines, Evita died from cancer at the age of 33. Wife of Juan Domingo Perón, Argentine general and president, she was an activist who supported the poor, the working class, and marginalized groups like single mothers— all of whom became fanatical followers. An interesting phenomenon of famous mothers in Argentina are the human rights activists and social movement, the Madres de Plaza de Mayo (Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo) in Buenos Aires. The Madres were formed during the military coup of the Dirty War (1976–83), when mothers began searching for their desaparecidos, or disappeared (people who were considered subversive to the government). The Madres de Plaza de Mayo officially formed in 1977, and the group splintered in 1986 when the Madres Línea Fundadora (Founding Line of Mothers) withdrew from the original group. The Asociación Madres was formed after the split, and Hebe de Bonafini became president. The Madres stopped their protest against the Argentine government in 2006, yet they continue to march around the pyramid in the Plaza de Mayo at 3:30 p.m. every Thursday, just as they have for the past 31 years. In 1992, the Asociación de Madres was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, and in 1999, the organization was awarded the United Nations (UN) Prize for Peace Education. The Madres’ white scarves have become a trademark and symbol of mothers’ love. Another famous activist group in Buenos Aires is the Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo (Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo), who were nominated for the
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Nobel Peace Award in 2008. Group president Estela Barnes de Carlotto and the other grandmothers have fought for justice in desaparecidos, including children who were taken from pregnant women during the Dirty War. In 2003, Carlotto was awarded the UN Prize in the Field of Human Rights. In October 2007, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner became the first elected woman president in Argentina. She is the mother of two children and is a former senator and first lady (her husband is former president Nestor Kirchner). So far, President Kirchner has not decriminalized abortion or established equal rights and maternity pay in Argentina.
Ireland to the United States, settled in San Francisco, and looked after the two girls herself. Nellie managed to track down some missing troopers lost in the desert and brought them food, making herself a local hero. Years later, her sister’s husband and then her own sister died, leaving her to look after their five children in the “Wild West” township of Tombstone—made famous by Wyatt Earp’s gunfight at the O.K. Corral. In 1899, the year after Nellie Cashman left Arizona to search for gold in the Yukon, the territory passed a law to make education compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 16.
See Also: Activist Mothers of the Disappeared; Birth Control; Maternal Activism.
Native American Traditions Within the small Native American community, there are many documented instances of mothers passing down traditions to their children. The story of Nampeyo, from the Hopi who fled westward after the failure of the Pueblo Rebellion of 1860, illustrates how mothers have passed skills to their daughters for six generations. Born soon after this flight, Nampeyo was brought up by her paternal grandmother, who managed to persuade her to make pots and sell them in a local store. After her husband was employed by an archaeologist, collectors recognized her skills and started collecting her work. She managed to pass down her skills to her daughter, and her great-granddaughter, Dextra Quotskuya, born in 1928, continues to make pots in the traditional manner. Arizona’s birth rate is 16.6 per 1,000. The fertility rate is 2.4 children per women, the second highest in the country (after Utah). The two counties in Arizona (La Paz and Greenlee) that have the highest rates both do not have a hospital, with Santa Cruz and Coconino having the lowest infant mortality rates. The figures are slightly skewed, as nearly 80 percent of the population live in two counties, Maricopa and Pima.
Bibliography “Argentina Bans Birth Control.” American Medical Association, v.229/2 (July 8, 1974). Bouvard, Marguerite Guzman. Revolutionizing Motherhood: The Mothers of the Disappeared. Lanham, MD: SR Books, 2002. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/en (accessed April 2009). Shirley Oakley Torres University of Memphis
Arizona Arizona was inhabited by Native American peoples for centuries before the first European explorer came through the region in 1539; Spanish missionaries were later founded in the 1690s. However, it was not until the end of the Mexican–American War of 1847 when the region was ceded to the United States, gaining statehood in 1912. The population of Arizona is currently 6.5 million, with 60 percent of the population being European Americans. There is much documentation to show that of the early settlers, mothers had to be resourceful to keep their family together. One of these families who settled in Arizona in the early years was that of Ellen (or Nellie) Cashman. Following the death of her father, her mother brought her and her sister from
Notable Arizona Women There are numerous other stories of women who have made successful careers in Arizona, including Hattie Josephine “JoJo” Goldwater (née Williams) who descended from John Williams (the cofounder of Rhode Island) and married a Phoenix shop owner —their son was the politician Barry Goldwater,
Arkansas
who was born in 1909. Modern Arizona history is not without many important women. The state was the first to have had four female governors: Rose Perica Mofford from 1988 to 1991, Jane Dee Hull from 1997 to 2003, Janet Napolitano from 2003 to 2009, and Jan Brewer since 2009. See Also: California; Native Americans; Nevada; New Mexico. Bibliography Arizona Department of Health Services—Division of Public Health Services. http://www.azdhs.gov/plan/ report/cvs/cvs01/index.htm (accessed May 2009). Brown, Wynne. More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Arizona Women. Helena, MT: Falcon Press Publishing, 2003. Caiazza, Amy B. The Statues of Women in Arizona: Politics, Economics, Health, Rights, Demographics. Tucson: ������������������������������������������ Southwest Institute for Research on Women and Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona, 2000. Clayton, Robert Flake. Pioneer Women of Arizona. Self Published, 1969. Health Profile. http://www.rho.arizona.edu/Resources/ Dataline/Health%20Indicators/HealthIndicators.htm (accessed May 2009). Johnson, Dee Strickland. Arizona Women: Weird, Wild and Wonderful. Phoenix, AZ: Cowboy Miner Productions, 2006. Kelly, Rita Mae. Women and the Arizona Political Process. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1988. Osslaer, Heidi J. Winning Their Place: Arizona Women in Politics. ������������������������������������������ Tucson: ���������������������������������� University of Arizona Press, 2009. Justin Corfield Geelong Grammar School, Australia
Arkansas The state of Arkansas is in the southern region of the United States bounded by the great Mississippi River on its east, with the Ozark and Ouachita Mountain ranges nestled within its territory. Motherhood in Arkansas will be examined by looking at vital statistics, fertility, mortality, and health status in order
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to provide a detailed understanding of the status of women in the state. Famous Arkansan mothers include author and poet Maya Angelou, actress Mary Steenburgen, Watergate player Martha Mitchell, and composer Florence Beatrice Price. Arkansas has a population of over 2.8 million, of which 96 percent are native-born Arkansans. The racial/ethnic makeup of the state is 80 percent white, 16 percent black, 1 percent Native American/Alaskan Native, 1.5 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, and 5 percent Hispanic/Latino. Eightyone percent of those aged 25 or older have attained the level of high school graduate (or equivalent) or higher. The median household income for the state is reported as $37,555. Females comprise 51 percent of the total Arkansas population with the majority being 18 years of age or older. Of females aged 15 years or older, 51.1 percent report their status as married and 51.3 percent of Arkansas households are marriedcouple family households. However, 7.8 percent of Arkansas households are identified as femaleheaded households with no husband present, and with children under 18. Forty-eight percent of these households have incomes below the poverty level. On average, the median earnings for female, fulltime year-round workers are 75 percent of that of males. The divorce rate stands at 6.1 percent. The mean age of an Arkansan woman having her first child is 23 years. The overall birth rate for the state is 14.6 percent, with a teen (15–19) birth rate of 62.3 percent. The fertility rate for women ages 15-44 is 72.2 percent. Eighty percent of mothers begin prenatal care in the first trimester and only 4.7 percent of mothers begin prenatal care late or not at all. The rate of caesarean delivery is 33.2 percent and 13.7 percent of births are delivered preterm. It is estimated that 9.2 percent of births are of low-birth-weight babies. The infant mortality rate stands at 8.3 percent. When it comes to caring for mothers and their infants, the Arkansas Department of Health offers information on a variety of programs. There is indepth coverage of breastfeeding, offering information, resources, and links to organizations where mothers can gain additional knowledge and assistance. Mothers are also provided with information regarding licensed midwifes, newborn screening,
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immunization, healthy eating for mother and baby, keeping children safe, and breast cancer screening. Mothers are also given information about government-funded programs such as Women, Infants & Children (WIC). Another service offered by the Arkansas Department of Health is the Mother/ Infant Program. According to the department’s Website, this program provides skilled home nursing visits for new mothers and infants to meet their medical, social and nutritional needs. Additionally, women are offered services such as family planning information, pregnancy testing, and sterilization options. Arkansas women are also supplied with a directory of abortion services available in each of the state’s counties. To get a better understanding of life for women and mothers in Arkansas, it is instructive to look at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). According to the CDC Website, the BRFSS was established in 1984 and collects monthly data on all 50 states covering topics such as health risk behaviors, preventive health practices, and health care access primarily related to chronic disease and injury. The current information available for Arkansas provides a wealth of information on women in the state. Of the women surveyed 62.2 percent rate their health as being “good” or “very good.” Sixtyseven percent report that they have participated in physical activities during the past month. Only one-quarter state that they consume fruits and vegetables five or more times a day. Of the adult female respondents aged 18-64, 75.7 percent report that they have some type of health care coverage. However, 17.5 percent of Arkansas residents are without health insurance and the per capita personal health care expenditures made by the state was $4,863. Of women respondents over the age of 40, 71 percent have had a mammogram in the past two years and 80.8 percent of female respondents over 18 have had a Pap test in the past three years. Additionally, 57.4 percent of the women surveyed were classified as being overweight or obese according to the body mass index (BMI). Only 2.6 percent of the adult female respondents report being heavy drinkers (consuming more than one alcoholic drink per day), while 60 percent of these respondents report never having smoked.
See Also: Abortion; Breastfeeding; Fertility; Midwifery; Obesity and Motherhood; Poverty and Motherhood; Pregnancy; Prenatal Health Care; Unwed Mothers. Bibliography Jacoway, Elizabeth. Turn Away Thy Son: Little Rock, the Crisis That Shocked the Nation. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2008. Moneyhon, Carl H. Arkansas and the New South 1874–1929 (Histories of Arkansas). Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1997. State of Arkansas Government. “Parents and Kids.” http://www.healthyarkansas.com/moms/moms .html#Infants (accessed July 2009). Chasity Bailey-Fakhoury Wayne State University
Armenia The population of Armenia in 2005 was just over 3 million, with a negative annual population growth rate (meaning more deaths than births occur per year) of minus 0.6 percent. The population is primarily urban (64 percent). The 1915–23 genocide killed approximately half of the Armenians living in Asia and drove the remainder from their homes. They settled in concentrated diasporas around the world where maintaining an Armenian identity through the birth of children and grandchildren was a priority. Today, there are about 9 million Armenians around the world. Motherhood and National Identity Motherhood is central to the national identity of Armenia: the personification of the country is Mother Armenia, which symbolizes the ideals of strength and peace, honors important women in Armenian history, and recalls the important status granted to older women in the Armenian family. The most famous exemplar of Mother Armenia is a monumental statue in the national capital of Yerevan: it portrays a woman holding a sword, standing on a pedestal designed to resemble a traditional Armenian church (Armenia is predominantly Christian), which contains a museum to Armenia’s war dead.
However, women in Armenia suffer from suboptimal health care due to national poverty and the disruption of economic and social life since Armenia became an independent country after separating from the Soviet Union in 1991. Although Armenia has enjoyed strong economic growth recently, this has not always translated into improved health services. Fifty-one percent of the population live below the poverty line, and Armenia as a country ranks 83rd out of 177 on the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Index. Literacy is high (over 99 percent) for both men and women, although girls reflect a decreasing enrollment in schools as the grade level rises: they are 95 percent of all enrollees in primary school, versus 90 percent in secondary school. In 2004, Armenia spent 5.6 percent of its Gross Domestic Product on health care expenditures, for an average per-capita expenditure (in U.S. dollars) of $321; most of the expenditure (78.7 percent) was paid out of pocket by private households, while 23.1 percent was paid by the public sector. Vital Statistics Life expectancy for males is 70 years and for women is almost 76 years. In 2004 there were 37,520 live births, for a crude birth rate of 11.15 per 1,000 population: 15 percent of births were to women in the 15- to 19-year-old age group. Despite the fact that almost all births (99.5 percent) are attended by skilled medical personnel and 82 percent of women received at least one prenatal care visit, the maternal death rate in Armenia has been rising since 2002, and in 2004 was twice that of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region: 37.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The lifetime chance of a woman dying from maternal causes is 1 per 1,200. The perinatal mortality rate per 1,000 births in 2004 was 14.4, about 1.5 times the European Region average. Only 22 percent of Armenian women reported using contraception in 2000, while abortion remains common: in 2004, Armenian women had 283.7 abortions per 1,000 live births. See Also: Genocide; Poverty and Mothering; Russia (and Soviet Union); War and Mothering.
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Bibliography Bobelian, Michael. Children of Armenia: A Forgotten Genocide and the Century-Long Struggle for Justice. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009. Dolian, G., F. Ludicke, N. Katchatrian, A. Campana, and A. Morabia. “Contraception and Induced Abortion in Armenia: A Critical Need for Family Planning Programs in Eastern Europe.” The American Journal of Public Health, v.88/5 (May 1988). Fort, A.L. and L. Voltero. “Factors Affecting the Performance of Maternal Health Care Providers in Armenia.” Human Resources for Health. v.22/2 (June 2004). Payaslian, Simon. The History of Armenia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. World Health Organization. “Towards the European Strategy for Making Pregnancy Safer: Improving Maternal and Perinatal Health: Armenia.” (2007). http://www.euro.who.int/document/MPS/ARM_ MPSEURO_countryprofile.pdf (accessed April 2009). Sarah E. Boslaugh Washington University School of Medicine
Art and Mothering In addition to its aesthetic concerns, art is often a reflection of current social issues across and specific to gender, racial, and socioeconomic lines. Mothering as subject matter and the concerns of mother-artists are no exception, although historically, motherhood has been predominantly either sentimentalized or marginalized as a subject in art. Critics historically have paid less attention to women artists; women artists who are also mothers, and who deal with the topic of mothering in their art, were even more marginalized until the last few decades. Since the feminist art movement, begun in the late 1960s and flourishing in the 1970s as an outgrowth of the second wave of feminism, mothering has become more acceptable as a subject in art, and mothers themselves have been less marginalized as artists, even as the feminist art movement has not always embraced mothers as artists as a reflection of the divisions and tensions regarding female identity within the movement itself.
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Contemporary artists who are mothers now explore motherhood as institution and mothering as experience more directly and explicitly, allowing for a more substantive discourse about roles for women and giving greater credibility to artists who explore mothering as a theme in their art. If art is truly a reflection of the time in which it is created, the image of woman as mother reflects society’s comfort level at any given time. Artists have depicted many aspects of mothering—pregnancy, birthing, breastfeeding, child tending—from various perspectives: sometimes within the context of family, at other times within the context of working outside the home. While women increasingly explore mothering through the lens of lived experience as a means of witnessing themselves in the context of psychological theory and feminist practices and beliefs, prior to the second significant evolutionary period of feminism in the latter half of the 20th century, the notion of “mother” was more often explored as object and symbol rather than through the lens of subjective experience and psychosocial growth. Ancient civilizations of Egypt, Cyprus, India, the Near East, Central and South America, and all cultures since, have depicted women primarily in the role of mother. Mother images have appeared across cultures and time periods in a variety of media, such as Mycenaean ivories, Egyptian wall paintings, Mexican stone carvings, Cycladic marble figurines, Athenian vase paintings, Indian terra-cottas, Chinese hand scrolls, African sculptures, Persian manuscript paintings, Japanese wood-block prints, Inuit stone carvings, and in works of Western art from the Renaissance through today. From the Middle Ages (600–1350 c.e.) through the Renaissance, which began during the 14th century and continued through the 16th century, religious imagery was predominant in Western art. One of the central images of Christian art depicted by artists was the Virgin Mary, or the Madonna, and Christ, which spoke to the importance of the image both literally and symbolically. The Madonna was an archetype for the mother image: a chaste, nurturing figure. This archetype, which reflected the culture’s preoccupation with the mother figure as all nurturing and unconditionally self-sacrificing, is still central to many cultures’ beliefs about the role
of women as mothers—notions that are increasingly being challenged by contemporary artists across all artistic and literary disciplines. Literally defined as “rebirth,” the Renaissance is considered a period of great innovation in the arts, having been situated as pivotal to the art historical canon even as its histories continue to be revised by scholars from a feminist perspective. Prominent Renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475– 1564), and Raphael (1483–1520), often made religious imagery, including the image of the Madonna and child their subject matter. By contrast, women artists of this time were rarely recognized. If women did engage in creating art—as many in the upper classes were encouraged to do—they were not supported professionally and their work was not
The Madonna has been an artistic symbol of motherhood, one who sacrifices unconditionally for her child.
regarded critically. Earlier iconic imagery by male artists is contrasted with that of later artists, such as Marc Chagall (1887–1985), who interpreted the Madonna image of mothering more personally while retaining a sentimental, idealized view. Chagall’s Madonna of the Village, for instance, reflects his own personal vision of woman as mother, both symbolically and literally. In the painting, Chagall depicts himself embracing the Madonna, who wears a flowing, white bride’s gown, while in the background, angels cavort playfully. Women in art most have often been objectified by male artists in both the roles of mother and as providers of sexual gratification. Such depictions often reflect deep-seated cultural, psychological, and sociological differences and conflicts with those beliefs and roles. Impressionists like Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) painted women and children or scenes of domestic life, but these were often idealized. Post-impressionist artist Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) depicted women as either monstrous or distorted, while his images of women with children were idealized. English sculptor Henry Moore (1898–1986), by contrast, offered a more neutral view of the mother–child dyad. Female Artist Representations of Women Female artists have generally depicted the mother– child relationship in a far more complex manner than their male contemporaries. Mary Cassatt (1844–1926) was among the first female visual artists to achieve critical recognition and success in the male-dominated art establishment, and much of her art addressed mothering. Cassatt, who was not a mother, pursued painting in a manner similar to her male contemporaries—she painted daily and involved herself in professional societies. Her subject matter was most often domestic, reflecting her personal interests and the prevailing practices of impressionists, who sought to capture scenes of daily life. Cassatt’s contemporary Berthe Morisot (1841– 95), another preeminent female painter of the time, was perhaps the first painter in history to document her lived experience as a mother while pursuing a professional career as an artist. Morisot was ahead of her time in realizing that women would always struggle with their own creative needs and desires in tension with the demands of child rearing, and the
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desire to be with and nurture one’s own children, and as such, foreshadowed mother art that sprung from the feminist movement even as it evolved in tension with that movement. Morisot’s paintings did not reflect sentimental ideas about motherhood, but, like Cassatt, offered an aesthetic perspective on domestic life and social practices grounded and yet departing from the dominant aesthetic trends. Morisot employed a wet nurse to care for her own daughter, which was a common practice during the time; her painting of the wet nurse with her daughter often has been misunderstood as painting of a mother and child rather than representing the economic transaction it was: a working-class woman hired to feed the baby of an upper-class mother. Both Cassatt and Morisot, formally accomplished and critically recognized artists, approached children and domestic life as legitimate subjects for art, suggesting that the lives of women and children had value and were not simply sweet or decorative. Representing further departures, German painter, printmaker, and sculptor Kathe Kollwitz (1867– 1945) explored mothering from a more personal perspective, expressing the emotional intensity of mothering as a fundamental aspect of the human condition, but without sentimentalizing it. This is contrasted with Paula Modersohn-Becker’s Reclining Mother and Child (1906, oil on canvas), which depicts a nude mother and nursing child sleeping on a mat. The artist’s intention was to convey the mother’s selflessness and suggest she is a heroic figure for her sacrifice—ideas that today are the source of great tension and debate for women. The contemporary painter Alice Neel (1900– 1984), identified as a feminist artist, realized a prolific career despite the challenges of raising and supporting a family. Known for her wide range of portraits of women and men from all backgrounds, Neel painted portraits of her extended family, as well as a series of nudes that took on a female point of view rather than the predominant male perspective on eroticism. Neel became a role model for women during the feminist movement, and navigated the challenges of mothering and caring for her family while working as a professional artist, without silencing herself as a mother, as many artist mothers have felt compelled to do.
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The artist Marisol’s piece titled Working Woman (1987, wood, charcoal, and plaster) speaks to the tension between child rearing and working in the professional sphere, a conflict unique to middleclass and upper-middle-class women who may not work out of financial necessity, but either desire to do so or feel that working represents autonomy. In Marisol’s sculpture, the mother is quite literally wooden: as she stands holding her briefcase in one hand and her child in the other, and her expression is cold and severe, as if she were an automaton. Images such as this speak to the postwar, second wave feminist trend toward women working outside the home, a trend that created many new tensions as well as freedom for women, and served as a precursor to the present-day “Mommy Wars.” While reverence for mothering and motherhood is far more prevalent than a critical perspective in art about mothering, and has historically been perpetuated by both male and female artists, contemporary, conceptual art reflects a shift toward exploring controversial and complex ideas about gender roles and issues of identity, particularly in the context of and as a reaction to the feminist art movement. The Feminist Movement Corresponding with the trajectory of feminism, the feminist art movement, begun in the late 1960s, sought to bring more visibility to women artists, alter the foundations of art production and reception, and reflect upon an international movement of women artists making art that reflected their own lives and experiences. In the 1970s, during the heyday of the movement, the nation’s first feminist art education program was established at California State University, Fresno, by Judy Chicago and 15 female students. Chicago, along with Miriam Schapiro, later founded the feminist art program in Los Angeles, the Feminist Studio Workshop, which led to the groundbreaking installation WomanHouse. While the feminist art movement allowed for the emergence and more widespread critical discourse around many new types of work by women, it was criticized for its marginalization of mother artists, particularly those who sought increased support for women with children in the context of their art making practices. In reaction to this lack, a group of women artists began the Mother Art Collective in
1974. Helen Million-Ruby, Christy Kruse, Suzanne Siegel, Gloria Hajduk, and Laura Silagi, who met as students in the Feminist Studio Workshop in Los Angeles, began the collective with the intention of demonstrating that motherhood was a legitimate subject for feminist art. The collective was one of the first to come out of the Woman’s Building (1973–91), home of the Feminist Studio Workshop, as well as women’s art galleries, artists’ studios, and the Sisterhood Bookstore. Million-Ruby, in particular, wanted to bring art to the everyday woman, reflecting a belief that the feminist movement favored white, middle-class women and did not reflect the concerns and realities of women of color and lower socioeconomic status. Mother Art artists believed that diversity in mothering should be recognized as well, and that lesbian and adoptive mothers should also be included. Active through 1986, the collective combined motherhood and activism as a means of helping women locate their own voices—a central tenet of the feminist art movement. Another important aspect of the movement was challenging the assertion that a woman would have to choose between her art and her children, a claim made by many feminist artists, including Judy Chicago, who was not a mother. Early in the feminist art movement, a separation was made between the sacred and unique childbearing qualities of woman and the actual children that resulted. While efforts such as the Mother Art collective made incursions in to the male-dominated art world, even as mothers and the representation of motherhood at times continues to be marginalized by feminists and other female artists alike, a number of contemporary feminist artists have made inroads toward more widespread critical and cultural acceptance. As more artwork by mothers representing motherhood became critically recognized, a complex debate emerged surrounding issues of an innate, essential femininity versus a sexuality defined by culture, reflecting a larger debate within the field of psychoanalysis begun in the early 20th century. Artist Louise Bourgeois (1911– ) explored over several decades the dynamic of mothering children from a psychoanalytic perspective, influenced by the theories of Melanie Klein. While feminists have often divided themselves along Freudian and Klei-
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Mary Cassatt’s 1901 painting, After the Bath. Both Cassatt and Berthe Morisot, critically recognized female artists, treated the subject matter of women and children as legitimate rather than simply sweet or decorative.
nian lines, Bourgeois, who is regarded as one of the preeminent contemporary artists of the postmodern era, was able to maintain a position of strength and high critical regard as a serious artist who continued to question and examine theoretical ideas in the context of a stylistically evolved and groundbreaking practice. Scholar Mignon Nixon credits Bourgeois with initiating a critical reworking of surrealism, a male-dominated movement, in relation to feminism. Bourgeois refutes the surrealists’ characterization of the mother as a symbol of patriarchal law. Conceptual artist Mary Kelly (1941– ), also a preeminent figure in the feminist art movement, created one of the best-known contemporary art pieces to directly face the experience of motherhood from a social and psychoanalytical perspective. Post-Partum Document, created between 1973 and 1979 and considered Kelly’s groundbreaking work, explores Kelly’s relationship with her son. In the form of a
diary, Kelly documents the significant stages of her son’s development, and in doing so, expressed the experience of mothering in both a Freudian and a social context as she explored the relationship between mother and son. Kelly’s work is considered central to the feminist discourse of the 1970s. Like Bourgeois and Kelly, contemporary artists who are also mothers are increasingly suggesting that mothering is at once complex and worthy of recognition, both in terms of its importance and as a response to its continued devaluation in many cultures, and the paradox inherent in those extremes. These artists have created art about the experience of mothering and have also commented on motherhood and perceptions of motherhood through their art, while being faced with the continuing tensions between the demands and desires of mothering and the demands and desires of art making. The emotional intensity of such tension
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has often driven the creation of art—in a sense reconciling the two opposing conditions. Sally Mann (1951– ) took photographs of her children simply because they were there: approaching mothering as a subject because it reflected her environment rather than as a statement or expression about mothering. Mann created an early series of photographs of her three children and husband entitled Immediate Family. Mann was featured on the PBS art documentary Art 21, a program that included notable contemporary artists who have broken new ground in terms of subject matter or approach. Janine Antoni (1964– ), also featured on the program, has made performance art dealing with the subject of self and identity, including the role of women as nurturers. In her photograph Coddle (1998), Antoni offered a different perspective on the nurturing relationship between Madonna and child by depicting herself as the Madonna, and instead of cradling a child, she cradles her own leg—offering an opposing view on the mother-child narrative that could be said to focus instead on a narcissistic obsession with the female body. Nancy Spero (1926–2009), a prominent figure in the feminist art movement and the mother of two sons, explored female identity through images of the goddess throughout history. Spero appropriated mythical goddesses, fertility symbols, and contemporary imagery of women found in press photographs to parody the manner in which the female form has been represented by men, while at the same time celebrating the ancient, mythic attributes of femininity, including motherhood. Two groundbreaking contemporary exhibitions, Maternal Metaphors I and II (2004 and 2006), curated by Jennie Klein and Myrel Chernick, explored questions surrounding what the curators termed “our normative cultural construction of motherhood.” The first exhibition, Maternal Metaphors I: Artists/Mothers/Artwork, was premised upon questioning the institution and representation of motherhood and mothering in the west. While the artists included in Maternal Metaphors I were artists that resided and worked in the United States, Maternal Metaphors II included an international roster of artists in order to represent views that were not strictly American-culture-centric. This roster of artists included Camille Billops,
Monica Bock, Zofia Burr, Myrel Chernick, Patricia Cué, Cheri Gaulke, Denise Ferris, Judy Gelles, Judy Glantzman, Heather Gray, Rohesia Hamilton Metcalfe, Youngbok Hong, Mary Kelly, Ellen McMahon, Margaret Morgan, Gail Rebhan, Aura Rosenberg, Shelly Silver, Barbara T. Smith, Signe Theill, Beth Warshafsky, Sarah Webb, and Marion Wilson. The artists challenged the representation of motherhood as an institution that is primarily white, middle class, young, and heterosexual, while exploring their own ambivalence about becoming mothers after successfully establishing careers as artists. The work represents various mediums, including painting, drawing, photography, video, sculpture, installation, artist’s books, and a Web-based piece. Other exhibitions such as Doublebind, shown in Germany and Australia in 2003–04 and curated by Signe Theill, and Mother/mother-*, curated by Jennifer Wroblewski and presented in 2009 at A.I.R. Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, represent additional efforts to showcase art by mother artists exploring motherhood. Critics and writers have been influential counterparts to the discussion and issues surrounding art and mothering and motherhood. Adrienne Rich’s seminal critical work Of Woman Born coincided with the feminist art movement in the 1970s to challenge and encourage the ideas set forth by mother artists. The editors of art journal M/E/A/N/I/N/G, Susan Bee and Mira Schor, organized a forum on motherhood and art concerning the difficulty of balancing one’s career as an artist with one’s identity as a mother, beginning a discussion that is still ongoing. Theorists have explored film, popular culture, and literature alongside visual art in terms of maternal representation. See Also: Birth Goddesses; Da Vinci, Leonardo’s Mother; Feminism and Mothering; Literary Mama; Literature, Mothers in; Mommy Wars; Mother Goddess; Motherhood Memoir; Motherhood Poets; Mothering and Creativity; Myth, Mothers in; Rich, Adrienne; Second Wave of Feminism. Bibliography. Chernik, Myrel and Jennie Klein, eds. The M Word: Real Mothers in Contemporary Art. Toronto: Demeter Press, 2010.
Davey, Moyra, ed. Mother Reader: Essential Writings on Motherhood. Toronto: Seven Stories Press, 2001. Edelstein, T.J. Perspectives on Morisot. Manchester, VT: Hudson Hills Press, 1990. MamaPalooza.com. www.mamapalooza.com (accessed April 2009). Moravec, Michelle. “Mother Art: Feminism, Art and Activism,” in Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering: Mothering, Popular Culture and the Arts (York University, Spring/Summer 2003). Nixon, Mignon. Fantastic Reality, Louise Bourgeois and a Story of modern Art (The MIT Press, 2005). Pollock, Griselda. Mary Cassatt: Painter of Modern Women. London: Thames and Hudson, 1998. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). “Art:21.” http:// www.pbs.org/art21/ (accessed April 2009). Rich, Adrienne. Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution. New York: Norton, 1995. Tobey, Susan Bracaglia. Art of Motherhood. New York: Abbeville Press, 1991. Julianna Thibodeaux Independent Scholar
Artificial Insemination Also known as donor insemination or alternative insemination, artificial insemination is the process of injecting sperm into a woman’s uterus or cervix during ovulation for the purpose of achieving pregnancy. The oldest and one of the most widely forms of assisted reproductive technology, artificial insemination may be carried out under medical supervision or independently, using artificial insemination with husband’s sperm (AIH) or from an artificial insemination by a donor (AID), both known and unknown. Most artificial insemination is carried out under medical supervision, although self-insemination is also practiced. History of Artificial Insemination The first human experiments with AIH in the United States were reported by gynecologist J. Marion Sims in the 1860s. Although only one of the six women he reported inseminating due to cervical abnormalities achieved pregnancy, none achieved a live birth. Using AID for male infertility was first practiced
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in 1884 by Philadelphia doctor William Pancoast, who was said to have arranged for his patient, a wealthy woman married to an infertile male, to be anesthetized under pretext and inseminated with the sperm of a medical student. According to the report, which was not published until after the turn of the century, the woman was never told how she became pregnant. Relatively few cases of artificial insemination were reported prior to the 1930s, and most were not successful because of an inaccurate understanding of women’s fertility. It was not until the 1940s that AID was cited in the popular press as responsible for a number of births. Infertile couples in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s increasingly sought help from physicians. Although the true number of children born using donor insemination is impossible to ascertain, popular articles in Time and Newsweek suggested that as few as 10,000 and as many as 50,000 children were born using AID in the 1950s and 1960s. The use of AID for treating male infertility increased in the United States over the 20th century, typically under secrecy and under physician control. Donor insemination was initially offered to heterosexual married couples, in which the male was infertile or had reduced fertility. Physicians matched physical characteristics of the donor with the husband and purchased sperm from medical students, residents, and other physicians. Donors were typically anonymous, and married couples kept their use of AID a secret. Sometimes couples were encouraged to engage in sexual intercourse around the time of insemination so that paternity might remain uncertain. With physician-controlled donor insemination, unmarried heterosexual women and lesbians (with or without partners) were generally excluded. The first successful efforts to freeze sperm (cryopreservation), based on similar practices in animal husbandry in the 1950s, were reported in 1953. Yet the use of frozen sperm and the commercial development of sperm banking did not develop until much later. More effective techniques for freezing sperm were developed in the 1970s. This technological advance, coupled with concerns about transmitting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection through the use of fresh sperm in the 1980s and 1990s, led to the use of frozen sperm for donor insemination, typically stored in a sperm
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bank (cryobank). Although estimates are difficult to obtain because of the secrecy involved and lack of regulation, in the United States some 30,000 children a year are currently estimated to be born as a result of donor insemination. The development of cryopreservation and sperm banks enabled men to bank their own sperm prior to undergoing medical treatments that might affect their fertility (such as chemotherapy), for those undergoing major life events (such as mobilization for war), or for those who wished to preserve the option to have children following vasectomy. Single women and lesbian couples gained access to clinic-based donor insemination on a limited basis in the United States and Canada, in South Africa, and in a few European countries beginning in the 1990s. Elsewhere, AID has been primarily restricted to heterosexual couples. Although donor insemination by lesbians is not prohibited in the United Kingdom (UK), physicians there are required to consider the welfare of the proposed child, including the child’s need for a father. Thus, clinic-assisted AID for lesbians in the UK is somewhat less common. Techniques for introcytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) became available in 1992, making donor insemination less attractive to some married couples. In ICSI, a single sperm is extracted from the donor and used to fertilize the egg using techniques of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Because the process allows a genetic tie where the male has a very low sperm count or weak sperm, it has to a certain extent supplanted donor insemination among heterosexual couples. Health Concerns With Donor Insemination As frozen sperm increasingly became available and effective in achieving pregnancy in the 1980s, concerns about the spread of disease with the use of fresh sperm arose. To counter the risk of spreading HIV and other illnesses, sperm banks and commercial services screen donors carefully for HIV and an array of other infectious diseases. Donors are tested for chromosomal abnormalities and genetic diseases, such as Tay-Sachs disease and sickle cell anemia. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began regulating sperm donation in 1994, mandating screening of sperm donors for sexually transmitted infections and other communicable diseases. Cur-
rent guidelines call for quarantining frozen sperm for six months prior to use. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine also provides guidelines for donor insemination. Sperm banks may also choose voluntary accreditation by the American Association of Tissue Banks, which provides strict standards for collection, storage, and transmission of sperm. Sperm Banking The first sperm banks in the United States, typically small and private, developed in the 1960s. Commercial cryobanks—laboratories for screening, preparation, storage, and distribution of sperm— emerged as a for-profit industry in the 1970s. By the 1980s, there were 135 in the United States. One of the most notorious, created by entrepreneur Robert Clark Graham in the 1970s, was aimed at banking the sperm of Nobel laureates and other men who were deemed highly intelligent. This sperm bank, which closed in 1999, had a eugenic aim, and claims to have been responsible for producing over 200 children. Most sperm banks are for-profit enterprises, some of which provide services for single women and lesbians; others restrict themselves to heterosexual married couples. Over the 1990s and 2000s, sperm banking and AID became increasingly commercialized in the United States. With the development of the Internet, potential parents can search catalogs of sperm donors online, with vials available for purchase and shipping, including shipping overseas. In the United States, this has also entailed a shift from doctorselected/doctor-directed AID to consumer-directed selection and purchase of donor sperm. Commercial sperm banks are established across the world. With international boundaries easily crossed through the Internet, donated sperm is available for a fee worldwide. The largest sperm bank in the world is located in Aarhus, Denmark, which ships sperm to over 40 countries worldwide. Sperm banks provide catalogs listing donor characteristics, ranging from health history, religion, personality characteristics, hobbies, race and ethnicity, and physical appearance (height, weight, hair and eye color, complexion, and build). As sperm banking has become commercialized, more donor information has become available, and Internet sites aimed at helping clients locate the “right” donor have sprung
up. Sperm banks provide a range of services including donor screening, testing for sperm count and motility, and washing sperm to accommodate both vaginal and intrauterine insemination. Many sperm banks have begun to offer sperm from donors who agree to release identifying information once donor offspring reach adulthood. The number of donor programs offering open-identity sperm donors has increased in the United States since the late 1990s. Lesbians’ Use of Artificial Insemination Lesbians began to use donor insemination for family formation in the late 1970s and 1980s. Few physicians at this time or prior were willing to give lesbians and single heterosexual women access to sperm and clinic-based insemination. Because of the low technology involved, some lesbians conducted artificial insemination by themselves using fresh sperm collected from known donors or, with the assistance of intermediaries, unknown donors. The first “selfinsemination” support group formed to find sources of sperm is thought to have been established in 1978. Since then, self-insemination has provided one avenue for parenting for lesbians seeking parenthood. Clinic-based insemination services have been available to lesbians since 1982, when the Sperm Bank of California was founded as a nonprofit offshoot of the Oakland Feminist Women’s Health Center. The Sperm Bank of California was the first publicly available sperm bank that openly catered to lesbians and single women. Insemination services have become more broadly available to U.S. and Canadian lesbians over the 1990s and 2000s and in a few other countries worldwide. In 1997, South African law permitted unmarried women—including lesbians—access to donated sperm. In 2002, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine issued Guidelines for Sperm Donation that specifically included females without male partners as eligible for donor insemination. Ethical and Legal Issues Ethical issues surrounding the use of donor insemination include the question of children’s rights to know their genetic origin and the identity of their genetic parents, the question of whether it is ethical to pay for sperm, and the legal parental status of sperm donors.
Artificial Insemination 83 Laws regarding payment of donors vary. In 2004, the Assisted Human Reproduction Act prohibited the purchase of sperm from donors in Canada. Similarly, payments have been reduced in the UK to provide only minimal fees, and sperm donors in Australia may only receive reimbursement for modest expenses. In the United States, sperm donors may receive payment, which can vary widely. The parental status of sperm donors has been an area of concern. In the United States, women who use a sperm donor to self-inseminate without a physician or clinic intermediary may find that the sperm donor has parental rights. Most U.S. states have adopted the Uniform Parentage Act, which states that a physician must be used in order to terminate the parental rights and obligations of the donor. In these cases, the offspring of a married couple are considered the “natural” child of the husband. This is the case in France as well. In other countries, offspring born using artificial insemination are not considered kin. According to Muslim tradition, a child born from donated sperm would be considered illegitimate. The ethical question of whether children have a right to know their genetic origins and biological parentage has also been raised. Historically, most donor insemination was carried out in secret, and parents were urged not to disclose the origins of children born through AID. Physicians sometimes collaborated with parents in developing the myth that the infertile father “could have” been the biological father of the child. As genetics has increasingly become emphasized in medicine and treatment of disease, the trend to disclosure has developed. Open donation has become more common in Europe, Anglophone countries, and the United States. A number of countries specify that the identity of donors must be made available to offspring once the children reach the age of majority. Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK, Norway, New Zealand, and Austria all specify disclosure of donor identity. In the United States, no laws specify donor identification. There is a greater tendency toward open donation in the United States, however, with sperm banks offering increasing numbers of donors who agree to be contacted by their children. Some evidence suggests that lesbian couples and single heterosexual women are more likely to choose open donors than
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heterosexual couples. In most other regions, donors are usually not identified. Research on Artificial Insemination Children Little research has considered the issues of the person conceived by donor insemination. Research on lesbian parents indicates that lesbians tend to disclose the donor-assisted origins of their children. In lesbian families, sperm donors may play a variety of roles, ranging from active parent to unknown donor. Research on single heterosexual women who give birth using AID also suggests a trend toward disclosure. Research on children of heterosexual married couples conceived using AID is limited. In New Zealand, qualitative evidence from small-scale studies suggests that most parents intend to tell their children. The majority of parents in a study of similar families in the UK did not intend to disclose. It is too early to tell how laws regarding open donation will affect parental disclosure. Religious Prohibitions Some religious traditions forbid donor insemination; others permit assisted reproduction under certain circumstances. Jewish law has been flexible with regard to donor insemination; although it forbids the emission of sperm for any but procreative purposes, AID is used in Israel, and religious Jews may choose sperm from non-Jewish donors. Unlike in vitro fertilization, however, donor insemination in Israel is typically regarded with shame. Sperm donation is prohibited by both Sunni and Shi’a Muslim doctrine, although AIH and ICSI are acceptable. The Roman Catholic Church has opposed all reproduction technologies, including artificial insemination. In many Roman Catholic countries, such as in Latin America, donor insemination is prohibited, as it is in Italy. Although official Catholic teaching may prohibit donor insemination, as does Greek Orthodox teaching, many Catholics and Orthodox Christians practice assisted reproduction. Cross-Cultural Issues Acceptance and availability of artificial insemination varies cross-culturally. Although infertility is prevalent in non-Western countries, especially in central and South Africa, fertility treatments are generally unavailable in poor and rural areas. Arti-
ficial insemination and other reproductive technologies are regulated in a number of countries, including Australia, Sweden, the UK, Canada, Germany, Israel, Greece, and the United States. By the early 1990s, over 100 reports on AI and reproductive technology had been produced by governments and nongovernmental organizations. In some pro-natalist cultures, such as Israel and India, donor insemination is practiced with great secrecy. Generally speaking, outside of Europe, United States, and other English-speaking countries, physicians tend to exert greater control of artificial insemination and assistive reproductive technology, and donors remain anonymous. In almost all areas in which assisted reproductive technologies are practiced, in vitro fertilization has increased the chance of using genetic material from the male and thus, although a more physically intrusive procedure for women, has gained precedence over the lower-technology AID. See Also: Infertility; Lesbian Parenting; Pregnancy; Reproductive Technologies. Bibliography Bharadwaj, A. “Why Adoption Is Not an Option in India: The Visibility of Infertility, The Secrecy of Donor Insemination, and Other Cultural Complexities.” Social Science & Medicine, v.56 (2003). Blyth, E. and A Farrand. “Reproductive Tourism—A Price Worth Paying for Reproductive Autonomy?” Critical Social Policy, v.25/1 (2005). Carmeli, Y.S., D.B. Carmeli, Y. Soffer, M. Matilsky, I. Kalderon and H. Yavetz. “Donor Insemination in Israel: Sociodemographic Aspects.” Journal of Biosocial Science, v.33/2 (2001). Daniels, K. and E. Haimes, eds. Donor Insemination: International Social Science Perspectives. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Daniels, C.R., and J. Golden. “Procreative Compounds, Popular Eugenics, Artificial Insemination and the Rise of the American Sperm Banking Industry.” Journal of Social History, v.5/27 (2004). “Guidelines for Sperm Donation.” Fertility and Sterility, v.82/1 (2004). Inhorn, M.C. and D. Birenbaum-Carmeli. “Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Culture Change.” Annual Review of Anthropology, v.37/1 (2008).
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Mamo, L. “Biomedicalizing Kinship: Sperm Banks and the Creation of Affinity-Ties.” Science as Culture, v.14/3 (2005). Murray, C. and S. Golombok. “Going It Alone: Solo Mothers and Their Infants Conceived by Donor Insemination.” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, v.75/2 (2005). Scheib, J.E. and R.A. Cushing. “Open-Identity Donor Insemination in the United States: Is It on the Rise?” Fertility and Sterility, v.88/1 (2007). Kristin G. Esterberg Salem State College
Association for Research on Mothering The Association for Research on Mothering (ARM) is the first international feminist organization devoted explicitly to the topic of mothering and motherhood. Its mandate is to provide a forum for the discussion and circulation of research on motherhood, and to establish a community of individuals and institutions working and researching in the area of mothering and motherhood. ARM was formed to promote, showcase, and make visible maternal scholarship and to accord legitimacy to this academic field. Most importantly, ARM exists to provide a community for like-minded scholars who research and work in the area of mothering and motherhood. ARM was founded and officially launched in September 1998 by Dr. Andrea O’Reilly, at a second annual mothering conference also co-coordinated by Dr. O’Reilly and sponsored by the Centre for Feminist Research (CFR) at York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In its inaugural year, ARM attracted over 30 members; a decade later, in 2008, ARM had more than 500 registered members from over 20 countries. During the first 10 years, more than 1,500 people at one time or another held memberships with ARM. ARM is concerned with both membership and research, with the inclusion of all mothers: First Nations mothers, immigrant and refugee mothers, working-class mothers, lesbian mothers, mothers with disabilities, mothers of color, and mothers of
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other marginalized groups. Members are mothers, scholars, writers, activists, social workers, midwives, nurses, therapists, lawyers, teachers, politicians, parents, students, or artists. They are individual members, or members of local and/or international government or social agencies and/or community groups that work for, and on behalf of, mothers. Joining Community and Research To bridge the gap between community work and academic research on mothering, ARM provides various forums that draw and unite people to share their insights, experiences, ideas, stories, studies, and concerns on mothering and motherhood. ARM hosts a Mother Outlaws Speakers Series and Mother Outlaws community gatherings and potluck dinners in the Toronto area for women interested in discussing motherhood issues from a feminist perspective, and making the links between their own mothering practices and social change. ARM also hosts an annual international academic conference in October that draws its diverse membership to address varying themes and issues surrounding the experience of motherhood and mothering. ARM meets its mandate to provide a forum for discussion and distribution of knowledge and research on mothering and motherhood by also publishing the Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering and housing Demeter Press. Both publications aim to produce the most current, high-quality scholarship on mothering and motherhood, and to ensure that this scholarship considers motherhood in an international context and from a multitude of perspectives, including differences of class, race, sexuality, age, ethnicity, ability, and nationality. This critical mass of scholarly work on mothering and motherhood generated by ARM has contributed to the development of maternal theory, Motherhood Studies, and a three-volume encyclopedia dedicated to the subject of motherhood. See Also: Demeter Press; Journal for the Association for Research on Mothering; Mother Outlaws (Group); Motherhood Studies. Bibliography Association for Research on Mothering, York University. www.yorku.ca/arm (accessed April 2009).
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Kingston, Anna Karin. Mothering Special Needs: A Different Maternal Journey. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2007. The Motherhood Website. “Association for Research on Mothering.” www.themotherhood.com (accecssed September 2009). Fiona Joy Green University of Winnipeg
Attachment Parenting Attachment parenting is a specific parenting philosophy, initially articulated by parenting author Dr. William Sears. The philosophy has grown in popularity and has proponents worldwide. This parenting style draws from attachment theory within developmental psychology, a theory that suggests that strong attachment between parents and offspring is a biological necessity. Attachment ����������� parenting maintains that certain key parenting behaviors encourage or assure strong attachment, resulting in children with increased confidence and sensitivity. These behaviors include breastfeeding on demand, co-sleeping, immediate skin-to-skin contact between mothers and infants in the moments following birth, and the avoidance of strollers in favor of carrying babies and toddlers. Attachment parenting (often shortened to AP by both proponents and detractors), was initially made popular by Dr. Sears and his wife, Martha Sears, who is a registered nurse. They maintain that they did not invent this parenting style, but rather borrow from both indigenous cultures and parents’ own instincts. Using almost exclusively anecdotal evidence, the couple maintains that in addition to fostering strong attachment, the behaviors of attachment parenting also result in children who are smarter and healthier, as well as easier to discipline, more empathetic, and less materialistic. While ����������������������������������� Dr. Sears generally provides disclaimers throughout his writing, suggesting that no aspect of attachment parenting is mandatory, he writes forcefully in favor of a commitment to all of the following core components. Parents must ensure that immediate contact is made between mother and infant in the moments
postdelivery. In order to encourage this, and to encourage lucidity of both mother and child, medical interventions in childbirth are generally discouraged unless absolutely necessary, and parents are strongly urged to empower themselves in pregnancy in order to ensure that all early components of attachment parenting are supported. Attachment parenting philosophy views crying on the part of babies and young children as a critical cue of discomfort and/or displeasure and maintain that total responsiveness is required. To this end, attachment parents do not allow their children to sleep train (following the parenting philosophy of Dr. Richard Ferber) by crying for extended periods of time. Breastfeeding Nursing is a critical component of attachment parenting with both physical and emotional benefits suggested. Babies are fed on demand (in keeping with the need for responsiveness outlined above). Sears suggests that breastfeeding is almost always possible and holds a lack of support within both medical and social contexts as well as the enormous impact of formula advertising responsible for low breastfeeding rates. Mothers who genuinely cannot nurse are encouraged to bottle-feed in a nursing way, by ensuring that mothers remain the primary food providers and through the maintenance of skin-to-skin contact. Babywearing and Co-Sleeping Attachment parenting suggests that Western infants are generally held insufficiently. Through the use of various slings, pouches, and baby carriers, children are held the majority of the time, well into toddlerhood. Babywearing is meant to relieve some aspects of parental isolation, as babies who are “worn” can theoretically be taken into a number of different contexts, contributing to the socialization of infants and toddlers as well as their parents. The family bed is a core concept within attachment parenting, wherein parents and children sleep in one bed until children are ready to move to a bed of their own. While this aspect of attachment parenting has garnered the most criticism (generally from the medical community on the basis of safety concerns), many attachment parents, as well
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as some medical research, suggest that co-sleeping is as safe as crib sleeping.
See Also: Breastfeeding; Childbirth; Mothering as Work; Stay-at-Home Mothers.
Avoidance of Dogmatic Parenting Styles Attachment parents are strongly warned against parenting styles that suggest rigid approaches to childrearing. Instead, attachment parents are meant to follow their children’s own cues and tailor their parenting accordingly, in accordance with the principles laid out above.
Bibliography Nathanson, Jessica and Laura Camille Tuley, eds. Mother Knows Best: Mothers Talk Back to the Experts. Toronto: Demeter Press, 2009. Sears, W. and M. Sears. The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age Two. New York: Little, Brown, 2003. Warner, Judith. Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety. New York: Riverhead Trade, 2006.
Followers and Critics Attachment parenting has a large following of very passionate parents. Although Dr. Sears remains the movement’s figurehead, there are a large number of local and international AP groups, including an umbrella group, Attachment Parenting International (API). At an institutional level, attachment parenting is often celebrated for its return to nature and natural instincts; more common Western parenting techniques and instruments such as bottles, cribs, and strollers are viewed as unnatural and harmful. Attachment parenting is most often practiced within the context of heterosexual marriage, and followers tend to have middle-class or higher income levels; much of the literature on attachment parenting presupposes a family unit comprised of a mother and father with children, as well as flexibility with respect to employment, which is not always available to working-class families. Within the philosophy, mothers and fathers have very distinct roles; mothers are viewed as essential to healthy attachment, while fathers are meant to support the family unit to ensure that mothers may bond securely and completely. Fathers are viewed as essential to attachment, but the primary parent depicted in attachment parenting texts is unambiguously the mother. Critics of attachment parenting view this style of parenting as overly demanding to parents, especially mothers, and suggest that attachment parenting is overly child-centered. In particular, Judith Warner, author of Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety, blames attachment parenting on creating an “age of anxiety” for mothers, while sociologist Sharon Hays argues that attachment parenting is a euphemism for intensive mothering.
May Friedman York University
Attention Deficit Disorder Attention deficit disorder (ADD) has become, in recent years, almost a childhood epidemic. Those diagnosed with the disorder exhibit difficulty paying attention, disorganization, impatience, forgetfulness, distractibility, fidgeting, excessive talking, and impulsiveness. Much controversy surrounds ADD—both in the diagnosis and in the treatment of the disorder. Treatment of ADD generally involves medication such as Ritalin® or Adderall®. Recent treatment options take a more holistic approach, focusing on dietary needs and restrictions rather than medications. ADD first began to receive acknowledgment in 1980 by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III). This diagnosis focused on two types of ADD: ADD with hyperactivity and ADD without hyperactivity. By the time the DSM-IV came out, psychologists assigned many nuances to the disease. For the initial diagnosis, six of the following nine criteria must be met: 1. Fails with attentiveness to details or careless mistakes are made in schoolwork, work, or other activities 2. Has difficulty maintaining attention to tasks or play activities
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3. Appears to not listen when being directly spoken to 4. Difficulty following through with directions and fails to complete activities 5. Often demonstrates difficulty organizing tasks and activities 6. Avoids or dislikes activities requiring sustained mental focus 7. Loses important objects 8. Easily distracted by external stimuli 9. Forgetful in daily activities For a diagnosis of ADD with hyperactivity, six of the nine following criteria must be met: 1. Often fidgets or squirms in seat 2. Leaves the room in situations where remaining seated is expected 3. Runs or climbs excessively in inappropriate situations 4. Has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly 5. Often talks excessively 6. Appears to always be on the go or driven by a motor 7. Frequently blurts out answers before questions are finished 8. Has difficulty waiting 9. Interrupts or intrudes upon others All of the above symptoms must be persistent for duration of at least six months, have an onset before the age of seven, be present in two or more settings, and must lead to a clear impairment in social, academic, or occupational functioning. Treatment of ADD ADD is most often treated with medication. Stimulants are prescribed for patients. While it might appear to be counter-intuitive to prescribe stimulants to those already suffering from hyperactivity or inattention, studies have shown that these medications do help alleviate the symptoms of ADD. The two most commonly prescribed medications for those suffering from ADD are Adderall and Ritalin. Other pharmaceuticals prescribed for treating ADD include antidepressants and or antihypertensive drugs.
Children with attention deficit disorder have difficulty concentrating on schoolwork. Controvery surrounds diagnoses.
Another treatment option for those suffering from ADD is behavior modification therapy. For children undergoing behavior modification therapy, timers, clear rules, and schedules are of the most benefit. Parents might set a timer for the child getting ready for bed, or they might have a checklist of items to be completed before leaving the house in the morning. Other treatments focusing on behavior include maintaining an exercise program, therapy sessions, and parental training. A third treatment option for those diagnosed with ADD is diet and environmental control. Parents who swear by this treatment option focus on a holistic diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars. Some additives that have been cited as causing ADD-like symptoms include tartrazine (yellow dye number 5) and monosodium glutamate (MSG). Low blood sugar has also been cited as a cause for ADDlike symptoms, causing mothers to increase the number of healthy snacks and decrease the number of sugary snacks and sodas. One of the most widely known anti-ADD diets is the Feingold Diet.
Controversies Many controversies surround both the diagnosis of ADD and the medicating of the disorder. One problem with ADD is the diagnosis. Many disagree over whether it is a mental disorder or not. Other arguments centering on diagnosis focus upon the research methodologies involved. Finally, some critics cite that foundations of this diagnosis have not been formally developed by neuroscience, genetics, or biology. Controversies surrounding medication for ADD surround the safety of the medication and its effectiveness in treating the disorder. Critics often cite research showing the relationship between Ritalin and liver cancer in rats as one problem with medication. A second concern centering on medicating ADD is the fact that stimulants are often very addictive and misused. Finally, concern over the involvement of the pharmaceutical companies with mental functioning is cited as a possible problem. A number of alternative therapies such as yoga, hypnosis, and dietary supplements have been proposed to treat ADD. The effectiveness of these therapies is unproven and many see them as simply a type of mother-blame, i.e., placing the blame for a poorly understood disease on inadequate mothering. This charge echoes Bruno Bettelheim’s unsubstantiated (and now discredited) theory that autism was caused by a lack of maternal warmth. See Also: Brain, Child; Depression; Discipline of Children; Home Schooling; Learning Disabilities; Natural Mothering. Bibliography Armstrong, Thomas. “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children: One Consequence of the Rise of Technologies and Demise of Play? In All Work and No Play: How Educational Reforms Are Harming Our Preschoolers. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2003. Breggin, Peter R. Talking Back to Ritalin. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press, 1998. Brown, Thomas E. Attention Deficit Disorder. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005. Feingold, Ben. The Feingold Diet for Hyperactive Children. New York: Random House, 1979. Feingold, Ben. Why Your Child Is Hyperactive. New York: Random House, 1985.
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Green, Christopher and Kit Chee. Understanding ADHD: The Definitive Guide to Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1998. Phelan, Thomas W. All About Attention Deficit Disorder: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment: Children and Adults. Glen Ellyn, IL: Child Management, Inc., 2000. Ronda Lee Levine Independent Scholar
Atwood, Margaret Canadian writer Margaret Atwood was born on November 18, 1939, in Ottawa, Ontario. As a poet, novelist, literary critic, author of children’s books, feminist, and activist, she has had an impressive and lasting impact on feminist writing and literature. While her literary work has been characterized as “science fiction,” she has insisted that “speculative fiction” is much more representative of her work. In addition to poetry and short fiction collections, edited anthologies, children’s books, and nonfiction, she has published a long list of novels, including The Edible Woman (1969), Surfacing (1972), Lady Oracle (1976), Life Before Man (1979), Bodily Harm (1981), The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), Cat’s Eye (1988), The Robber Bride (1993), Alias Grace (1996), The Blind Assassin (2000), winner of the Booker Prize (2000), Oryx and Crake (2003), The Penelopiad (2005), and The Year of the Flood (2009). Described as a near-future dystopia, Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985, winner of a number of prestigious awards) deals with the issues of feminism, environmental degradation, and political control wherein the issues of our time, and particularly issues that emerged out of the second-wave feminist movement are highly dramatized and problematized. Motherhood, Fertility, and Reproduction Motherhood serves as a central issue addressed in The Handmaid’s Tale, as those women who are fertile or handmaids are treated as an important commodity and are thus used by more powerful
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characters who do not have the luxury of fertility. In the society of Gilead, there are a number of central characters and categories of people that must maneuver within a world that is populated by a large portion of infertile women and ruled by a military dictatorship. Thus, these characters and categories of people are situated against the backdrop of a world that has become far more constraining for women. For example, the protaganist, Offred, is a handmaid who is owned and used for her fertility by the Commander and his wife, Serena Joy. Both men and women have particular functions and duties to carry out, although women are hierarchically positioned below men. Women are not permitted to read and girls are not educated; women, in particular, serve a number of different functions, which are dependent upon their position as wives, daughters, handmaids, aunts, Marthas, econowives, unwomen, or jezebels, and always place them in positions of less power and prestige than men. Further, this long list of categories pits women against each other, positioning some women as far more valued and with more resources than others. In the case of handmaids, their sole social function is to provide wives with babies. The final category that speaks to the central role of fertility and reproduction in this novel are babies. Unbabies, or “shredders,” are babies that were born with a physical disability and are disposed of, while “keepers” are babies that are born without any physical disabilities. While wives such as the Commander’s wife, Serena Joy, are hierarchically situated above handmaids via their ability (with their husbands) to use the handmaids for their fertility, the loss of control of other aspects of their lives is telling. Motherhood is the only option wives have; in the case of Serena Joy, for example, she is forced to give up her public role as a television preacher; thus, ironically, she formerly preached for the role that she now has and in which she is clearly unhappy. Margaret Atwood’s work, particularly The Handmaid’s Tale, serves as social and cultural commentary on the issues of traditional values, motherhood, career choice for women, contemporary feminism (for example, antipornography feminists) and a number of other issues that have deeply impacted feminist writers and activists of both Atwood’s and future generations.
See Also: Birth Mothers; Childbirth; Childlessness; Children; Fertility; Motherhood Poets; Poetry, Mothers in; Pregnancy; Reproduction. Bibliography Cooke, Nathalie. Margaret Atwood: A Critical Companion (Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004. Howells, Coral Ann. The Cambridge Companion to Margaret Atwood. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Tolan, Fiona. Margaret Atwood: Feminism and Fiction. New York: Rodopi, 2007. Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo University of California, Santa Barbara
Australia Australia is distinguished by a strong pro-natalist approach to women’s roles, with considerable emphasis placed on reproduction as an important national good. This underpins Australian social policies in regard to mothers and children, except where issues of race or immigration arise. Australia’s social policies to support women and children have varied in the two centuries since colonization, with limited success in supporting gender equity and care. Contemporary Australian women continue to carry key responsibilities for mothering and caring, while they are encouraged to contribute in the paid workforce, too. Australia’s Colonial Past Australia’s colonial history is central to mothers’ experiences and mothering practice within the country. When Australia was colonized in the 18th century, the mothering relationships of indigenous Australian women were interrupted, often brutally; this pattern continued into the 20th century, with the forced removal of children from indigenous families. There are still different welfare provisions for maternity payments, for example, for some groups of indigenous women. Indigenous mothers continue to experience significant social, economic,
and educational disadvantages, and the health and well-being of indigenous mothers and children is negatively affected. Indigenous infant mortality rates are twice that of other Australian children, although there have been some reductions in recent years. While indigenous mothers have more children on average than other groups of Australian women, they do so under considerably more difficult conditions. This colonial past also shapes the national emphasis on the importance of women birthing and mothering children; Australia’s geographic isolation and relatively small population have shaped national thinking about reproduction. Throughout Australia’s history, there have been repeated national calls for women to produce children. In 1903, a Royal Commission on the Decline of the Birth Rate in NSW reported with concern that the number of children born to women had fallen from 7 to 4 children on average between 1870 and 1900. In the latter years of the 20th century, similar concerns were raised as fertility rates fell below replacement levels. Currently, Australia’s birth rate is approximately 1.91 children per woman, which, while below replacement levels (2.1), compares favorably with birth rates in some other developed countries. In the past five years, birth rates have risen from 1.7 in 2000–01 to their current level. Immigration has been an important feature of Australia’s population growth, and women coming from other nations generally experience higher fertility rates. Welfare and Incentives Mothering has attracted different forms of economic support from the government in Australia, with some mothers receiving much better support than others. Forms of support have varied from emphasis on a family wage to direct payments for mothers to support childbearing activities. In the middle of the 19th century, there was a payment of 5 British pounds made to mothers for each child born (although indigenous mothers were excluded). The Harvester Wage Judgement in 1907 entrenched the importance of the national wage standard, which would allow a man to support a wife and three children on what he brought home. Broader forms of social support, including family allowances (support payments for children) and childcare benefits,
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developed throughout the 20th century, particularly after World War II. These have varied according to levels of economic prosperity and the ideological commitments of different administrations. There was a strong impetus in many of these policies to exclude well-off Australians, which resulted in means-testing attached to many forms of benefit. In the 21st century, a Maternity Allowance was instituted, which currently delivers $5,000 Austrailian dollars for each child at the time of birth. Many critics argue that Australia’s welfare supports have not been generous, and recent decades have seen significant tightening of conditions; single parents face onerous conditions with disproportionate, negative financial impact on the nine out of 10 sole-parent households headed by women. Work and Family in Modern Australia In contemporary Australia, the means to balance work and family effectively have been identified as a key issue for mothers, fathers, and families, as women’s paid work commitments have grown. Australia’s framework of reconciliation policies for waged labor and care is not strong, and there is increasing evidence that families are under pressure. Deregulation of labor market policies, a feature of the Australian landscape since the 1980s, is seen to contribute to pressures in this area of employment regulation, as bargaining around family-friendly conditions becomes increasingly industry-specific. Australia is one of only two Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations without nationally mandated paid maternity leave, although unpaid maternity leave was established in the 1970s. Federal employees were granted some funded maternity leave in 1973, and some individual organizations have developed provisions to support women in this way. Less than half of Australian women becoming pregnant, however, are estimated to have access to any form of paid maternity leave, which has led to a significant national discussion in the last decade. Several recent national reviews have supported the idea of universal paid maternity leave, and the growing numbers of Australian women with children in the workforce (currently more than 60 percent of women with children under age 12 under-
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take some form of paid employment) make this a vital issue for women and Australia more generally. Public Policy Support In the latter decades of the 20th century, Australia developed some progressive policy platforms to support women’s participation in public life. Antidiscrimination legislation prohibiting discrimination against parents and pregnancy emerged in the 1970s in the various state and national parliaments. The importance and specificity of women’s role in Australia received formal recognition in the 1970s; Australia was the first country to appoint a Women’s Adviser to the Prime Minister (Elizabeth Reid in 1973). The introduction of women’s affairs offices at the state and federal level followed. Activism to support women refugees, no-fault divorce legislation (introduced in 1975), and maternal health in particular followed. Australia’s universal health care coverage has had important benefits for women and children. Since 1984, Australians have had access to free hospital admission and support for visits to general practitioners. Mothers and children are supported by a system of maternal and health centers, which offer primary care for women and infants during the early years (postpartum support, immunization, and basic health tests such as hearing and sight) and a system of referral to other practitioners. While there are pressures on these services, with access becoming tighter in the last several decades, this is an important feature of the Australian social landscape. There is general availability of contraceptive and family planning advice; access to abortion varies across state jurisdictions, with most requiring certification from a medical practitioner that it is necessary for the woman’s health. Although Australia’s policy framework shows some support for mothering, Australia is often regarded as a strongly masculine culture, and reveals mixed attitudes around motherhood. Mothers are recognized as important for national wellbeing, but this does not always translate into cultural, social, or economic support. Research shows that women continue to carry the responsibility of child rearing and caring; they often work parttime, which allows the balance of work and care, but has impacts on lifetime earnings and workforce equity.
Although gains have been made, pay equity has not been achieved. While there is significant talk about the importance of Australia’s mothers, this is not always reflected in the social and economic outcomes for women who have children. See Also: Aboriginal Mothering; Anthropology of Mothering; Postcolonialism and Mothering; Public Policy and Mothers. Bibliography Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Babies and Bosses: Reconciling Work and Family Life, Vol 1, Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands. Paris: OECD, 2002. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC). “Report of the National Inquiry Into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children From Their Families.” 1997. http://www .humanrights.gov.au/Social_Justice/bth_report/report /index.html (accessed April 2009). Pocock, Barbara. The Work/Life Collision: What Work Is Doing to Australians and What to Do About It. Annandale, Australia: Federation Press, 2003. JaneMaree Maher Monash University
Austria Austria is situated in central Europe and has 8,200,000 inhabitants. It is a federal republic and member of the European Union (EU). Family Demographics in Austria Women in Austria have an average of 1.38 children. The main fertility age is now 29.4 years of age; women’s mean age at first birth is 27.7 years of age. According to the census in 2001, there were 3,483,719 women aged 15 years or older living in Austria, of which 29.6 percent do not have any children; 21.4 percent have one child; 27.6 percent have two children; 12.4 percent have three children; 5 percent have four children; 2.1 percent have five children; and 1.9 percent have six or more children.
In 2007, 20,516 marriages ended in divorce in Austria. On average, the number of children from the couples that divorced was 1.03. Divorces in 2007 involved altogether 15,031 children under the age of 18. Currently, there are approximately 352,000 single parents in Austria; about 143,000 of these single mothers have children below 15 years of age. Education levels in Austria have been rising in the past two and a half decades. Differences between men and women are diminishing, but they still persist. In 2006, education levels in the population aged 25–64 were distributed as follows: 12.6 percent of men and 23.7 percent of women had compulsory school only 74 percent of men and 62.6 percent of women had a secondary education level, and 13.4 percent of men and 13.7 percent of women had a tertiary education level. Support for Mothers and Families For pregnant women who are employed, maternal protection, or Mutterschutz, starts eight weeks before the expected date of birth. During this time, mothers receive lying-in benefit, or Wochengeld, and are not allowed to be employed. Furthermore, working parents can take up to two years of parental leave, which encompasses protection against dismissal. Parents receive a parental leave benefit (Kinderbetreuungsgeld), which is currently not linked to employment status. Parents can share parental leave, but fathers’ use of paternal leave is low. Irrespective of employment status and earnings, parents also receive a national family subsidy (Familienbeihilfe) for each of their children. There are several other financial aids targeted at families, such as subsidies paid by the federal provinces for families with low income. The new Austrian government that formed in late 2008 planned crucial changes in the field of parental leave. Among them were plans for one month of paid leave for fathers after the birth of a child, and earning-related parental leave benefits. Prenatal care in Austria is regulated in the Mutter-Kind-Pass-Verordnung (mother–child-passportdecree). When a pregnancy is stated by a medical doctor, the pregnant woman is handed the so-called Mutter-Kind-Pass (mother–child-passport). This document lists the medical checkups that a pregnant woman and her child are supposed to have,
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from pregnancy to the child’s fifth birthday. Having had the most important examinations in time is a prerequisite for receiving the full amount of the Kinderbetreuungsgeld parental leave benefit. This way, the state tries to encourage women to make use of prenatal and pediatric care. Prenatal care, as regulated in the mother–child-passport, consists of five medical examinations during pregnancy. Additionally, two ultrasound examinations are recommended. The examinations regulated in the MutterKind-Pass are covered by Austrian health insurance. As a rule, they are cost-free for women. The most popular contraceptive in Austria is the birth control pill. Emergency contraceptives are available in Austria, but they have to be prescribed by a medical doctor. In cases of emergency, however, pharmacies are allowed to sell the “morning-after pill” without prescription. Since 1975, abortion has been exempt from legal punishment until the 12th week of pregnancy, and later in the pregnancy to save the life or physical or mental health of the mother, if the fetus is severely deformed, or if the mother is younger than 14 years of age. In 2001, the abortion rate was 1.3 per 1,000 women. As of 2001, 71 percent of Austrian women age 15–49 reported using birth control. Religious Practices and Cultural Norms Over 73 percent of the people living in Austria (including the population without Austrian citizenship) are Roman Catholics. The Catholic tradition affects the cultural notion of motherhood, as do Christian conservative parties’ political opinions and policies. A strong cultural norm is the widespread attitude that young children should be cared for by their mothers. Therefore, parental leaves are rather long in Austria compared to other EU countries. Use and availability of childcare arrangements for children under age 3, and particularly under age 2, are low. Austrian Mothers in History and Fame The history of motherhood in Austria is marked by the Nazi era from 1938 to 1945 and the National Socialist motherhood ideology. The so-called Fristenlösung, the law exempting abortion from legal punishment until the 12th week of pregnancy, was implemented in 1975. Another important step was
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the implementation of paid parental leave that began in the 1960s. In the 1970s, several amendments of parental leave and legal protection for expectant mothers were implemented, some of which still serve as the basis for today’s legislation. Famous mothers in Austrian history were the 18th-century empress Maria Theresia, who had 16 children; and the 19th-century empress Elisabeth “Sisi,” who had four children. Other famous Austrian mothers were actress Romy Schneider, who had two children, one of whom died in an accident; and the skier Ulrike Maier, whose only child died in a skiing accident in 1994. Some well-known mothers are the Russian-Austrian opera singer Anna Netrebko, who had one child; Barbara Rosenkranz, a Freedom Party leader, who had 10 children; and Green Party leader Eva Glawischnig, who had one child. See Also: Abortion; Birth Control; Childcare; Daycare; European Union; Employment and Motherhood; Fertility; Maternity Leave; Nationalism and Motherhood; Prenatal Health Care; Religion and Mothering; Welfare and Mothering. Bibliography Austrian Government Website. www.help.gv.at (accessed April 2009). Statistik Austria. Education in Numbers. Key Indicators and Analyses. Vienna, 2008. Statistik Austria. www.statistik.at (accessed April 2009). Karin Sardadvar University of Vienna
Authentic Mothering See Maternal Authenticity.
Autism The complex neurological disorder autism, or autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) as it is most commonly known today, has been a cause for mother blame
since the early 1940s. In the early days, professionals blamed mothers for lacking warmth and thereby contributing to children’s lack of social reciprocity. Despite modern scientific knowledge, mothers of children with autism are still struggling to prove themselves guilt-free in the eyes of both professionals and society as a whole. It was in 1943 that Dr. Leo Kanner, an Austrianborn child psychiatrist, first identified a unique group of children at his clinic at Johns Hopkins University in the United States. These children presented similar behaviors, such as failing to develop normal social relationships and being upset by changes in the environment; they also had marked language impairments. Kanner pioneered the theory of the “������������� refrigerator mother” in a paper in the 1940s, in which he attributed autism to a genuine lack of maternal warmth. Later, in a 1960 Time magazine interview, Kanner discussed the autistic child’s withdrawal from other people as a result of highly organized and professional parents “just happening to defrost enough to produce a child.” It was, however, another American, psychotherapist Bruno Bettelheim, who gave the refrigerator theory widespread popularity. He compared autistic children to prisoners in Nazi concentrations camps, where human beings were deprived of healthy relationships, in particular with a mother figure. Bettelheim’s articles in the 1950s and 1960s popularized the idea that autism was caused by maternal coldness toward their children. He consistently ignored the fact that a majority of these children had siblings who developed without these symptoms despite being mothered in the same way. Modern knowledge and medical expertise have since abandoned the mother-blame theory. The cause of autism, however, still remains unclear and debated among experts. Most researchers, nevertheless, believe that it is triggered by a combination of genetic defects and environmental factors. Studies of the prevalence of autism differ from 20 per 10,000 individuals up to 60–70 per 10,000. While the exact figure is unknown, it is widely acknowledged that the incidence of autism has soared in recent years. This could be explained both by an increased polluted environment but also by a greater awareness and earlier diagnosis.
Autobiographies
Asperger Syndrome A contemporary with Kanner was Dr. Hans Asperger, a pediatrician in Vienna, who in 1944 identified a consistent pattern of abilities and behavior in a certain group of children similar to that of Dr. Kanner. His group, however, included children with average intelligence and structural language disabilities. The pattern included a lack of empathy, little ability to form friendships, and one-sided interests and conversations. He also found that it predominantly occurred in boys. Asperger’s pioneering work did not achieve any international recognition until Lorna Wing published a paper in 1981 using the term Asperger syndrome. It is now considered a subgroup within the autistic spectrum, and has its own diagnostic criteria. Methods and Therapies Contemporary mothers of children with autism are often overwhelmed by methods and therapies promising to cure the child. They also face accusations of being responsible for their children’s conditions by not following certain precautions. One heated debate among experts surrounds the argued link between vaccination of measles, mumps, and rubella and autism. Another involves not strictly following gluten- and casein-free diets. See Also: “Bad” Mothers; Learning Disabilities; Mother Blame. Bibliography Attwood, T. Asperger Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1998. Fombonne, E. “The Changing Epidemiology of Autism.” Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, v.18/4 (2005). Kingston, A. Mothering Special Needs: A Different Maternal Journey. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2007. Wallis, Claudia. “Inside the Autistic Mind.” Time (May 7, 2006). http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ article/0,9171,1191843,00.html (accessed November 2008). Anna Karin Kingston University College, Cork
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Autobiographies Autobiographies, in which a person recounts their life history, have long been a popular literary genre. Autobiographies have increased in diversity and in volume during the 20th century, especially those written by women. Their style and subjects have also changed over time. Mothers have written autobiographies for a variety of reasons. Common motives include the demonstration of the impact of special circumstances on motherhood, the exploration of their personal relationship to cultural expectations of motherhood, the offering of advice or comfort to other mothers, or simply to share and validate their motherhood experiences. Childhood and comingof-age autobiographies are another rich resource related to motherhood, as many adult autobiographers recall the formative impact of their childhood experiences. Autobiographies provide both scholars and general readers with important insights into places, times, events, social trends, or cultures, as well as the mothers who experienced them. Autobiographies are most characteristically nonfiction prose writing with a first-person narrative style and chronological format, although they can include oral autobiographical traditions and sections of autobiographical material within larger works. They range from lengthy, detailed, or scholarly works meant to instruct or inform, to shorter, anecdotal, or humorous works meant to entertain. Some autobiographies chronicle the author’s complete life history, while others, classified under the memoirs subgenre, chronicle a shorter time span. Some are serious and reflective, while others are lighthearted and humorous. Many autobiographies are organized according to a central theme, such as a person, place, or event. Other common characteristics are physical descriptions of settings and people, re-creations of spoken dialogues, and re-creations of the author’s inner thoughts and feelings. Autobiographies provide the reader with a direct view of the author’s experiences, as opposed to biographies, which are filtered through the eyes of another. Historical Autobiography The most common early American autobiographical forms included narratives of spiritual conversion, Indian captivity, slavery, Civil War experiences,
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pioneer experiences, and the journey of the self-made man. Men wrote most early American autobiographies, although there are some notable exceptions. Literary scholars have noted that these early works largely reflected the American individual’s self-identification through his or her relation to external circumstances as a result of the larger cultural movement to form a new life and a distinct national identity from the American wilderness. Autobiographies in the vein of Benjamin Franklin’s classic also provided instruction for others wishing to improve their moral character and social conditions. Other common themes included the spiritual autobiography and conversion narrative detailing an individual’s religious development, often ending with a spiritually transforming experience. These autobiographies were especially prevalent among the New England Puritans. Autobiographies detailing pioneer life and its dangers offered more possibilities for the female author. Mothers authored several best-selling Indian captivity narratives of the 17th century, including Mary Rowlandson’s Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (1682) and New England Puritan minister Cotton Mather’s account of Hannah Duston’s 1697 capture and escape. Duston watched her infant’s murder as her group of captives marched through the forest, and she later received praise for her subsequent participation in the killing and scalping of 10 of her captors. Native Americans often took women and older children captive rather than killing them, and many children left accounts of the growing bond between them and their new Native American families. The Indian captivity narrative remained a popular format throughout the 19th century as westward expansion continued. Well-known autobiographical accounts of pioneer life include the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which is based on her life and is historically accurate, even though its character simplification often leads to its classification as historical fiction. A popular press capable of mass-producing books began to develop in the mid-19th century, increasing the market or autobiographies as well as other works. The public was interested in reading the autobiographies of notable individuals, such as political and religious leaders, which were public arenas not open to most women. The most com-
mon types of autobiographies of women in the public eye were those of actresses or activists such as the leaders of the women’s suffrage movement. Another key autobiographical outlet for women during the 19th century was the Civil War journal and postwar memoir. The journals and memoirs written by women discussed the challenges of mothering during the male absences and economic hardships common during the wartime. One of the most wellknown examples of the female Civil War memoir is white Southerner Mary Chesnut’s autobiography, entitled Mary Chesnut’s Civil War. Slave narratives had emerged as an American literary genre by the mid-19th century. Most slave narratives followed a narrative formula tracing the journey from slavery to freedom. In addition to formal texts, slave narratives also took the form of journals, pamphlets, court testimony, and oral histories, among others. Most notable in this regard are thousands of oral histories collected by the Federal Writers’ Project during President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Although male authors were more common, there are a number of female slave narratives detailing slavery’s impact on mothers and their children, as slave women emphasized family life in their writings. Mother Harriet Jacobs authored Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), one of the most renowned female slave narratives, in which she recounted her struggle to free herself and her children from bondage. Slave narratives also exemplify the impact of historical autobiographies on their modern counterparts, as many modern African American autobiographies continue to reflect their race’s collective experience as an oppressed minority. Modern Autobiography of Motherhood Roles Autobiographies became a leading genre in American publishing during the 20th century. Many scholars believe that the dramatic rise in the number of autobiographies, many by first-time authors or in limited publishing runs, is a reflection of the increasingly difficult task of self-identification in a complex world as well as the late-20th-century cultural trend of introspection and self-examination. These trends were coupled with the cultural acceptance of formerly taboo subjects and the appearance of autobiographies written from a victim conscious-
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life. One notable autobiography challenging the “perfect mother myth” is writer and professor Jane Lazarre’s The Mother Knot. Lazarre also articulated the ambivalence women sometimes feel at the prospect of motherhood that is often suppressed in the belief that such feelings will not be socially accepted. Some mothers write autobiographies to reaffirm their sense of self-identity as they navigate through motherhood.
Israeli politician Golda Meir wrote of her earliest memories of her Russian childhood: cold, hunger, and fear of pogroms.
ness and the increased interest in the experiences of ordinary people as well as leaders and celebrities. Female authorship in the genre also rose as women entered the public sphere. Many mothers who write autobiographies sought to connect with others who also felt isolated in similar situations or who may felt overwhelmed in a sometimes impersonal and overwhelming modern world. Modern mothers have used the autobiographical genre to explore the impact of women’s changing social roles and technological developments on the cultural expectations of mothers and motherhood. These works explore the impact of social expectations that women who become mothers will sacrifice their careers and personal interests to devote themselves fully to their families, and the labeling of “bad” mothers on those who do not follow such dictates. Some mothers recount their own experiences in order to challenge this idea, while others stress that feminist arguments against such gender roles are negatively impacting family
Autobiography of Motherhood Experience Women have used autobiography to document and share their unique experiences of mothering within special circumstances, providing advice, support, and the acknowledgment that they are not alone. Themes include mothering within a certain race or ethnicity, mothering in poverty, mothering children with medical or mental disabilities, and mothers who themselves face medical or mental disabilities. Mothers such as nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and best-selling author Erma Bombeck have used autobiography to present a humorous look at the challenges of modern motherhood. The rise of the Internet has offered new outlets for mothers to share their experiences in an informal autobiographical form such as the mommy blog. Many autobiographies not written by mothers or centered on the theme of motherhood explore motherhood issues as secondary themes. Some adult children have used autobiography to explore the prominent role their mothers played in shaping their adult identities. The mother–daughter relationship is often central to women’s autobiographies. Some mother portrayals are documentary, some are complimentary, and some are highly critical. Autobiographies of renowned leaders and celebrities remained popular in the 20th century as public interest in the private lives of popular figures grew. Children of some celebrities, such as actress Joan Crawford’s daughter Christina in Mommie, Dearest (1978), detailed abuse or neglect at the hands of their famous mothers. While many childhood and coming-of-age memoirs in this vein detail the effects of life in troubled families, a backlash gave rise to the nondysfunctional family memoir. In a few instances, mothers and children have created collaborative auto
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biographies exploring the mother–daughter or mother–son bond. For example, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama wrote his mother’s autobiography due to the fact that she was illiterate but had shared her stories with him through their culture’s oral storytelling tradition. Controversial or Semifictional Autobiography Another common theme among modern autobiographies has been the exploration of new and controversial topics that had previously been socially taboo. These topics have included issues related to motherhood, including dysfunctional family relationships, child abuse, incest, sexual orientation, drug use, incarceration, and physical and mental illness. Critics have noted that such autobiographies have made increasingly outrageous claims to attract readers who are progressively becoming inured to shocking family revelations, and that the authors may write out of the lesser motives of greed, attention, or revenge against those they feel have wronged them. Critics also note the often-negative personal effects on family members whose secret lives have been made public, especially if those members are children. The autobiographical genre can also include autobiographical novels of fictional characters as well as autobiographies based on real people that openly or secretly blend autobiographical fact with fiction. Even those autobiographies based entirely on actual people and events are vulnerable to the unreliability of human memory, especially years after the fact, and the use of selective memory based on authors’ conscious or unconscious desires to create positive self-portraits. Many autobiographers also commonly change the names of other people discussed in their work for privacy or legal reasons. True autobiographies frequently borrow literary techniques from fiction, such as exaggeration and the inclusion of dialogue. Maxine Hong Kingston’s autobiographical work The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts (1976), in which her mother is a dominant figure, is a work of nonfiction that has elements of Chinese mythology. Another blend of autobiography and mythology is Audre Lorde’s Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (1982). Some literary writers base their fictional works on their actual life experiences. For example, Doris Lessing’s autobiographical fiction recalls
her childhood in Africa and the racial inequality she experienced, while Jamaica Kinkaid’s autobiographical novels explore fictional mother–daughter relationships. Research of Motherhood Autobiography Feminist, literary, and psychoanalytical theory scholars in the late 20th century began studying gendered differences in autobiographical writings, some from an interdisciplinary approach and others through a variety of separate fields. Some feminist scholars, such as Jane Lazarre and Julia Kristeva, have even written their own autobiographies. One notable characteristic of women’s autobiographies that scholars have emphasized is the female author’s search for self-identity through their relationship to others, both family and community. Motherhood is one such relationship bond. Many mothers who write autobiographies also identify themselves as part of a group consciousness based on their gender and race or ethnicity, emphasizing their collective as well as individual experience. Twentieth-century scholars and readers have also showed an interest in the autobiographies of women and mothers living in underdeveloped nations, especially postcolonial minorities and revolutionaries. Many of these international autobiographies have multicultural and multigenerational aspects. Some scholars explore the connections between minority autobiographies written by women within and outside of the United States in the era of globalization. Such studies have linked modern autobiography to the field of postcolonialism, as developing countries and their peoples seek to cultivate postcolonial national and self-identities. These autobiographical works also exhibit the female tendency to link the individual struggle toward self-identity with the similar collective struggle of the minority or national group. Examples in these areas include the autobiographical writings of Guatemalan native Rigoberta Menchu and African American writer Maya Angelou. Scholars emphasize the importance of women’s autobiographies as reflections of their historical and cultural contexts as well as how cultural expectations of gender and motherhood have changed over time. Autobiographies record particular places and historical eras just as they record their authors’ per-
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sonal experiences. They have also debated whether female authors have used the public act of writing their autobiography to challenge or overturn gender ideology or whether their works fall within the existing gender ideology. The inclusion of these characteristics reduces the tendency to view women as a collective body without enough recognition of their individual personalities, experiences, and interpretations. They are also important in studying the cultural impact of women’s autobiographies, as cultural expectations also shape the public reception of an autobiography and its author.
Podnicks, Elizabeth and Andrea O’Reilly, eds. Textual Mothers, Maternal Texts: Motherhood in Contemporary Women’s Literatures. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier, 2010. Siegel, Kristi. Women’s Autobiographies, Culture, Feminism. New York: Peter Lang, 2001.
See Also: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Motherhood; Literature, Mothers in; Motherhood Memoir; Mommy Literature; Popular Culture and Mothering; Self-Identity.
Azerbaijan is a secular democracy of 8.12 million people, most (93.4 percent) of whom are Muslim. After it’s separation from the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan’s economic, social, and health indicators began to decline. Although the country has significant oil reserves and national wealth has increased recently, Azerbaijan spends very little as a nation on public health. Although expenditures increased 60 percent from 2002 to 2004, in 2004 it ranked the fifth-lowest in the world for public health expenditures, spending only 0.9 percent of its Gross Domestic Product on public health measures. Private expenditures make up about 78 percent of the funds spent on health care. Inflation is a serious problem: the consumer inflation rate was estimated at 21.6 percent in 2008.
Bibliography Benstock, Shari. The Private Self. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988. Coleman, Linda S. Women’s Life-Writing: Finding Voice/Building Community. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1997. Cosslett, Tess, Celia Lury, and Penny Summerfield. Feminism and Autobiography: Texts, Theories, Methods. New York: Routledge, 2000. Culley, Margo. American Women’s Autobiography: Fea(s)ts of Memory. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1992. Eakin, John Paul. Fiction in Autobiography: Studies in the Art of Self-Invention. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985. Foster, Frances Smith. Witnessing Slavery: The Development of Antebellum Slave Narratives. Second Edition. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1994. McKay, Nellie Y. “‘We Got Our History Lesson’: Oral Historical Autobiography and Women’s Narrative Arts Traditions.” In Tradition and the Talents of Women, Florence Howe, ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1991. Morgan, Janice and Colette Trout Hall. Redefining Autobiography in Twentieth-Century Women’s Fiction: An Essay Collection. New York: Garland, 1991. O’Reilly, Andrea and Silvia Caporale-Bizzini, eds. From the Personal to Political: Towards a New Theory of Maternal Narrative. Selinsgrove, PA: Susquehanna University Press, 2009.
Marcella Bush Trevino Barry University
Azerbaijan
Vital Statistics Azerbaijan had a population of about 8.5 million in 2005, with 26 percent of the population under age 15 and an annual growth rate of 1.2 percent. It is a relatively poor country with a per capita income of $950 in 2004, and it ranked 101 out of 177 countries on the Human Development Index as of 2004. Life expectancy is 66 years for men and 70 years for women. Literacy is high for both men (99.5 percent) and women (98.2 percent). There are about 129,000 births annually, with a total fertility rate of 2.9 children per woman in 2003, down from 3.3 per woman in 1993. Despite most births being attended by a person trained in health care (89 percent), and 74 percent of births taking place in health care facilities, the infant mortality rate is 43 per 1,000 live births, and the maternal mortality
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Children and their mothers peer into a health clinic in Azerbaijan, where they receive vaccines regularly, thanks in part to USAID. One-quarter of Azerbaijan children under 5 are stunted (too short for their age), which is an indicator of malnutrition.
rate is 82 per 100,000 live births. Most (77 percent) of women have at least one prenatal care visit, 45 percent of women have at least four prenatal care visits, and 66 percent of women receive a postpartum visit within 3 days of giving birth. Few women (14 percent) use contraception, but the abortion rate is high (71 per 1,000 women of reproductive age). Child immunization rates are high: 97 percent of children are immunized with three doses of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP), 98 percent with one dose, and 98 percent with three doses of hepatitis B vaccine. Azerbaijan is certified as polio free, so polio vaccinations are not given. See Also: Islam and Health; Poverty and Mothering; Russia (and Soviet Union). Bibliography Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Prevalence of Anemia Among Displaced and
Nondisplaced Mothers and Children—Azerbaijan, 2001.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, v.53/27 (July 2004). http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/ preview/mmwrhtml/mm5327a3.htm (accessed April 2009). Parfitt, B. “Health Reform: The Human Resource Challenges for Central Asian Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Countries.” Collegian, v.16/1 (2009). World Health Organization. “Highlights on Health in Azerbaijan.” (2005). http://www.euro.who.int/ document/E88388.pdf (accessed April 2009). World Health Organization. “Towards the European Strategy for Making Pregnancy Safer: Improving Maternal and Perinatal Health: Country Profiles: Armenia.” (2007). http://www.euro.who.int/document/ MPS/ARM_MPSEURO_countryprofile.pdf (accessed April 2009). Sarah E. Boslaugh Washington University School of Medicine
B “Bad” Mothers The term bad mother is a moral, political, and social pejorative, applied to countless women in countless places. It is a label that is distinct from the case of bad parenting more generally, focusing in the specific task of mothering or, more precisely, on its failure. Because the mother–child relationship is burdened by cultural practices and sexual politics, the question of what makes a mother “bad” includes the issue of whether bad mothering is a legitimate category in the first place. It is therefore a distinctly difficult historical, philosophical, and psychological question. Although this discussion is limited to the Western (and especially American) 20th- and 21stcentury preoccupation with good and bad motherhood, this is by no means a statement about the relative importance of other perspectives. Good Mothers Most ideas of the good mother, like any valueladen term, are culturally bound and socially constructed. This is not to say that they lack social, political, or psychological staying power. There are some broad beliefs about good motherhood, which, while not necessarily universally shared, nevertheless tend to persist. Generally, the focus
tends to be on two questions: first, who the mother is, and second, what she does. The former question is often translated into concerns about whether the mother is married, heterosexual, middle class, not too young or too old, and so on. The latter has, from about the 1700s, been interpreted as a concern with how domestic, doting, and successful in raising good children she is. A good mother protects her children and does not deliberately or neglectfully harm or abuse them. A good mother cares about being a good mother. More recently, a good mother listens to child-rearing experts, and is always aware of their latest advice. The label of bad mother is applied to women regardless of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or socioeconomic status. However, these considerations have been key in furthering the stereotype. The following three categories provide an overview of modern bad motherhood. The Selfish Mother The selfish mother puts her own needs before those of her children, either harming them by her absence or failing to protect them from harm. Even though historically, women—especially poor women and slaves—have worked both inside and outside the home, the focus since the 1950s has been on the 101
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“Bad” Mothers The Nontraditional Mother The nontraditional mother comes in many different guises that deviate from a perception of the good mother of the traditional nuclear family. She not only fails to comply with a this perception, but is prima facie bad as a result of who she is perceived to be. She might be unmarried and welfare-dependent, and thus unable to provide what the experts deem essential for good mothering. If she is a minority parent, this criticism can also be rooted in stereotypes and prejudices. She might be an older mother, or an older mother who has conceived without a partner. She might be a lesbian or an otherwise nonheteronormative mother who parents with a samesex partner, or with no partner at all. In these, and many other cases, she is perceived as someone who is unwilling and unable to provide the requisite stability, nurturing, and support.
Working mothers, or mothers who do not put their child’s demands first, can be labeled as “bad” mothers.
conflicts between the woman’s role as a child’s primary caretaker versus her role as a provider and someone with career interests and ambitions outside of the home. These working mothers are sometimes labeled as selfish or blamed for anything from their child’s bad performance at school to autism to abuse. Sometimes, the label of bad mother seems to be applied without much regard for the reasons the mother is outside the home. As a feminist journalist and poet, Katha Pollitt has argued that this is used simply as a reactionary response to feminism. More recently, the “bad mother” label has been applied to women who have not placed the needs of their unborn child above their own, whether as a result of choice, addictions, poverty, or simply by not following the experts’ advice about what it means to be a nurturing expectant mother.
The Wayward Offspring Mother This third kind of “bad mother”—sometimes also on the socioeconomic periphery—is one whose children seem to have lost their way. Specifically, her children might be incarcerated, constantly unemployed or unemployable, or are plagued by drug and alcohol problems. Even more so than the selfish and the nontraditional mothers, these women are offered as examples of the effects on children of certain choices and lifestyles. Studies and surveys are often used by experts as proof that certain kinds of mothers produce maladjusted, or even criminal, offspring. Bad Mothers or Flawed Labels? This brief examination of the term bad mother is by no means definitive. While individual mothers can act in ways that are harmful to their children, serious disagreements remain about what defines good or bad mothering. A number of critics argue that the problem is not with the individual woman or classes of women, but with a society that does not confront its own economic and social injustices. In this sense, by vilifying bad mothers, there is a lack of consideration for the effects of a meaningful social safety net, as well as the presence of poverty, sexism, rejection of homosexuality, and racism. See Also: Child Abuse; Lesbian Mothering; Sociology of Motherhood; Work and Mothering.
Bahrain
Bibliography Badinter, Elizabeth. Mother Love, Myth and Reality: Motherhood in Modern History. New York: Macmillan, 1980. Eyer, Diane. Motherguilt: How Our Culture Blames Mothers for What’s Wrong With Society. New York: Times Books, 1996. Hequembourg, A.L., et al. “Lesbian Motherhood: Negotiating Marginal-Mainstream Identities.” Gender and Society, v.13/4 (1999). Jackson, D., et al. “Giving Voice to the Burden of Blame: A Feminist Study of Mothers’ Experiences of Mother Blaming.” International Journal of Nursing Practice, v.10/4 (2004). Jacobs, J.L. “Reassessing Mother Blame in Incest.” Signs, v.15/3 (1990). Ladd-Taylor, Molly and Lauri Umansky. “Bad” Mothers: The Politics of Blame in Twentieth-Century America. New York: New York University Press, 1998. Miller, M.L., et al. “Motherhood, Multiple Roles, and Maternal Well-Being: Women of the 1950s.” Gender and Society. v.5/ 4 (1991). Swift, Karen. Manufacturing “Bad Mothers:” A Critical Perspective on Child Neglect. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 2008. Thurer, Shari. Myths of Motherhood: How Culture Reinvents the Good Mother. New York: Penguin, 1995. Wegar, K. “In Search of Bad Mothers: Social constructions of Birth and Adoptive Motherhood.” Women’s Studies International Forum. v.20/1 (1997). Anna Gotlib. State University of New York, Binghamton
Bahrain Bahrain is one of the most densely populated countries in the world; about 89 percent of the population lives in the two principal cities of Manama and Al Muharraq. Approximately 66 percent of the indigenous population is originally from the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. The indigenous population is almost 100 percent Muslim. Women are more publicly active in Bahrain than most other Arab countries. Many women choose not to be completely veiled. Bahrani women are
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highly educated and well represented in all of the major professions. More than 25 percent of Bahraini women hold jobs outside the home. Bahraini women were given the right to vote in 2002. The most pressing issue for many Bahraini women is the need for a unified family law. The Sharia judges have the legal authority to decide divorce and child custody. Gender roles in Bahrain show a variety of manifestations, and reflect the person’s education and socioeconomic level, religious sect, urban or village background, and the degree of contact with local expatriates, as well as travel, study, or work abroad. Today many females are attending school, which is still noncompulsory. Due to strict family mores, some females still receive schooling only at home. The sociological status of males and females as children, adolescents, and adults are clearly defined in the Koran and interpreted by the Bahrain legal system, which is based on a combination of sharia law and British jurisprudence, which are expressed through codes. Bahraini women are able to sign their own operation permits in hospitals or use their thumbprints; however, due to local tradition, the husband, or even other relatives, tend to sign permits. Women keep their family name after marriage, and all their property remains in their names, without becoming joint property or being held in their husband’s name. Divorce is looked upon with strong disfavor in the Koran; however, divorce rates are escalating. Children and Contraception Children are important in an Arab family. All men desire a boy to retain their name, and a woman will continue getting pregnant until she has a son to please her husband and herself. If a couple has difficulty conceiving, there are two in vitro fertilization (IVF) units in the country. The birth rate in Bahrain is one of the highest in the world, at 2.91 percent. Contraceptives are legal, and free contraceptive aids are available for all Bahrain residents from the government at all the Primary Health Centers and government hospitals. Female and male sterilization are available and are being used more and more by older couples as a means of birth control. A few
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government publications report that approximately 50 percent of Bahraini families use contraception of some form. Abortions are allowed only under very strict religious regulations or if the pregnancy poses a threat to the life of the mother; otherwise, abortions are considered illegal. Bahrain’s labor legislation protects women’s right to work and paid maternity leave of 40 work days beginning from the first day of confinement. Women are also given one hour of breastfeeding leave each work day, up to four months from her delivery date. See Also: Iran; Iraq; Islam and Motherhood. Bibliography Abdulla, Ahmed. An Overview of Health Services in Bahrain. Bahrain: Ministry of Health Report, 1995. Badawi, Jamal A. The Status of Women in Islam. Plainfield, IN: Muslim Students Association of U.S. and Canada, 1980. Curtis, Jerry L. Bahrain: Language Customs and People. Singapore: Tun Wah Press, 1977. Ziskind, David. Labor Laws in the Middle East. Los Angeles, CA: Litlaw Foundation, 1990. Miranda E. Jennings University of Massachusetts Amherst
Bangladesh Traditionally, marriage and motherhood are of central importance to women’s lives in Bangladesh. The two main religious traditions in Bangladesh, Islam and Hinduism, emphasize that marriage is a social and spiritual obligation, especially for women. As a result, there is strong cultural pressure for women to marry and have children, whereas unmarried, divorced, and childless women often experience social stigmatization. Legally, the minimum age of marriage for women is 18; however, it is not strictly enforced. More than 50 percent of women are married by the age of 16, and 98 percent by the age of 24. Furthermore, Bangladesh has one of the world’s highest rates of adolescent motherhood. One in three teenage girls is a mother.
The national fertility rate, which is 3.08 children per woman, is not particularly high. However, the fertility rate is unevenly distributed by socioeconomic class; poorer families tend to have more children than middle- and upper-class families. Approximately 60 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and higher fertility rates among this population has significant consequences. Ninety-two percent of childbirths occur at home and are attended by relatives or aides with minimal medical training. Lack of adequate health care contributes to high infant and maternal mortality rates. The infant mortality rate is 57.45 deaths per 1,000 live births, and the maternal mortality rate is more than 300 deaths per 100,000 live births. These numbers are unacceptably high, and the government is working to enact policies to ensure that trained medical providers are accessible to all women. Poorer families may have more children due to cultural pressures or ignorance about family-planning strategies. Several nongovernmental organizations work to increase awareness about family planning. The contraceptive prevalence rate is currently more than 50 percent. Although some pregnancy termination, called menstrual regulation, is allowed up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, abortion is illegal. Patriarchal Effects Domestic violence is also a significant problem for mothers. Approximately 14 percent of maternal death is due to domestic violence. The Bangladeshi family law is based on religious law and favors men’s rights. Domestic violence has not been criminalized, and women have unequal rights to obtain a divorce and retain custody of children. These legal barriers may help explain the very low divorce rate in Bangladesh. Patriarchal cultural traditions also affect mothering. Since mothers recognize that their own status within the family is related to their sons, mothers often provide preferential treatment to boys. Similarly, boys are given more educational opportunities than girls. The male literacy rate is 53.9 percent compared to the female rate of 31.8 percent. See Also: Birth Control; Hinduism; India; Islam and Motherhood.
Becoming a Mother
Bibliography Afsana, K., et al. Discoursing Birthing Care. Dhaka, Bangladesh: The University Press Limited, 2000. Halim, Abdul M. Women’s Crisis Within Family in Bangladesh. Dhaka, Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights, 1995. Jahan, Roushan. Hidden Danger: Women and Family Violence in Bangladesh. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Women for Women, 1994. Monsoor, Taslima. From Patriarchy to Gender Equity: Family Law and Its Impact on Women in Bangladesh. Dhaka, Bangladesh: The University Press Limited, 1999. Rahman, Syed Azizur, Justin Parkhurst, and Charles Normand. Maternal Health Review Bangladesh. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2003. World Bank. World Development Report 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001. Julie Ahmad Siddique City University of New York
Becoming a Mother Becoming a mother is simultaneously one of humankind’s simplest and most complex identity development tasks. From a physical and social perspective, motherhood begins when a woman has a child. When and how women come to identify themselves as mothers, however, are complex processes that vary with each woman’s unique personality and circumstances, including social demands, personal expectations, biological versus adoptive mothering, relationship roles, career/financial roles and status, health status, military status, and sexual orientation. Identity and Ideals By definition, identity provides connections to established groups, and is constructed of a set of values and norms. Mothering values and norms are developed through the experience of having been mothered; community, social, and religious norms; and observing mothers in everyday situations and in the media. The specific impact of norms and
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values on a mother’s identity will depend on how similarly she views herself in relationship to other mothers in her social group on factors such as age, locality, working status, and socioeconomic status. Further, the meaning individual women may assign to any social difference may vary. For instance, how a woman becoming a mother later in life might identify her maternal role depends in part on her judgments of other mothers. Throughout life, an individual’s identity constantly evolves—incorporating, adapting, and/or shifting between values and norms to create a working self-concept. Similarly, the mother’s identity shifts and changes as her child transitions through major developmental phases—infancy to toddlerhood, preschool age, early childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood. Maternal identity changes associated with the growth of the child may depend on the social context of the child, the acquisition of new skills, and the development of confidence with each new mothering challenge. Mothering identity can also change as a result of partner status and/or the addition of more children. The values and norms of “ideal” mothering can be in direct conflict with any number of other characteristics mothers value on an individual basis, such as autonomy, career identity, relationships to authority, femininity/masculinity, and so on. Androgynous women may have difficulty reconciling socially defined expectations of mothering as a feminine act with their own self-concepts, particularly if their partners hold traditional views of mothering and femininity. In Western cultures, women face a particularly daunting task of reconciling flexible gender roles and the independence of adulthood with the selflessness or self-sacrifice of parenting. A Mother’s Identity: Biological and Adoptive For biological mothers, self-identification as a mother can occur at any time from preconception through the postpartum period. Attachment with the developing fetus or newborn may have an impact on this identity shift. Nine events may impact attachment, including: (1) pregnancy planning; (2) pregnancy confirmation; (3) acceptance of the pregnancy; (4) experiencing fetal movement; (5) acceptance of the fetus as an individual; (6) birth; (7) seeing the newborn; (8) touching the newborn; and, (9) caring for
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the newborn. Through these nine events, the biological mother’s bond with her child may shift and adjust with corresponding changes in her identification as a mother. In addition to personal events, social events such as baby showers, online mothers’ groups, online pregnancy and child-development stage updates, telling family and friends about the pregnancy, “showing,” the purchase or borrowing of maternity clothes, and other social experiences are likely to contribute to women’s experiences of becoming mothers. For adoptive mothers, the process can parallel that of biological mothers, depending on the reasons for adoption and type of adoption process. If adoption was chosen after failed fertility treatments or miscarriage, the mothering identity may have already begun to develop. If adoption was chosen as the initial parenting option, the motherhood identity may have started to develop with the mother’s first exploration of adoption possibilities. The type of adoption—open or closed—can also impact maternal identity development. In an open adoption, the expectant adoptive mother may have a greater opportunity to experience anticipation of the birth and may even participate in prenatal medical visits and/or observe fetal movement. While each of these experiences can improve the attachment, like biological mothers, they may also serve to enhance the transition into motherhood. A Mother’s Identity: Lesbian and High Risk Lesbian mothers may face difficulty reconciling mothering roles within the context of dual-mother families. Along with the challenges of dealing with social responses to lesbian sexual orientation, further difficulties surround social understanding of each partner’s respective role, such as in the case when one partner gave birth and the other partner did not. Sometimes, the nonbirthing partner is referred to as the “co-parent.” Referring to the other partner as the “other mother” has been criticized within and outside the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender (LGBT) community because it emphasizes the role of “other” rather than that of “parent.” Though special names may help clarify individual roles in the family, they may not be well liked by those to whom they are applied because they fail to adequately describe the relational bonds each parent has with one another and with her children.
Women with high-risk pregnancies and/or postpartum infant hospitalization in an neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may experience additional challenges in developing their maternal identity. Some mothers may feel a hospitalized infant somehow belongs more to the hospital than to them, because hospital staff are charged with providing moment-to-moment care. This situation can also interfere with the development of a new mother’s confidence in her ability to ensure her infant’s survival, because she somehow feels she lacks necessary expertise to care for a vulnerable infant. Under these circumstances, the risk for difficulties in mother–infant attachment and problems in adjusting to the maternal role should be recognized. Maternal illness may impact how women adjust to their parenting role as well. With an acute illness, a mother may require only temporary assistance and support, and if available, she may more easily maintain, albeit somewhat reduced, a mothering identity. With a progressive illness, some mothers may begin detaching or withdrawing, reducing their mothering expectations, and may ultimately facilitate the transition of major mothering/parenting roles to another. In relapsing/remitting illnesses, some mothers may experience greater guilt during relapses due to an inability to maintain their level of involvement and responsibility compared to their ability during remission periods. On the other hand, some mothers adapt more flexibly to the cycles of relapses and prepare the family for the sudden transitions. Cultural Expectations Versus Reality In prevailing U.S. culture, an ideal conceptualization of “mother” often includes intensive, high-contact, and independent mothering. While the culture at large may seem to resist the concept of “supermom,” the reality remains that for many mothers, the long-held traditional cultural influences within their own families and communities lead them to identify with the “highly involved mother” standard. Such a contrast between espoused cultural values and the mothering expectations may create identity stress and confusion for mothers. For women working outside the home, the expectations to fully commit and dedicate oneself to the work environment forces women to continually adapt to meet two conflicting sets of expectations.
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Women married to military servicemen may also experience a difficult transition to motherhood. These mothers are often faced with numerous threats to their relationship stability, such as relative youth and inexperience in committed relationships, frequent and sometimes lengthy separation from their spouses, isolation from other mothers, frequent relocations, and limited financial resources. These factors relate not only to higher rates of depression among mothers with military spouses, but their children are also at considerably higher risk for child abuse and neglect. Programs to address this risk have shown to have positive, short-term effects. When the reality of mothering fails to live up to one’s expectations, significant distress affecting the transition to motherhood may result. Over time, some mothers simply adjust their expectations to more closely align with their respective realities. Others view their realities as consistent with their expectations, even if they are not. When mothers are unable to resolve their expectations in relationship to reality, they are at higher risk for depression, which can then feed into feelings of guilt for not living up to how they “should be.” In addition, ambivalence toward the infant may develop, potentially disrupting critical early relationship development. Becoming a mother is clearly complex. The specific course and trajectory for each woman is as unique as the woman herself. Nevertheless, when a woman becomes a mother, she can certainly expect profound changes in her identity. See Also: Adoption; Ambivalence, Maternal; Guilt; Lesbian Mothering; Mask of Motherhood; Maternal Health. Bibliography Gabb, J. “Lesbian Mothering: Strategies of FamilialLinguistic Management in Lesbian Parent Families.” Sociology, v.39/4 (2005). Hartwick, G.A. “Women Who Are Mothers: The Experience of Defining Self.” Health Care for Women International, v.18/3 (1997). Johnston, D.D. and D.H. Swanson. “Cognitive Acrobatics in the Construction of Worker-Mother Identity.” Sex Roles, v.57/5–6 (2007). Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering. Becoming a Mother [special issue], v.5/2 (Spring/ Summer 2001).
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Maushart, Susan. Mask of Motherhood: How Becoming a Mother Changes our Lives and Why We Never Talk About It. New York: New Press, 1997. Mercer, R.T. “Becoming a Mother Versus Maternal Role Attainment.” Journal of Nursing Scholarship, v.36/3 (2004). Schachman, K.A., et al. “Baby Boot Camp: Facilitating Maternal Role Adaptation Among Military Wives.” Nursing Research, v.53/2 (2004). Shin, H. and R. White-Traut. “The Conceptual Structure of Transition to Motherhood in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.” Journal of Advanced Nursing, v.58/1 (2007). Jill B. Fancher Elizabeth Soliday Washington State University, Vancouver
Belarus Belarus, a landlocked country in eastern Europe, formerly part of the Soviet Union, and became independent in 1991. The estimated population in 2009 was about 9.6 million, with 14.3 percent of the population under age 14, and 14.5 percent 65 years and older. Population growth is minus 0.378 percent, with about 9.62 births per 1,000. About 70 percent of the population lives in urban areas. The total fertility rate was 1.2 in 2003, down from 1.6 in 1993. Overall, the male/female ratio is 0.87 males per female. Life expectancy at birth is about 65 years for men and 77 years for females. This has actually declined since the mid-1980s, particularly for men, and is largely attributable to a very high rate of heart disease. The population is about 80 percent Eastern Orthodox and 20 percent Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and other religions. Literacy is high for both males (99.8 percent) and females (99.4 percent). Belarus suffered less than other formerly Soviet countries in the years following independence, and today has a relatively even distribution of income, with a Gini coefficient (a measure of inequality) among the lowest in the world. Per capita income for 2008 was estimated to be $11,800, up from $9,900 in 2006, but inflation is a significant problem.
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Maternal and Child Health Belarus’s per capita expenditure for health in 2002 was estimated at $93, representing 10.5 percent of total government expenditures. Most health care costs (73.9 percent) are supported by the state, while 26.1 percent of health care expenses are privately funded, and about 0.1 percent comes from external resources. Health care in Belarus is centrally organized and funded, but delivered at a local level. Excess hospital capacity is a problem retained from the Soviet years, and Belarus has a high number of health professionals, although they are unevenly distributed by geography and specialty. Health care is free at the point of use, and the government’s goal is to provide universal access to care, which has been achieved in some categories of maternal and childcare. For instance, child immunization rates for common diseases such as measles and hepatitis B are nearly 100 percent, and nearly all births are attended by skilled health personnel. Modern contraception use among women is reported at 42 percent. Specialty clinics serving women’s health are typical in polyclinics, and deliver abortion services and gynecological and obstetric care. The maternal mortality in 2000 was 36 per 1,000 live births, the stillbirth rate was 6 per 1,000 live births, and the neonatal mortality rate was 5 per 1,000 live births; all are substantially lower than the average for comparable European countries. A unique event that affected both maternal and infant health in Belarus was the Chernobyl accident in 1986, which contaminated 23 percent of Belarus with radiation. Various studies have found conflicting results in terms of birth defects or illness among children whose mothers were exposed to the radiation, and among the women themselves. See Also: European Union; Infant Mortality; Russia (and Soviet Union). Bibliography Petrova, A., T. Gnedko, I. Maistrova, M. Zafranskaya, and N. Dainiak. “Morbidity in a Large Cohort Study of Children Born to Mothers Exposed to Radiation From Chernobyl.” Stem Cells, v.15/2 (1997). Rytomaa, T. “Ten Years After Chernobyl.” Annals of Medicine, v.28/2 (1996).
World Health Organization. “Belarus Health System Review.” Health Systems in Transition, v.10/6 (2008). http://www.euro.who.int/Document/E92096.pdf (accessed April 2009). World Health Organization. “Highlights on Health in Azerbaijan.” (2005). http://www.euro.who.int/ document/E88388.pdf (accessed April 2009). Sarah E. Boslaugh Washington University School of Medicine
Belgium Belgium is a country with diverse regional and cultural identities. The three main regions are Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels. The main languages are Flemish and French, with a German-speaking minority. Belgium is a highly developed country, and mothers benefit from an extensive social support network; three phases of family policies support motherhood. Women also have high participation rates in all levels of education The fertility rate is low and the divorce rate is the highest in the European Union, but children and family are important parts of women’s identities. Many Roman Catholics in Belgium historically opposed legalization of divorce, abortion, and contraception, but there is currently a high use of modern contraceptives. The vast majority of births are attended by skilled personnel. Belgium’s low rate of 1.65 children per mother has been below replacement rate since the mid-1970s, similar to the rest of northern Europe. Family size is small. Belgium has an explicit family-leave policy, with the regional governments responsible for family policies. Government policies support the traditional family, with a generous child allowance. Universal, taxfree cash benefits, among the highest in Europe, are provided for employed families with a child under 18. Mothers are eligible for a 15-week maternity leave at 82 percent of income for the first 30 days, and 75 percent thereafter, up to an income ceiling; fathers have several days of paid leave around the birth. Belgium has the highest divorce rate in the European Union. The total divorce rate was 18.4 percent in 1980, 30.6 percent in 1990, and 45.1 percent
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in 2000. The government provides a means-tested social assistance benefit for lone parents and guarantees three months of maintenance payments for up to three months if the noncustodial parent fails to pay support. Traditionally, Belgian men were the wage earners and women took care of the home and children. The traditional model has shifted; in most families, both parents work full time or the mother works part time. By 3 months of age, one-third of children are in regular care, and by 6 months of age, half of children are in regular care, 75 percent of whom are in publicly funded crèches or with daycare mothers; the rest are primarily with grandparents. Families receive tax credits for recognized daycare. Most children go to school at age 3. Educational attainment is high, with 85 percent of girls enrolled in secondary education; women account for 66 percent of postsecondary enrollment. While 75 percent of Belgians are Catholic, few practice the religion. The Roman Catholic identity was a deterrent to legalizing divorce, abortion, and the availability of contraception. Prior to 1973, the law forbade mention, advertising, or distribution of contraceptives. Abortion was legalized in 1990. Use of modern contraceptive methods is about 80 percent; condom use is increasingly popular among young Belgians. Prenatal care is covered by health insurance; virtually all births are attended by skilled personnel. Belgian family policies supporting motherhood were instituted in three phases. Family enabling (1930) focused on income maintenance for the traditional mother-at-home family. Service building (1960s–70s) focused on family planning education and childcare. Family empowerment (1980s– 90s) focused on family-life balance and shifting childcare and housework to family responsibilities of men as well as women. Famous Belgian women include Marie Terese Baird, mother of eight, who authored novels, including The Scorpions, A Shining Furrow, A Lesson in Love, and The Birds of Sadness, and Kim Clijsters, who became a mother in 2008 and was the youngest Belgian national tennis champion and the first Belgian woman to reach the number-one professional tennis ranking. See Also: Abortion; Divorce; European Union; Family Values; Fertility.
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Bibliography Dumon, Wilfred. “Belgium’s Families.” In Handbook of World Families, Bert N. Adams and Jan Trost, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005. Woodward, Alison E. “Belgium.” In The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Women’s Issues Worldwide, Lynn Walter, ed. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. Keri L. Heitner University of Phoenix
Belize Flanking Guatemala to the east and Mexico to the south, Belize is a small, developing country with an agricultural economy. Sugar cane, which is raised on plantations, ranks as the country’s chief crop; processed sugar is the main export. Unemployment in the cities and low farm production in rural areas are major problems, but Belizeans are working to develop their tourism. Belize is racially mixed; about half of the population has a full or partial black African ancestor. About a fifth are descended from Carib, Maya, or other Indian groups. Children and Childbearing Belizean children between the ages of 6 and 14 must attend school. Belize has four colleges, but many students who seek career advancement must move to other English-speaking countries. The vast majority of women rarely get Pap smears, which are done for a fee of $10 belize dollars at the Belize Family Life Association (BFLA)—but the fee is often waived. Abortion is illegal in Belize and thus not publicly financed. Many services such as magnet resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear medicine simply are not available in Belize. Caesarean sections are performed very rarely: only if the baby has a transverse presentation, if the mother becomes eclamptic, or on a few other rare occasions when it is determined that the mother’s life is at risk (it is not done for breech presentations or labor that fails to progress). The impetus for Plenty International’s Belize midwifery project grew out of Kek’chi and Mopan Maya people in the Toledo District. Spread out over approximately 48 rural villages, the Maya in
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this district have the poorest health indicators of any population in Belize. Mayan infants (birth–3 months) have a 45–55 percent mortality rate, which is about five times higher than that of the United States. A high percentage of Mayan women are anemic, which puts them and their unborn babies at risk during pregnancy and childbirth, and a high number of Mayan children suffer growth retardation due to malnutrition. The majority of Mayan women birth their babies at home, and many of Toledo’s rural villages are several hours’ drive from the local hospital; transportation and communication systems are generally poor. The midwifery project helps train rural village women to assist their neighbors during pregnancy and childbirth and to provide emergency backup support. Agencies and Education The Department of Women’s Affairs and the National Women’s Commission are among the key government agencies promoting the advancement of women in Belize. While the Belize constitution guarantees equality between men and women and defines discrimination, there are no acts that specifically define discrimination against women. Young women secure just over half of the available places in secondary schools, by virtue of selection based on academic merit. Women continue to be underrepresented in employment, especially skilled and professional positions more likely to deliver income equality. To date, the government has not pursued affirmative action provisions, especially for achieving improved gender equality in the labor force. See Also: Guatemala; Infant Mortality; Mexico; Midwifery. Bibliography McClaurin, Irma. Women of Belize: Gender and Change in Central America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996. Wartinger, Lisa. “Midwifery Training Project to Begin in Belize.” Plenty: The Spring 2000 Bulletin, v.16/1 (2000). http://www.plenty.org/pb16_1/PlentyMid wifery.htm (accessed May 2009). Angela Stephens Sojourner-Douglass College
Benin The Republic of Benin, one of the world’s poorest countries, has a high birth rate and a low divorce rate; societal mores promote childbearing, and contraceptive use is low. Women in the formal work sector receive maternity benefits; government initiatives also focus on improving reproductive health. Most women have a primary school education. Vodum religious shrines are the unifying center of the family. Childbearing, Child Rearing, and Marriage The typical woman in Benin who lives to 51 will birth more than seven children, higher than the World Health Organization rate for West Africa. Women in rural areas have a higher total fertility rate than in urban areas. Women employed in the formal sector are eligible for 14 weeks of maternity leave benefits, at 100 percent of pay. Most women work in the informal sector, and have six years or less of formal schooling. Girls represent about 35 percent of secondary enrollment. Childbearing is an expected social norm. Yoruba and Goun are two Benin ethnic groups. Goun men are expected to provide a home and basic needs for their families; Yoruba women are expected to use the dowry as capital for their entrepreneurial activities and support themselves and their children. Yoruba women are more likely than Goun to be in polygamous marriages. Vodum, recognized as an official religion alongside Christianity and Islam, is the dominant religion. Worship takes place at shrines, which are the center of the family, clan, or lineage. Introducing the child to the family community is the most important Vodum rite of passage. Most women attend one prenatal visit, and about two-thirds attend at least four visits. Women seek prenatal care when they experience symptoms that are unusual or interfere with their daily tasks. About 50 percent of births are attended by a skilled assistant. The maternal mortality rate is very high. Government protection of mothers is written into the Benin Constitution. The goal of the Ministry of Social Welfare and the Status of Women is to improve family health, including maternal outcomes. Divorce is legal, but different grounds apply to men and women. In some regions, divorce is not allowed
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Kamarou, a child in Benin (right), is happy that he will soon join his mother. USAID and the UNICEF-funded Le Bon Samaritain transit center rescued him from child traffickers. Benin’s high birth rate and minimal formal education for women contribute to poverty.
for any reason. Twenty-one percent of households are headed by females. The government authorized the creation of a Family Planning Association in 1971. Many women rely on withdrawal and lactation to space out the births of their children. Contraceptive prevalence for modern methods is 3.4 percent. Abortion is illegal but common; abortion-related deaths account for 23 percent of recorded deaths. Famous Benin women include Marie-Elise Akouavi Gbèdo, a mother of two who ran for president of Benin in 2001 and 2006, and was the first female presidential candidate in West Africa. Anjelique Kidjo, mother of one, was one of the most successful performers in World Music in the 1990s and 2000s, and won a 2008 Grammy Award for her song “Djin Djin.” See Also: Education and Mothering; Postcolonialism and Motherhood; Poverty and Motherhood.
Bibliography Kneib, Martha. Benin (Cultures of the World). New York: Benchmark Books, 2007. Mandel, Jennifer L. “Mobility Matters: Women’s Livelihood Strategies in Porto Novo, Benin.” Gender, Place and Culture, v.11/2 (June 2004). Keri L. Heitner University of Phoenix
Benjamin, Jessica Feminist theorist, sociologist, and practicing psychoanalyst Jessica Benjamin is known for her work on intersubjectivity and recognition, and particularly the issue of maternal subjectivity and its implications for child development. Benjamin began her
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studies at Bard College and then at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She went on to graduate work at the Frankfurt School in the late 1960s, where she became involved with the children’s pedagogy movement. Upon her return in the early 1970s to the United States and influenced by both feminism and critical social theory, Benjamin continued her study of the connections between social theory and psychoanalysis. She completed her doctorate in Sociology in 1977–78 at New York University (NYU). In 1980 she began postdoctoral training in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, also at NYU, becoming an expert in British Object Relations and a major contributor to feminist debates on gender and sexuality. Benjamin’s list of publications include Like Subjects, Love Objects (1995), Shadow of the Other: Intersubjectivity and Gender in Psychoanalysis (1997), and numerous articles in feminist and psychoanalytic journals. However, her ideas on the problem of maternal subjectivity are probably best captured in The Bonds of Love: Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and the Problem of Domination (1988). The Bonds of Love In The Bonds of Love, Benjamin examines the structure of domination inherent in “ideal love” relationships and the self. Focusing on the pre-Oedipal and early mother–child relations, she explores the possibility that a child’s awareness of the mother as distinct yet similar—as a separate subject in her own right—is both normal and desirable. She argues that it is only through recognition by the child of the mother as sovereign that the child’s independent identity can emerge, leading to healthy object-love and a reciprocal, mutual relationship free from the distortions of domination and submission. Identificatory Love in Girls and Boys In contrast with Benjamin’s reading of this developmental phase is a traditional Freudian interpretation, where the mother and child are not separate but contiguous. Repudiated as the child’s forbidden object of desire, she is relegated to the lesser status of Other. In this traditional interpretation, because of the mother’s lack of independent subjectivity and the impenetrable attachment between mother and child, the child’s sense of independence and separa-
tion from her can only be realized through the father, who represents agency and autonomy. He intervenes in their relationship of attachment, embodying what Benjamin refers to as “identificatory love.” For boy children, father-identification results in the idealization of male power and a sense of independence and control. Rather than developing identificatory love with the mother, which would be a means to avoid domination or submission, instead the boy child rejects the mother if she does not offer him a “subject” with whom he can identify. In contrast, girls—who may identify only with the mother and then only if she has her own sense of self—a lack of identification with the father (who in fact does not invite it) results in girls’ failure to see themselves as independent. This results in a tendency in adult relationships toward masochism, or the desire to submit to a strong man or master, and a final attempt by the ego to save itself from obliteration. Continued Tension Of course, it is problematic for boys as well to have a mother without a sense of her subjectivity, and a father who insists on only his own; this requires choosing between domination and subordination. Benjamin advocates for a continued tension— both boy and girl children loving and identifying with both parents. However, as Benjamin further observes, in a cultural context of gender polarity and unequal responsibility for child rearing, the child’s identification with both parents is not possible. In spite of Benjamin’s progressive rereading of Freud and her assertion of the value of mothers’ ability to maintain that tension between “I am here for you, and I am here for myself,” for children, Benjamin’s work has been subject to criticism. Within clinical circles, it has been said that her work lacks empirical evidence, relying too much on social theory (particularly postmodernism) and not enough on actual clinical cases (though she does cite many cases). Feminists have been critical of Benjamin’s focus on heterosexual relationships without consideration of the possibility of healthy homosexuality, nor of the complicating factors of race and class in these processes. See Also: Chodorow, Nancy; Maternal Subjectivities; Psychology of Motherhood; Sociology of Motherhood.
Bibliography Chodorow, Nancy. The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978. Dinnerstein, Dorothy. The Mermaid and the Minotaur: Sexual Arrangements and Human Malaise. New York: Harper & Row, 1976. Shelley Zipora Reuter Concordia University
Bernard, Jessie Jessie Bernard (1903–96) was an American sociologist whose pioneering work inspired the feminist movement of the mid-1960s and challenged the false aura of romanticism in which she considered motherhood to be enshrined, pointing out what she called its “hidden underside.” In her seminal study The Future of Motherhood (1975), Bernard encouraged women “to fight those aspects of our society that make childbearing and child rearing stressful rather than fulfilling experiences.” Bernard was born Jessie Shirley Ravitch on June 8, 1903, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the third of four children of Jewish Romanian immigrants David and Bessie Kanter Ravitch. She attended the University of Minnesota, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology in 1923 and an M.A. the following year with a thesis on Changes of Attitudes of Jews in the First and Second Generation. While at the University of Minnesota, Bernard also worked as a research assistant for sociologist and future American Sociological Association President Luther Lee Bernard, known as LLB, who became her husband in 1925. Several factors caused tensions in the marriage from the start: LLB was 21 years older than Bernard, and he was not Jewish, which caused Jessie’s family to reject her. The marriage also hindered Bernard to develop her own career as she followed her husband to his different teaching positions. The couple finally settled down at Washington University in St. Louis in 1929. Jessie started to work on a Ph.D. there, which she obtained in 1935. In the late 1930s, she briefly separated from her husband and worked as a social science analyst for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, D.C. In
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1940, however, Bernard gave up this job to start her teaching career at Lindenwood College for Women, St. Charles, MO, and eventually returned to her husband. In 1947, both LLB and Jessie were appointed at Pennsylvania State University. The couple had three children and remained together until LLB’s death in 1951, when their third child was only six months old. Bernard retired from teaching in 1964, but that was hardly the end of her career. Of the 14 books that she authored, 10 were written after her retirement, and these are generally considered her most influential and classic works. Challenging Institutions The encounter with the feminist movement was crucial for Bernard and, as she put it, made her see the world in a different way. After reading Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963), Bernard realized that her life, characterized by single parenting and the difficult balancing of motherhood and work, qualified her as a feminist. The analysis of women’s roles in a male-dominated society and the limited opportunities for women became her main line of enquiry. Bernard’s later key books include The Sex Game: Communication Between the Sexes (1968), Women and the Public Interest (1971), The Future of Marriage (1972), The Sociology of Community (1973), The Future of Motherhood (1974), and The Female World (1980). Families and social organization had been a main concern of Bernard’s since her early career, but her feminist turn caused her to conceptualize the power imbalance between men and women in the institutions of marriage and motherhood. Thus, she claimed that men and women experienced marriage in a different way, and that the institution benefits more men than women. In addition, in The Future of Motherhood, she claimed that women should reject child caring as their only major activity and should also refuse the isolation “in which they must perform the role of mother, cut off from help, from one another, from the outside world.” Bernard believed feminism should promote an unsentimental idea of motherhood and lead women to the discovery that their lives should not necessarily be centered on mothering. See Also: Feminism and Mothering; Feminist Theory and Mothering; Sociology of Motherhood.
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Bibliography Bannister, Robert C. Jessie Bernard: The Making of a Feminist. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1991. Howe, Harriet. “Jessie Bernard.” Sociological Inquiry v.64 (1994). Lipman-Blumen, Jean. “Jessie Bernard—A ‘Reasonable Rebel.’” Gender and Society, v.2 (1988). Luca Prono Independent Scholar
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ture and society often leaves mothers with the feeling that they are imperfect. Beta Moms advocate a relaxing of standards and the embracing of a less pressured life, which eventually benefits children as they learn to be independent individuals who do not feel the need to conform to the norms of perfection. The debate between Alpha and Beta Moms makes it clear that in spite of social change and progress, 21st-century women are still considered more responsible than men for how children grow up. The pressure that this social belief puts on mothers and the different strategies women adopt to respond to it may be the cause of the distinction between Alpha and Beta Moms. See Also: Alpha Mom; Mommy Wars; Soccer Mom.
Beta Mom types represent a reaction to Alpha Moms, the generation of college-educated women whose goal is to reach excellence in motherhood through the application of their experiences on the workplace to parenting. Contrary to Alpha Moms, Beta Moms do not desire to be perfect, overachieving mothers who have perfect, overachieving children. On the contrary, they believe that Alpha Moms’ attempt to manage the home as a corporation may be ultimately damaging for the child. As TV journalist René Syler put it in her Good-Enough Mother: The Perfectly Imperfect Book of Parenting, a new type of mother is emerging, one that has learned to prize practicality over perfection and to reject the view of motherhood as a contest. Beta Moms also call themselves Slacker Moms to emphasize that they are more laid-back than Alpha Moms. According to sociologists, the contrast between Alpha and Beta Moms is a new version of the Mommy Wars. While such wars used to be fought between mothers who wanted to stay at home and take care of their children and those who wanted to go out of the home and work, in the 21st century the battleground seems to have shifted on parenting styles. Supporters of the Beta Mom philosophy point out that mothers should build a new paradigm for motherhood that rejects the “perfectly good mother” that Alpha Moms value so dearly. According to psychologist Ann L. Dunnewold, the current age of “extreme parenting” causes women struggle to with increasing social pressure to do the right thing as parents. The stress on perfectionism that pervades cul-
Bibliography Dunnewold, Ann L. Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box: Cut Yourself Some Slack (and Still Raise Great Kids) in the Age of Extreme Parenting. Arlington, VA: Health Communications, Inc., 2007. Syler, René. Good-Enough Mother: The Perfectly Imperfect Book of Parenting. New York: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2008. Luca Prono Independent Scholar
Bhutan This isolated landlocked Himalayan country, sharing borders with China and India, has a population of 672,500 (2005 estimate), with a female life expectancy of 54.5, one of the few countries to have a lower life expectancy rate for females than for males. It has a birth rate of 33.6 per 1,000, and an infant mortality rate of 98.4 per 1,000 live births. Abortion is illegal in Bhutan unless necessary to save the life of the mother, but it is widely believed that some women continue to obtain abortions from untrained providers. However, no reliable statistical data exist on this practice. Promotion of family planning by the government has helped raised the prevalence rate for contraception use from 18.4 percent in 1994 to 30.7 percent in 2000.
Infant mortality in Bhutan dropped from 162.4 per 1,000 live births in 1984 to 96.9 per 1,000 in 1994 and 84 per 1,000 in 2000. Maternal mortality declined from 770 per 100,000 live births in 1984 to 380 in 1994 and 255 in 2000. The under-5 mortality rate dropped from 164.2 per 1,000 live births in 1984 to 380 per 100,000 in 1994 and 84.0 per 100,000 in 2000. The nonprofit organization Save the Children was unable to assign Bhutan an overall rank on either the Women’s Index and Children’s Index due to missing data. In recent years, the government has sought to achieve a greater role for women in its decisionmaking process. However, prevailing social attitudes in Bhutan have long led to discrimination against women, and as a result, they traditionally have not had the same access to education as men. This has meant that approximately 95 percent of women are illiterate, and many are still involved in agriculture. During the 1980s, less than 0.5 percent found work in the government bureaucracy. By 1989, a tenth of government employees were women, and more girls attend schools than ever before. The National Women’s Association of Bhutan was established by the government in 1981, headed by Dasho Dawa Dem, one of the few women to receive the title “Dasho” from the king. There are also groups such as the Bhutan Women and Children Organisation (BWCO), which was established to help press for the rights of women and children, although much of the work of the BWCO takes place in refugee camps outside the country itself. There is also discrimination against foreign wives, as the Marriage Act of 1980 states that foreign wives of Bhutan citizens do not gain Bhutanese citizenship. This was specifically introduced against the Lhotshampa minority, and is only really enforced against them; these wives were not permitted access to much medical care, and are also politically disenfranchised. During the 1990s, the Bhutan government did much to change attitudes toward women, who now have the same civil rights as men, including the right to education and to vote. Furthermore, women have long been able to inherit land in Bhutan and decide on marriage. In this matriarchal society, a man goes to live with his wife’s family upon marriage, and divorces are common and widely accepted. Fathers
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are required by law to pay a fifth of their salary for child support until their children reach the age of 18. There have long been businesswomen in Bhutan, but there have been few prominent women role models. However, Kunzang Choden, born in 1952, became the first Bhutanese woman to write a novel in the English language. The Circle of Karma (2005) highlighted the country’s restrictions on gender roles. See Also: China; India; Nepal. Bibliography Armington, Stan. Bhutan. Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet, 2002. Chakravarti, B. A Cultural History of Bhutan. Aylesbury, UK: Hilltop Publishers, 1981. Mehra, G.N. Bhutan: Land of the Peaceful Dragon. Uttar Pradesh, India: Vikas Publishing, 1974. Mittra, Sangh and Bachchan Kumar, eds. Encyclopedia of Women in South Asia. New Delhi, India: Kalpaz Publishing, 2004. Justin Corfield Geelong Grammar School, Australia
Bible, Mothers in the The Bible as a text contains a multitude of genres, stories, moral lessons, vivid imagery, and the basis for the Jewish and Christian faiths. Within this complex text, motherhood forms a central part of community life, represents a defining characteristic of women, and provides a metaphor for God’s relationship with his people. Motherhood also acts as a source of maternal and birth imagery for describing the triumphs, difficulties, and developments of biblical figures and societies. Though these texts primarily center on the lives and perspectives of males, scholars and believers alike may find them instructive in understanding the lives of women living during these time period. Gender, Procreation, and Proper Motherhood Beginning with the earliest passages of the Bible, gender differences and procreation are emphasized as central to both God’s plan and the natural order
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of humankind. In Genesis 2:23-24, with the creation of Adam and Eve, God creates woman out of man and ordains them to be married and united in this bond as spouses and parents. Later, when Adam names Eve in Genesis 3:20, he gives her a name that is loosely translated as “living,” due to her role as mother of the human race. These gender differences are furthered with the first reference to motherhood in the Bible. After Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit, God proclaims that Eve will have pain in childbirth and must live in subservience to her husband. Scholars have long debated the significance of this proclamation in Genesis 3:16, with some calling it a sign of punishment for Eve’s disobedience and others seeing this as a statement of the realities of complex and difficult life as a result of the fall. Deuteronomy 21:18-21 and numerous Proverbs mandate respect for both parents and affirms the authority of both fathers and mothers. As the population grew and societies formed, gender segregation and differentiation continues in the first books of the Hebrew Bible. Ritual purity concerns lead to segregation during times of menstruation in Exodus and Leviticus. In the latter book, the social roles of wife, mother, and homemaker define a woman’s place in the world. The biological effect of the capacity for motherhood—menstruation— continues to be a concern in Ezekiel 8:14-15 and 13:17-23, passages that limit women’s participation in religious ritual during that time of the month. Yet, even as a negative stigma is attached to biological aspects of women’s lives, these physical processes are also vital to the community’s existence. In 1 and 2 Chronicles, the harsh reality of death during childbirth and child mortality demonstrates the need for women to bear many children. Thus, women are often defined by the household and family that she provides. Similarly, in the Old Testament, God is often represented as measuring the faithfulness of men by the character of their wives and the number of their offspring. This sense that God involves himself in the lives and fertility of his people continues in Malachi 2:10-16. In these passages, a message against intermarriage and divorce suggests that God limits fertility in these contexts. One notable exception to this paradigm comes in Song of Songs. This text is the only biblical book
in which a woman speaks without mediation and is the only book that does not mention God. This book embraces love, sensuality, and sexuality as defining elements of humanity, regardless of or in addition to procreation, thus adding another layer to the vision of womanhood and motherhood as defined by or limited by the bearing of children. The Christian New Testament and the Gospels contain the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who in these narratives leveled social, gender, and racial inequalities. In this vein, there is a definition of families by their women and children as well as their men, as in Matthew 12:50. In the letters of Paul, a more conservative view of the family is portrayed. Concerned with licentiousness and immorality and also assured of an imminent coming of the Kingdom of God, Paul questions the importance of marriage and sees it at best a place to stem sexual morality, not simply as a place for procreation (see, for example, 1 Corinthians 7:2-5). Mothers of Important Biblical Figures A prevalent mention of mothers in the Bible comes in reference to the sons they have produced. One way they appear is in the long genealogical lists common in the first books of the Bible. As exemplified in Genesis 36 and 38, though these women may have had limited social standing, they are listed as part of this record of the continuation of mankind and as part of an attempt to codify the transmission of tradition and genetics through generations. Reflecting nonbiological maternal roles, various women are mentioned in Exodus in reference to the childhood of Moses. Mothers also guide their sons into morality or immorality. This theme can be found in Daniel 5:10-12, when it is the Queen Mother who advises King Belshazzar to consult Daniel. Though not an actor herself, the mother influences the action by imparting wisdom on her influential son. In Judges 17, Samson’s mother guides him down the right path, while Micah betrays his mother who then encourages him into idolatry. In the Christian New Testament, the obvious and most well-known mother is the mother of Jesus Christ, Mary. Her portrayal in the Gospels varies, as do interpretations of these portrayals by contemporary scholars. In the book of Matthew, Mary appears as relatively passive. Yet, motherhood remains nec-
essary for this monumental event of God’s birth as a human on earth. The child is conceived in Mary through the action of the Holy Spirit. Mary’s constant and abiding devotion as a mother is demonstrated later in the book by her presence at Jesus’s death. In Mark 3:31, Jesus’s mother and brother are portrayed relatively negatively. Though it may have been an effort to save him, Mary attempts to capture Jesus after he is charged with insanity. She appears blind to the power Jesus in fact possesses. In Luke, Mary appears obedient, quiet and nurturing, much like other women in that Gospel (see, for example, 1:38, 2:19, 51). Underscoring this more traditional portrayal, while the virginal conception of Jesus Christ is considered to be relatively definitive in Matthew, it is considered questionable by some scholars in Luke. In John, women generally form a crucial part of Jesus’s life. In 2:2, the wedding at Cana, Mary is the catalyst for showing that Jesus can’t be controlled by humans, even his mother. In this, the mother represents the prime example of discipleship. In John 19:26-27, Mary is present at the cross, close enough to talk with Jesus. Here, she represents the continuation of Jesus’s ministry after his death and the continuing importance of family. Mothers as Important Biblical Figures The hardships that come from conceiving and birthing children play a recurrent role in the biblical text. Through telling the stories of women struggling with these concerns, lessons are learned about persistence and God’s continual role in the life of his believers. Early in the Hebrew Bible is the story of Hagar, who serves as a surrogate mother to the patriarchs of Israel. Genesis 16 portrays the struggles of Rachel and Sarah to conceive and instances of trickery, such as Tamar’s attempts to become inseminated by Judah. These stories, as well as stories surrounding the lives of Ruth and Naomi, demonstrate that a woman’s position was determined by her husband and son and her value to society the bearing of a son. More than a determinant of a woman’s place in society, motherhood also serves as a comfort for women with poor marriages. In 1 Samuel 1-2, Hannah’s womb is said to be closed by God, here paralleling what happens to Rachel and Leah in Genesis 29-30.
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Perhaps one of the most well-known stories about mothers in the Hebrew Bible is found in 1 Kings, Chapter 3. This story of two prostitutes who claim to mother a single child provides an opportunity for King Solomon to demonstrate his wisdom and justice as a leader, as he threatens to cut the child in half if the women cannot settle the dispute. Solomon hopes that the true mother will make herself apparent by stepping aside and sacrificing her own maternal claim to save the child’s life. This is indeed what happens, demonstrating both Solomon’s wisdom and a mother’s self-sacrificing devotion. In addition to the multitude of examples of parental advice aimed at both fathers and mothers in the book of Proverbs, the end of the book contains a remarkable portrayal of a mother. In 31:1-9, the mother of King Lemuel provides instruction to her young son, meant as wisdom for living a proper and devout life in the world. Carrying on the theme of woman wisdom throughout the book, these passages show motherhood as a source for wisdom to the young. The Hebrew Bible also contains examples of mothering acts as indicators of the general welfare of society or the Jewish people. For example, Rachel weeps for her children in Jeremiah 31 and God mourns with and comforts her in her sorrow. This parallel action represents the consistency of God’s presence and support and the rebirth of the society. Similarly, in Lamentations 2, mothers struggle with their hungry babies as an indicator of the horrors of wartime and the struggles of a society under stress. Here, as elsewhere, the well-being of this vulnerable part of society acts as a bellwether for the status of the society in general. In the Christian New Testament, there are relatively few mothers as characters in the stories, beyond Mary, the mother of Jesus. However, a few examples are worthy of note. Beyond its portrayal of Mary, the book of Matthew demonstrates an appreciation of the maternal role, particularly in Chapter 2. Underscoring the subtle differences among the Gospels and the effects this can have on their interpretation is Matthew 20:20-28. Here, James’s and John’s mother calls for a place of highest honor for them, and Jesus repudiates her. In Mark and Luke, James and John call for this place of honor themselves, leaving the mother out of the picture. In the former, a mother’s desire to have her sons as equal
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to Jesus is seen as distasteful and inappropriate; in the latter, the mother’s perspective is left out of the picture. Another story of note comes in Mark 7:2430. Here, the mother of a demon-possessed daughter turns to Jesus for assistance. While Jesus first rebukes her because of her shameful behavior, she persists, and he heals the daughter. Maternal and Birth Imagery and Metaphors Perhaps the most powerful and prevalent use of motherhood in the Hebrew Bible is the use of maternal imagery and metaphor. Throughout the text, the language of birth, labor, and nurturing provide poetic descriptions of the struggles of the Jewish people. In Exodus 1, by refusing to kill the Jewish infants, midwives become the symbolic front lines in the birth of the Hebrew Nation. Later in the book, birth imagery such as the parting waters and allusions to labor pains point to birth as a metaphor for freedom and liberation. Throughout the book of Jeremiah (see, for example, 4:31, 6:24, and 13:21), childbirth imagery takes on a severe tone with a focus on the pain and intensity of the experience and its closeness to destruction in war. Later, in Ruth, famine is associated with Moab and fertility with Bethlehem, connecting God’s favor to the procreative fertility that assures the survival of societies. God’s covenant with his people is directly paralleled to a nursing mother’s devotion to her child or a pregnant woman’s devotion to her unborn child in Isaiah 49:14-15. Later, in Isaiah 66:7-8, Mother Zion is said to give birth to the new nation. Yet, motherhood also serves as a metaphor for the proper and improper functioning of a society. In 2 Kings 6:24-31, the presence of cannibal mothers suggests that if even maternal instinct can be so easily violated, the world is in chaos. The Christian New Testament contains a multitude of maternal and birth metaphors and a variety of familial language. In the Gospels and letters of Paul, Jesus and Paul are often compared to mothers, thus underscoring the attributes of a mother and the importance of this role for growth and development. For example, in Matthew 23:37-39, Jesus is compared to Rachel in mourning doomed children. Language of and concern for the family can be found throughout the Gospel of John, all in the context of creating new family within Chris-
tian community (see, for example, 3:3-10, 8:31-47, 14:1-3, 18-24, 16:20-24, 19:25-27, and 20:17). In the midst of his aspersions on marriage, procreation, and women, Paul uses a wealth of maternal and birth imagery to describe his relationship with early Christian communities. In Romans 8:18-25, Paul uses the metaphor of labor pains to describe the emergence of these communities. Similar use is found in Galatians 4:19, Thessalonians 2:7, and 1 Corinthians 4:15. In the book 1 Corinthians 3:2, Paul describes himself as wet nurse; and finally, in Galatians 4:19, Paul describes himself as a mother to the Galatian Christians, using birth pain metaphors in 4:21-31 to hearken back to Sarah and Hagar. The Bible contains a wealth of images, messages, and stories on many of life’s questions and concerns, among them motherhood. The variety of stories and genres touch upon many of the concerns, realities, and preoccupations of motherhood. Though the broad spectrum of images and varieties of voices within the texts provide fodder for scholarly and theological debate, their past and continued influence on the lives of believers will continue. See Also: Birth Imagery; Christianity and Mothering; Feminism and Mothering; History of Motherhood: 2000 b.c.e. to 1000 c.e.; History of Motherhood: Ancient Civilizations; Judaism and Motherhood; Myth, Mothers in; Patriarchal Ideology of Motherhood; Religion and Mothering. Bibliography Bronner, Leila Leah. Stories of Biblical Mothers: Maternal Power in the Hebrew Bible. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2004. Getty-Sullivan, Mary Ann. Women in the New Testament. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2001. Gruber, Mayer I. The Motherhood of God and Other Studies. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1992. Meyers, Carol L. Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Rosenblatt, Naomi H. After the Apple: Women in the Bible: Timeless Stories of Love, Lust, and Longing. New York: Miramax Books, 2005. Ann W. Duncan University of Virginia
Biography and Motherhood Biography refers to the life story of an individual as narrated by someone other than the subject, as distinguished from autobiography, which is the story of one’s self. Biography is associated with a Western literary tradition dating from the late 1500s, in which the lives or histories of notable subjects are recounted by biographers who trace, from birth to death, their subjects’ personalities, relationships, and accomplishments. The Beginnings of Mothers in Biography Career successes (or failures) and other feats of action take place within public or external spheres that have traditionally excluded women, who have been confined to private and domestic realms; therefore, both biographical subjects and their biographer-interpreters have historically been male. It was not until the late 19th and early 20th centuries that women’s lives became a facet of biography, and even then it was only from the 1970s on that substantial inroads have been made into researching and documenting the stories of women. Feminist biography and its attendant body of scholarship have been addressing the maternal roles and identities of biographical subjects as well as that of the biographers themselves. This focus on maternity coincides with the growth of motherhood studies in the 1970s, a discipline whose scholarly legitimacy has only recently been solidified. In like manner, despite its privileging of representative male figures of the dominant Anglo-American culture, biography has also remained—until the late 20th century—outside the purview of academia. The improved status of both disciplines makes considering one in terms of the other especially possible and relevant. The Beginnings of Feminist Biography According to scholars like Linda Wagner-Martin and Carolyn G. Heilbrun, the publication of Nancy Milford’s Zelda (1970), a biography of the modernist artist, dancer, writer, and mother Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, launched a renaissance in the field of women’s biography. Sayre Fitzgerald had been known primarily as the wife of celebrated novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. When Milford took her from the margins and placed her at the center of her own
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story, biographers were offered a blueprint for new designs in women’s life narratives. Feminist biography—a term referring to the theory and practice in which gender is foregrounded, and in which women’s lives are examined from female perspectives—aims to recover the stories of “lost” or neglected women, and to reexamine those who have been deemed “minor.” In addition, because women’s lives have typically not unfolded in the same linear, action-oriented ways as those of men, and because women have had fewer role models in the public sphere, feminist biography relies less on formulaic strategies and seeks instead different patterns and structures for telling women’s lives. In particular, feminist biographers and theorists redefine the criteria by which a subject is considered worthy of biographical pursuit in order to account for the complexity of women’s experiences. They foreground not only outward accomplishments, but also the details of women’s daily lives, such as their life cycles, interior worlds, domestic performances, and identities as daughters, wives, and—most significantly—mothers. However, because of women’s past treatment in biography, where they were judged specifically (and often negatively) in terms of their mothering, feminist biographers must negotiate how to reject ageold cultural assumptions about motherhood with the fact that today, mothering is gaining focus and value in society. For instance, the biographer who showcases maternity might be accused of capitulating to the expectations of traditional, stereotypical markers of female identity. But to downplay mothering may deprive the subject (and the reader) of perhaps the most important relationship in that subject’s life. In addition, questions arise, such as can a biographer ever appropriately or adequately evaluate another person’s mothering? And how does the biographer assess or weigh the input (from private papers, interviews, and published accounts) of the subject’s children? Joyce Antler, for instance, while writing her biography of educator Lucy Sprague Mitchell, wrestled with the negative attitudes displayed by Mitchell’s three sons toward their mother. Further, ethical questions persist in terms balancing issues of academic integrity and insight with the increasing marketplace demands for private, and often salacious, revelations
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of a subject’s life. Janet Malcolm has criticized the biographical treatment of poet Sylvia Plath’s suicide, underscoring how prurient approaches to a life affect not only the construction of the subject as a mother, but also the lives of the children—implicated in the mother’s behavior—and all future generations. A Story Within a Story At the same time, theorists and practitioners ask questions about the biographer’s role and stake in the enterprise. What, most significantly, are the biographer’s motives for choosing a specific subject, and how do they impact her representation, particularly in the many cases where the biographer is the subject’s daughter? Wagner-Martin points to the example of Eve Curie, whose biography Madame Curie is singularly attuned to her mother’s outstanding career in science in order to restore her reputation sullied by her scandalous affair with a younger married man. In other examples, the daughter’s agenda is destructive rather than redeeming. Linda Gray Sexton, who was sexually abused by her mother, poet Anne Sexton, authorized biographer Diane Middlebrook to access and publish confidential tape recordings made by the poet while in therapy for mental illness. In a related manner, Christina Crawford published her memoir, Mommie Dearest, to expose her mother, actor Joan Crawford, as an abusive alcoholic. The connection between memoir (a form of autobiography predicated on a subject’s relationships with others) and biography is significant, for biographers often inscribe their own stories within their texts, just as autobiographers inscribe the stories of others within theirs. Scholars like Bell Gale Chevigny, Janet Beizer, and Jo Malin illuminate how biographers follow Virginia Woolf’s dictum that “we think back through our mothers if we are women.” In writing her biography of the 19th-century feminist Margaret Fuller, Chevigny came to identify with her subject by writing as a surrogate daughter to Fuller, while also calling up and even re-creating her relationship with her own mother within the text. Moreover, for Chevigny, the biographical subject and biographer may alike become metaphoric mothers: Fuller as mother to Chevingy, and Chevigny to Fuller as she maternally nurtures Fuller back to narrative life.
Beizer offers the most sustained scholarship on the topic in her examination of biographies of women like French authors George Sand and Colette, showing how contemporary female biographers seek spiritual foremothers while simultaneously engaging with their own biological mothers recreated in their biographies, producing a new genre that she coins “bio-autobiography.” This term complements Jo Malin’s hybrid form of an auto/biographical text in which every daughter who writes an autobiography (i.e., Sara Suleri, Kim Chernin, and Cherríe Moraga) necessarily embeds within it a maternal biography. The New Biography Although biography has generally been associated with literary texts, today biography is disseminated in new media, like film (the biopic), TV (the Biography Channel; A & E’s Biography series), and the Internet (www.biography.com, www.womenshistorynetwork.org), where interest in mothers is especially focused on celebrity culture. Biography.com, for example, features a section called TV Moms, in which mini-biographies of television characters such as June Cleaver are offered, along with the real women who played them, such as Barbara Billingsly. The Website is also producing a biography series called Mothers and Daughters in Hollywood. In addition, the increased coverage of celebrity mothers and babies by tabloids and entertainment magazines like Star and People, as well as the spread of Internet blogs devoted them, has contributed to genres of print and electronic celebrity biography that draw attention to maternity while employing increasingly invasive and dangerous tactics. Meanwhile, the profusion of “mommy blogs” by nonfamous women means that the serial biographies of potentially millions of children are being registered and updated regularly. According to scholars such as Nigel Hamilton, this is a “golden age” of biography. From tabloid tell-all bios to critically acclaimed and best-selling literary biographies, contemporary culture is consumed with the lives of others. As maternity becomes an even greater preoccupation for biographers within academia and popular culture alike, questions pertaining to gender, genre, and ethics become increasingly complex and vital.
Birth Control
See Also: Autobiographies; Celebrity Motherhood; Feminism and Mothering; Literature, Mothers in; Modernism and Motherhood; Mommy Blogs; Motherhood Memoir. Bibliography Antler, Joyce. “Having It All: Confronting the Legacy of Lucy Sprague Mitchell.” In The Challenge of Feminist Biography. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1992. Beizer, Janet. Thinking Through the Mothers: Reimagining Women’s Biographies. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009. Broughton, Trev Lynn, and Linda Anderson, eds. Women’s Lives/Women’s Times: New Essays on Auto/Biography. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997. Chevigny, Bell Gale. “Daughters Writing: Toward a Theory of Women’s Biography.” In Between Women, Carol Ascher, Louise DeSalvo, and Sara Ruddick, eds. Boston: Beacon Press, 1984. Donnell, Alison, and Pauline Polkey, eds. Representing Lives: Women and Auto/Biography. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000. Gordon, Lyndall. “Women’s Lives: The Unmapped Country.” In The Art of Literary Biography, John Batchelor, ed. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1995. Hamilton, Nigel. How to Do Biography. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008. Heilbrun, Carolyn G. Women’s Lives: The View From the Threshold. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999. Malcolm, Janet. The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1994. Malin, Jo. The Voice of the Mother: Embedded Maternal Narratives in 20th-Century Women’s Autobiographies. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2000. Rollyson, Carl. A Higher Form of Cannibalism? Adventures in the Art and Politics of Biography. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2005. Wagner-Martin, Linda. Telling Women’s Lives: The New Biography. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1994. Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own. New York: Harper Collins, 1977. Elizabeth Podnieks Ryerson University
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Birth Control Birth control encompasses a variety of methods designed to prevent pregnancy. Historical records dating back to 1550 b.c.e detail attempts to control fertility, which suggests that preventing conception and controlling population has been a prevalent and continuing issue facing individuals and societies for thousands of years. However, birth control has been the subject of controversy both in ancient and in modern times. Religious leaders in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths have debated the morality of contraception. Additionally, the focus on population control in the latter part of the 20th century expands the morally and ethically charged birth control debate. Issues regarding involuntary sterilizations and state-controlled reproduction, such as China’s one-child policy that began in 1979, continue to be matters of public concern. A variety of methods are currently employed to prevent conception. These methods range from the natural to the pharmaceutical; each method varies in terms of its efficacy and invasiveness. From abstinence to barrier methods to sterilization, the type of birth control chosen by an individual is dependent upon medical factors and personal preferences. Abstinence The oldest form of birth control is continued abstinence, which requires couples to refrain from sexual intercourse. Continued abstinence is the only 100 percent reliable form of birth control and has no risk of sexually transmitted disease. However, success is dependent upon individuals refraining from sexual intercourse and/or oral sex (sexually transmitted diseases). For many people this not a viable alternative. Natural Family Planning and Fertility Awareness Natural family planning (NFP) and fertility awareness requires women to increase their awareness of their monthly cycle in order to recognize when they are ovulating. Women practicing NFP prevent conception during their fertile period by avoiding intercourse. Because NFP does not allow for other forms of birth control methods to be applied, it is considered “natural” and is sanctioned by religious groups such as the Catholic Church, which often disapproves of “artificial” methods.
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Another “natural” method of birth control is breastfeeding. Women who consistently breastfeed their infants are less likely to become pregnant due to the body’s release of hormones. However, breastfeeding usually protects against pregnancy only in the first six months and only if the woman breastfeeds exclusively. Women using fertility awareness may choose to use a barrier method, such as a condom, when fertile. Fertility can be ascertained by taking the basal temperature each morning and by recognizing changes in cervical mucus. Some women also track hormonal changes with the aid of a home ovulation kit. It is important to remember that sperm can survive for several days, which increases the number of days that pregnancy is possible. Fertility awareness works better for women who have regular menstrual cycles than for women who have irregular menstrual cycles. If practiced perfectly, fertility awareness can be a successful birth control method. However, the rate of pregnancy increases significantly for a woman who does not abstain or use an alternative method of birth control on the day she is fertile. Coitus Interruptus Coitus interruptus occurs when a man removes his penis from a woman’s vagina before ejaculation. This method is dependent upon the man’s ability to withdraw before ejaculating. It is not a recommended method, as sperm can be present in preejaculate fluid on the tip of the penis. Barrier Methods Barrier methods of birth control include condoms (male and female), cervical caps, and diaphragms. A male condom is a latex or polyurethane sheath that fits directly over the penis and prevents semen from entering the vagina. Male condoms may or may not include a spermicide. When used correctly, they have a 98 percent efficacy rating; if they are used improperly, the number drops significantly. For those with latex allergies, polyurethane condoms are an option. Because users often state they have increased sensation with the polyurethane condoms, polyurethane condoms tend to be more expensive. Female condoms are also available; however, they are not widely used. Female condoms are a sheath,
usually made of polyurethane, with two flexible rings at both ends. One end is closed and the other is open. The condom is inserted in the vagina with the closed end at the cervix and the open end covering part of the labia. Similar to the male condoms, the polyurethane provides increased sensitivity and decreases the chance of an allergic reaction. As with any form of birth control, there is a difference between perfect use and typical use. The female condom is about 95 percent effective when used perfectly and 75 percent effective in typical use. Male and female condoms provide an added benefit of protecting against sexually transmitted diseases. However, when used improperly or past their expiration date, condoms can break. A cervical cap and/or diaphragm is individually fitted by a health care provider. The rubber cap stretches to cover the mouth of the cervix, which blocks the sperm from entering the uterus. Cervical caps are smaller and used less frequently than the diaphragms. However, the cervical cap and the diaphragm are used in combination with a spermicide, which, as the name suggests, kills sperm. The diaphragm has a 94 percent success rate when used properly, although improper use can significantly limit its effectiveness. Also available is the sponge, which is a small, round, pliable barrier. The sponge works in a similar manner to a diaphragm and contains spermicide that is activated by water. Precautions are needed if one is sensitive to sulfa. Additionally, there is an increased risk of contracting toxic shock syndrome if the sponge remains in place too long (30 or more hours). Hormones There is a wide range of hormonal birth control options, with their accompanying concerns; they carry with them the risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke, and should never be used by those who smoke. The “Pill” is the most widely recognized, and is taken orally on a daily basis. Other methods of hormonal protection include injection, such as Depro Provera®; the Patch (worn on the skin); and the NuvaRing® (placed in the vagina monthly). Each option releases hormones that usually include a combination of estrogen and progesterone. The Pill prevents the ovaries from releasing an egg. The hormones also cause the mucus located in
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the cervix to thicken, which assists to prevent sperm from entering the uterus. The pill is 99 percent effective when used properly. Additionally, some types of hormone delivery can decrease the duration of or eliminate menstruation for several months. Hormones are gradually absorbed from a small, square patch worn on the skin, which is replaced monthly. The NuvaRing works in the same manner as the patch, but is placed in the vagina and removed monthly to allow for menstruation. Finally, Norplant® is a hormonal delivery option that is less frequently used. Rods containing hormones are inserted into the female’s forearm. This method is effective up to five years. The Norplant rods have to be inserted and removed by a health care provider. The IUD Intrauterine devices (IUDs) consist of a small, Tshaped apparatus placed inside the uterus, and is more than 99 percent effective. The body recognizes the IUD as a foreign body and causes the level of white cells to increase. These white cells destroy the egg, whether it is unfertilized or fertilized. Recently, IUDs containing the hormone progesterone have been developed. While the IUD does not prevent sexually transmitted disease, it does carry a low risk of infection and may cause spotting between periods. Sterilization Sterilization is considered a permanent form of birth control and, like the IUD and other forms of hormonal birth control, is 99 percent effective. While procedures such as a vasectomy (male sterilization) are sometimes reversible, it is advisable for those who consider having children in the future to choose another form of contraception. Tubal ligation (female sterilization) is not reversible. Surgically speaking, a vasectomy is a less complicated procedure than a tubal ligation. Additionally, the recovery time for a vasectomy is shorter. As with any surgery, complications can occur. Emergency Contraception Emergency contraception refers to contraception used after intercourse and works by preventing fertilization or implantation. It works best when taken
The most popular barrier method of birth control is the male condom. They have a 98 percent effiacy rating if used correctly.
as soon as possible after unprotected sex. As the name implies, emergency contraception is usually used in the event that contraception failed or was not used, or in the case of sexual assault. Emergency contraception includes hormonal contraceptives such as Plan B® or the insertion of an IUD such as the Copper T®. Occasionally, a pharmacist will refuse to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception, in these cases, women can immediately contact a physician who will write a prescription. History: Genesis Through Medieval Times In the Hebrew Bible, Genesis 28:7-10 tells the story of Onan, who spilled his seed upon the ground and was slain by the Lord. There is considerable debate regarding the sin of Onan. Some religious leaders have interpreted the text as a warning against masturbation, while others interpret the tale as a warning against contraception. There are other scholars who suggest that Onan’s sin is his refusal to accept his brother’s widow. In addition to its implications regarding contraception and religious dogma, the
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story has been interpreted to imply that once people in ancient societies realized the connection between coitus and conception, they began practicing withdrawal to prevent pregnancy. One of the first written records containing a prescription for birth control is Eber’s Papyrus, an Egyptian text that dates back to 1550 b.c.e. The papyrus contains a formula that combines lint, honey, and acacia leaves to act as a barrier to sperm when placed in the vagina. First-century Roman author Pliny the Elder in his Natural History provided a list of herbs that would cause sterility, and Soranos, credited as the first gynecologist, wrote of methods to prevent conception as well as medicines to produce an abortion. In medieval times, the Roman Catholic Church condemned sex outside of marriage and asserted that the purpose of sex within marriage was reserved for procreation; any practice that interfered with conception was routinely condemned. However, according to historian John Riddle, women in medieval society would have passed on information regarding herbs that could act either to reduce the chance of conception or as an abortifacient. Common plants used in an attempt to prevent contraception included juniper, pennyroyal and Queen Anne’s lace. In the East, the medieval physician Avicenna of Persia also wrote of herbal contraception in The Canon of Medicine, one of the most famous and influential medical texts in history. History: Renaissance Through the 1800s With the arrival of the Renaissance, a new look at romantic love developed in western Europe. Reports regarding the use of condoms come from the writings of the Italian heartthrob Casanova, who used a lambskin sheath to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. By the 18th century, individual decisions regarding family and pregnancy became public matters of concern. Economist Thomas Robert Malthus’s An Essay on the Principals of Population focused public attention on the relationship between population, resources, and economic development. Malthus posited that the increases in population could have an impoverishing effect on economies. Malthus’s work would have a profound effect on those interested in population control in the 20th century.
Charles Knowles published Fruits of Philosophy in 1832. The text was influential in that it introduced birth control as a topic of discourse in the early 19th century. Knowles birth control information, however, was far from revolutionary, but it was his text that became the focal point for England’s most famous birth control trial. In 1877 Charles Bradlaugh and Annie Besant were brought to trial for publishing Fruits of Philosophy, which was considered obscene. While Bradlaugh and Besant were originally sentenced to prison for refusing to give up their copies of the book, they appealed and were eventually exonerated. Despite the social awareness of birth control, its efficacy did not increase substantially until manufacturers were able to vulcanize rubber, which allowed for the mass production of condoms. Initially promoted to prevent the transmission of sexual disease, the condom became an affordable and widely available form of birth control by the 20th century. Yet birth control still received social censure from Victorian moralists. In the late 1800s in the United States, Anthony Comstock mounted a crusade against “vice,” which included birth control. As a result, the Comstock laws prohibited the distribution of birth control information by mail. In England, specific law restricting access to birth control information did not exist; however, Victorian sensibilities regarding human sexuality made birth control information difficult to obtain. History: 20th Century In the 20th century, Marie Stopes and Margaret Sanger became prominent advocates of birth control. Marie Stopes, a British scientist, worked to promote family planning. Her book Married Love provided information regarding human sexuality, and she opened first family planning clinic in the British Empire in 1921. Social activist Margaret Sanger dedicated her adult life to promote women’s access to birth control. Sanger attributed her crusade to an event that occurred while she was a young nurse. Sanger was called upon to take care of a young woman, Sadie Sachs, who had performed a home abortion. As a result, the young woman developed an infection and nearly died; Sanger nursed her back to health. Once recovered, Sadie Sachs
asked her physician how to prevent future pregnancies. The doctor responded sarcastically, telling Sadie to have her husband sleep on the roof. Sachs later became pregnant again, attempted to induce an abortion, and died. Sanger’s devotion to the advocacy of birth control was unwavering. She was jailed for opening the first U.S. birth control clinic in 1916, but continued to work to change world opinion regarding contraception. She finally succeeded when the Supreme Court decided in United States v. One Package that the Comstock laws were unconstitutional. Sanger also established the International Planned Parenthood Federation, worked to promote family planning, and supported research to develop an oral contraceptive. In the 1960s, the development of the birth control pill made contraception widely available in Western countries, and continued research has led to a wide variety of birth control options in recent years. However, birth control remains a political as well as personal and medical issue. Norman Himes, in his comprehensive Medical History of Contraception, noted that the future of birth control would be dictated by public and governmental support. Thus, perhaps it is not surprising that in many underdeveloped nations, women still do not have access to affordable, safe, reliable birth control. Population Control and Sterilization Abuse The alliance between eugenics, population control and birth control proved a profoundly regrettable episode in history. Eugenics was a pseudoscience developed in the late 19th century that encouraged the breeding of “better” people. Therefore, people with physical deformities or those considered “feeble minded” were considered unfit. Countless numbers of people in mental institutions as well as institutions for those with developmental disabilities were sterilized without their consent. Both Margaret Sanger and Marie Stopes were involved to some extent with the Eugenics Movement; however, Sanger repeatedly reaffirmed her belief that birth control was a woman’s choice. The Eugenics Movement declined after World War II, when people realized that the Nazi’s adoption of several of the movement’s tenets in their quest to create an Aryan world had resulted in the Holocaust and the devastation of Europe.
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While a woman’s reproductive autonomy is at the root of the second wave of feminism, individual’s desires regarding reproduction were not always at the heart of efforts to slow population growth. In the latter half of the 20th century, many people in the West became alarmed at increasing global populations, particularly in what were considered “less developed” nations. Politicians in the United States restricted aid to poorer countries unless those countries agreed to implement some form of population control. For example, between 1975–77 in India, many impoverished people were coerced into “voluntary” sterilization. Today in China, the one-child policy is still in effect. Instituted in 1979, women are allowed to bear one child; after her first child, if a woman becomes pregnant, she is strongly encouraged to abort. If a woman has more than one child, she is severely fined for the second child. The Chinese government for many years has been accused of using coercive population control, including cases of forced abortions; subsequently, U.S. funding for the United Nations Population Fund was cut off by President Ronald Reagan and President George W. Bush. President Barack Obama reinstated the funding in 2009, but the debate continues. Because of the Chinese preference for sons, many girls have been abandoned. The availability of infant girls for adoption has had a dramatic impact on adoption in the United States, where many couples have opted to adopt Chinese infant girls. China is facing a series of problems connected with its onechild policy, including a higher percentage of men in the ratio between men and women, which may cause difficulties for men who wish to marry. In addition, Chinese economists and sociologists have become increasingly concerned about their rapidly aging population. Decreasing birth rates in countries such as Japan and Germany also worry some economists, who ponder the effect of the increasing number of elderly who will need to be supported by fewer and fewer workers. Some countries have developed programs that allow for extended leave and monetary support in order to encourage women to have children. Access to safe and effective birth control and issues of population, economy, and birth control remain pressing concerns across the globe.
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See Also: China; Eugenics; Germany; India; Japan; Pregnancy; Religion and Mothering; Reproduction; Reproduction of Mothering; Reproductive Labor; Reproductive Technologies. Bibliography Bullough, Vern L., ed. Encyclopedia of Birth Control. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO Publishing, 2000. Connelly, M. “Controlling Passions.” The Wislon Quarterly, v.23/3 (Summer 2008). Glazer, Sarah. “Declining Birthrates.” CQ Researcher Online, v.18/41. http://www.cqpress.com/product/ Researcher-Declining-Birthrates-v18.html (accessed November 2008). Himes, N.E. Medical History of Contraception. Philadelphia: Williams & Wilkins, 1936. Hyatt, Jane, Kay Clark, and Mary Nelson. Birth Control Facts. Scotts Valley, CA: ETR Associates, 1986. Purple, Matthew. “Flap Over China’s 1-Child Policy Stirs.” Washington Times (February 18, 2009). http://www.washingtontimes.com/news (accessed May 2009). Amy Cuomo University of West Georgia
Birth Goddesses Worship of the “goddess,“ defined variously as a deity or divine figure, idol, or a spirit or supernatural being, has existed throughout recorded history in various forms. Prior to the period of patriarchal dominance, a goddess-centered religion existed that continued beyond the advent of Judaism, Christianity, and other religions that were centered on a male God as supreme creator. This all-powerful goddess that is represented in many prehistoric cultures, the evidence for which exists in the form of pottery remains and other artifacts, was a universal symbol, considered the single source of all life. While it is difficult to distinguish a birth goddess from this figure of the Great Goddess, as cultures developed their own mythological stories, individual goddesses emerged to represent aspects of the life cycle, including fertility, birth, death, and regeneration. The central theme of Goddess sym-
bolism is the mystery of birth and death and the renewal of all life and earth, even extending to the entire cosmos. In the religion of the Old European Great Goddess, which is included in the trajectory of Western religion and mythology, beliefs and realities surrounding fertility and birth resulted in the worship of the goddess. Goddess Symbols Widely considered representative of the original birth goddess symbol, the Venus of Willendorf is a statuette of a female figure with pronounced breasts, vulva, and abdomen, estimated to have been created between 24,000 and 22,000 b.c.e. The statue, which is nearly five inches high, was discovered in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy at a site of Paleolithic remains near Willendorf in Lower Austria. A number of similar figures have been discovered since, predating the mythological figure of Venus by millennia, suggesting the importance and universality of the figure throughout many time periods and cultures. While there is no way to prove the original intent of creating the figures, the Venus of Willendorf’s pronounced primary and secondary sexual characteristics, and the appearance of pregnancy, suggest a strong connection to fertility and birth. The goddess-centered religion that has been identified through the excavated remains of ancient cultures suggests a Great Mother figure that is worshiped for giving birth to all things from her womb. She is documented as a figure of worship in tombs, frescoes, reliefs, sculptures, figurines, pictorial paintings, and other sources of representation, and is very often depicted in the act of giving birth. Roles of the Goddesses The Old European deity of the goddess influenced classical Greek mythology, despite its transformation from a female worshiping to a male worshiping religion, whereby the male is the source of generation. The most important Old European goddesses—who became Artemis, Hera, Athena, and Demeter—found their way into the Olympic male pantheon of Greek mythology. These female goddesses, once parthenogenic (creating life without male participation), were now the brides, wives, and daughters of the Indo-European gods.
The role of goddesses changed over time, their attributes changing according to the religious or cultural beliefs of the time. The aspect of birth, as distinguished from mothering, is attributed to many goddesses at various times, while few goddesses are considered deities of birth as a single attribute. Goddesses associated with birth, from the Greek pantheon, include Hekate, Artemis, and Eileithyia. Hekate (Hecate, Hera) descended from the Old European goddess of life, death, and regeneration. She remained powerful through Mycenaean and Greek time periods. In vase painting and sculptures she represented many phases of life: she was birth giver, mother-protectress, virgin, and crone. Hekate is still a predominant figure of worship for many, revered for her connection to the three archetypal aspects of a woman’s life: virgin, mother, and crone. These aspects are analogous to the moon’s phases—crescent, waxing, and full—that are also symbolic of the cycle of life, including life, death, and regeneration. Artemis, particularly in Crete, was considered the birth giver, appearing at the birth of a child or animal. She was considered the goddess of spring, giving life to all of nature. The medicinal herb Artemisia (mugwort) was used to encourage delivery. Her Roman equivalent, Diana, was considered the “opener of the womb.” In Thessaly, pregnant women sacrificed to her in the name of Enodia, in order to ensure her birth blessings. Closely related to Hera and Artemis, both of whom bore epithets of her name, Eileithyia (or Ilithyia), daughter of Hera, is known as the goddess of childbirth and labor pains. Her Roman counterpart was Natio (birth) or Lucina (light bringer). Eileithyia was depicted in Greek mythology as a woman wielding a torch, representing the burning pains of childbirth, or with her arms raised to bring the child to the light. She had the power to further the birth, if she was of a kindly disposition; or delay it, if she was angry. These two aspects were originally attributed to two separate goddess figures, but eventually they were merged into one. Cultures throughout the world worshiped goddesses related to fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth. In addition to ancient Greek and Roman cultures, Egyptian, Nordic, Mayan, Babylonian, Sumerian, Chinese, Indian, Eskimo, Japanese, and virtually every other culture have identified goddesses related
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to various aspects of fertility, birth, and mothering, speaking to the enduring belief in feminine divinity. See Also: Greece (and Ancient Greece); Matriarchy; Mother Goddess; Myth, Mothers in. Bibliography Gimbutas, Marija. The Living Goddesses. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. Lerner, Gerda. The Creation of Patriarchy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. Theoi Greek Mythology. “Eileithyia.” www.theoi.com /Ouranios/Eileithyia.html (accessed April 2008). Julianna E. Thibodeaux Independent Scholar
Birth Imagery, Metaphor, and Myth Through language and imagery, birth has been used as a vehicle to elucidate other concepts, usually new, complex, or controversial. Often, representations of birth are metaphors for creativity or beginnings. Accordingly, birth metaphors appear in creation narratives and holy texts. Writers and other artists have also employed birth imagery to address issues such as feminism and even war. Visual and oral symbols convey and shape a society’s ideologies about the world, including the event of birth. The language and images chosen to represent the birthing experience echo and perpetuate the presumptions of a community of symbol-users. As a result, there is a relatively homogeneous comprehension of birth and birthing practices, which has been questioned by academics, practitioners, and parents. Birth in Religion Scholars have drawn metaphor from religious texts, particularly the Bible, as well as used metaphor as a lens to interpret it. When reading the Hebrew Bible, it is easy to find metaphors for God such as King, Creator, and Rock. Although the Old Testament abounds with masculine language and imagery, the birthing metaphors that are present often symbolize
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God’s power. Additionally, there are references to God as a birthing attendant, as giving birth, and as providing nourishment through nursing. The text depicts the mother as one who engages in arduous work to bring life into the world; a life for which she will have never-ending love. On the surface, the corporeal struggles of birth are acknowledged. More significantly, the underlying meaning of this metaphor is that God’s labor when creating the natural world was very strenuous, but that God, like all mothers, has unrelenting love for all life. Furthermore, when birth is evoked in the Old Testament, it invites readers to believe that God guides humans from darkness to light, just as the mother does when pushing a baby in utero out into the world. For both the baby who is being born and the person who is moving from a state of uncertainty or crisis to enlightenment or peace, the journey is difficult and can end well or badly. Despite the references to the discomforts of childbirth, the Old Testament portrays it as a source of both joy and power. The birthing stories in the New Testament are about extraordinary births—namely, the virgin birth. Mary’s experience giving birth to Jesus is not discussed in detail, but overall, is presented as a fairly serene event. In pre-Christian Rome, it was not uncommon for virgin births to be incorporated into myths, as these births were believed to symbolize divinity. In many cultures with a belief in a spiritual world, virgin births symbolized humans’ closeness to the heavens while simultaneously conveying that the virgin was both pure and strong. In the New Testament, stories in which birth is referenced are often about Jesus’s suffering in particular, and about temporary human suffering in general. The agony is deemed worthwhile, as it results in salvation. Birth in the Arts Literature and film are outlets in which birthing myths can be challenged. In her feminist utopian novel, Woman on the Edge of Time, Marge Piercy envisioned a world full of artificially reproduced children, a world free of the very painful experience of childbirth. Artistic texts have also functioned to express one person’s thoughts about birth. For example, Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is a Gothic novel in which the creation of a monster is the metaphor for birth. Other texts from which birth
metaphors and imagery have been excavated include Sylvia Plath’s poetry, Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Birth in War War is masculinized through discourses in which male virtues and characteristics are prized. Yet, birth-centered language is not absent from some war rhetoric. An example is the phrase “second birth,” used to describe soldiers who live in fear of death while developing a deep love for their comrades. Instruments of war, particularly bombs, have been called “babies,” suggesting the creator of the bomb is its mother. Antimilitarist artists have responded by including birthing women in depictions of war; juxtaposing life and death, and war and peace, to illustrate their perception of the absurdity of war. Birth in Medicine The medical field has tremendous influence on how birth is conceptualized and enacted. In Western medical texts and discourses, women’s bodies are represented as machines, a metaphor that emerged in 17th-century France. Once this metaphor gained hegemonic status, it functioned to transform the birthing experience. As a result, birth is seen as an event that demands the intervention of medical practitioners. Metaphorically, physicians are mechanics who replace midwives, and forceps are tools that replace hands. When a woman’s body—specifically, a woman’s uterus—is considered a machine, value is placed on production, efficiency, and control. Subsequently, if the person managing the birth believes the uterus is performing poorly, the process is interrupted; for example, by puncturing the amniotic sac, performing a caesarean section, or providing medication to quicken the progression of labor. The goal in birthing, as it is in manufacturing, is to have an uncomplicated, ordered process that ends with the creation of a first-rate product. The APGAR scores that range from 1 to 10 and are assigned to newborns one and five minutes after they are born illustrate how quality control is an established component of contemporary birthing experiences. As well, caesarean-section babies once were considered superior to babies delivered vaginally, resulting in a rise in C-section births. This trend appears to have reversed, as many hospitals now consider low num-
Birth Mother
bers of these surgeries a point of pride. At the same time, the production-oriented rhetoric influences understandings of birth. The prevalent discourse in which a “natural” birth is idealized leads some women to craft unrealistic visions of their future birthing experience, only to be left feeling guilty when their actual experience is not in harmony with their anticipated one. A child is affected by birth metaphors and myths even prior to his/her birth as the mother decides how and where the birth will occur, and who will be involved in the process. How the mother makes this decision is significant. She arguably has, over her lifetime, interpreted verbal and nonverbal symbols in multiple texts, all of which shape her understanding and expectations of birth and birthing practices. See Also: Bible, Mothers in the; Childbirth; Film, Mothers in; Literature, Mothers in; Myth, Mothers in. Bibliography Hammer, Margaret L. Giving Birth: Reclaiming Biblical Metaphor for Pastoral Practice. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994. Martin, Emily. The Woman in the Body: A Cultural Analysis of Reproduction. Boston: Beacon Press, 1992. O’Reilly, Andrea. “Labour Signs: The Semiotics of Birthing.” In Mother Matters: Motherhood as Discourse and Practice. Toronto: Association for Research on Mothering, 2004. Ruddick, Sara. Maternal Thinking: Towards a Politics of Peace. Boston: Beacon Press, 1995. Tong, Rosemarie. Feminist Thought: A Comprehensive Introduction. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1989. Warner, Marina. Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976. Lori A. Walters-Kramer State University of New York, Plattsburgh
Birth Mother The term birth mother simultaneously acknowledges maternity and denies motherhood. A birth mother is a woman who gives birth to a child she
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then gives up for adoption. Although she is the biological mother, she will not be the child’s mother. In societies that engage in collective mothering and regard raising children as the responsibility of a whole community, a phrase like birth mother may not be necessary. In societies that regard raising children as primarily the responsibility of the biological parents, the term birth mother points to what is widely considered an atypical family situation, although it is more common than popular perception recognizes. Adoptions In adoption discourse, the phrase birth mother is relatively new, appearing as the rigid secrecy of the older, closed adoption system dissipates and the more inclusive forms of both closed and open adoption systems gain favor. Because more birth mothers now have some contact with the children they give up for adoption, both the official language around adoption procedures and the family networks involved in adoption required new ways to distinguish between the woman who gives birth to the child and the woman who becomes the child’s mother. As noted in the glossary available on the Adoption Council of Canada Website, the term birth mother is largely preferred over awkward terms such as real mother or natural mother, both of which suggest that the status of the adopting mother is somehow artificial. As the shift in adoption processes and attitudes continues, use of the phrase adoptive mother, with its implication that this mother is a substitute mother, has also faded. Socially, culturally, and legally sanctioned, mothers who adopt reject the qualifying connotations of the adjective adoptive. Although birth mothers have been granted certain cultural tolerance in recent years, they do not have wide social or cultural sanction. Thus, the distinction between the two mothers of an adopted child is made only in the phrase birth mother, the mother who is not the mother. The term birth mother also refers to pregnant women planning to give their children up for adoption. Today, before birth mothers sign the official documents, the open adoption process allows them to choose their children’s families from portfolios provided by prospective parents. They can
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also make requests about their children’s futures; for example, they may stipulate that education funds be established for them or that the chosen parents provide specific life experiences. They can even request, but not demand, particular names for their children. Open Adoption Contact by Birth Mothers Birth mothers who enter into open adoption agreements even receive progress reports and are permitted specified levels of contact with their children. In these situations, birth mothers are also allowed short visits with their children at regular intervals for the first few years. As adopted children grow from infancy to early school age, the legal parents can choose to continue these visits if they feel their children are benefiting from them. They can also opt to diminish or cease them altogether. In some cases, birth mothers gradually fade out of the children’s lives on their own, while in others, the birth mothers become part of their children’s extended families. Adult Child Reunions Women who reunite with adult children they relinquished to the closed adoption system decades ago now also fall into the category of birth mothers, even though their experiences are much different than those who remain in constant contact with their children and their families. Under the former closed adoption system, biological mothers were expected to simply disappear from their children’s lives forever. These versions of closed adoption kept all identifying information secret. In some cases, secrecy was what the birth mothers wanted, but in other cases it was the only system available at a difficult time. Since the advent of postadoption registries that provide opportunities for reunions between adult adoptees and their birth parents, women who gave their children up to the closed adoption system years ago are now finding themselves publicly acknowledged as birth mothers. Some women wear the label birth mother more easily than others. Whether they view the phrase positively or negatively, birth mothers rarely wear the term comfortably. The experience of being introduced as someone’s birth mother is one that inevitably results in being on the receiving end of curious
glances and the focus of uneasy gaps in conversation. Polite society sometimes prevents further inquiries in public moments, but birth mothers who have come back into their children’s lives after many years can expect some curiosity. Unlike the many books and guides available about being a good mother, there are as yet few instruction manuals about successfully managing an ongoing role as a birth mother. See Also: Absentee Mothers; Adoption; Childbirth; Community Motherhood Denied; Mothering; Noncustodial Mothering. Bibliography “Birth Mother.” Adoption Council of Canada Glossary. http://www.adoption.ca/AboutAdoption_Glossary .html (accessed February 2009). “Birthmother Resources.” Adoption.com. www.birth mother.com (accessed February 2009). Turski, Diane. “Why ‘Birthmother’ Means Breeder.” “Birth—Mothers Exploited by Adoption.” http:// www.exiledmothers.com/adoption_facts (accessed February 2009). Myrl Coulter University of Alberta
Bisexuality Bisexuality is generally defined as the ability to be sexually and emotionally attracted to person of both genders. This attraction can be expressed by maintaining multiple sexual and emotional attachments or through monogamous relationships where one is having sexual and emotional relationships with either gender exclusively. Bisexuality and Mothering Bisexual mothers have no doubt existed in all historical periods, but generally their sexual preference becomes known only when the mother in question is a public figure. Famous celebrity mothers from the recent past include the German actress/singer Marlene Dietrich, the American dancer Josephine Baker, and the British author Vita Sackville-West.
Today, far more celebrity mothers are publicly acknowledging their bisexuality: examples include the American singer/actress Madonna (Madonna Louise Ciccone), the Portuguese/Canadian singer Nelly Furtado, the British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, and the American actresses Angelina Jolie and Anne Heche. Noncelebrity bisexual mothers still face issues such as child custody (homosexuality can still be considered grounds to remove children from a home) and social stigma. Bisexuality Experiences Throughout history there has been documentation of bisexual practice and tendencies. Alfred Kinsey was one of the earliest researchers to offer a scientific measure of sexuality. He created a point scale commonly known as the Kinsey Scale, where exclusive heterosexual behavior would be 0 and exclusive homosexual behavior would be 9. Bisexual behavior would place anywhere from 1–5, expressing varying degrees of bisexual attraction. Bisexual experiences are vastly different, and there are many ways in which bisexuality is displayed. This ranges from situational experiences where one engages in homosexual liaisons as a result of isolation from the opposite sex, to transitional experiences where bisexuality is identified temporarily when moving from one sexual orientation to another. There are those who choose to identify as bisexual regardless of whether or not they are in exclusive relationships with one, both, or neither gender. Bisexuality has long been a controversial topic since there is no common theory or agreed-upon understanding of the subject. Scholars have argued points ranging from the theory that everyone has the potential to be bisexual, to the idea that bisexuality is only a transitional phase that leads to changing one’s sexual orientation, usually from heterosexuality to homosexuality. The latter theory is generally not accepted by most bisexuals, since it tends to promote invisibility and nonexistence. Bisexuals sometimes find themselves rejected by heterosexuals because they “choose” to go against societal norms by not affirming exclusive attraction and relationships with one gender over another. They are frequently accused of being promiscu-
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ous and are often categorized as gay or lesbian, disregarding their bisexual identity and orientation. Bisexuals are accused of not being able to be monogamous and promoting infidelity. Bisexuality has also been dismissed and rejected by some homosexual communities, again encouraging the idea that bisexuality does not exist. Bisexuals sometimes are not included in homosexual communities and events, even those that carry the labels LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer). All of these accusations have assisted in producing an invisible, underground community of bisexuals. The pressures to conform to heterosexual or homosexual standards undoubtedly lead to frustration and issues of self-acceptance, where bisexuals feel forced to deny part of themselves to feel welcome in either or both societies. Woman and Bisexuality Bisexual women in particular have expressed difficulty forging kinship and connections within lesbian communities. Bisexuality among women has often been viewed as an affront to feminism since it is generally assumed that a bisexual woman chooses to love and interact sexually with men. This negates and disregards any belief that a woman’s bisexuality is not a choice, just as some homosexuals believe they are born gay or lesbian. There is much talk of bisexual women using their “heterosexual privileges” to fit in the mainstream heterosexual community, engaging in activities such as marriage to men in order to be viewed acceptable by society’s standards, while engaging in lesbian relationships and sexual activities underground. As a result of this invisibility and broad rejection by both the heterosexual and homosexual communities, there has been an emergence of bisexual organizations and communities. Within the media there has been a small increase of bisexual images that negate the preconceived stereotypes and offer a different perception of bisexuality and bisexual people. Various bisexual organizations have taken a vocal stand in combating discrimination and ensuring that bisexuals have a safe space to express and be themselves. The Internet has been a tool that has aided in forging connections with bisexuals as well as creating bridges that cross nationalities, ethnicities, gender, religions, and geographic borders.
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There remains room for more research on bisexuality and women, since historically the focus of most research has been on bisexual men. There have been assumptions that heterosexuality and homosexuality is based on early-developing traits that extended over a person’s lifetime. As research on women’s sexuality increases, and women are becoming more self-accepting of their sexuality, this assumption has been found not as accurate for women. Bisexual women express and claim their sexuality in a variety of ways, including marriage to either a man or a woman, or being in relationships with both. As bisexual mothers address their sexuality in relation to parenting, they also addressing their own confidence and challenges in their sexual choices. See Also: Feminism; Feminist Mothering; Feminist Theory and Mothering; Lesbian Mothering; LGBTQ Families and Motherhood; Sexuality and Mothering; Transgender Parenting. Bibliography Burleson, Williams. Bi America: Myths, Truths and Struggle of an Invisible Community. London: Harrington Park Press, 2005. Hutchins, Loraine and Lani Kaahumanu. Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1991. Joslin, Mary. “A Bisexual Mom Comes Out.” Advocate (May 25, 2004). Dawn Wright Williams Georgia Perimeter College
Blakely, Mary Kay Born in 1948, Mary Kay Blakely is a mother, teacher, author, journalist, and feminist who is also involved with multiple media outlets for women’s issues. Many of her articles and books interweave topics such as politics, motherhood, and careers, and her novels chronicle the convergence of all three, resonating with contemporary women from a variety of backgrounds. In fact, she is often consulted for her views on women’s topics, and her essays have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York
Times, Psychology Today, and Family Circle, to name a few national publications. Numerous Organizations Blakely has been involved with a number of organizations whose main objectives are to empower women to become the most productive members of society they can be. She is on the National Advisory Board for Women’s Enews, which is a large Website covering news specifically tailored to women and women’s issues. The main objective of Women’s Enews is to allow women be completely informed in every aspect of life. Blakely is also involved with Journalism and Women’s Symposium (JAWS), a group that brings together journalists, journalist instructors, and researchers from across the United States and abroad to empower women in journalism. She has served on the Board of the Directors for JAWS and currently serves on the Minority Mentor Program. Influential Editor Additionally, Blakely has been a contributing editor to Ms. magazine since 1981. Ms. magazine, first published in 1971, was revolutionary in its ability to turn from an insert in New York Magazine into a worldwide feminist voice. Ms. magazine is credited with bringing feminist issues, women’s rights, and women’s points of view to conventional society. Another organization with which Blakely has an interest is the National Writer’s Union, where she is on the advisory board. With 1,600 members, the National Writer’s Union is the only union that represents freelance writers by providing assistance in all areas of life, including jobs and insurance. Blakely is also a former “Hers” columnist for the New York Times. She was also on the board of directors for MOMbo, a radio broadcast that subsisted from 1990 to 2007; its goal was to discuss motherhood from various perspectives. Accomplished Writer A prolific writer, Blakely writes her novels with moving prose and poignantly describe topics such as raising two sons after a divorce. Having married in the 1970s, Blakely humorously explores the crossroads of motherhood and feminism during the women’s movement in American Mom: Motherhood, Politics, and Humble Pie (1994). She has also authored
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the critically acclaimed Wake Me When It’s Over: A Journey to the Edge and Back (1989) which is Blakely’s autobiographic account of the nine days she spent in a diabetic coma, at age 36, in a New York hospital. Mary Kay Blakely’s American Mom: Motherhood, Politics, and Humble Pie (2004) was one of the first memoirs to concentrate on her experiences of motherhood. She describes raising two sons (Ryan and Darren) as a single mother (after a marriage of 10 years ended in divorce) and emphasizes the imperfect nature of her parenting. This is reflected in two of the rejected titles: The Good Mother—Not and Raising Outlaws. She emphasizes the practical difficulties faced by single mothers, from societal disapproval to too little money, as well as the ordinary problems of bringing up children. Currently, Blakely teaches Advanced Writing in the magazine sequence in the Missouri School of Journalism, where she has taught since 1997. Blakely earned the prestigious William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence in 2004, as well as the Exceptional Merit Media Award and the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. See Also: Becoming a Mother; Divorce; Feminism and Mothering; Humor and Motherhood; Motherhood Movement; Politics and Mothers; Single Mothers; Sons and Mothers; Work and Mothering. Bibliography Blakely, Mary Kay. American Mom: Motherhood, Politics, and Humble Pie. New York: Algonquin Books, 2004. Blakely, Mary Kay. “Hers.” The New York Times (March 19, 1981). www.nytimes.com (accessed December 2008). Blakely, Mary Kay. Wake Me When It’s Over. New York: Time Books, 1989. “HerStory.” Ms. http://www.msmagazine.com/about .asp (accessed February 2009). National Writer’s Union. “About the NWU.” www .nwu.org (accessed January 2009). University of Missouri. “2004 Kemper Fellows: Mary Kay Blakely.” http://kemperawards.missouri.edu/ fellows/2004/blakely.php (accessed January 2009). Jennifer L. Burkett University of Central Arkansas
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Body Image Much has been written in the area of body image in pregnancy and postpartum. A person’s body image is comprised of a multidimensional mélange of feelings and perceptions of their own body‑filtered and reflected through sociocultural prescriptions of the ideal body size and shape. Body image fluctuates and is regulated by global self-esteem (the totality of thoughts and emotions regarding oneself). Societal prescriptions of size and beauty are intricately tied to global self-esteem. In fact, decades of research demonstrates a significant overlap between body image and self-image. In essence, body esteem arises out of a multidimensional experience, in which females compare their appearance against personal and social standards within their environment. Sanctioned by external forces and saturated with a barrage of the ultra-thin female body ideal, women’s capacity to maintain a positive body image is threatened on a daily basis, particularly in the experience of pregnancy. Self-Esteem and Body Image Researchers demonstrate the powerful connection between self-esteem and body image. Social comparison with fashion models and exposure to unrealistic media images of female beauty is shown to lower body satisfaction and body image. Overall, researchers reveal that in Western countries, lower self-esteem and higher body dissatisfaction are more evident among females than males, despite the fact that obesity rates are higher among males. Women feeling discontented about their bodies is pervasive enough, even 25 years ago, for the term normative discontent to be coined and commonly used to describe the experiences women have in relation to their bodies. Normative discontent implies that being unhappy with one’s body and feeling too fat is so common for women in our culture, that it is now considered a part of the normal experience of being a woman. The societal value of thinness and society’s tendency to base much of a woman’s value on appearance bear tremendous significance on women’s relationships with their bodies. Societal messages impress upon women that their physical appearance is of utmost importance. Culturally, women
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are schooled to relate to their bodies as objects, tools, or weapons in the marketplace of social relations. A woman’s identity is deeply intertwined with a sense of her body and her attractiveness. The current media standard for female beauty is a young, white, thin woman (with breast implants); the perpetuation of this construction has extraordinary implications for the relationship women have with their bodies. Increased rates of dieting, weight preoccupation, eating disorders, and cosmetic surgeries are associated with the prevailing messages of thin female ideal, and social comparisons with impossibly beautiful models and images are highly correlated with personal body dissatisfaction. As such, the development of a personal and stable body image is extremely problematic and precarious for women. Pregnancy and Body Image Many women report being caught between two conflicting cultural messages: the standard of beauty requires a slim figure, and women draw self-esteem from being considered attractive. During pregnancy, body image may become an even greater issue for many women. Some women feel elated and embrace the changes in their pregnant bodies, while other women feel anxious, discontented, and have great difficulty accepting their changing body. Most of the time, a woman’s experience vacillates between the two: disdain (feeling fat and ugly) and love (feeling pride) of her pregnant body. Notably, during pregnancy, a woman’s body image may vary remarkably over the time period and continue postpartum. A positive body image may be more keenly felt in women who embrace the time in their lives when there is a socially accepted standard to have a larger belly and ample body shape. She may experience a renewed freedom to be heavier and enjoy signifying to the world that her body is producing life and that she will be a mother. For some women, the social status engendered with pregnancy induces further pride in identifying with the role that a maternal body inscribes. Clearly, pregnancy affects every woman differently, and subsequent pregnancies in the same woman will also affect her body image differently. Women who are not happy, or who reject their pregnancy, may feel anger at their body changes and
their body image may be very low. Most women feel a myriad of feelings in association to their pregnant body, which can vary on a monthly, weekly, or even daily (even hourly) basis. One’s body image during the trimesters of pregnancy also varies. Generally, in the first trimester women often report feeling fat when their clothes no longer fit well; however, they do not have the characteristic belly to indicate that they are pregnant. This can be a difficult time for a woman who feels she appears as if she’s just put on some extra weight. The fear of being perceived as fat can greatly influence how a woman feels about herself. In the second trimester, often a woman’s stomach begins to harden and protrude into the telltale pregnant shape. She may rejoice and celebrate in this distinct shape; however, she may also feel negatively about her body. Women may continue to struggle with feeling overweight, and may monitor the pounds as they increase. Voluptuous breasts and a larger stomach help some women to feel ultra-
The loss of elasticity in the midsection after pregnancy can affect how a woman feels about her body.
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feminine, strong, and sexual. Other women, however, simply abhor the added weight, stretch marks, and belly that pregnancy induces. Some women fight with their bodies continuously in order to control their weight. Cultural Factors Involved in Body Image But there is also a societal expectation for women to become mothers, a process that involves radical change of the body during pregnancy and often results in weight gain that persists after delivery (the current medical recommendation is to gain 15–35 pounds, depending on previous body weight). Studies have found that over half of pregnant women are dissatisfied with their bodies, and many women feel social pressure to return to their pre-pregnancy weight soon after giving birth. Studies have found that even women satisfied with their body image during pregnancy often feel overweight and dissatisfied in the postpartum period, feelings which are associated with depression and diminished desire to return to sexual activity. Dissatisfaction is highest among women of high socioeconomic status, who engage in more weight monitoring in the postpartum period and state greater belief that they will lose the pregnancy weight. The rise in Hollywood celebrities glamorizing pregnancy and donning protruding bellies in a classic thin body, and the multitude of pregnancy books prescribing an exact amount of weight gain, promotes an ideal that may pressure women into a body surveillance project. A woman’s body image may be affected greatly by these unrealistic standards imposed upon her, not only about the weight she gains and its placement, but also how quickly it is shed after birth. Celebrity mothers themselves are not exempt from these expectations: for instance, Britney Spears (mother of two) was severely criticized for appearing on MTV’s Music Video Awards in 2007 and showing off her no-longer-girlish figure in a bikini. Body Image in Postpartum Body image postpartum is also an important consideration. Body weight gained during pregnancy, particularly in the belly, does not often disappear quickly after the birth of the baby. Often, immediately after birth, a woman may feel that she main-
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tains much more body weight than she anticipated, which can be disheartening to the woman. Over the years, the loss of elasticity in her stomach due to multiple pregnancies, having stretch marks, and other body changes such as breast size and shape influences a woman’s body image. These experiences of the female body evolution after having children often leave women feeling that they are an anomaly, when in fact, women with stretch marks and other body indicators of childbearing are much more the norm than the ultra-thin media images of women so flagrantly portrayed. See Also: Depression; Eating Disorder; Emotions; Fears; Sexuality and Mothering. Bibliography Goldman, Leslie. Locker Room Diaries: The Naked Truth About Women, Body Image, and Reimagining the “Perfect” Body. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2007. Norsigian, Judy and Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth. Clearwater, FL: Touchstone, 2008. Wykes, Maggie and Barrie Gunter. The Media and Body Image: If Looks Could Kill. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005. Gina Wong-Wylie Athabasca University
Bolivia Bolivia is a lower-middle-income country in South America with a population of just over 9 million and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of $2,819 in 2005. It is one of the poorest countries on the continent. Life expectancy at birth is 64.7 years. According to official estimates, 32 percent of the population lives on less than $1 per day, and 65 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line. A high percentage of the population is of indigenous origins: 61 percent at the last census in 2001. Bolivia signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in
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1990. However, gender-based discrimination continues to be widespread. Life expectancy for women is only 62.6 years, 4.3 years lower than men’s. Women are also less likely to have attended school. Women’s labor market participation has been increasing steadily, and 62.6 percent of all women are now in paid employment. Women on average earn just over half of men’s average income ($2,059 as opposed to $3,584) and are overrepresented in the informal sector. According to one study, motherhood does not have negative effects on women’s wages. Most Bolivian women are mothers. Despite the fact that there has been a marked increase in the percentage of women who place education and paid work as their top priority, motherhood and marriage continues to be a fundamental part of women’s identity. The fertility rate currently stands at 4 births per woman, down from 6.5 during the 1970s. According ������������������������������������������� to a survey carried out in 2003, 12.6 percent of surveyed teenage girls already had a child, while 3.6 percent were pregnant. �
See Also: Abortion; Maternal Mortality; Poverty and Mothering; Teen Mothers.
Maternal Health Maternal mortality continues to be the highest in the region: 650 women die each year because of complications in pregnancy and birth. There are on average 230 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, but in some rural areas, the rate reaches 887 per 100,000 live births. Maternal deaths are caused by hemorrhage, induced abortion, and hypertension. Abortions are illegal, except for a small minority of cases. Most women who decide to terminate their pregnancy have to do so illegally; between 27 and 35 percent of maternal deaths are abortion related. The remainder of maternal deaths depends on the availability and access to skilled birth attendants. Between 1997 and 2005, only 67 percent of births were attended by skilled professionals. Access to and use of skilled birth attendants is strongly influenced by the mother’s income. Rural and indigenous women are least likely to have access to modern health services. A major problem is that the national health system is not perceived to be sensitive to indigenous beliefs and practices. The United Nations Population Fund is currently working with the Bolivian government and Pan-American Health Organization to develop a culturally sensitive program for midwives. Bolivia celebrates Mothers’ Day on May 27.
Erma Bombeck was a humorist whose column, At Wit’s End, was published between 1965 and her death in 1996. She also wrote 15 books, most of which became best sellers. Bombeck’s specialty was presenting a wry, humorous look at parenting, generally through the lens of her own middle-class, suburban life. She wrote about the challenges of both child raising and homemaking, often presenting these tasks as genuinely intolerable, yet always through humor. Like Betty Friedan, Bombeck unmasked the boredom, frustration, overall dreariness, and lack of respect and appreciation that many suburban mothers were feeling. Her ability to label and de-romanticize the mundane details of mother work was in stark contrast to other motherhood narratives that tended to emphasize the perceived selflessness and loving kindness of all mothers. Bombeck broke from the traditional, and in some ways stereotypical, version of motherhood in doing later activist work, most notably toward the promotion of the American Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Bombeck’s mother, also named Erma, married Cassius Edwin Fiste at the age of 14 and gave birth to Erma two years later, on February 12, 1927, in Dayton, Ohio. Following Fiste’s death in 1929, Bombeck’s mother worked as a factory employee
Bibliography Armstrong, Kate. Bolivia (Country Guide), 6th Edition. Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet, 2007. Koblinsky, Marjorie A., ed. Reducing Maternal Mortality: Learning From Bolivia, China, Egypt, Honduras, Indonesia, Jamaica, and Zimbabwe (Health, Nutrition and Population Series). Washington, DC: World Bank Publications, 2003. Spatz, Julius. Poverty and Inequality in the Era of Structural Reforms: The Case of Bolivia. New York: Springer, 2006. Tanja Bastia University of Manchester
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for two years until she remarried. For the years between Bombeck’s mother’s marriages, the two women lived in a much more industrial part of Dayton, with much of Bombeck’s care being provided by her maternal grandparents. For these years, Bombeck’s family structure differed notably from the nuclear families she was familiar with prior to her father’s death. Watching her mother’s entry into the work force galvanized Bombeck and clearly made an impression that women’s abilities extended far beyond the home. Following her graduation, Bombeck was hired as a full-time worker for the Dayton Journey-Herald, largely specializing in the “women’s pages,” articles on household tips for juggling priorities and ridding linens of stains. While at the University of Dayton, Bombeck met and married Bill Bombeck. Honest Humor Bombeck struggled with infertility, and in 1954 became a mother to her eldest child through adoption; two subsequent children were born to Bombeck in 1955 and 1958. Bombeck left her job to work as a full-time homemaker between 1954 and 1963. As the mother of three young children, Bombeck wrote of being subsumed by her children’s needs; while devoted to her family, she was nonetheless clear sighted about the many difficulties and frustrations of mother work. Her decision to return to paid employment centered on this frustration: Bombeck wrote a few sample columns laughing at the challenges of suburban motherhood and submitted them to a local paper. After a short time her column, which came to be titled At Wit’s End, was picked up by the Dayton Journey-Herald and was subsequently syndicated worldwide. Her fame led her to a regular spot on Good Morning America, a short-lived sitcom, and numerous other projects. Bombeck distanced herself from the women’s movement, viewing it as elitist and condescending. Nonetheless, she did favor the advancement of equality for women. While refusing to discuss gender equality within her books and columns, Bombeck nonetheless began to take on a more political role. Between 1978–80 she toured the United States speaking in favor of the ERA, and during the Carter administration, she sat on the President’s Advisory Commit-
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tee for Women. In all her political work, Bombeck remained committed to a centrist position and argued fervently for both equality and tradition. In 1996, Erma Bombeck died from complications of polycystic kidney disease. See Also: Humor and Motherhood; Stay-at-Home Mothers; Teen Mothers. Bibliography Bombeck, E. Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession. New York: McGraw Hill, 1983. Edwards, S. Erma Bombeck: A Life in Humor. New York: Avon Books, 1997. May Friedman York University
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia, a country in the Balkans that was formerly a part of Yugoslavia, has a population of just under 4 million (2007 estimate), with a female life expectancy of 81.9. It has a birth rate of 8.8 per 1,000, and an infant mortality rate of 9.8 per 1,000 live births. The crude divorce rate in the country is 0.4 divorces per 1,000 marriages (2004 figures). Abortion on request is available up to 10 weeks gestation; after that time, a committee must determine if abortion is necessary to save the women’s life or health, if the child has a serious congenital defect, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape. After 20 weeks, abortion is legal only to save the life or health of the mother. Family planning services are available, but as of 2000 only 16 percent of women reported using modern contraception. Save the Children was unable to assign Bosnia and Herzegovina an overall rank on either the Women’s Index and Children’s Index due to missing data. The employment-to-population ratio for women age 15 and over in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 51.6, lower than in other Balkan countries. Strict employment protection makes it difficult for women to reenter the labor market after having children. One year of maternity leave is provided, and the employee is guaranteed to be rehired in the same job.
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From late medieval times, Bosnia and Herzegovina was occupied by the Turks, and as a result Islam remains the majority religion in the country, with significant Serbian Orthodox and Croatian Catholic minorities. Historically, the vast majority of women in villages were homemakers; their role was heavily involved in caring for children and looking after the home. In the two major cities, Sarajevo and Mostar, as well as in more multicultural Bosnian societies, wealthier women managed to combine motherhood with involvement in the local political life, and encouraged others to do the same. This is reflected in the fictional character of Madame Daville in the town of Travnik, in Ivo Andric’s The Days of the Consuls (1992). Andric emphasizes the role of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic ideas in changing the perspectives of the wealthier citizens. War and Motherhood In 1878 the Austrians annexed Bosnia, and there were even more dramatic changes in the provision of health care for women in cities, with more modern midwifery. Within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during the 1920s and the 1930s, there were some further improvements, but much of the area’s infrastructure was destroyed in World War II. It was not until the 1950s that the new Communist government of Yugoslavia started an organized program to reduce the infant mortality rate. Women were given more civil rights and were able to more easily gain access to government social security payments to help bring up children, and also gain easier access to divorce. Many women also managed to find paid work in farms and factories, and maternity leave was introduced. The breakup of former Yugoslavia led to fighting throughout Bosnia during the 1990s. This conflict sparked numerous atrocities, including mass rape used methodically by some groups against others. Studies estimate that as many as one in seven Bosnian women were raped by Serb forces, and many were abused for months and prevented from obtaining an abortion. Women suffering from these experiences report high rates of depression, suicidal ideation, social phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, and sexual dysfunction. Since the end of the war in 1995, the new government has sought to improve the infrastructure of
the country, again with funds provided by the European Union and elsewhere. The country’s fertility rate has fallen from 2.4 in 1975 (one of the highest in Europe) to 1.2 by 1999. See Also: Conflict Zones, Mothering in; Croatia; Macedonia; Serbia; War and Mothering. Bibliography Andric, Ivo. The Days of the Consuls. Coleford, Gloucestershire, UK: Forest Books, 1992. Commission for International Relations of the Federation of Women’s Associations of Yugoslavia. Women’s Rights in Yugoslavia. 1961. Cuvalo, Ante. Historical Dictionary of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press Inc, 1997. Duric, Suzana and Gordana Dragicevic. Women in Yugoslav Society and Economy. Belgrade: Medunarodna Politika, 1965. Malcolm, Noel. Bosnia: A Short History. New York: Macmillan, 1994. Ramet, Sabrina, ed. Gender Politics in the Western Balkans: Women and Society in Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav Successor States. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999. Justin Corfield Geelong Grammar School, Australia
Botswana In Botswana, motherhood is a central, multilayered role within the sociocultural institutions of marriage and the family. In this context, marriage, family, childbearing, and child rearing are intertwined. Traditionally, marriage was almost compulsory, and so was childbearing. However, the Setswana (the traditional people of Botswana), which was mainly founded on marriage, has been transformed into many different family forms: These include single parents; cohabitant families; and blended, adoptive, and foster families, with the single mother family as the most common and a growing phenomenon in Botswana. African women marry at a much earlier age than women elsewhere. For Botswana, the average age at
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first marriage up to the late 1990s was 26 years for women, compared to earlier decades when girls married as early as 20 years of age or younger. Therefore, early pregnancies and early motherhood have become subjects of research and intervention programs in Africa. The mean age at first birth in Botswana is recorded at 18, and the majority of women aged 15–49 who have ever been pregnant have become pregnant for the first time at age 15–19. A decline is also indicated in the proportion of women currently married, concurrent to an increase in cohabitation relationships. With Botswana currently among the hardest hit by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic, the problem of teenage motherhood is a great health concern. The transition in roles for young girls from child to mother without much preparation is daunting, and usually has serious psychological challenges. In spite of this, some of the proposed mechanisms for addressing it, such as sex education and use of contraceptives (which is only used by 32 percent of married women) are still facing sociocultural bottlenecks. Motherhood Desire and Privilege While the cultural perceptions that value motherhood remain intact, the changed family forms show eroded importance of marriage as a precondition to motherhood. Premarital childbearing in Botswana is on the increase, and studies identify an almost universal desire for parenthood by Botswanian women, regardless of whether or not they are married. In the early 1980s, only 53 percent of women aged between 25–29 had ever been married, but 88 percent of those had at least one child. Both married and unmarried women obtain a positive sense of self worth from motherhood. It guarantees them dignity and respect for having fulfilled one of the key obligations particular to marriage. Motherhood positions women well in the family hierarchies in Botswana and gives them certain powers and privileges, such as partaking in mother-directed cultural functions such as aiding in the delivery of a baby. The dichotomy of mother and nonmother is used in this context as a basis for intragender diversity and discrimination. While there is sympathy for the demise of barren women, this is still viewed with contempt and shame, mak-
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ing the issue of whether a bride-to-be will bear children a cause for anxiety for young girls. In spite of its reduced role in motherhood, marriage still legitimizes the identity of children born into it. See Also: Becoming a Mother; Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Motherhood; Feminist Theory on Mothering; Future of Motherhood; History of Motherhood. Bibliography Arnfred, Signe. “Images of ‘Motherhood’–African and Nordic Perspectives.” Jenda: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies, v.4 (2003). Locoh, Therese. Early Marriage and Motherhood in Sub-Saharan Africa. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 2000. Pitso, Joseph M.N. and Gordon A. Carmichael. “Premarital Childbearing in Thamaga Village, Botswana.” Journal of Population Research, v.20/2 (2003). Bantu L. Morolong University of Botswana
Brain, Child Brain, Child is a quarterly magazine published in the United States. Subtitled “the magazine for thinking mothers,” Brain, Child specializes in literary, scholarly, and self-reflective articles for mothers and other caregivers. Articles address a range of topics and are submitted by freelance writers. The magazine does not subscribe to any specific parenting philosophy and encourages a range of beliefs and opinions. Brain, Child began in March 2000 as a collaborative venture between editors-in-chief Stephanie Wilkinson and Jennifer Niesslein. Within a matter of months, the magazine achieved industry success, receiving a prestigious Utne Independent Press Award as one of the five best new magazines in the country. The magazine is both well regarded and popular, boasting approximately 36,000 readers worldwide, three-quarters of whom subscribe to the magazine. Each issue contains a number of components, including responses to research studies, legislative
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decisions, and other important news for mothers and families. In addition, each issue contains a debate in the form two articles taking competing positions on a topic, as well as book reviews and fiction. Personal essays and feature articles comprise the bulk of the magazine. These pieces maintain the diversity of the publication, representing a relatively wide range of positions and topics, including motherhood and homelessness, lesbian parenting, raising only children, surrogacy, the mothers’ movement, and many more. Although the magazine does not privilege any one position with respect to political or controversial topics, there is an overarching focus on maternal empowerment as well as solidarity among mothers. Wealthy, Highly Educated Readership While Brain, Child welcomes a diversity of opinion and parenting style, its readers are relatively homogenous. A readership survey undertaken in 2004 found that 90 percent of Brain, Child subscribers own their own home, and the median household income of readers was $125,000. In addition, Brain, Child readers are extremely well educated, with 96 percent holding undergraduate degrees and two-thirds of all readers having undertaken or completed graduate studies. Finally, the vast majority (95 percent) of mothers who subscribe to Brain, Child are either married or partnered. Given the uniformity of readers, it is therefore not surprising that while Brain, Child presents a heterogeneity of topics, within that range topics are generally those relevant to a middle-class, educated reader. In terms of publishing philosophy, Brain, Child encourages respect and community within its pages, definitively rejecting the call toward intensive mothering. The foregrounding of personal narrative privileges a “life politic” approach that minimizes societal inequality and focuses on personal experience and resistance. This philosophy seeks to reach mothers who may find their personal privilege eroded as they parent. In terms of tone, the magazine is stylistically similar to The New Yorker and Salon, but, in its focus on mothers, stakes new territory for analysis. The magazine’s byline has generated some controversy, in terms of both the potential elitism of “thinking mothers” as well as the perceived exclusion of fathers. It should be noted that fathers are both reg-
ular contributors as well as readers of the magazine. Despite concern and debate, the magazine is flourishing as it enters its tenth year of publication. See Also: Academe and Mothering; Literary Mama; Literature and Mothers. Bibliography Brain, Child. “About Us.” http://www.brainchildmag .com (accessed May 2009). Carchrae, Michelle. “Review of Brain, Child Magazine: Great Writing That Presents Complex and Emotional Parenting Issues.” (June 19, 2008). http://parenting resources.suite101.com/article.cfm/review_of_brain_ child_magazine (accessed May 2009). May Friedman York University
Brazil The Federative Republic of Brazil, once a Portuguese colony, is an economic power with a diverse population and steadily declining birthrate. Mothers working in the formal sector are eligible for paid maternity leave. Traditional gender roles are shifting; formal unions are becoming less common, and divorce is legal. Most Brazilian women use some form of birth control, and most receive prenatal care and are attended at birth by skilled personnel. Brazilian law guarantees the right to family planning and free access to education through secondary school and the Brazilian Constitution supports the rights of working women. The overall birthrate in Brazil, which was 6.2 in 1960 and 4.7 in 1975, has decreased rapidly since the 1980s, to the 2008 rate of 2.2 children per mother. The decrease is partly attributable to a high sterilization rate. The fertility rate actually increased 20 percent between 1970– 91 for women aged 15–19. Many teen mothers are from rural areas who lack access to education. Under the Constitution, working mothers in the formal sector are eligible for a paid maternal leave of 120 days following the birth. Mothers have two nursing breaks each day. About half the Brazilian population works in the informal sector.
The number of legally sanctioned unions is decreasing in Brazil, and the number of femaleheaded households is rising. A quarter of families are female-headed, compared to 13 percent in 1970. Divorce was legalized in 1977; the divorce rate was 3.7 percent in 2002. Cultural Conceptions of Motherhood in Brazil Colonization, slavery, and industrialization have influenced cultural conceptions of motherhood. From the colonial period through the 1970s, a mother’s place was with her children. Gender roles were divided along the Mediterranean concept of marianismo, which attributes to women the central role of selfless mother; and machismo, reflected in the husband’s dominance. The greater female autonomy in West Africa has survived in Afro-Brazilian communities, tempering the traditional model. Other factors lessening the traditional split in gender roles include a weakening association between marriage and reproduction, and the industrialization of Brazil. Brazilian mothers remain in charge of the children and the home. If the mother is absent, another woman, often a relative, assumes this role. Catholicism has influenced Brazilian attitudes toward reproductive rights, gender, and family issues. While 76 percent of Brazilians are nominal Roman Catholics, the religious influence of slaves from West Africa continues to be strong. Afro-Brazilian religious icons include many female role models of strong, defiant women. Brazilian mothers and wives resisted authoritarian military regimes, with support of the Catholic Church and leftist politicians. Family Planning, Education, and Prenatal Care Family planning was declared a right in the 1988 Constitution, and the sale of contraceptive devices is not restricted. More than three-quarters of married women use contraceptives, but use is lower among women aged 15–24 and women in the rural northeast, where one-third of the population resides. An estimated 1.4 million illegal abortions take place each year, with a high rate among teenagers. Brazilian anthropologists have found that poor Brazilian Roman Catholic women distinguish the religious
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prohibition against taking a life and the medical practice of preventing contraception. Sterilization is becoming increasingly common among younger women and poor women who may lack information about and have less access to other methods. Oral contraceptives are widely used. Brazilian law guarantees free access to education through secondary school, and more girls than boys participate in secondary and tertiary education. White women are more than twice as likely as dark-skinned women to have 11 or more years of schooling. Three-quarters of pregnant women attend at least four prenatal visits, and 84 percent receive some prenatal care; almost 90 percent of births are attended by skilled personnel. A Brazilian woman’s lifetime risk of maternal death is similar to some of the poorest countries in Latin America. The infant mortality rate for white children is about 60 percent that of darker-skinned children. Mothers benefit from legislation to protect women’s rights. In the past, employers often asked women for a certificate of sterilization as a condition of hiring. Feminist activists succeeded in getting the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 to address women’s workplace rights. The 1988 Constitution guarantees free access to daycare and preschool for all women, not just mothers. Benedita da Silva, mother of two and the granddaughter of a slave, rose from a favela (slum) of Rio de Janeiro to become the first elected black woman deputy. Da Silva served in the Chamber of Deputies in the capital city of Brasilia and ran for mayor of Rio. Ana María Machado, mother of three children, won the 2000 Hans Christian Andersen medal for Children’s Literature. Her books have sold close to 8 million copies worldwide. See Also: African Diaspora; Postcolonialism and Mothering; Poverty and Mothering; Teen Mothers. Bibliography Lebon, Nathalie. “Brazil.” In The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Women’s Issues Worldwide, Lynn Walter, ed. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. Lúcia, Maria, and M. Afonso. “Brazilian Families in the Confrontation Between Hierarchy and Equality.”
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In Families in a Global Context, Charles B. Hennon and Stephan M. Wilson, eds. New York: Routledge/ Taylor & Francis, 2008. Torres, Cláudio V. and Maria Auxiliadora Dessen. “The Brazilian Jeitinho: Brazil’s Subcultures, Its Diversity of Social Contexts, and Its Family Structures.” In Families Across Cultures: A 30-Nation Psychological Study, James Georgas, John W. Berry, Fons J. R. van de Vijver, Çigdem Kagitçibasi, and Ype H. Poortiinga, eds. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Keri L. Heitner University of Phoenix
Breastfeeding Breastfeeding refers to the act of providing mothers’ milk to infants for the purpose of nutrition. The most widely accepted definition of breastfeeding seems to accept infants/children extracting milk through sucking at their mothers’ breasts for the health benefit of the infant and mother. The act of a woman expressing milk from her breast with the intention of feeding her infant is referred to as breast milk fed, according to Le Leche League International. Understanding breastfeeding history, biology, research, policies, resources, potential problems, treatments, and environmental supports is beneficial to gaining a full understanding of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding History, Research, and Policy Breastfeeding can be traced back to the earliest societies where breastmilk was the only way to nourish infants, as is the case with other mammals. Breastmilk is produced during pregnancy. The baby’s sucking stimulates the release of hormones (prolactin and oxytocin), which lead to breastmilk “coming in” and “letting down,” respectively, three to seven days after birth. The milk is moved from the milk gland into the milk ducts and into the nipple, where is sucked into the baby’s mouth. Until the milk comes in, babies will receive colostrum, which is low in fat but high in carbohydrates, protein, and antibodies. It is extremely easy to digest and an excellent first food for babies.
Breastmilk is the perfect first food for babies, as it contains the precise levels of water, sugar, fat, and nutrients babies need.
Current research and policy exist to support the importance of breastfeeding for the health of infants and their mothers. The World Health Organization (WHO), the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommend that women breastfeed for at least one year (with exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months) to provide their babies with the best source of nutrition and antibodies to protect them from colds and infections. Breastmilk is easy for babies to digest, and it contains the perfect amounts of fat, sugar, water, and protein needed for growth and development. Studies have shown that breastfed children have slightly higher IQs than formula-fed children, as well as lower
rates of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), type 1 and 2 diabetes, asthma, high cholesterol, overweight, and obesity. For new mothers, breastfeeding can help reduce the risk of certain breast and ovarian cancers, increase weight loss of pregnancy pounds, shrink the uterus (thus lessening bleeding), delay the return of ovulation and menstrual cycles, reduce the risk of hip fractures and osteoporosis after menopause, and provide opportunities for bonding and relaxation. Breastfeeding Techniques How to breastfeed and express breastmilk involve many preferences of the mother and baby. There are several recommended positions (such as the cradle or football hold); schedules (alternating breasts during a feeding or one breast for a feeding, or alternating each time); and length of breastfeeding episodes (for example, 20 minutes or as long as the baby wants). Further, expressing breastmilk can be performed by baby-only, the hand, handheld manual pump, electric handheld pump, or institutional-grade electric pump. Among the many possible preferences, time and comfort may be the most common criteria among women. Work and Health: Benefits and Challenges Employers can reap benefits, such as decreased absenteeism and increased productivity, if they invest in supporting lactation for their employees. Breastfeeding has also been associated with a reduction in health care costs. Healthier babies translate to fewer sick care visits, prescriptions, and hospitalizations. Further, breastmilk is inexpensive, convenient, and a natural way to nurture babies. For 2010, the U.S. Surgeon General has set goals to have 75 percent of babies breastfed when they leave the hospital; 50 percent of babies still breastfed at 6 months of age; and 25 percent of babies still breastfed at 1 year of age. With advancements in research, policy, and technology, many mothers plan to breastfeed their babies. However, due to financial obligations, career aspirations, and societal/workplace constraints, these mothers encounter difficulties in achieving the goals and expectations set by the medical profession and lactation experts. The protection, promotion, and support of breastfeeding among working women is an important issue that requires greater
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attention as the majority of mothers plan to return to work. Despite the known benefits of breastfeeding, rates drop once women return to work due to a lack of support and knowledge regarding how to manage breastfeeding while at work, a nonsupportive work environment, and problems pumping breastmilk. Effective strategies for women to maintain breastfeeding until their babies are at least 6 months old include delayed return to work, working part time, improved conditions at work for breastfeeding, breastfeeding breaks during work hours, milk expression and storage options, and access to breastfeeding counseling. In addition to the aforementioned potential barriers mothers may encounter, there are a few related specifically to women’s health worth noting. It is common for women to experience some discomfort related to engorged breasts or pain from cracked nipples. Breast engorgement can occur from a delayed necessity to express breastmilk, or a baby’s extracting less milk than is being produced. In other words, too much breastmilk can become contained within the mammary glands, frequently causing blocked milk ducts, which can be painful for women and may develop into mastitis (inflammation of the breast). In rare cases, untreated mastitis can develop into an abscess, which may involve surgery to remediate. Cracked or sore nipples occur when nipples become dry, and may result from improper latch-on by the baby or prolonged nursing. Correct latch-on involves the baby’s mouth placed around the areola and his tongue under the areola. Almost all breastfeeding mothers experience leaky breasts at some point. Breasts may leak on several different occasions, resulting from cues for milk letdown, like the sound of a crying baby, during lovemaking, overdue breastfeeding, and when weaning a baby from the breast. Breastfeeding may continue for as long as the mother and infant/child desire. Some women wean their babies, and some babies wean themselves. Fortunately, there is a plethora of information on the Internet and in written resources for breastfeeding mothers, especially as provided by the Le Leche League International. See Also: Academe and Motherhood; Breastmilk; Care Giving; Maternal Health; Wet Nursing.
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Bibliography Ferreira Rea, Marina and Ardythe L. Morrow, “Protecting, Promoting, and Supporting Breastfeeding Among Women in the Labor Force.” Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, v.554 (2004). Kantor, Jodi. “On the Job, Nursing Mothers Find a 2-Class System.” New York Times (September 1, 2006). Labbok, Mirriam. “What Is the Definition of Breastfeeding.” Breastfeeding Abstracts, v.19 (February 2000). Rabin, Roni. “Breast-Feed or Else.” New York Times (June 13, 2006). Michele L. Vancour Southern Connecticut State University
Breastmilk In general terms, breastmilk is the liquid product of the lactating breast. Most commonly used to feed infants and children, breastmilk is also understood to have recuperative properties. Numerous components comprise breastmilk, including proteins, fats, vitamins, and carbohydrates. Each of these elements performs a specific role, from aiding in digestion, developing infant immunity, and ensuring adequate nutrition. More controversially, breastmilk is thought to stimulate intellectual development. Liquid Gold Breastmilk, as one of the only fluids to pass freely between humans, has powerful conceptual potential. Referred to in breastfeeding literature as “liquid gold,” breastmilk has been understood as integral to the transmission of both physical and moral characteristics from mother to child. Historical texts counsel women to maintain not only their physical health, but also to cultivate a state of emotional equilibrium, as it was thought that violent emotions and passions could directly impact the moral, physical, and intellectual development of the child. More problematic still was the issue of class. The breastmilk of wet nurses, who were drawn overwhelmingly from the lower classes, was considered dangerous to upper-class infants, thus contributing to the
significant scrutiny of wet nurses in surrogate nursing arrangements. More recent debates around the toxicity of breastmilk have focused not on the moral shortcomings of the mother or wet nurse, but rather on the environmental contaminants present in mother’s milk. Research suggests that human breastmilk contains, among other things, pesticides, dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Nevertheless, breastmilk can equally be understood to heal the body: the very toxicity of breastmilk suggests its potential to remove toxins from the body. This provocative theory was behind the establishment of the experimental 18th-century Vaugirard Hospital. Established in Paris in 1780 for the express purpose of treating syphilitic infants, the hospital imagined the breastmilk of syphilitic wet nurses as medical technology, using it as a vehicle to transmit mercury (the most common treatment for syphilis at the time) from syphilitic mother to syphilitic infant. See Also: Breastfeeding; Care Giving; Maternal Health; Wet Nursing. Bibliography Bartlett, Alison. “Breastfeeding as Headwork: Corporeal Feminism and Meanings for Breastfeeding.” Women’s Studies International Forum, v.25/3 (2002). Bartlett, Alison. Breastwork: Rethinking Breastfeeding. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2005. Giles, Fiona. “The Well-Tempered Breast: Fostering Fluidity in Breastly Meaning and Function.” Women’s Studies, v.34 (2005). Huet, Marie-Hélène. Monstrous Imagination. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993. Irigaray, Luce. “The Bodily Encounter With the Mother.” In The Irigaray Reader, Margaret Whitford, ed., and David Macey, trans. Cambridge, UK: Basil Blackwell, 1991. Kristeva, Julia. Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection, Leon S. Roudiez, trans. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982. Shaw, Rhonda and Alison Bartlett. Giving Breastmilk: Body Ethics and Contemporary Breastfeeding Practices. Toronto: Demeter Press, 2010. Sherwood, Joan. “Treating Syphilis: The Wetnurse as Technology in an Eighteenth-Century Parisian Hospital.” Journal of the History of Medicine and the Allied Sciences, v.50/3 (1995).
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Sherwood, Joan. “The Milk Factor: The Ideology of Breastfeeding and Post-Partum Illnesses, 1750– 1850.” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History/Bulletin Canadian d’Histoire de la Médecine, v.10 (1993). Sussman, George D. Selling Mothers’ Milk: The Wetnursing Business in France, 1715–1914. �������� Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1982.� Young, Iris Marion. ������������������������������� “������������������������������ Breasted Experience: The Look and the Feeling.” In On Female Body Experience: “Throwing Like a Girl” and Other Essays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Sonja Boon Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
Brooks, Gwendolyn The first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize and the first black woman to hold the post of Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, Gwendolyn Brooks was a poet who was admired for her linguistic acuity and use of established forms as well as free verse. A lifelong resident of Chicago, Brooks often wrote about the urban experiences of African Americans, including black women and mothers. Active in educating young people, Brooks gave readings in schools, prisons, and hospitals; established Poet Laureate Awards for Illinois students; and founded the Blackstone Rangers, a Chicago workshop for teenage gang members. Born on June 7, 1917, Brooks grew up in a household that nurtured her early aptitude for writing poetry. By 1945, her first collection of poetry, A Street in Bronzeville, appeared, and Brooks quickly established her reputation as a poet of ordinary African Americans. In poems such as “Hattie Scott,” “Queen of the Blues,” “Ballad of Pearl May Lee,” and “The Mother” section of “A Street in Bronzeville,” Brooks also portrayed the lives of mothers struggling in a harsh urban landscape. Acclaimed Poems Brooks’s second collection, Annie Allen, which won the Pulitzer, traces the life of a young woman before and after World War II. The section titled “Womanhood” depicts Annie as a mother who has devel-
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oped a wiser and more critical view of her life. By the time Annie Allen appeared, Brooks herself had married and become a mother when her son, Henry Blakely, was born in 1940. Her daughter, Nora Brooks Blakely, was born in 1951. In 1953 Brooks’s first and only novel, Maud Martha, depicted “colorism,” the discrimination against dark-skinned African Americans within the black community. Maud is a young mother whose husband regrets marrying a woman darker than he is. In The Bean Eaters (1960), the Civil Rights Movement and motherhood were centerpieces of poems such as “A Bronzeville Mother Loiters in Mississippi.” “Meanwhile, a Mississippi Mother Burns Bacon,” which captures the tragedy of Emmett Till’s murder through the perspective of a white mother married to one of his killers. The experience of mothers—in grief, poverty, and old age—mark poems such as “The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till,” “Mrs. Small, Jessie Mitchell’s Mother,” and the widely anthologized “The Lovers of the Poor.” In 1967 Brooks found inspiration in Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), founder of the Black Arts Movement. Brooks’s next collection, the National Book Award–nominated In the Mecca (1968), features a mother’s frantic search for her missing child in a rundown apartment building. The poem’s portrait of poverty implicates the cultural and historical forces of slavery and white indifference. Brooks’s other honors include lifetime achievement awards from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1989 and the National Book Foundation in 1994, two Guggenheim fellowships, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in literature, and the National Medal of Arts award in 1995. In 1968, she was appointed the poet laureate of Illinois, succeeding Carl Sandburg, and in 1988 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She held the Gwendolyn Brooks Chair in Black Literature and Creative Writing at Chicago State University, and in 1994 was selected as the National Endowment of the Humanities’ Jefferson Lecturer. Western Illinois University houses the Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center. See Also: African American Mothers; Literature, Mothers in; Poetry, Mothers in.
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Bibliography Brooks, Gwendolyn. Annie Allen. New York: Harper & Row, 1950. Brooks, Gwendolyn. A Street in Bronzeville. New York: Harper & Row, 1945. Brooks, Gwendolyn. In the Mecca. New York: Harper & Row, 1968. Brooks, Gwendolyn. Maud Martha. New York: Harper & Row, 1953. Brooks, Gwendolyn. The Bean Eaters. New York: Harper & Row, 1960. Kent, George E. A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1990. Melhem D.H. “Gwendolyn Brooks: An Appreciation.” Humanities, v.15/3 (May/June 1994). Watkins, Mel. “In Memoriam: Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000).” The Black Scholar, v.31/1. Justine Dymond Springfield College
Buchanan, Andrea American author Andrea J. (“Andi”) Buchanan made her first mark on the scene of motherhood writing with her 2003 collection of essays, Mother Shock: Loving Every (Other) Minute of It. She subsequently edited three anthologies: It’s a Boy: Women Writers on Raising Sons; It’s a Girl: Women Writers on Raising Daughters; and, together with Amy Hudock, Literary Mama: Reading for the Maternally Inclined. Her 2007 collaboration with Miriam Peskowitz, The Daring Book for Girls, became a New York Times best seller and was followed by the publication of two Pocket Daring Books: Things To Do and Wisdom and Wonder. Expectations Versus Gut Feelings In Mother Shock, Buchanan compares motherhood with a foreign country, where the rhythms of life are different and one is constantly sleep deprived. According to Buchanan, a new mother goes through four stages of adjustment, similar to the emotional dislocation of culture shock: initial euphoria, irritation, recovery, and finally, adjustment. In her essays, which roughly cover the first three years of her
daughter’s life, Buchanan talks freely about fears and insecurities, feelings of guilt and ambivalence, and finding joy in unexpected places. It is her stated goal to invite a dialogue about what mothers really feel, instead of what they should be feeling. The form (31 fairly short essays) also fits the lifestyle of mothers, both in regard to reading and writing. It’s a Boy and its companion piece It’s a Girl are collective literary explorations of what it means to mother sons and daughters. The authors examine gender roles and gendered expectations. In her own contribution to It’s a Boy, capturing the time in late pregnancy when almost everyone was asking her whether she was having a boy or a girl, Buchanan tries to come to terms with stereotypes like “boys are easier than girls,” and also confesses her conflicted feelings about the prospect of having a boy. In It’s a Girl, many of the writers struggle with how to shelter their daughters from damaging feminine stereotypes. Buchanan’s introduction to the collection comments on how mothering daughters forces women to revisit parts of their own girlhood that they would rather leave behind. Literary Mama is a collection of some of the standout pieces published on the widely successful Website with the same name, of which Buchanan was a founding editor. The site, launched in November 2003, was the brainchild of Buchanan and other women writers frustrated by what they perceived as a lack of readily available literary writing about motherhood. Speaking about their unique experiences in an unsentimental style, these writers reject the artificial binary of the mind and the body and prove that motherhood and creativity are not mutually exclusive. This ties in with Buchanan’s own conviction that becoming a mother helped her become a real writer. The Daring Book for Girls was conceived as a response and sequel to Conn and Hal Iggulden’s The Dangerous Book for Boys. It attempts to strike a balance between doing and learning, offering a compendium of information and things to do from a time before computers and video games. Many of the activities are centered on sports and the outdoors; they include karate moves and yoga routines, instructions for mastering the jump rope and perfecting cartwheels, and rules of the game for basketball and netball. The book also includes more “girly” topics, like
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how to press flowers, as well as profiles of queens of the ancient world and today’s real-life princesses. See Also: Internet and Mothering; Literary Mama; Literature, Mothers in. Bibliography Buchanan, Andrea J. Mother Shock: Loving Every (Other) Minute of It. New York: Seal Press, 2003. Buchanan, Andrea J. and Miriam Peskowitz. The Daring Book for Girls. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. Heike Henderson Boise State University
Buddhism and Mothering In Buddhist philosophy, mothering is symbolic of how to love all beings as a mother loves her child, without the attachment that leads to suffering. All Beings as Mother Buddhism posits that in the countless rounds of life, death, and rebirth, all beings have been one’s mother, because time is beyond measure and each person has lived countless times before. This means that all people have the potential for a relationship with every being on the planet at least once and perhaps numerous times. A mother is viewed favorably for all the love and care that she gives her child. This relationship serves as an example of ultimate love and how Buddhists are to behave with one another as human beings. Having love toward all other beings is a necessary component for Buddhists in what they call the “path to enlightenment.” Wisdom as the Source of Compassion Mothering is also symbolic of wisdom, as Buddhists consider it the source of compassion and skill. Compassion and wisdom are so important in Buddhism that they are often called the two wings of Buddhism. For Buddhists, compassion begins with recognizing the suffering of all beings and wanting this suffering to end. Suffering is rooted in the attachment or desire for people and things that cannot, by their own nature, last forever. A mother’s
A traditional Buddhist marriage in Japan is initiated with a vow to the Buddha followed by a wedding procession.
attachment to her child may cause her to suffer because of the inevitability of change and the reality that everything has an ending. An example of the extreme of attachment is when a woman finds no meaning in her life outside of mothering. For Buddhists, a mother exemplifies what it means to be compassionate toward another being, and for children specifically, by protecting her child from suffering, creating a stable environment to provide a sense of well being, and shielding her child from the inevitability of loss and death until the child is mature enough to handle this truth. Samsara In Buddhism, samsara, life itself, is the realm of suffering; one means of escaping this suffering is through developing equanimity. This entails viewing all beings on a level playing field and recognizing that everyone equally desires happiness and the avoidance of suffering. The differences in relationships of
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enemy, stranger, or friend are considered arbitrary, so that the happiness of someone held close is considered of no more importance than those kept at a distance. With a simple action or compliment in one’s favor, an enemy can become an ally or a friend. In Buddhist theology, seeing that all beings experience suffering may cause one to feel empathy, which leads to compassion for all life. Another means that Buddhists consider to escape suffering is through realizing what Buddhism considers the true nature of reality and the interconnectedness to all beings: emptiness. As self and loved ones are often seen as the center of the universe and more important than anyone else, Buddhists consider all to be equally important, connected, and affected by the actions of one another. The wisdom of emptiness, Prajnaparamita, is known as the Mother of All the Buddhas. Tara, the Tibetan Buddhist goddess, or meditational deity, is also known as the Mother of All the Buddhas. Mother as an Example of How to Love In Buddhism, mothers and motherhood are considered as examples of how to love and may lead to the concept of bodhicitta, which is compassion for all beings and wanting them to be happy and avoid suffering. Buddhists may develop bodhicitta by training the mind by means of the sevenfold cause-and-effect instruction, which encourages compassion through the example of mothering. This method was used by many of the teachers of Mahayana Buddhism such as Atisha, Chandrakirti, Shantarakshita, and Je Tsongkapa, and was passed down through the Buddhas Maitreya and Manjushri. Beginning by thinking of one’s own mother as a compassionate being, a Buddhist recalls all the ways in which one’s mother was kind. These thoughts are extended to include the kindness of others in one’s life and to contemplate the following: immeasurable equanimity, understanding all sentient beings to be one’s mother, remembering and repaying their kindness, love through the force of attraction, compassion, altruism, and bodhicitta. The Bodhisattva Ideal Once a Buddhist determines that she no longer wants herself or others to suffer and desires real and lasting happiness for everyone, she determines to become a bodhisattva. This is accomplished
through perfecting certain positive qualities such as generosity, morality, patience, willingness, meditation, and wisdom. In Buddhism, a bodhisattva loves all beings as a mother loves her child, without the attachment that leads to suffering. See Also: Mother Goddess; Myth, Mothers in; Religion and Mothering. Bibliography Paul, Diana. Women in Buddhism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985. Powers, John, and Deane Curtis. “Mothering: Moral Cultivation in Buddhist and Feminist Ethics.” Philosophy East & West, v.44/1 (January 1994). Tsomo, Karma Lekshe, ed. Buddhist Women Across Cultures: Realizations. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999. Karen Nelson Villanueva California Institute of Integral Studies
Bulgaria Bulgaria, in southeastern Europe, has long dominated much of the Balkans. It has a population of 7.3 million, and it has a birth rate of 9.6 per 1,000. Its infant mortality rate is 19.8 per 1,000 live births. The crude divorce rate in the country is 1.53 divorces per 1,000 marriages (2003). About 80 percent of Bulgarian women age 25–54 participate in the labor force, and over 67 percent are employed. Women are entitled to 315 days maternity leave. For years Bulgaria had one of the highest abortion rates in Europe, due in part to availability of abortion on demand. However, abortion rates fell after the introduction of contraception, from a peak of almost 80 per 1,000 fertile women in 1980 to about 50 per 1,000 in 1995. ��������������������������� Save the Children assigned Bulgarian a rank of 35 on the Mothers’ Index (out of 41 more developed countries), 32 on the Women’s Index, and 34 on the Children’s Index. Mothers in Society Prior to World War II, Bulgarian society was mainly patriarchal, and Bulgaria was a largely rural country
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with women mainly filling the roles of homemaker or farm worker. In fact, in the agricultural sector, women did most of the manual labor involved with crops, while men tended to work with animals. However, there were a few women, especially in Sofia, the capital, who did have careers. These were generally from the aristocracy, or the small middle class. In the countryside, the 1934 census showed that in one representative village, more than 15 percent of the population lived in family groups of 11 or more, and very few people over the age of 25 were unmarried. During the period of Communist rule after World War II, there was an increase in female participation in the formal workforce, with more women having full-time or part-time manual or nonmanual work. Many women found work as nurses, teachers, pharmacists, and sales clerks. Health care in the country improved under Communist rule, and continued to improve after the end of Communism. This has resulted in a significant decline in infant mortality rates. An increase in female education has contributed to a progressive decline in the birth rate in the country, although the birth rates for ethnic Turks and Gypsies has continued to be much higher than that of ethnic Bulgarians. In an attempt to partly redress this situation, the Communist government instituted maternity leave with full pay and pension benefits, and also instituted a system of legal rights for women in the workforce. There were also income supplements to help mothers from poor families, although these were eroded by inflation in the 1990s. The fertility rate, 2.22 in 1975, fell to 1.23 by 1999, but the percentage of extramarital births during that time increased from 9.3 percent to 35.1 percent. Famous women in modern Bulgarian history include the revolutionary Mara Buneva (1902–28); Nora Annanieva, who became the leader of the parliamentary group of the Bulgarian Socialist Party; and Reneta Ivanova Indzhova, who was Prime Minister of Bulgaria from October 1994 until January 1995, the only women to hold that position. See Also: Albania; Communism and Motherhood; Romania; Rural Mothers; Ukraine. Bibliography Dobrianov, V., et al. “Bulgaria.” In Working Women in Socialist Countries: The Fertility Connection,
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V. Bodrova and R. Anker, eds. Geneva: International Labour Office, 1985. Gancheva, Roumyana, ed. Bulgaria as We Saw It. Oslo: Sofia Press, 1981. Kostova, Dobrinka. “Similar or Different: Women in Post-Communist Bulgaria.” In Women in the Politics of Postcommunist Eastern Europe, Marilyn Rueschemeyer and M.E. Sharpe, eds. Self-Published, 1994. Slabakova, Roumiana. “Research on Women in Bulgaria: The Hard Way Into the Future.” Women’s Studies Quarterly (Fall 1992). Todorova, Maria. “Historical Tradition and Transformation in Bulgaria: Women’s Issues or Feminist Issues?” Journal of Women’s History (Winter 1994). Vidova, Milanka. Legal Status of Bulgarian Women. Oslo: Sofia Press, 1989. Vidova, Milanka. Women’s Legal Rights in Bulgaria: A Selection of Normative Acts with Annotations. Oslo, Norway: Sofia Press, 1981. Justin Corfield Geelong Grammar School, Australia
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is in west Africa, where poverty, illiteracy, economic difficulty, and traditionalism make motherhood a perilous state. Burkina Faso’s 13.3 million population is increasing at nearly 3 percent a year. Between 1996 and 2006 the increase was 341,000 per year. Education is compulsory but not enforced. In 2000, the illiteracy rate was 77 percent (66.8 male, 86.9 female). In 2009 the first lady of Burkina Faso, Mrs. Chantal Compaoré, noted that 1,500 African women die each day, nearly half the world’s maternal deaths. A Burkinabe woman and seven newborns die every three hours due to lack of adequate maternal and neonatal resources that promote prolonged labor, eclampsia, infection, and hemorrhage. Compaoré opened the women’s house in Balé in 2005 to improve the life conditions for women, and is a fighter for women’s literacy and improvement as well as an activist against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
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Infant mortality between 1996 and 2005 dropped only from 107 to 96 deaths per thousand. Acute malnutrition afflicted 35 percent of children under age 5 in 2007. Twenty percent of new mothers are malnourished, and only 56 percent had competent birth assistance in 2007. In 2003 Burkina Faso sent two obstetrician/gynecologists (OB/GYNs) to Uganda for clinical skills training, and one of the trainees provided training for 43 others. The Koupela District hospital had a surgeon trained in complications of pregnancy and labor, as well as in caesareans and other emergency procedures. These improvements were a small step in the ongoing effort to improve health care for mothers-to-be, and to save their lives. High Birth Rates, Maternal Deaths The average Burkina Faso mother in 2004 had 6.7 children. High birth rates in these conditions weaken women’s health and their ability to contribute to their society. The first official reproductive health clinic was established in 1985. Birth control was neglected, but health and reproductive services agencies reduced HIV/AIDS prevalence from 7 percent in the early 1990s to 2 percent in 2006. Just 14 percent of women use contraception, and in some rural areas the rate is 9 percent. The lower the use of contraception, the higher the maternal mortality rate. In 2006 the Burkina Faso government, assisted by USAID and the United Nations Population Fund, began a 10-year plan to promote contraception. Divorce is uncommon, but more likely for the newer generations than for the older, and more likely for the first wife when a new wife joins the commonly polygamous household. A divorced woman cannot remarry within the same family or an allied family, so she has to seek a new spouse outside the village. Divorce is more likely in villages with better infrastructure (roads, communications, etc.) that provide access to a broader world. Arranged marriages persist despite being illegal. Approximately half of Burkinabe women live in polygamous marriages, either forced or voluntary. Marriage of any sort is considered better than spinsterhood. Levirate marriage, where a widow has to marry her deceased husband’s brother to keep the children, is illegal but practiced. In 1996, Burkina Faso outlawed female genital mutilation (FGM), with penalties of up to five years
in prison and fines of $1,500. FGM is a long-standing cultural practice in 14 provinces, regarded as a cleansing during initiation. It causes pain and bleeding as well as infection, difficulties in birth, and possible HIV/AIDS transmission. In 1996, FGM affected two-thirds of Burkina Faso women, but by 2008 that number had shifted to 16–43 percent, depending on region and group. See Also: AIDS/HIV and Mothering; Education and Mothering; Islam and Mothering; Poverty and Mothering; Prenatal Health Care; Save the Mothers. Bibliography AWARE. “Supporting Advocacy for Maternal and Neonatal Health in Burkina Faso.” (2007). http://www .aware-rh.org/index.php?id=363 (accessed May 2009). Brown, Kpakpo. “Burkina Faso Guide.” OneWorld.net (2005). http://uk.oneworld.net/guides/burkina/ development (accessed May 2009). Social Institutions and Gender Index. “Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Burkina Faso.” http://gender index.org/country/burkina-faso (accessed May 2009). Thiombiano, Bilampoa Gnoumou and Bruno D. Schoumaker. “Factors of Marital Disruption in Burkina Faso.” Population Association of America (2008). http://paa2008.princeton.edu (accessed May 2009). United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks. “Burkina Faso: Female Genital Mutilation Declining, Says Minister.” (May 26, 2003). http://www .aegis.com/news/IRIN/2003/IR030528.html (accessed May 2009). Women Deliver. “Burkina Faso’s First Lady Calls on Artists to Save Lives.” (March 2, 2009). http://www .womendeliver.org/news/09_burkina.htm2 (accessed May 2009). John H. Barnhill Independent Scholar
Burundi Burundi, in central Africa, has a population of 8.4 million (2007), of which 93 percent live in rural areas. It has a birth rate of 42.2 per 1,000, and an
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infant mortality rate of 63.1 per 1,000 live births. The nation’s fertility rate is 6.4 births per woman (2008), which is the seventh highest in the world. The maternal mortality rate at 1 per 100 births is also one of the highest in the world. The ������������������ employment-topopulation ratio for women age 15 and over was 83.5 in 2005. The law provides for 12 weeks of maternity leave paid at 50 percent of salary. As of 2007, abortion was legally available only to save the mother’s life or to preserve her mental or physical health. It is widely believed that there are high rates of death due to illegal abortions. Just over 15 percent of women age 15–49 use contraception, with 10 percent of those as modern methods. In traditional society, houses in Burundi were constructed around the lifestyles of the people. The anthropologist Anne Stanford was able to point out the symbolism in their design and their connections to the female reproductive process. During the period of German colonial rule (1899–1924) and then Belgian rule (1924–59), life in the villages in Burundi (as in neighboring Rwanda) did not change significantly, and the colonial powers spent little on developing civil infrastructure in the countryside. After independence in 1962, attempts were made to help improve the life of villagers, and the hospital services in Bujumbura, the capital, were enlarged and modernized. Midwifery services were also provided in many towns and villages. However, inter-tribal strife between the Hutu and Tutsi flared up regularly; 100,000 Hutus were killed after an abortive coup attempt in 1972, and another 20,000 Hutus were killed in 1988. Attempts to Improve Maternal Health In spite of the regular internecine warfare, serious attempts have been made to improve the health of people in Burundi. There has been a slight decline in women’s life expectancy compared to 10 years ago (now 51.6 years, compared to 52) and a slight rise for men (48 years compared to 50.1). This small change does not seem significant until considering the factor of the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which has had a particularly devastating impact on young mothers and children. Recent evidence shows that fertility rates for the country have not declined, unlike in many other African countries; and as the tribal warfare has ended, the
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conditions for bringing up children in Burundi have gradually improved, although about half of the children in the country under the age of 5 were classed as being undernourished. ������������������������� Among the 41 tier III or least developed countries, Burundi was ranked 15th on the Mothers’ Index, 10th on the Women’s Index, and 23rd on the Children’s Index by the nonprofit organization Save the Children. See Also: Congo; Congo, Democratic Republic of the; Kenya; Rwanda; Uganda; War and Mothering. Bibliography Kirk, D. and B. Pillet. “Fertility Levels, Trends, and Differentials in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s and 1990s.” Studies in Family Planning, v.29/1 (March 1998). Krueger, Robert, Kathleen Tobin Krueger and Desmond Tutu. From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi: Our Embassy Years During Genocide. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2007. Lim, A. “Spotlight Burundi.” Population Today, v.24/9 (September 1996). Uvin, Peter. Life After Violence: A People’s Story of Burundi (African Arguments). London: Zed Books, 2009. Justin Corfield Geelong Grammar School, Australia
Bush, Barbara Barbara Pierce Bush was born in New York City, New York, on June 8, 1925, to Pauline Robinson Pierce and Marvin Pierce. Barbara was third of four children—one sister and two brothers. From 1940 until 1943, Barbara attended Ashley Hall, a boarding school in Charleston, South Carolina. At a 1941 dance, when she was 16 years old, she met George Herbert Walker Bush, her future husband. In 1943, Barbara graduated from Ashley Hall and entered Smith College. At Smith, she made the freshman soccer team and served as captain. She worked during the summers, first at a Lord & Taylor department store, then at a nuts and bolts factory. One and a half years after their
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Nicknamed “The Silver Fox,” Barbara Bush used her wit to trip up critics, particularly those of her husband or children.
meeting, Barbara Pierce and George Bush became engaged, just before he left to serve in the Navy during World War II. When he returned on leave, Barbara dropped out of college and on January 6, 1945, they married. After the war, George graduated from Yale University and the couple moved to Texas. Barbara gave birth to six children: George Walker Bush (July 6, 1946), Pauline Robinson “Robin” Bush (December 20, 1949), John Ellis “Jeb” Bush (February 11, 1953), Neil Mallon Bush (January 22, 1955), Marvin Pierce Bush (December 22, 1956), and Dorothy “Doro” Bush Koch (August 18, 1959). While Barbara was a stay-at-home mother, George built a business in the oil industry and then turned to politics. Before becoming the 41st U.S. President, George Bush traveled often for business. This left Barbara with the traditional responsibilities of motherhood and housekeeping, as well as civic activities and volunteering. However, her role as mother would have later public impact. The death of the Bush’s daughter, Robin, from leukemia in 1953 led Barbara to
support numerous cancer research and treatment programs. In addition, her son Neil’s diagnosis as dyslexic began her lifelong interest in reading and literacy issues. In 1998, Barbara’s third eldest child, Jeb Bush, was elected governor of Florida. Then, after serving as the Governor of Texas, her eldest son George W. Bush was elected President of the United States in 2000 and 2004. Besides Abigail Adams, Barbara Bush is the only other woman to be both the wife and mother of a U.S. President. Before the election, Barbara actively campaigned for her son, addressing both the 2000 and 2004 Republican National Conventions. She also traveled with the “W Stands for Women” fundraising tour that focused on the women’s vote for George W. After his election, Barbara frequently defended her son’s record as chief executive. In interviews, Barbara Bush has attributed her popularity to her matronly figure and white hair, making her appear like “everybody’s grandmother.” Today, she continues her service at the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, as AmeriCares ambassador-at-large, as a Mayo Clinic Foundation board member, and as a supporter of many organizations that include the Leukemia Society of America and the Boys & Girls Club of America. She has also authored four books. Barbara Bush lives with her husband in Houston, Texas, and at their estate in Kennebunkport, Maine. See Also: Adams, Abigail (Smith); Lincoln, Abraham, Mother of; Politics and Mothers. Bibliography Bush, Barbara, Barbara Bush: A Memoir. New York: Scribner’s Sons, 1994. Bush, Barbara. Reflections: Life After the White House. New York: Scribner’s Sons, 2003. Gould Lewis L., ed. American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy. New York: Routledge, 2001. Gutin, Myra G. Barbara Bush: Presidential Matriarch. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2008. Kilian, Pamela. Barbara Bush: Matriarch of a Dynasty. New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press, 2002. Jessica Thern Smith University of Tennessee
C California California is the most populous U.S. state, with an estimated population of 38,049,462 as of January 1, 2008. In 2006, 50 percent of the state’s population was female. With regard to racial-ethnic background, 59.8 percent of state residents are white, 6.2 percent are African American, 12.3 percent are Asian American, and 35.9 percent are of Latino descent. In California, the average family size is 3.54. Over 68 percent of households are family households, and 51 percent of those families have children under the age of 18. Of the family households, an overwhelming majority (73 percent) are married-couple families, 19 percent are headed by single mothers, and 8 percent are headed by a single father. In 2006, there were 548,882 births in the state. Of those births, 29 percent were to non-Hispanic white mothers, 6 percent were to African American mothers, 12 percent were to Asian or Pacific Islander mothers, and 52 percent were to Latina mothers. That same year, the birth rate—the number of births per every 1,000 person in the state— was 15. The teen birth rate (ages 15–19) was 39. This rate has declined 47 percent between 1991 and 2005, which exceeded the decline for the national teen birth rate, which was 33 percent.
In 2005, 86 percent of California mothers began their prenatal care in the first trimester of their pregnancy, which is greater than the percentage of U.S. mothers (78 percent). Of these mothers, 89 percent of white women, 82 percent of African American women, and 84 percent of Latina mothers began their prenatal care in the first trimester of their pregnancies. In 2006, California spent $124 on family planning for every woman in need, which was less than only two other states (Alabama and South Carolina). State programs, such as Family Planning, Access, Care and Treatment (PACT), offer teens and low-income couples easy access to free or affordable birth control. While pregnancies among teens have declined, that rate has increased among poor women in California. Overall, many laud this program for its success and the money it saves state and federal taxpayers from paying for unwanted pregnancies (more than $1.4 billion). However, many are concerned about the future of the PACT program because of the number of undocumented immigrant women who use these services. In September 2008, the Bush administration mandated that California change its system of determining the number of undocumented immigrants in its program, or risk losing its federal funding. 153
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California’s Pacific coast is a draw for many families, the vast majority (73 percent) of whom are married-couple families.
An estimated 80.8 percent of California residents aged 25 and older and 80.4 percent of women residents aged 25 and older hold at least a high school diploma or equivalent in 2006. Such percentages are lower than those for the U.S. population, as 85.4 percent of all residents and 85.9 percent of women residents have at least a high school diploma that same year. Moreover, 29.8 percent of California residents aged 25 and older and 28.8 percent of women residents aged 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree. These percentages are greater than those for the U.S. population, which are 28 percent for all residents and 26.9 percent for women residents. The median income from families in California is $64,563, which is greater than the U.S. median family income ($58,526). However, 9.7 percent of California families lived below the poverty line in 2006. For married-couple families, 5.8 percent lived below the poverty line, and 8.3 percent of married couple families lived with children under the age of 18. Among single mothers, 24.0 percent lived below the poverty line, 31.7 percent of single mothers lived with children under the age of 18, and 35.2 percent lived with children under the age of 5.
Liberal Cultural Norms in California Given California’s colorful history of Spanish missionaries and the Gold Rush, in addition to its hightech and entertainment wealth and the beauty of the Pacific coastlines, people often consider Californians to be among the most liberal and progressive in the United States. One way to gauge cultural norms in California is to consider state legislation. For instance, in 1970, California passed the country’s second no-fault divorce laws, which hold that neither party in a marriage has to admit fault for that relationship’s dissolution. California has among the most progressive laws regarding breastfeeding: It is one of 40 states that allows women to breastfeed in any public or private location; one of 21 states that has laws related to breastfeeding in the workplace; and one of five states that has implemented a breastfeeding awareness education campaign. Various parenting magazines, parenting Websites, and health organizations offer listings of the places to raise children or the best places to have a baby. Fit Pregnancy magazine identifies San Francisco as the second-best U.S. city to have a baby because of the high rates of breastfeeding, as well as more fertility clinics and doctors relative to population than almost any other city. Best Life magazine features 23 California cities as among the 100 best places to raise a family. San Diego, Santa Rosa, Los Angeles, and Corona are listed in the top 20. California is the birthplace and/or home to numerous mothers. These mothers include entertainers, political activists, politicians, and authors: Isadora Duncan, dancer; Dorothea Lange, photojournalist; Nancy Reagan, actor and former U.S. First Lady; Shirley Temple Black, actor and U.S. Ambassador; Dolores Huerta, labor leader; Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, actor; Dianne Feinstein, Senator; Maxine Hong Kingston, writer; Alice Walker, author; Pat Benatar, singer and songwriter; Maria Shriver, journalist and First Lady of California; Ellen Ochoa, first Latina astronaut; Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic figure skater; Lisa Leslie, professional and Olympic basketball player; and Angelina Jolie, actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. See Also: African American Mothers; Birth Control; Breastfeeding; Divorce; Education and Mothering; Fathers and Fathering; Immigrant Mothers; Poverty and Mother-
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ing; Prenatal Health Care; Reagan, Nancy; Single Mothers; Teen Mothers; Walker, Alice; Welfare and Mothering. Bibliography Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. “California Could Lose Federal Funding for Family Planning Program Unless It Begins Verifying Immigration Status of Participants.” Medical News Today (October 7, 2008). http://www.medicalnews today.com/articles/124459.php (accessed May 2009). Best Life. “The 100 Best Places to Raise a Family.” (April 4, 2008). http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/ publish/family-fatherhood/The_100_Best_Places_to_ Raise_a_Family.shtml (accessed May 2009). California Department of Finance. “E-1 Population Estimates for Cities, Counties and the State With Annual Percent Change—January 1, 2007 and 2008.” (May 2008). http://www.dof.ca.gov/research/ demographic/reports/estimates/e-1_2006-07 (accessed May 2009). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics: VitalStats. http://www .cdc.gov/nchs/vitalstats.htm (accessed May 2009). The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. “California: Percentage of Mothers Beginning Prenatal Care in the First Trimester, 2006.” http://www.statehealth facts.org/profileind.jsp?rgn=15&cat=2&ind=44 (accessed May 2009). U.S. Census Bureau. “Educational Attainment in the United States: 2006.” http://www.census.gov/ population/www/socdemo/education/cps2006.html (accessed May 2009). Florence Maätita Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
Cambodia The history of Cambodia since the 1970s has been marred by unrest, including bombings and invasions by the United States during the Vietnam War, extremely high civilian deaths during the Pol Pot regime, 10 years of Vietnamese occupation, and regular outbreaks of civil war. This meant many years of little or no economic development, and much of the population still lives in poverty. However, since
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2004 the economy has grown about 10 percent per year, and the per-capita Gross Domestic Product in 2008 is estimated at $2,000, up from $1,800 in 2006. However, inflation is also high: consumer price inflation was estimated at 20.2 percent in 2008. Population is estimated at about 14.5 million, with 36.6 percent under the age of 14 (an extremely high percentage, typical of a nonindustrialized country) and 3.6 percent over the age of 65. The population growth rate is about 1.8 percent, with a birth rate of 25.68 per 1,000 population and a total fertility rate (an estimate of the number of children which each woman has) of 4.7. Life expectancy is low for both men and women, about 60 and 64 years, respectively: one reason is a high rate of infectious diseases including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), food and waterborne diseases, and insect-borne diseases. The population is predominantly Buddhist (95 percent) and literacy is substantially higher for males (84.7 percent) than for women (64.1 percent). Per capita health care expenditures were estimated to be $32, of which most (85 percent) was private rather than governmental. About 12 percent of Cambodia’s Gross Domestic Product is spent on health care, and about 5 percent of the financing for health care comes from external sources. Standards of maternal and infant health care are much lower than in most countries of the world: for instance, less than 70 percent of children receive timely immunizations against measles, diphtheria, and tetanus, and tetanus immunization rates for expectant mothers are below 50 percent. Only 32 percent of births are attended by skilled health personnel and only 10 percent take place in health facilities; 44 percent of women receive at least one prenatal care visit, and 9 percent receive four or more. The maternal mortality ratios is 450 per 100,000 live births, the stillbirth rate is 37 per 1,000, and the neonatal mortality rate in 40 per 1,000. Only 19 percent of women use modern methods of contraception, and although abortion has been legal in Cambodia since 1997, due to many barriers to providers a substantial number of women either seek to terminate their own pregnancies or seek the procedure from unsafe service providers. A randomized study in 2008 found that in 2005,
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over 30,000 Cambodian women were treated in health care facilities for complications of miscarriage or abortion, and 40 percent of these disclosed or showed strong evidence of prior termination attempts as well. The researchers projected a ratio of abortion/miscarriage complications to live births in Cambodia as 93 per 1,000. See Also: Abortion; Buddhism and Mothering; Child Poverty; Laos; Malaysia; Poverty and Mothers; Thailand; War and Mothers. Bibliography Chaterjee, P. “Cambodia Tackles High Maternal Mortality.” Lancet, v.366 (July 2005). Fetters, T., S. Vonthanak, C. Picardo, and T. Rathavy. “Abortion-Related Complications in Cambodia.” BJOG: A Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, v.115/8 (2008). World Health Association. “World Health Statistics 2008.” www.who.int (accessed July 2009). Sarah E. Boslaugh Washington University School of Medicine
Cameroon The Republic of Cameroon is a diverse West African country with customs that promote high fertility. Women in the formal sector receive maternity benefits. Tribal norms and religion influence gender roles and rituals. Contraceptive use is low; some prenatal care is common. Women’s educational attainment is lower than men’s, but women have been active in Cameroon’s independence and pro-democracy movements. Cameroonian mothers have an average of 4.41 children. Government pronatalist policies shifted in the late 1980s to raise awareness of problems of limited resources and a high birth rate. Cameroon’s labor legislation protects pregnant women’s right to work and paid maternity leave of 14 weeks. Only a small percentage of women, those employed in the formal sector, are eligible. The Civil Code recognizes fault-based divorce, and divorced parents have a say in child rearing and education. Young children typically remain with the
mother, older children with the father. Less than 25 percent of families are female headed. Cameroon was created by the unification of British and French colonies. Five regional cultural groups represent about 250 ethnic groups. Indigenous religions are pervasive. Marriages are monogamous or polygamous. The social imperative for motherhood is strong, with gender roles and rituals prescribed by tribal norms. Women are responsible for housework, childcare, and family duties. Islamic populations in the north practice circumcision rites, fertility rituals, and fertility masquerades. Traditional medical practices focus on reproduction. In some regions, Christians reject local rituals and rites. Contraception, Health Care, and Education The sale of contraceptives is legal; almost all public health facilities offer reproductive health services. Contraceptive prevalence for all methods is less than 20 percent, 4.2 percent for modern methods. Cost and access to clinics are deterrents to use, but are free for indigent persons. Abortion is illegal except to protect the mother’s health or for pregnancies from rape. Public centers provide services to pregnant women. More than three-quarters receive some prenatal care; 62 percent of births are attended by skilled personnel. The maternal mortality rate is very high. Midwifery has almost disappeared and traditional healers are rarely consulted about reproductive health matters except infertility. Cameroon has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa; primary education is compulsory. Girls’ share in secondary enrollment is 44 percent. Women actively participated in the struggle for independence, strikes, and pro-democracy demonstrations, and remain active in grassroots and nongovernmental organizations. In 1995, the government initiated a national plan and legal reforms for the advancement of women, including the right of pregnant girls to remain in school. Ma Rose Fru Ndi was a mother and political activist who worked for women’s empowerment and crusaded for peace, justice, and development. See Also: Birth Control; Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Nigeria; Postcolonialism and Mothering; Poverty and Mothering.
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Bibliography Adams, Melinda. “Cameroon.” In The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Women’s Issues Worldwide, Lynn Walter, ed. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. Center for Reproductive Rights. “Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives—Cameroon.” (2003). http://www.reproductive rights.org/pdf/benin.pdf (accessed May 2009). Weigner, Susan and John Akuri. “Cameroonian Women’s Perceptions of Their Health Care Needs.” Nordic Journal of African Studies, v.16/1 (2007). Keri L. Heitner University of Phoenix
Canada According to quality-of-life indices, Canadians enjoy safe neighborhoods, universal access to health care, high education rates, and job opportunities. The United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), which examines the health, education, and economic wealth of 179 countries, ranked Canada third in 2008. Canada is characterized by great levels of diversity in terms of ethnicity, language, and culture, but also in terms of economic opportunity. Quality-of-life indicators have therefore come under scrutiny in regards to how they pertain to certain segments of the Canadian population. Single mothers in particular are prone to disparities in quality of life and face obstacles related to housing, education, personal health, working conditions, and finances. First Nations mothers likewise face adversity related to several issues, including access to health care, poverty, food insecurity, domestic violence, adequate housing, and high rates of teen motherhood. Single Mothers Single mothers in Canada face a variety of stressors related to securing gainful employment, managing childcare arrangements, and maintaining a reliable support network. Unemployed lone mothers are twice as likely to report a high level of distress compared with other groups; regardless of employment
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status, single mothers are more likely to report both high personal and chronic stress. Single mothers may have difficulty accessing affordable housing, as Canada’s national rental vacancy rates totaled 2.2 percent as a national average in 2008. The lack of affordable housing has been attributed to the growing gap between the cost of home ownership and the affordability of renting. According to Statistics Canada, 38percent of lone-parent families headed by females had incomes below the poverty line, compared to 13 percent of lone-parent families headed by males. Health Care Quality and Access Canadian mothers are guaranteed access to health care, independent of income levels, through Canada’s public health care system. Health care policy comes under the jurisdiction of the provinces and territories, which may impose premiums based on earnings. According to a 2002 study, 26 percent of Canadians reported that access to health care had decreased in recent years, and lack of physician choice has been cited as a symptom of the system. Access to health care in rural areas can be problematic, particularly in remote northern communities, where evacuation for birth is common. Only 3 percent of obstetrician gynecologists practice in rural Canada, and physicians have cited both a lack of financial incentives and the lack of specialist backup as reasons for their reluctance to practice outside urban settings. Mothers in rural Canada deal with a host of issues related to health care, including separation from loved ones during hospitalization, arrangement of childcare to attend medical appointments, travel-related stress, and a weak patient/physician relationship due to high rates of provider turnover. Employment and Motherhood Fifty-six percent of women in Quebec were in the paid labor force in 2004; in 2006, 73 percent of all Canadian women with children under the age of 16 in the household were employed. Despite increased participation in the labor force, mothers continue to bear the majority of domestic duties, and housework remains unequally divided. In Canada’s competitive labor market, a working mother’s prioritization of family responsibilities, such as child rearing,
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may contribute to a perceived lack of commitment in the workplace. Overall, working mothers earn 2 percent less in hourly wages than do working women without children. Many mothers experience stress in balancing work and domestic duties, and technology has further blurred the lines between the workplace and home. Of the over 50 percent of Canadian women in the work force, 69 percent are mothers with at least one child under the age of 3. Some mothers choose to work fewer hours, or leave the work force for long periods of time in order to meet family commitments. In 2006, 15 percent of female part-time employees stated that they worked reduced hours in order to care for children. The universal health care system may be responsible for providing some Canadian mothers with the flexibility to be self-employed, and to work part time versus full time. Canadian mothers do not depend as heavily upon employer health care plans as would their American counterparts, and this may contribute to the fact that since 1989, Canadian women have consistently surpassed American women in the number of unincorporated businesses owned. According to a 2004 report by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), 78 percent of Canadian businesswomen felt that entrepreneurship provided flexibility in balancing work and family commitments. Maternity Leave and Childcare In 2000, parental leave in Canada was expanded from 10 to 35 weeks, which may be divided between the two parents. Women are also entitled to 15 weeks of paid maternity leave, at 55 percent of the employee’s earnings. In 2000, only 3 percent of fathers used parental benefits, while in 2005, 11 percent did. Residents of Quebec have been able to receive maternal, paternity, parental, and adoption benefits since January 1, 2006, through the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, which offers higher benefits but also requires workers to pay a higher tax to support it. One impetus for the increase in leave was to provide nursing mothers with the opportunity to meet on-demand breastfeeding targets as set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since the increase in maternity leave time, more mothers have continued to breastfeed exclusively for
the duration of the first six months of life, as recommended by Health Canada and the WHO. It is possible that maternity leave may eventually be further increased in order to meet WHO breastfeeding targets, which recommend that children be breastfed a minimum of two years. Federal and provincial programs provide some assistance in alleviating issues related to childcare and tax relief. All Canadian provinces and territories have childcare subsidy programs; however, qualifications for these programs vary widely. In 2003, 54 percent of Canadian children aged 6 months to 5 years of age were in some form of childcare. Childcare settings range from regulated centers and family childcare homes to unregulated, nonrelative care. Mothers who are employed, recently unemployed and seeking new employment, enrolled in job training, or enrolled in an educational program may apply for childcare subsidies, which are awarded according to income. With the exception of the province of Quebec, Canadian mothers navigate the social system to obtain childcare subsidies, and a wage increase may disqualify them from receiving assistance. Quebec residents, regardless of income, pay $7 (Canadian) per day for childcare. The Quebec program has resulted in an increase of working mothers; however, daycare spaces in large cities have also become scarce. The Canadian government has recently developed incentive programs for employer-created childcare spaces, which include provincial and territorial funding to support childcare systems. Canada’s federally funded Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) of $100 per month per child under 6 years of age is available to all families, regardless of their employment status. Canadian mothers may also be eligible to receive monthly child tax credits based on income. These payments vary according to provincial jurisdictions; however, in 2008, a two-child family earning less than $103,235 per year still qualified for a portion of the benefit. Birthrate and Divorce Rate Canada’s birthrate has been in decline since World War II, and continues to decrease. According to 2008 estimates, the birth rate stands at 10.29 births per 1,000 persons. Canada’s fertility rate was 1.59 live births per woman in 2006. This figure repre-
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sents a significant decrease from 1970, when the fertility rate was 2.3 live births per woman. As delaying motherhood translates to higher wages for working women, an increasing number of Canadian women are postponing childbirth in order to establish their careers. In 2005, the average age of women who gave birth for the first time was 29.3 years, an increase from 27.1 years in 1996. Contraception is widely available and practiced, and sterilization is also common among couples. Abortion is legal through all nine months of gestation and most abortions are publicly funded. The fertility rate for Aboriginal women is 2.6, a decline from the 1960s average for Aboriginals of 5.5. Life expectancy for Aboriginal women at birth in 2001 was 76.8 years, higher than for aboriginal men (70.9 years) but lower than for non-Aboriginal women (just over 82 years). About 40 percent of Aboriginal women have not completed high school, and the most common reason for leaving school is pregnancy or the need to care for a child. Canada’s divorce rate is difficult to estimate due to the prevalence of common-law unions in the country, but divorce rates in 2004 reported 12.5 per 1,000 legally married females. According to 2001 Statistics Canada data, 16 percent of Canadian couples cohabitate; however, common-law unions are not included in Canada’s divorce rate calculations. In 2002, the crude divorce rate was 2.2 per 1,000 people and the total number of divorces granted was 70,155.
able, with low drop-in rates and shared responsibilities for snacks, cleaning, and toy donations. Such collaborative, community-based activities are used in part as an antidote to Canada’s long and isolating winters. Historically, Canadian women have demonstrated resourcefulness and courage in spite of a precarious existence on a harsh landscape. Margaret Atwood, born in 1939, is one of Canada’s most popular contemporary writers. Her bestknown works include the novels The Handmaid’s Tale (winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award), Oryx and Crake, and Surfacing. She has one daughter, Eleanor Atwood Gibson. Laura Secord, a mother of seven children, is known as Canada’s heroine of the War of 1812. She completed a journey by foot through enemy lines to warn British Lieutenant Fitzgibbon of a planned American attack. Laura Secord remains a recognizable household name; a popular Canadian chocolate company was named after her in 1912. Harriet Nahanee (1935–2004), also a mother of seven children, was an activist for First Nations causes. She spoke out against the conditions in the residential schools, which she was forced to attend. She died of pneumonia at age 71 following incarceration for protesting the destruction of wetlands on Squamish lands.
Education and Religion Canada has the highest per capita postsecondary participation of any industrialized country. Education comes under the authority of the individual provinces and territories, and all major universities are publicly funded. Major religious affiliations include Roman Catholicism, the United Church, and the Anglican Church of Canada. While 59 percent of the Canadian population identify with one of these religions, church attendance is comparatively low.
Bibliography Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. “Women Entrepreneurs: Leading the Charge.” CIBC World Markets (2009). Geissler, Shawna, Lynn Loutzenhiser, Jocelyn Praud, and Lessa Streifler, eds. La Maternité au Canada: Voix Interdisciplinaires [Mothering in Canada: Interdisciplinary Voices]. Toronto: Demeter Press, 2010. Statistics Canada. Women in Canada: A Gender-Based Statistical Report. Ottawa: Minister of Industry, 2006. Sutherns, Rebecca and Ivy Lynn Bourgeault. “Accessing Maternity Care in Rural Canada: There’s More to the Story Than Distance to the Doctor.” Health Care for Women International, v.29/8 (2008).
Resourceful Canadian Mothers Canadian mothers organize many opportunities for interaction through mothering and play groups sponsored by local organizations and community centers. Many of these programs are highly afford-
See Also: Childcare; First Nations; Lone Mothers; Maternity Leave; Rural Mothers; Single Mothers.
Gabriella Reznowski Washington State University
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Cancer and Motherhood Every year, 700,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cancer. Excluding skin cancers, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women. In 2008, the American Cancer Society projected over 182,000 new cases. Although 80 percent of these cases were in women over age 50, nearly 33,000 diagnosed women were under the age of 45. Younger women with breast cancer face some issues that older women do not. In addition to frequently having more advanced cancers at diagnosis and higher mortality rates, these women potentially face infertility, early menopause, and implications for pregnancy after diagnosis. They are also likely to have dependent children and a greater responsibility for family care. Cancer Treatment and Fertility Several common cancer treatments affect women’s fertility, the ability to conceive and have children. Chemotherapy uses chemical agents to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells. Because the body has other cells that are constantly dividing (e.g., hair follicles, the gastrointestinal lining, and sperm and egg cells) these are also targets to chemotherapy drugs. Destroying these cells can cause side effects such as hair loss, diarrhea, premature menopause (when menstruation stops before the age of 40), and infertility (the diminished ability or the inability to conceive or have children). Chemotherapy-induced menopause occurs in 10–50 percent of women under age 40, and in 50–94 percent of women over age 40. Higher doses and longer duration of treatment cause the highest risk of infertility, and smaller doses result in infertility as age increases. Hormone treatment, also called hormone therapy, can result in premature menopause that is temporary or permanent. Hormone therapy involves the use of drugs to “turn off” or “slow down” the body’s production of the naturally occurring hormones, estrogen and progesterone, which have been found to promote the growth of some types of breast cancer. One of the most common drugs used in hormone therapy, Tamoxifen®, is often given along with chemotherapy and other breast cancer treatments to prevent estrogen from attaching to the cancer cells, thereby hindering their growth.
Because Tamoxifen inhibits the estrogen in the body that is needed for healthy menstruation, it increases a woman’s chances of entering premature menopause and becoming infertile. While radiation of the breast does not cause infertility, it does damage milk-producing glands, making breastfeeding difficult or nearly impossible. Depending on the type and extent of a woman’s cancer diagnosis, treatment may also involve radiating or removing the ovaries, which produce eggs and female hormones. The aim is to reduce the amount of estrogen in the body in order to slow tumor growth. Removal or radiation of the ovaries causes infertility. Pregnancy After Cancer Treatment Becoming pregnant following treatment for breast cancer poses health risks and ethical questions. First, a breast cancer diagnosis decreases a woman’s life expectancy. How much it decreases depends upon the type of breast cancer, the stage at diagnosis, and the success of treatment. Ethically, some women do not want to risk having children when they may not live to raise them; others want to have a child regardless. Second, if there are microscopic cancer cells remaining in the body after treatment, the hormones released during pregnancy can make them grow faster, increasing the risk of recurrence. Cancer centers report no significant difference in overall survival between women who have had pregnancies following breast cancer and women who have not. Children born to women who have been treated for breast cancer do not appear to suffer harmful consequences as a result of the mother’s treatment. If early menopause is likely to result from treatment, there are options for fertility preservation. Most common is the harvesting and freezing of eggs or embryos prior to treatment. Women take fertility drugs to allow the release and collection of mature eggs. If the eggs are fertilized with sperm, the resulting pregnancy rate is 20–25 percent after the embryo is implanted. Unfertilized eggs are more sensitive to the freezing process, resulting in a 2 percent pregnancy rate. These low pregnancy rates result in even lower birth rates, depending on a woman’s age, the number of embryos frozen and implanted, and other factors related to fertilization and the health of the reproductive system.
Cape Verde
There are important issues for women with cancer to bear in mind if considering fertility-preserving techniques. First, they are expensive, and the majority of patients do not have coverage through health insurance. Second, they delay cancer treatment, sometimes for up to a year, which may not be a viable option. Third, there are no clear data on how safe fertility drugs are in the long term, or how they interact with breast cancer. If the risks of using fertility-preserving techniques outweigh the benefits, diagnosed women who want children may consider adoption or surrogacy. Mothers Aren’t Supposed to Get Sick The cultural image of the appropriate mother is one of an unselfish nurturer who provides family care. Despite changes in attitudes and women’s workforce participation in recent years, women still perform the bulk of domestic work, are the childcare experts, and serve as caregivers and emotional managers for their families. When a mother gets sick, family roles and household routines usually need to change. Ideas about women’s proper roles as family caregivers can influence a mother’s capacity to get the support she needs to deal with cancer, treatment, and aftercare as well as to maintain her family and household routines. Since mothers are often teachers of children, they must consider whether, what, and how to talk their children about cancer, and to think about what their children can reasonably understand. Demystifying what cancer is, explaining treatment, reassuring children that they will not be abandoned, and making promises one can keep are all ways to reduce children’s anxiety. For mothers with teenage daughters, breast cancer can be difficult to discuss in part because their daughter’s breasts are developing when their mother’s breasts are the source of problems. Daughters may also be expected to fulfill their mother’s traditional family role, causing resentment or guilt. Quality communication is critical for minimizing the negative effects of cancer, increasing mothers’ access to social support, and sustaining the family system. See Also: Artificial Insemination; Care Giving; Ethics of Care; Ethics, Maternal; Feminist Theory and Mothering; Guilt; Myths of Motherhood: Good/Bad; Reproduction;
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Surrogate Motherhood; Technology and Motherhood; Young Mothers. Bibliography Coleman, P. How to Say It to Your Kids: The Right Words to Solve Problems, Soothe Feelings and Teach Values. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000. Coyne, E. and S. Borbasi. “Holding It All Together: Breast Cancer and Its Impact on Life for Younger Women.” Contemporary Nurse, v.23/2 (2006). Love, S. Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2005. Park, M., et al. “Preservation of Fertility and the Impact of Subsequent Pregnancy in Patients With Premenopausal Breast Cancer.” Seminars in Oncology, v.33/6 (2006). Sulik, G. “The Balancing Act: Care Work for the Self and Coping With Breast Cancer.” Gender & Society, v.21/6 (2007). Vachani, C. “Female Fertility and Cancer Treatment.” (October 6, 2006). Oncolink Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. http://www .oncolink.com/coping/article.cfm?c=4&s=42&ss=90 &id=990&p=3# (accessed August 2009). Gayle A. Sulik Texas Woman’s University
Cape Verde Cape Verde became independent upon the unilateral declaration of independence for Guinea-Bissau on September 24, 1973, by the African Party for the Independence and Union of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) on July 5, 1975. In terms of human development, Cape Verde—classified “medium development” on the Human Development Index (HDI) 2007 Report—towers above its fellow west African countries such as Nigeria, which has comparatively massive natural resources. Cape Verde has relatively functional laws and policies that protect the interests of women when compared with other countries in Africa. The female literacy rate is quite encouraging; infant and maternal mortality have remained one of the lowest on the continent. Accessibility to health care has been quite encouraging, and hunger
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seems a rare phenomenon in the country of below half a million inhabitants (426,998 according to the 2008 headcount). Although the human condition in Cape Verde has historically been unenviable, especially during Portuguese colonialism (when an estimated 55,000 citizens died of large-scale hunger and health-related problems between 1940–48), contemporary Cape Verde has been able to achieve remarkable progress in enhancing the standard of living of the entire citizenry, mothers included. Various birth control measures are indeed very potent in the country. Female reproductive education has not only been popular, but quite functional in both rural and urban areas. Accessibility to formal education across gender categories is among the highest in Africa, and compulsory for ages 6–14. This has enhanced mothers’ capacity in taking up cogent, socioeconomic opportunities. Also, the state does make compelling incentives available in the form of social services to mothers and children. The sprawling incidences of early marriage and common childhood diseases prevalent among other larger, West African countries are quite rare in Cape Verde, with comparatively limited natural resources. The rate of divorce on the island is quite lower when juxtaposed with the rest of the continent. Even when it occurs, divorce laws are designed to distribute the responsibilities of childrens’ upbringing between mothers and fathers. Roman Catholicism is the most prominent religion in the country, which tends to influence the mode of relation within the family setting. That is, women are still expected to be submissive to their husbands; however, the nature of the societal structure is not designed to allow the men to hide under such submissiveness to manipulate women. Among such mothers were Simoa Borges, the adopted mother of Juvenal Cabral (father of the founder of the PAIGC, Amilar Cabral, and the country’s first president, Luis Cabral); and Iva Cabral. See Also: Burundi; Congo; Globalization and Mothering; Guinea–Bissau; Ivory Coast. Bibliography Adeniran, Adebusuyi. Cabral, Amilcar (September 12, 1924–January 20, 1973). New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
Fobanjong, J., and Thomas Ranuga. The Life, Thought and Legacy of Cape Verde’s Freedom Fighter Amilcar Cabral (1924–1973): Essays on His Liberation Philosophy. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2006. Human Development Reports. “2007/2008 Human Development Report: Cape Verde.” (2008). hdrstats .undp.org (accessed May 2009). Leite, Ana Mafalda. Portuguese Literary & Cultural Studies 8: Cape Verde. North Dartmouth, MA: Center for Portuguese Studies & Culture, 2002. Adebusuyi Isaac Adeniran Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
Capitalism and Motherhood For both women and men, parenthood is a gendered experience. However, for women, the tasks of mothering, such as taking care of children and domestic responsibilities, are argued to provide women the opportunity to express biologically based behavior. Yet, scholars maintain that motherhood is like other social institutions and social statuses, and that family structure is flexible enough to respond to changes in the economy and politics. Researchers and activists contend that while different models of family life are sustainable and beneficial for all members, motherhood remains as an ideologically significant role for women in society. Capitalism serves as the framework to understand the intersectional relationship of motherhood in different contexts and on multiple levels. Motherhood is simultaneously a cultural icon, an individual experience, and a social institution. As capitalism developed, it altered family life; for example, many of the roles and responsibilities of parenting are now commodities available for purchase. Depending on other statuses such as class and race, women may experience motherhood differently. Historical Connections Scholars also note it is important to examine the influence of capitalism on motherhood at various historical moments to track how motherhood is defined and experienced at different points in time. Capitalism has supported the nuclear family model.
As industrialization indelibly altered market relationships, family life also changed in response to social, cultural, political, and economic trends. The growth of capitalism helped to fuel the creation of separate spheres of work and family life. As the gap between work life and family life grew, so did the distinct roles for mothers and fathers. The oftrepeated phrase, that family serves as a “haven in a heartless world,” epitomized the belief that family life was disconnected from other social institutions such as politics and the economy. In the separate-spheres model of family life, motherhood is a master status that defines women’s lives in terms of their relationships with others. Feminist scholars note the idea of two distinct, separate spheres of home life and the labor market is a myth, as the two arenas have always intersected; the ideology of these separate spheres continues to have a powerful symbolic place in contemporary society. Motherhood is influenced by market forces, as it is increasingly seen as a service provided for someone else. Although parenting of one’s own biological children does not count as participation in the paid labor force, some activists and scholars argue that women should be paid for performing the tasks associated with motherhood. Barbara Katz Rothman contends that family life is best understood using the capitalist ideology of worker, resources, and power, particularly when analyzing the responsibilities that mothers are expected to fulfill. The emotional and physical labor of mothers’ work, including the use of their bodies for reproduction, is necessary for society. However, the act of mothering has been cast as an emotional and biological imperative; therefore, women are expected to participate in the institution of motherhood without economic compensation. Just as in the paid labor market, within families, not all work or the workers themselves are considered of equal value or are compensated for their contributions. Class, Ethnic, and Racial Differences Researchers argue that from the 18th century through the 1960s, the nuclear family was largely unchallenged until the second wave of the feminist movement. Although the social norms and expectations for mothers remained largely unchanged during this time, there were vast differences in how
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various groups of women were able to practice mothering or define motherhood for themselves. For example, in the antebellum United States, black women who were enslaved were considered the property of their owners. If a slave owner was in debt, an enslaved mother could be sold without consideration of the consequences on her own family. Black women who were enslaved could also become mothers against their will, as this meant an increase of property for the slave owner. In this instance, enslaved women who were mothers provided additional property for their owners as the children born into slavery shared the designated status of slaves like their mothers. Enslaved women were also often responsible for the wellbeing of their owner’s children, at the expense of spending time parenting their own. Motherhood for enslaved women was tenuous, yet for slave owners it was a desirable institution, as it provided them with new property. Moreover, scholars note that while the nuclear family model and ideology of separate spheres strengthened during the antebellum period, motherhood was experienced differently whether a woman was enslaved or free, or from a poor, working family or a wealthy, merchant or land-owning family. The condition of being a mother and a slave highlights the contradictory status of motherhood. For enslaved mothers, the notion of separate spheres never existed as their labor; however, it was an important factor in the growth of capitalism in the United States and other countries, such as England and France, that profited from the transatlantic slave trade. In the post–Civil War United States, upper-class and middle-class families sought domestics to care for their children. Social class differentiated women’s experiences as they participated in a new market of the commodification of services once considered a natural part of women’s roles as mothers. Although the ideology of the nuclear family model and separate spheres was entrenched in popular culture and political debates about family life, the burgeoning market for domestic servants in the late 19th and 20th century challenged the belief that motherhood and capitalism operated independent of each other. Due to their position within the intersection of race, gender, and class in the United States and the
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institutionalization of gendered racism, African American women had very few careers choices prior to the Civil Rights Movement. Although historically black colleges and universities often accepted both male and female students, African American women were regulated into a limited number of professions. As a result, a domestic was a commonly held job. In their postions, African American domestics were expected to perform many of the duties associated with motherhood. Domestic labor was common in European nations transitioning from rural and agrarian to urban and industrial economies, such as France and England in the 19th century. Rural families apprenticed their children as domestic help in cities. It was not uncommon to have children working as domestics doing work once considered appropriate for adults. Domestic service was also a popular option, among limited employment opportunities, for European immigrant women in the early 19th century in the United States. New immigrants did not disdain doing domestic labor as much their nativeborn counterparts. Instead, research demonstrates that in European countries and the United States, domestic work was often viewed as a temporary status for women as they transitioned from being single without children, to married with children. Domestic labor was viable employment that provided multiple benefits beyond money, such as the instruction of middle-class values and behavior and honing domestic skills prior to marriage. Having the ability to afford hired help to assist with domestic responsibilities was, and continues to be, a sign of affluence for middle-class and elite families. Feminist Critiques During the second wave of the women’s movement, activists and scholars emphasized the contradictions of mothering. Motherhood was challenged as the ultimate expression of femininity, as well as a “natural” role for women to hold. Some scholars and activists argued that if women’s labor in the act of mothering was critical to a family’s well-being, then they should be rewarded appropriately in a capitalist society with pay. Activists and scholars highlighted that motherhood, while not technically considered a profession, is one of the few jobs anyone is expected to enter without a labor contract
that demands a large amount of physical, emotional, and psychological energy to perform. The debate over wages for housework and mothering continues today. It speaks directly to the contradictions and tensions inherent in motherhood. Researchers also noted the tenuous situation a woman is in if she works only at home without pay or does not have another independent source of income. She must rely on her partner to provide food, clothing, shelter, and health care for her and her children. The movement to pay women for housework and mothering, while not successful, has helped to demonstrate that motherhood is not simply a natural phenomenon; it requires physical, emotional, and psychological labor. Instead, motherhood is argued to be a socially constructed phenomenon that benefits some groups at the expense of others in a capitalist society. The Commodification of Motherhood Arlie Hochschild is among the most vocal scholars citing that contemporary forms of motherhood are intimately connected to capitalism. She posits that the family offers a new market niche for specialized services that were once considered only part of the unpaid elements of family life. In this process, motherhood and capitalism meet in a newly emerging “commodity frontier.” For example, birthday planning was once considered a responsibility of mothers; however, in the commodity frontier, party planning is a new, emerging capitalist endeavor. For mothers with resources to purchase services, the commodity frontier provides multiple opportunities to highlight their affluence by consuming goods and services others provide to maintain their family’s activities. Scholars note that as capitalism and family life become increasing intertwined, motherhood takes on an even greater ideological and symbolic importance. Idealized notions of motherhood with an emphasis on caring, nurturance, and self-sacrifice are increasingly seen as necessary to provide a sense of stability, as other social institutions such as the economy become increasingly unstable. Families with sufficient resources are able to purchase elements of mothering that was once unpaid labor, providing an environment of comfort, safety, and security for their members.
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class relations have remained consistent so that motherhood, as an identity for elite and middleclass women, continues to provide a different set of opportunities and challenges than for women with fewer resources. See Also: African American Mothers; Domestic Labor; Employment and Motherhood; Mothering as Work; Slavery and Mothering.
Mothers are not economically compensated for their domestic labor, even though their work is vital in a capitalistic society.
Gender scholars argue that capitalism competes with family life, particularly motherhood, yet also complements the ideal family experience from services such as personal organizers, chefs, and party planners. As in the past, women from marginalized and disadvantaged groups, including racial and ethnic minorities, the working class, and poor, offer their domestic labor to families in the new commodity frontier. The previous centuries’ labor patterns of domestic care and childcare remains within industrialized countries, although the labor base performing domestic duties varies more so than in the past. New waves of immigrants have replaced African American domestics in the American south, or Irish in the northeast. Social
Bibliography Coltrane, Scott. “Household Labor and the Routine Production of Gender.” Social Problems, v.36/5 (December 1989). Coontz, Stephanie. The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms With America’s Changing Families. New York: Basic Books, 1998. Crittenden, Ann. The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World Is Still the Least Valued. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2002. Ehrenreich, Barbara and Arlie Russell Hochschild. Global Woman: Nannies, Maids and Sex Workers in the New Economy. New York: Owl Books, 2002. Hays, Sharon. The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood. New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1996. Hochschild, Arlie Russell. “The Commodity Frontier.” In Self, Social Structure and Beliefs: Essays in Sociology, Jeffery Alexander, Gary Marx, and Christine Williams, eds. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. Rothman, Barbara Katz. Recreating Motherhood. Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2000. Steinberg, Stephen. The Ethnic Myth: Race, Ethnicity and Class in America. Boston: Beacon Press, 2001. Marcia Hernandez University of the Pacific
Caplan, Paula J. Paula Joan Caplan, clinical psychologist, researcher, lecturer, playwright, and actor, is known for her work on mother blaming. Her influential 1989 book, Don’t Blame Mother: Mending the Mother– Daughter Relationship was revised in 2000 and renamed The New Don’t Blame Mother: Mending
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the Mother–Daughter Relationship. In her writing, lectures, radio and television appearances, and keynote addresses, Caplan presents detailed data to substantiate the fact that within both the scholarly domains of psychological theory and the popular media, mothers are held primarily responsible for any difficulties their children manifest. Caplan has identified many of the pressures faced by mothers and categorized them into myths that perpetuate mother blaming. The unattainable standards of performance implicit in these myths and their profoundly harmful impacts give rise to personal as well as societal ills that further undermine the well-being of all. Ways to transcend these controlling, destructive myths and approaches to dealing with the injuries resulting from mother blaming are important elements of Caplan’s work. In addition to exposing the harm done by mother blaming, Caplan demonstrates her deep commitment to justice by articulating significant forms of bias against women found in the systems that mental health professionals use to diagnose psychiatric disorder, and the systems that the courts use to determine child custody. In numerous publications, Caplan critiques the lack of a scientific basis for many of the disorders found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the text used nearly universally to diagnose psychiatric abnormality. She focuses especially on those labels that pathologize women who experience distress as they negotiate the demanding expectations placed upon them by the cultural construction of womanhood. Within the court system, Caplan regularly serves as an expert witness, often advocating for poor mothers in custody cases where their fitness to parent has been called into question by the application of problematic psychiatric labels, or as a consequence of other forms of institutionalized bias. These issues have mobilized Caplan to petition the U.S. Senate to address more effectively the rights of children and mothers in custody cases, especially those involving child sexual abuse. Caplan’s active life as a psychologist is creatively blended with her work in the theater as actor, playwright, and director. Her desire to artistically express some of the issues central to her work as a psychologist are reflected in several of her powerful
plays, including Call Me Crazy and What Mommy Told Me, which have been successfully performed in a variety of venues. Throughout her extensive career, Caplan has served in many professional capacities, such as professor of applied psychology and director of the Centre for Women’s Studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and as a Fellow at Harvard University’s DuBois Institute. She is credited with teaching some of the first courses on mothering at the university level. Caplan is the recipient of many prestigious awards, such as the Distinguished Career Award conferred by the Association for Women in Psychology, and the Woman of the Year Award granted by the Canadian Association for Women in Science. See Also: “Bad” Mothers; Child Custody and the Law; Mother Blame; Myths of Motherhood: Good/Bad; Public Policy and Mothers. Bibliography American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association, 2000. Caplan, Paula J. Call Me Crazy. Play. Self-Published, 1996. Caplan, Paula J. Don’t Blame Mother: Mending the Mother–Daughter Relationship. New York: Harper and Row, 1989. Caplan, Paula J. The New Don’t Blame Mother: Mending the Mother–Daughter Relationship. New York: Routledge, 2000. Caplan, Paula J. What Mommy Told Me. Play. SelfPublished, 2008. Regina M. Edmonds Assumption College
Care Giving Care giving is predominately used to describe the caretaking of someone who is chronically ill or disabled and is no longer able to care for him- or herself. Since this definition assumes that an individual was able at some point take care of him- or herself,
it does not represent care of infants and young children. It does, however, include care giving for children with disabilities. The tasks associated in care giving of an infant, older child, adolescent, adult, or elderly person are basically the same. According to the National Family Caregivers Association, care giving consists of many emotional, financial, nursing, social, and homemaking services on a regular basis, including caring for someone who cannot dress, feed, go to the bathroom, or think for themselves; learning how to work with others on behalf of the cared-for person; worrying about what’s wrong with this person, as well as wondering why no one ever asks how they are; and dreaming about being alone. Defining Care Giver Defining care giver has included the type, amount, volume, duration, and intensity of care provided; the place it is provided; and the relationship of care giver to care receiver. The National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) has conducted care giver surveys to define the link between all care givers, and they found in no uncertain terms that the common bond of care giving is its emotional impact. Additionally, care givers share the following characteristics: longing for the miracle of normalcy; frustration as a result of changing family dynamics; isolation from living outside the norm; disappointment over the lack of understanding of noncaregivers; stress over the increased and enormous responsibilities; and resourcefulness in problem-solving abilities. Approximately 30 percent of caregivers are men. National projected demographic trends suggest that increased longevity among men and women will increase the number of male and female caregivers across their life spans in the immediate future. As the 65 and over age group continues to grow toward an expected 79 million by 2050, future demands for informal care will greatly increase. Informal care is usually provided in a home environment, by family or friends, and for an unspecified amount of time. Spouses will become the likely care givers in many informal care situations. Men predominantly will become informal care providers as they tend to be married or remarried in greater numbers than women. Husbands play an important
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role in caring for their wives with chronic illness. The choice of women and couples to remain childless or to have children later in life makes the need for care-giving spouses a growing priority. Different Types of Care Giving The nature and type of care giving may differ among care givers. Primary care givers deal with the majority of care needs, while secondary care givers supplement care provided by others. Regardless, the requirements are taxing on care givers. Although most researchers studying care givers do not consider parenthood to qualify as care giving, exceptions are made for parents with children who have disabilities or debilitating illnesses. However, similar to the common bond discovered by NFCA among care givers, mothers, especially new mothers, often share common characteristics. These characteristics include feeling overwhelmed, unprepared, and unsure of their identity, which can result in exhaustion with a strong sense of loss and aloneness. Studies have shown that new mothers used the following words to describe their experiences: misery, low confidence, low self-esteem, fatigue, frustration and confusion, lack of satisfaction, disorientation, depression, and despair. Other studies have shown that mothers frequently experience high levels of ambivalence and guilt, which can lead to more serious manifestations of stress, leaving women feeling overloaded, overwhelmed, and exhausted. Additionally, women frequently report factors such as not enough time to relax, financial problems, home responsibilities, and problems at work among their major stressors, which can manifest into physical symptoms such as neck and shoulder pains, difficulty sleeping, headaches, aches and pains, and upset stomachs. Psychological symptoms include irritability, nervousness, and sadness, and regular crying spells. Care Giving at the Expense of Health Several factors influence self-care and health behavior, especially immediate competing demands, over which an individual has low control. Care giving and childcare can be competing demands vying for attention among women’s other responsibilities. Once a woman becomes a mother or initiates a caregiving relationship, she likely perceives her life to
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be less controllable, predictable, and leisurely. This time may coincide with the onset of self-neglect to manage her multiple demands. Studies have shown that predominately women protect their priority role as mothers even at the expense of their health. Women tend to perform the majority of care giving, regardless of whether the care is provided to children or a frail elderly friend or family member, and some women do both. These women are considered to be part of the sandwich generation. They find themselves in between caring for the young and the old. As a result, women eventually suffer from care giver’s burnout. A care giver’s burden encompasses daily adjustments, which prevent many care givers from attending to their own health needs. Feelings involved in care giving, which may include guilt, can impede an individual’s well-being and health-promoting behaviors; specifically, eating a balanced diet and obtaining medical care. Care givers typically lack time and opportunity for maintaining a healthy lifestyle with routine participation in health-promoting behaviors, such as exercise. Societal Expectations of Care Giving In today’s society, the pressures surrounding care giving are growing in pace with other demands placed on individuals, and mothers are disproportionately susceptible, given the nature of their work. The responsibilities involved in care giving are equivalent to a full-time job that is performed in combination with other full-time jobs, which is why many care-giving women eventually burn out. Similar to modern mothering, care giving is an allencompassing job, involving an unprecedented level of vigilance, knowledge, time, commitment, focus, concentration, productivity, and performance. For example, the mass media perpetuates images of elder abuse that dictate how vigilant and present women actually need to be as care givers to ensure the safety and satisfaction of their loved ones. Conquering all of the dangers is an insurmountable task, but yet women try. If nothing else, most women rise to the occasion and make a valid attempt to be the best, if not perfect, provider and caretaker. Societal expectations probably would not accept less. See Also: Adult Children; Carework; Childcare; Childlessness; Children; Ethics of Care; Family.
Bibliography Kramer, Betty J. and Edward H. Thompson. Men as Caregivers: Theory, Research, and Service Implications. New York: Springer, 2002. Koch, Tom. A Place in Time: Care Givers for Their Elderly. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Publishers, 1993. Mccullough, Dennis. My Mother, Your Mother: Embracing ‘Slow Medicine,’ the Compassionate Approach to Caring for Your Aging Loved Ones. New York: Harper, 2008. National Family Caregivers Association. The Resourceful Caregiver: Helping Family Caregivers Help Themselves. Philadelphia: Mosby-Year Book, 1996. Michele L. Vancour Southern Connecticut State University
Carework The term carework (specifically, here, maternal carework) refers to the physical and emotional labor invested by mothers in caring for and nurturing dependent children. In the labor market, carework refers to services delivered in a market-based economy, as opposed to care giving, which is generally provided without expectation of payment. The same type of work (e.g., caring for a child) may receive either label: the point is that carework recognizes that it is actual work, which costs the provider in terms of time and effort. The question of whether mothers should be primarily responsible for carework, especially during children’s infant years, has been a focus of feminist scholarship for over 100 years. Even today, motherhood and the issue of maternal carework remains a site of intense sociological and political debate. Motherhood and the Labor Market At the turn of the 20th century, the American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman railed against the bodily confinement of (by implication, middle-class) married mothers within the home. Gilman noted how women’s capacity for motherhood led to social assumptions that women were “naturally” suited to bear and nurture children. She contested embodying expectations about the gendered nature of “duty,”
which involved the provision of hands-on maternal carework, and which excluded mothers from the labor market. The mid-20th century brought signs of social change in relation to maternal carework. During World War II in Britain and America (1939–45), while men were away fighting, women entered the labor market. Mothers were encouraged to combine the child rearing with paid work. Childcare was provided by the government, and during the War, the notion of outsourcing maternal carework was constructed by officials as good for children and useful to the war effort. When the war ended, however, women were expected to withdraw from the labor market, allowing homecoming men to reclaim available jobs. Mothers found themselves firmly back within the home, with maternal carework and domestic labor at the forefront of maternal identity. Challenging Gendered Labor Norms During the 1950s, the influential sociologist Talcott Parsons portrayed a social norm whereby the division of labor within heterosexual households was gendered. Paternal identity was associated with paid employment and the external world, while maternal identity was seen internally within the family home. Women were expected to become mothers, to provide emotional and physical care for their children, and to undertake housework. Maternal carework and care of the home were thus seen to be almost indistinguishable, and were regarded as fundamental to the adult feminine role. In 1963, Betty Friedan’s seminal feminist text The Feminine Mystique questioned the social and embodying convention that a woman’s place was in the home. Friedan challenged social assumptions that mothers should take sole responsibility for maternal carework and housework. Friedan’s text led subsequent feminist writers to focus on the question of how far the bond between mother and child was biological (with mothers supposedly programmed to undertake maternal carework), and how far mothering could be seen as a socially constructed, institutionalized role. Controversial Assertions During the 1970s and 1980s, maternal carework was a central focus of feminist research. Sociologists of
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motherhood explored women’s work in relation both to birth, maternal carework, and paid employment. In 1970, the feminist scholar Shulamith Firestone argued that women should be freed from what she described as the “tyranny” of their biology. Firestone asserted that children should no longer be regarded as biological extensions of their mothers. She questioned the legitimacy of social assumptions that mothers should undertake the carework involved in nurturing and rearing children. Firestone suggested that maternal carework should be shared between groups of adults (not necessarily children’s biological parents) within nationally regulated household units. Under this regime, mothers would no longer be obligated to perform maternal carework for their own children, but would join the labor market as paid workers. Although Firestone’s ideas sparked intense debate, not all feminist scholars agreed with her views. Responding to Firestone’s vision, some writers on motherhood declared motherhood and maternal carework to be valuable female characteristics. These scholars rejected the idea that women should cease to bear and care for their own children. Feminist writers who sought to enhance women’s labor market opportunities, while concurrently celebrating women’s potential to bear children, often sympathized with the radical feminist movement. Two Advocates Two famous scholars who advocated both motherhood and maternal carework, at the same time as campaigning for women’s intellectual and occupational freedom, were America’s Adrienne Rich and Britain’s Ann Oakley. Adrienne Rich identified two theoretical meanings of the concept of motherhood, one biological and the other socially constructed. Rich acknowledged the importance, for some women, of motherhood. She recognized the value, to mothers and children, of maternal carework involving the emotional and physical nurturing of infants. Rich believed that a special bond existed between mothers and their children. At the same time, however, Rich challenged assumptions that maternal carework should be the sole focus and responsibility of mothers. Rich identified the “institution of motherhood” as a social construction within a patriarchal society.
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In this regard, Rich challenged two ideas. The first was the notion that supposedly maternal instincts would facilitate the natural performance of maternal carework. Rich positioned maternal carework as a form of labor that could be both demanding and lonely. Rich also challenged the conventional idea that, in order to be regarded as good mothers, women should prioritize maternal carework at the expense of personal ambition and social identity. Similarly, in Britain, the feminist scholar Ann Oakley set a high value on childbirth. Oakley recognized the satisfaction that some women obtained from motherhood and maternal carework. Like Rich, however, Oakley confronted the social assumption that mothers should perform maternal carework full time. Oakley suggested that mothers should be encouraged to combine maternal carework with paid employment, without attracting social disapproval. Oakley further observed how motherhood and childcare work were conflated with domestic labor. She noted how, within heterosexual relationships, maternal carework was often extended beyond the nurturing of infant children to include housework and husband work. Oakley further argued that maternal carework was undervalued, with mother’s contribution to society being regarded as less important than the contribution of breadwinner fathers. The Debate Continues In the 1970s and 1980s, debates on motherhood and maternal carework were considered in relation to women caring for their own children at home. The group of mothers under consideration were by implication mainly white and middle class. Sociologists of motherhood were subsequently exhorted to consider the position of the working class, and black and ethnic minority women, in relation to maternal care work. In the 21st century, therefore, the role of nannies, nursery workers, and childminders, who are employed to perform maternal carework on behalf of others, has also been acknowledged within feminist scholarship, for example by Barbara Ehrenreich, Arlie Hochschild, and Caroline Gatrell. These scholars note how, as more women enter the labor market, the number of jobs involving carework for other people’s children increases. In comparison with other jobs, childcare work is poorly paid. For impoverished migrant women, undertaking
paid work as a childcare provider in wealthier, EuroAmerican societies might even imply being separated from their own birth children. Some migrant women performing carework for the children of others may be employed without official residency, and/or they may be unqualified young adults. Women performing carework in such circumstances often work long hours for low pay and have little or no recourse to employment rights. See Also: Childcare; Maternal Practice; Maternal Power/Powerlessness; Mothering as Work; Mothering Versus Motherhood. Bibliography Ehrenreich, B. and A. Hochschild. Global Women, Nannies, Maids and Sex Workers in the New Economy. Chicago: Granta, 2003. Firestone, S. The Dialectic of Sex. New York: William Morrow, 1970. Friedan, B. The Feminine Mystique. New York: Penguin, 1963. Gatrell, C. Embodying Women’s Work. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press, 2008. Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering. Caregiving and Carework: Theory and Practice [special issue], v.10/1 (Spring/Summer 2008). Oakley, A. From Here to Maternity: Becoming a Mother. New York: Penguin, 1981. Caroline Gatrell Lancaster University
Caribbean Mothers European, African, U.S., Latin American, and indigenous cultures contribute to the diversity of Caribbean mothers. Cuba and the Dominican Republic and Caribbean community (CARICOM) nations of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago gained independence from British, French, or Spanish rule. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Aruba, Bonaire,
Curaçao, St. Martin, Martinique, and Guadeloupe are among the departments or territories of the United States, Britain, France, and the Netherlands. A majority of Caribbean women are the descendants of enslaved West Africans. The complexity of families is reflected in diverse forms—married, common-law, visiting unmarried couple, single-parent, and extended—that emerged in response to historical, economic, and social forces. Cultural Norms and Family Structure Once a Caribbean woman completes her education, social norms begin to exert pressure on her to become a mother. Many young women lack knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth due to limited access to accurate information about human sexuality, contraception, and family life. Women with lower access to family planning tend to be poorer, less educated, and/or live in more rural areas. The average age at birth is increasing. Between 1980 and the late 1990s, the proportion of births to women under age 20 declined sharply, births declined to women age 20–24, and births increased to women age 30 and over. Women have historically played an important role in the Caribbean economy, contributing to their motivation to achieve autonomy in their social and familial relationships. Across the Caribbean, the dominant cultural belief is that marriage does not have to precede motherhood. Caribbean women are the backbone of the family and often combine dual roles of primary parent and income earner. The maternal role carries more weight than marital status, and consensual unions are commonplace. Caribbean families reflect three stages of formation, beginning with the visiting union in which young women with children may live in their parental home, and blood relatives provide support. Up to three-quarters of Caribbean women under 25 have their first child prior to forming a residential union. The second stage is a commonlaw or nonmarital residential union. The third stage, representing most women in union from age 25 to 45, involves a gradual transition to legal marriage. After age 45, many women separate, divorce, or become widowed. In 1995, between 22–44 percent of CARICOM women were single heads of households. Many
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women choose single parenthood, as reflected in a trend among middle-class professional women. Caribbean women may prefer to avoid permanent or semipermanent unions for financial reasons, or may fear losing their independence, subordinating to a male partner, or risking custody of their children if the union dissolves. Migration patterns for employment, whether internal, between territories, or international (to the United States, Britain, Europe, and Latin America), have influenced formation of families that cross national boundaries. As a result of migration, families in the Anglophone Caribbean often incorporate cooperative, extended family arrangements that functioned in slave societies. Mothers who migrate for employment often hire another woman to provide childcare until the family is reunited. See Also: Migration and Mothers; Postcolonialism and Motherhood; Slavery and Mothering. Bibliography Caribbean Community Secretariat. Women and Men in the Caribbean. New York: United Nations, 2003. Korrol,Virginia Sanchez. “Women in 19th and 20th Century Latin America and the Caribbean: Independence and Women’s Status.” New York State Department of Education CI&IT. http://www.emsc.nysed .gov/ciai/socst/ghgonline/units/ 5/documents/Korrol .pdf (accessed December 2008). Stuart, Sheila. “Female-Headed Families: A Comparative Perspective of the Caribbean and the Developed World.” Gender & Development, v.4/2 (June 1996). Keri L. Heitner University of Phoenix
Celebrity Motherhood Celebrities are those who have achieved fame as film and television personalities, athletes, musicians, politicians, models, and the like, as well as those increasingly ubiquitous figures from the late 20th century on who are, in Daniel Boorstin’s terms, simply known for being famous. Celebrities who are also mothers or mothers-to-be have
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become, since the 1980s and more insistently in the new millennium, a cultural obsession. They are the mainstay of entertainment journalism—which includes print and electronic magazines, tabloid newspapers, TV news shows, and blogs—providing readers and audiences with weekly, daily, and even moment-by-moment updates about their lives. Celebrity-Driven Motherhood Images of celebrity mothers are used not only to drive and to sell media content and programming, but also to promote, by way of association, products, services, and lifestyles related to all facets of maternity including pregnancy, birth, adoption, and childrearing. The popular media is perhaps the most powerful tool for constructing and disseminating ideologies of mothering, which it does most pervasively through both its fawning and critical treatment of celebrity mothers. Celebrities, in turn, are complicit in and resistant of the relentless attention they have been attracting as mothers. Because celebrities have high cultural status, how they are represented as mothers in and by the media has far-reaching implications for how mothers in general are regarded within their respective societies. Celebrity mothers have become the gauge by which countless women measure and judge their own maternal identities, skills, and practices. Over the past decade, celebrity mothers (dubbed “celebumoms” in popular culture) like Christina Aguilera, Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Garner, Katie Holmes, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Demi Moore, Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, Britney Spears, and Michelle Williams have become as, if not more, famous for being mothers as for anything else. In addition, their children have become household names and been catapulted to star status in themselves, a point underscored by the 2007 Forbes.com launch of an annual list of “Hollywood’s Most Influential Infants”—based on print and electronic press coverage—who to date include, for example, Suri Cruise; Sean and Preston Federline; and Shiloh, Pax, and Zahara Jolie-Pitt. Celebrity Mothers, Children, and Media Celebrity mothers and children are tracked, scrutinized, and judged by entertainment news, which since the late 20th century, has dominated the field
of journalism and is disseminated in media such as: gossip magazines like People, Star, and US Weekly, along with their electronic counterparts (e.g., www. people.com); women’s magazines like Ladies’ Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and Redbook; tabloid newspapers such as the National Enquirer, and the Sun; TV news shows such as Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Extra, and Inside Edition, as well as cable networks like A&E, The Biography Channel, and E! Entertainment Television; and blogs posted and maintained by corporate, in-house bloggers such as AOL’s TMZ and Gawker Media’s Gawker and Defamer, in addition independent blogs such as Celebitchy, Jossip, and Perezhilton. Celebrity mothers have even inspired noncelebrity mothers to create a new genre: celebrity mother and baby blogs, as in Celebrity BabyBlog, Mamarazzi, and Babyrazzi. Celebrity Mothers’ Positive Influences Public fascination with maternal celebrities was both reflected in and exacerbated by the emergence of a new genre—the celebrity mom profile—featured in women’s and gossip magazines, in which stars speak candidly about the joys and blessings of motherhood. According to S. Douglas and M. Michaels, the profile came into prominence with the January 1981 issue of Good Housekeeping, which showcased singer and new mother Debby Boone. It was honed throughout the 1980s and 1990s by a media fixated on Diana, Princess of Wales. Through both studio and supposedly spontaneous photographs, Diana worked with the press to promote herself as a selfless, doting mother; her strategy not only won her the backing of the public during her bitter divorce, but also solidified her status as a maternal role model. Celebrity mothers became especially influential in the 1970s and 1980s, Douglas and Michaels theorize, in part because they already had careers at a time when other women were just starting to enter the workforce in unprecedented numbers. The highprofile status of celebrity mothers meant they were in a position to inspire women to achieve success and reach goals in the public domain in a variety of ways. Diana, for instance, earned international recognition for her work with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. Since then, singer Madonna has helped to build an orphanage in Malawi, and actors like Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kid-
man, and Reese Witherspoon have used their star power to bring attention to humanitarian issues and causes around the world in their respective capacities as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador, Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF Australia, and honorary chair of the Avon Foundation. Political mothers like Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sarah Palin drew attention to their roles as working mothers during the 2008 U.S. presidential election campaign, while the new First Lady, Michelle Obama, has deliberately chosen to define her public duties in terms of motherhood, telling the media that her main title is “Mom in Chief.” Moreover, celebrities send the liberating message that mothers do not have to forfeit their sexual identities, as Diana refused to do. When actor Demi Moore posed nude and seven months pregnant for the August 1991 cover of Vanity Fair, she shattered assumptions that the pregnant body is de-eroticized. From the late 20th century on, celebrities have been routinely categorized by the press as “hot mamas” or “hot Hollywood moms,” and, debunking traditional notions of the mother as angelic and pure, consistently testify that pregnancy and motherhood make them feel sexy. Celebrity Mothers’ Negative Influences If celebrities empower women, they also project a maternity predicated on fantasy. Sharon Hays points the concept of intensive mothering, dating from World War II, which mandates that women spend all their emotional, psychological, and financial resources on their children; and Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels contend that celebrities are the most influential proponents of the new momism, a concept whereby women define themselves by and commit themselves entirely to their children. These two ideologies are taken to the unattainable extreme by the wealthy, beautiful, and privileged celebrity icon who has everything: time, money, and energy to spend on children; a fulfilling career; assistants to help with exercise, style, and childcare; and stable and loving relationships. Other than figures like Jodie Foster, Rosie O’Donnell, and Melissa Etheridge, celebrity mothering as covered by the media remains heteronormative. Fans may regard celebrity mothers with envy, believing in and aspiring to the myth of the super-
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mom, while purchasing the same designer maternity wear as well as baby clothes and products (baby slings, organic shampoos) used by the stars, or naming their children after celebrities. However, as celebrity culture scholars like Daniel Boorstin and Ellis Cashmore explain, celebrities are positioned in dichotomous terms, with the media either worshipping or debunking them, and audiences wanting to emulate or excoriate them. Therefore, it is perhaps not surprising to find that celebrity mothers are also the subject of an ongoing backlash. They are viewed, for instance, as satisfying their own cravings for attention in their outlandish, often embarrassing choices of baby names (e.g., Apple, Elijah Blue, KalEl, Moon Unit, Sunday Rose, and Shiloh-Nouvel). Jolie has been criticized for “collecting” children (she has three biological and three adopted children, and plans on having more) in her self-construction as a global mother, just as Madonna received negative publicity for her adoption of Malawian David Banda. Ordinary women balk at celebrities’ apparent ease of losing their pregnancy weight after parturition, recognizing that professional trainers and nutritionists were on hand. And when actor Gwyneth Paltrow uttered her now-infamous comment, “I would rather die than let my kid eat Cup-aSoup,” she was derided throughout cyberspace. Commodity Children Perhaps most significantly, celebrity mothers and fathers are complicit in the increasing commodification of their children, as manifested in the growing trend of selling baby photos to the media for staggering sums. According to Forbes.com, since 2006, photos of the babies of Jolie (for her biological twins, and earlier for her first biological daughter); Jennifer Lopez, Anna Nicole Smith, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Alba, and Nicole Richie have fetched prices from $1.5 to $15 million. While Jolie has reportedly donated the money to charity, the practice raises ethical questions regarding the rights of the children. At the same time, selling photos allows celebrities to control the images that are disseminated, a justification that takes on greater resonance in light of the intrusive and often threatening paparazzi. As editor of the tabloid-turned-glossy Star in the early 2000s, Bonnie Fuller put her reporters on “Bump Watch” duty, inaugurating the cultural
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phenomenon in which celebrity maternity is in a state of perpetual surveillance. If the media promotes the so-called “good” mothers as role models, it simultaneously ridicules, blames, and condemns the “bad” ones—those who are teen and/or single mothers, such as Jamie Lynn Spears; register ambivalent feelings about their children, such as Britney Spears; engage in questionable lifestyles, involving partying, substance abuse, and promiscuity (such as the now-deceased Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith); and exhibit little or no concern with their body weight or overall public image (such as actor/TV personality Rosie O’Donnell and actor Kirstie Alley). A growing category of “bad” mother is the socalled “momager,” the woman who interferes with her famous children’s affairs, exploits them, and contributes to their tarnished reputations—for example, mothers Dina Lohan (Lindsay) and Lynne Spears (Britney and Jamie Lynn). When the “bad” mother is rehabilitated, however, she becomes a potentially even more inspiring role model for having overcome her problems, as witnessed by the positive press coverage of reformed drug addict Nicole Richie, as well as Britney Spears, who lost custody of her two sons in 2008 and has since regained visitation rights as her mental and physical health improves. Fan Connections Audiences respond to celebrity mothers by embracing them uncritically; by recognizing that they promote unrealistic, unattainable, and untrue images of motherhood; or by negotiating the myths and ideals with their own realities, accepting the elements of celebrity mothering that empower them as “real” mothers and rejecting what does not. Realizing that fans formulate varying degrees of emotional and psychological connections to celebrities, the media portrays a level playing field between them, as exemplified in US Magazine’s weekly section “Stars—They’re Just Like Us!” which presents images of celebrities caught without makeup while taking a toddler to preschool, for example. Nonfamous mothers find maternity an equalizer, an aspect of life that humanizes celebrities, and so affords a seemingly more meaningful and more personal connection. Concomitantly, celebrities are reaching out to audiences in apparently personal ways to reinforce
Just two years after her 2003 National Mall performance, Britney Spears became a mother, and a subject of great criticsm.
these connections. Nonfamous celebrity mommyand baby-bloggers are slowly being joined by celebrities like Tori Spelling and Victoria Beckham, who use their own blogs to underscore that their mothering is “just like” their noncelebrity counterparts. Moreover, celebrities are contributing to another new genre, the celebrity “momoir”: examples include Tori Spelling, who offers a lighthearted account of being a mother of two in Mommywood (2009); Lynne Spears, who recounts life as a “momager” in Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World (2008); Brooke Shields, who helped to destigmatize postpartum depression in Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression (2005); and Jenny McCarthy, who charts her battle with her son’s autism in confessionals like Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism (2007). Celebrity mothers can be considered in light of fan culture, in which people discuss celebrities as a way of understanding themselves, and to form networks with other like-minded people. In this context, celebrity mothers are used by everyday women as the
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springboard for nonfamous mothers to articulate, define, gauge, and legitimize their own maternal values and practices. See Also: Consumerism and Motherhood; Film, Mothers in; Internet and Mothering; Media, Mothers in; Mommy Blogs; New Momism; Popular Culture and Mothering; TV Moms; Zines. Bibliography Boorstin, Daniel. The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America. New York: Random House, 1992. Browne, Christopher. The Prying Game. London: Robson Books, 1996. Cashmore, Ellis. Celebrity/Culture. New York: Routledge, 2006. Douglas, Susan J. and Meredith W. Michaels. The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined All Women. New York: Free Press, 2004. Holmes, Su and Sean Redmond. Framing Celebrity: New Directions in Celebrity Culture. New York: Routledge, 2006. Howe, Peter. Paparazzi: And Our Obsession With Celebrity. New York: Artisan, 2005. Ladd-Taylor, Molly and Lauri Umansky, eds. “Bad” Mothers: The Politics of Blame in Twentieth-Century America. New York: New York University Press, 1998. Marshall, David. Celebrity and Power: Fame in Contemporary Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997. Turner, Graeme. Understanding Celebrity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2004. Elizabeth Podnieks Ryerson University
Central African Republic The landlocked country of the Central African Republic, in central Africa, has a population of 4.4 million, a birth rate of 33.9 per 1,000, and an infant mortality rate of 85.6 per 1,000 live births. In 2006, 70.5 percent of women age 15 and over in the Central African Republic were in the labor
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force, and their employment-to-population ratio in 2006 was 64.4. In 2006, women age 15 and over constituted 46.1 percent of the labor force, a percentage that has not changed substantially since 1985. Abortion is highly restricted; even an abortion necessary to save the life of the mother is illegal, although in practice, such abortions are permitted on “grounds of necessity.” Penalties are severe for providing an abortion, including a sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $2 million Central African francs. However, contraception is not widely used, and illegal abortions are acknowledged to continue. Fourteen weeks of maternity leave is provided at 100 percent of salary. Men may take up to 10 days per year for “family events concerning their own home.” In traditional society, dowry played an important part in arranged marriages, and women were subservient members of society, effectively the property of their husbands. As slavery flourished, the lives of many women were similar to those of slaves. The French tried to change this from the start of their colonial rule in the region from the 1880s. There was an improvement in health care, but this largely affected the Europeans and the local elite in the capital����������������������������������������������� ,���������������������������������������������� Bangui. However, scholar Marie-Ange Kallanda has argued that the Roman Catholic missionary nuns have done much to emancipate many women in the Lobaye district of the country, and this possibly was mirrored by events elsewhere. There were also problems with the spread of venereal diseases, which have led to higher levels of infertility, especially in women in the Nzakara tribe. After independence in 1960, there was an extension of the hospital services, with midwives helping in the births of children in villages. Many of the doctors and midwives were either French, or trained in France or by the French, but the remoteness of some of the settlements made it hard for mothers to access these facilities. This, combined with the lack of access by many of the population to clean water, has led to high rates of maternal mortality—which at 1.1 per 100 births is one of the highest in the world. Subsequent studies of the population have shown that there are major differences in primary infertility and secondary infertility—the first when there
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are no children after five years of marriage, and the other when there are no children born some five years after the birth of a previous child. Professor Larsen of the Harvard School of Public Health found that compared to Chad and Gabon, both of these infertility rates were the highest in the Central African Republic, and were unrelated to place of residence, occupation, or parental education level, or socioeconomic status. The country became well-known internationally from 1977–79 when Jean Bebel Bokassa—himself one of 12 children—established the Central African Empire. He, as with many of the elite, practiced polygamy, and had as many as 17 wives. He fathered approximately 50 children. See Also: Chad; Congo; Gabon; Rwanda: Uganda. Bibliography Endjimongou, Patrice. Evolution Psycho-sociologique de la Femme Centrafricaine: l’élite Future? ������������ [The Psychosociological Evolution of the Central African Woman: The Future Elite?]. MA thesis, EPHE, Paris, 1975. Kalck, Pierre. Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. Kallanda, Marie-Ange. Les Soeurs Spiritaines de Mbaïki et l’évolution de la Femme en Lobaye 1931–1958 [The Holy Ghost Sisters of Mbaïki and Women’s Advancement in Lobaye 1931–1958]. MA thesis, Bangui University, 1987. Larsen, U. “Infertility in Central Africa.” Tropical Medicine and International Health, v.8/4 (April 2003). Pickanda, Fidel-Adoum. L’enfant dans la Société Traditionelle Banda [Children in Traditional Banda Society]. MA thesis, Université de Haute Bretagne, Rennes, 1981. Justin Corfield Geelong Grammar School, Australia
Chad Chad is a landlocked country in Africa—the fifth largest in the continent—and has a population of 9.9 million (2007). It has a birth rate of 45.73 per 1,000, and an infant mortality rate of 91.5 per 1,000
live births. The maternal mortality rate at 1.1 per 100 births is one of the highest in the world. Chad’s fertility rate is 5.43 births per woman (2008), the 27th highest in the world, although this is down from 6.7 births per woman a decade earlier. These high fertility and infant mortality rates are partially due to the fact that 72 percent of the population marry before they turn 17 years of age, with many young mothers and fathers often trying to bring up families without a wider kinship structure. The high fertility rate prompted a study by Professor U. Larsen of the Harvard School of Public Health, who found the infertility rates far lower than neighboring Central African Republic and nearby Gabon. This was ascribed to a slightly better system of health care, but also because of the remoteness of many villages. There was also not as much of a problem with venereal diseases, which have affected fertility in some neighboring countries, but the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are a significant factor in the country; approximately 11,000 people have died of the disease since 2005, and approximately 57,000 children aged 16 and under have been orphaned. Poverty and Health Services With desperate poverty in much of the country, over half the children in Chad are working before the age of 14. The employment-to-population ratio for women age 15 and over in Chad was 60.1, and labor force participation for women in that age group was 65.9 percent. Chad provides 14 weeks of maternity leave at 50 percent of the woman’s salary, and there is also a prohibition against firing a woman while she is on maternity leave. Abortion in Chad is only permitted if necessary to save the mother’s life. She must consent (unless it is impossible for her to do so), and the physician must have written approval from two other physicians, one of whom must be listed as an expert by the civil courts. It is illegal for a woman to induce her own abortion or to import drugs to induce abortions. However, illegal abortion remains common, and most cases of abortion are ignored by the legal system. The French occupied Chad from 1897, but apart from some health services in the capital, N’djaména, mainly for the Europeans and the local
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elite, there was little effort to provide health care in rural parts of the country. After full independence in 1960, Chad’s new government sought to improve the country’s infrastructure, and to build clinics and establish a system of midwives in the countryside. However, as with many other parts of former French west Africa and French central Africa, the sheer remoteness of many isolated settlements make it very difficult for local mothers to access quality health and midwifery services. It has also been hampered by the lack of funds; Chad spends about $7 per head on health services, and there is still only one national hospital, 64 district hospitals, and 911 regional health centers. In 2004, there were only 345 doctors, 2,400 nurses, and 112 midwives for the entire country. See Also: Algeria; Central African Republic; Egypt; Libya; Sudan. Bibliography Adler, Alfred. “La Fillette Amoureuse des Masques: le Statut de la Femme chez les Moundang.” [The Little Girl in Love with Masks: The Status of Women Among the Moundang]. Journal des Africainistes, v.59/1–2 (1989). Azevedo, Mario, ed. Cameroon and Chad in Historical Perspectives. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1988. James, Valentine Udoh and James S. Etim, eds. The Feminization of Development Processes in Africa: Current and Future Perspectives. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 1999. Larsen. U. “Infertility in Central Africa.” Tropical Medicine and International Health, v.8/4 (April 2003). Justin Corfield Geelong Grammar School, Australia
Chicana Mothering The term Chicana refers to a woman of Mexican descent, while Latina is a more general term, referring to a female from a Spanish-speaking household, born in a Spanish-speaking country, or choosing to identify as having Spanish ancestry.
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Chicana motherhood varies across the social strata of Chicana mothers, and is irreducible to particular mothering practices or identities. As Chicanas, Chicana mothers negotiate the traditions and expectations of both U.S. and Mexican (Spanish and indigenous) cultures. Though Chicana mothers remain connected by their shared histories as subjects of colonization and the religious and cultural influence of Mexican maternal archetypes, the social, cultural, and generational differences among Chicana mothers have, in many ways, continued to evolve how Chicana motherhood is conceptualized. Chicana Mothering Roots Mirande and Enriquez trace the structure of the Chicano family back to its Aztec roots: distinctive characteristics include great emotional investment in family, assumption of the extended family, and emphasis on the mother as the center of family life. Public health scholars such as Scribner and Dwyer have noted that Chicana mothers typically have excellent birth outcomes, although they are often poor, and that this advantage diminishes with acculturation or moving outside of Chicano enclaves. They are thus attributed to Chicana cultural practices, including social support for maternity, devotion to the maternal role, consumption of a healthy diet, and avoidance of negative behaviors such as smoking and alcohol abuse. Mexican/Chicana Maternal Archetypes The genealogy of Mexican maternal archetypes begins with the indigenous goddesses, Coatlicue and Tonantzín. Coatlicue, the goddess of birth and death, personifies duality, a concept foundational to Aztecan philosophy; this is evident in the visual representation of Coatlicue, in which her face is formed by two fanged serpents facing each other. Her hands also bear claws (destruction) and her breasts appear flaccid from nursing her children (life). A figure of duality, Coatlicue personifies the complex struggle of the mestiza, the racially mixed woman. From the origins of the mythology of Coatlicue also emerges the Mesoamerican Mother Goddess, Tonantzín. When indigenous Mexican Juan Diego claimed to have been visited by an apparition of a holy woman in 1531, the Spanish Catholic clergy in Mexico merged the long-revered indigenous
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mother goddess, Tonantzín, with the Virgin Mary. This hybrid became Our Lady of Guadalupe, which missionaries used to convert the indigenous people to Catholicism. Because of Guadalupe’s indigenous and Spanish lineage, she is sometimes considered to be the “first mestiza.” Though she embodies duality, Guadalupe also occupies one side of the duality of Mexican motherhood. Guadalupe, the “white” goddess, symbolizes goodness, while Tonantzín, the “dark” goddess, symbolizes deviance. This duality is subverted within Western culture, however, with the introduction of the legend of La Llorona. According to the legend, Llorona is the woman who drowns her children in order to be with her lover, and now wanders along rivers at night wailing for her lost children. Llorona has come to represent maternal alienation and deviant motherhood, and is located opposite Guadalupe/ Tonantzín within the motherhood dichotomy. Llorona is often compared to Malintzin, or Malinche, the indigenous woman who translated for Hernán Cortés and gave birth to his son. Malinche is recognized as the symbolic mother of the mestizo race, but is also held responsible for the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Malinche is also referred to as a derogatory term for intercourse, which suggests the conquest of Malinche’s body symbolizes the conquest of the indigenous territory. Mothers, Nationalism, and the Public Sphere Guadalupe/Tonantzín and Malinche/Llorona comprise the duality of motherhood that was actively imposed by Chicano nationalists during the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. From paintings and sculptures that frequently depicted Chicana mothers as Madonna figures to nationalist rhetoric that identified motherhood as the Chicana’s duty to her race, the Chicana mother was encouraged to embrace the qualities of the good mother, Guadalupe. Those who transgressed the ideal of motherhood were called malinche or vendida (sellout). The concept of marianismo, a model of semi-divine womanhood that advocated purity (like the Virgin Mary), fidelity, self-denial, and submission, served the nationalist agenda by ensuring that mothers would remain bound to their husbands and la causa (“the cause”).
In 1971, Chicana motherhood was recognized and politicized at the first national Chicana conference in Houston, Texas. Emerging from the two largest workshops, Sex and the Chicana and Marriage: Chicana Style, was a set of resolutions that called for an end to patriarchal practices within society and the home, and encouraged women to realize their potential to effect change within the family. In addition to asserting their “right to control [their] own bodies,” the Chicanas declared that “Chicana motherhood should not preclude educational, political, social, and economic advancement.” Recognizing the material struggle of Chicanas, the Chicanas also called for “24-hour childcare centers in Chicano communities.” The resolutions encouraged Chicana mothers to end the cycle of female oppression by educating their sons in order to create new traditions of sex equality. Following the national Chicana conference in 1971 was a succession of Chicana feminist movements in which mothers took active roles. Besides operating on the domestic front of the Chicano Movement, Chicana mothers participated in political struggles of their own. A notable community activist organization was the Mothers of East Los Angeles (L.A.). In 1985, Chicana residents of East L.A. formed the group in response to the state’s plans to construct a prison near several neighborhood schools. Through their active involvement in the public sphere as mothers, the Mothers of East L.A. challenged traditional constructions and boundaries of motherhood, even when working within the parameters of the cultural expectations of Chicana/Mexican womanhood. Chicana Mothering Like Mexican mothers, Chicana mothers traditionally have been expected to carry out the “double reproduction” of the Chicano people and culture. However, Chicana mothering is not exclusive to the birth mother; extended family members, such as grandmothers and close female friends or relatives called comadres (co-mothers), may frequently assist with the childcare responsibilities while the mother works. Chicana feminist scholarship reveals that this unique familial arrangement of surrogate motherhood and extended kinship poses challenges to canonical, psychoanalytic analyses of
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Western motherhood that assume exclusive mothering practices. Though many Chicana mothers have made great advancements in politics and the workplace, many others continue to struggle with the middle-class ideal of stay-at-home motherhood. This desire is prompted by the ideal of Western motherhood, as well as daughters’ experiences with their absent working-class mothers who worked outside the home. The guilt experienced by working Chicana mothers is also a result of the struggle to negotiate multiple dualities of Mexican and Western motherhoods. Radicalizing Chicana Motherhood Besides class and race/ethnicity, another intersection of Chicana motherhood is sexuality. Chicana lesbian writers such as Cherríe Moraga have written extensively about their mothers, as well as about their own experiences with maternity and motherhood. Such writings complicate traditional perceptions of Chicana motherhood and challenge heteronormative assumptions of familia that imbued Chicano Nationalist rhetoric, which continue to marginalize Chicana lesbian mothers. Chicana lesbian mothers, however, have taken steps to radically modify the concepts of familia and motherhood, proving that Chicana motherhood is socially, culturally, and historically dynamic. See Also: Activist Mothers; African American Mothers; Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Motherhood; Feminism and Mothering; Lesbian Mothering; Mexican Spirituality and Motherhood; Religion and Mothering; Spirituality and Mothering. Bibliography Alarcón, Norma. “Traduttora, Traditora: A Paradigmatic Figure of Chicana Feminism.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, v.7/1 (1981). Castillo, Ana. “Toward the Mother-Bond Principle.” In Massacre of the Dreamers: Essays on Xicanisma. New York: Plume, 1995. Chabram-Dernersesian, Angie. “Encountering the Other Discourse of Chicano-Mexicano Difference.” Cultural Studies, v.13/2 (1999). Jenny, A.M., K.C. Schoendorf, and J.D. Parker. “The Association Between Community Context and Mor-
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tality Among Mexican-American Infants.” Ethnicity and Disease, v.11/4 (Fall 2001). McGlade, M.S., S. Saha, and M.E. Dahlstrom. “The Latina Paradox: An Opportunity for Restructuring Prenatal Care Delivery.” American Journal of Public Health, v.12 (December 2004). Mirande, Alfredo and Evangelina Enriquez. La Chicana: The Mexican-American Woman. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981. Moraga, Cherríe. Loving in the War Years: Lo Que Nunca Pasó por sus Labios, Second Edition. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2000. NietoGómez, Anna. “La Chicana—Legacy of Suffering and Self-Denial.” In Chicana Feminist Thought: The Basic Historical Writings. New York: Routledge, 1997. Pardo, Mary. Mexican American Women Activists. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998. Scribner, Richard and James H. Dwyer. “Acculturation and Low Birthweight Among Latinos in the Hispanic HANES.” American Journal of Public Health, v.79/9 (September 1989). Smith, Silva Dorsia and Janine Santiago. Latina/Chicana Mothering. Toronto: Demeter Press, Forthcoming, 2011. Larissa M. Mercado-López University of Texas at San Antonio
Child Abuse Child abuse is a socially defined construct; as such, it does not lend itself to an easy definition. It is a highly controversial and complex concept, subject to constant change that is influenced by a range of political and cultural factors. Historically, the highly publicized case of the abuse of a young girl named Mary Ellen Wilson led to a public outcry resulting in the foundation of the Society for the Prevention of the Cruelty to Children in 1874, which ultimately initiated dramatic changes in society’s treatment of children. However, it was not until 1974 when formal legislation was passed in North America that clearly defined a mandate for the reporting of physical child abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical
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neglect. Estimates of child abuse in North America suggest that about one in every 10 children each year receive harsh physical treatment by a caregiver or parent that puts them at risk for injury and harm. By the age of 18, one in five girls and one in nine boys will experience some form of sexual abuse. Countless other children suffer from emotional abuse and physical neglect. Physical Child Abuse Physical abuse involves any behavior by a parent that causes physical injury to a child. Physical abuse may occur even though the parent may not have intended to hurt the child, such as in the case of harsh punishment. Physical abuse typically involves a hostile, controlling, and aggressive parenting style. This parenting approach is characterized by a wide range of hurtful actions such as hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, scalding, drowning, suffocating, punching, and other examples of physical harm. Prenatal exposure to damaging levels of alcohol or drugs may also be included. Physical harm also may be caused when a parent deliberately causes ill health to a child, commonly called Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy. The risk for physical abuse in childhood declines with the child’s increasing age. Nearly half of all physical abuse victims are 7 years old or younger. Boys are generally at a slightly greater risk for physical abuse than girls. There is some evidence that vulnerable children may be at a greater risk for physical abuse, such as children born prematurely or children with physical or developmental disabilities. About half of all childhood deaths are a result of physical abuse. Most child deaths, whatever the age of the child, are the result of violence inflicted by males. Death may either be the result of one very violent act of aggression or the accumulation of chronic assaults. Head injuries are the main cause of death. Younger parents are more likely than older parents to physically abuse their children. Physical abusers of very young children are more likely to be female, while abusers of older children are predominantly, though not exclusively, thought to be male. The histories of the majority of parents who physically abuse their children suggest that they have been physically abused themselves and
have suffered maternal rejection and abandonment during their childhood. Typically, physically abusive parents have difficulty controlling their anger, demonstrate hostility and rigidity, have a lack of tolerance for frustration, exhibit low self-esteem, engage in substance abuse, and rarely show empathy. Compared with nonabusive parents, abusive parents have been found to have unrealistic expectations and negative perceptions of their children. They also view parenting as more stressful and dissatisfying and exhibit a number of deficits in child management skills. Family and interpersonal difficulties such as isolation from family and friends, spousal conflict, and negative family interactions are more common among families of physically abusive parents than families of nonabusive parents. Single mothers are overrepresented among physical abusers; however, this appears to be more likely a function of poverty and stress in these families. In addition to low educational achievement of parents, low social economic status and elevated social stress are strongly associated with physical abuse. Physical abusers are more likely to live in dangerous circumstances and are likely to have experienced danger themselves in their past. Specifically, the probability that a mother will physically abuse her children is associated with three predictors of decreasing importance: being assaulted by her own mother as a child; a current abusive partner; and a previous abusive partner. Sexual Abuse Sexual abuse occurs when a person uses power over a child and involves the child in any sexual act. The abuser is more powerful because of age, intelligence, physical strength, or control over the child. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative and nonpenetrative acts, or noncontact activities such as allowing children to watch pornography, involving a child in pornography or prostitution, and/or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways. Most children who are sexually abused are between the ages of 9–11, with girls being more likely to be abused than boys. However, the abuse of boys is often underestimated. Children with a disability are at almost double the risk of sexual abuse,
with the risk increasing further when children are living in some sort of residential treatment center. The age of perpetrators of child sexual abuse varies widely. Most sexual offenders develop deviant sexual interests prior to 18 years of age. The majority of perpetrators are male, representing all ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups. Although a minority of women have been identified as perpetrators, this phenomenon may be more common than data suggest due to lack of reporting. Most sexual offenders of children are known to their victims. However, rather than being family members, it is more likely that these individuals are outside the family sphere, such as friends or neighbors. Childhood sexual victimization also contributes to adult perpetration. Perpetrators may have experienced abuse directly in the past themselves, or they may have observed or been aware of the abuse of other family members. In addition, perpetrators of sexual abuse often lack the necessary social skills and interpersonal intimacy required for the development of empathy, possibly contributing to sexually abusive behavior. Families with children who are sexually abused demonstrate significant levels of dysfunction; they are the least cohesive and the most disorganized. Frequently, one or both parents are involved in drug and alcohol abuse and possibly criminal behavior. There is often marital conflict, domestic violence, and divorce among these families. Mothers of sexually abused children are most likely to be co-conspirators rather than co-victims. There is some evidence that mothers in incestuous families have childhood histories of sexual abuse in addition to being physically and emotionally abused by their children’s perpetrators. Mothers who have been sexually abused in the past may gravitate toward men who are similar to their own abusers, or who do not make sexual demands on them because the men are sexually attracted to children. As well, maternal employment outside the home, maternal disability, or illness also is known risk factors for sexual abuse. Emotional Abuse Emotional abuse involves any verbal or nonverbal behaviors by a parent that convey to the child that he or she is worthless or unloved, inadequate, or
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valued only insofar as he or she meets the needs of another person. It should be noted that some level of emotional abuse is inherent in all forms of child abuse; however, it may also occur independently. Six major types of emotional abuse have been identified, including: (1) spurning, which include hostile rejection and denigrating the child in verbal and nonverbal manners through criticizing, insulting and humiliating; (2) terrorizing, in which the parent threatens to abandon, hurt, maim, or kill the child unless he or she behaves or stops being needy; (3) isolating the child from other children from everyday activities, particularly those activities that are typically considered engaging or entertaining; (4) denying the child emotional responsiveness, such as ignoring the child’s needs or failing to express positive affection toward the child; (5) exploiting or corrupting the child, such as encouraging inappropriate, antisocial, or criminal behaviors in the child; (6) failing to meet the child’s medical and health needs. The risk for emotional abuse of children increases with the age of the child. Children between the ages of 7 and 17 are more likely to be emotionally abused than children 6 years of age and younger. Findings are mixed regarding the association between gender differences and rates of emotional abuse. Some studies find no gender differences, while others find that girls compared to boys are at slightly more risk for emotional abuse by parents. Mothers are slightly more likely to perpetrate emotional abuse than fathers. Emotionally abusive parents typically exhibit interpersonal and social difficulties, poor problem-solving skills, substance abuse, and deficits in child management techniques. They also may have a greater number of psychiatric symptoms and personality disturbances in addition to physical illnesses. Families with lower incomes are significantly more likely than families with higher incomes to be characterized by emotional abuse. There is a tendency for these families to keep authority figures at a distance, as they are often wary of professional help. They avoid doctors and other health care professionals and often fail to visit clinics when pregnant. When health providers are involved, parents tend to miss appointments, ignore medical advice, and fail to administer medication to their children.
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Physical Neglect Physical neglect describes the persistent failure to provide for the child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, which is likely to result in serious harm to the child’s health or development. Neglect tends to be the most common form of abuse. Physical neglect typically includes not providing adequate food, clothing, housing, supervision, or education. It also involves failing to protect a child from physical harm or danger, or not providing access to appropriate medical care and/or treatment, as well as neglecting household sanitation and failing to meet basic standards of personal care and cleanliness of the child. The risk for child neglect tends to decline with age of the child. It is estimated that over half of children who experience neglect are under 5 years of age, and of those, the majority are under 1 year of age. Children under 3 years of age are the most vulnerable and suffer the most significant consequences of physical neglect, such as failure to thrive, which is characterized by a cessation in growth during the first three years of life. In 2006, 41.1 percent of child maltreatment fatalities were associated with neglect alone. Parents who are physically neglectful tend to be socially isolated and suffer from pervasive emotional numbness, feelings of hopelessness, and a sense of futility and apathy. This invariably leads to a caregiving environment that is characterized by both material and emotional poverty. Neglectful parents are typically unresponsive to the child’s needs or distress; they also lack emotional involvement with the child. Mental health problems and psychiatric disorders, as well as severe developmental delays of parents, have been thought to contribute to child neglect. The histories of neglectful caregivers are often characterized by extreme neglect, such as parental depression or unresponsiveness, living in extreme poverty, or traumatic and unresolved physical and/or sexual abuse. Families where neglect is high are generally characterized by low income, unemployment, and dependence on social assistance. Large families (four or more children), single-parent homes, and homes where mothers have a greater number of children during their teen years are at considerably higher risk for neglect.
Additional Forms of Child Abuse Substance abuse by parents, as well as parental mental health issues and the witnessing of domestic violence, are examples of caregiving environments in which the risks for child abuse increase. Furthermore, exposure to significant amounts of violence within communities is now considered a form of child abuse. Although institutional abuse is less common than other forms of child abuse, many children suffer all forms of abuse while in the care of institutional settings, which have been licensed to provide quality care for children. Other major forms of child abuse in which abuse is most likely to occur between a child and an adult who is not a family member may be through organized exploitation, such as child sex rings, child pornography, and child prostitution. Furthermore, as a means of mass communication, the Internet has proliferated these various forms of child abuse. Consequences Associated With Child Abuse Children who experience child abuse are more likely than their nonabused peers to exhibit myriad physical, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional problems during childhood, which put them at risk for personality disorders, substance abuse, criminal behavior, and psychiatric disorders in adolescence and adulthood. The persistence of childhood difficulties into adulthood may contribute to the intergenerational transmission of the abuse. Recent evidence in the area of neuroscience has revealed how the emotional trauma associated with child abuse can negatively impact brain growth and development, which can result in enduring changes in all aspects of child development. Increased severity and duration of abuse, as well as the exposure to multiple forms of abuse, will increase the likelihood of a more negative outcome for children during childhood and in adulthood. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common, short-term symptom of trauma related to child abuse. In this case, the person is confronted with events that involve the threat of death to self or others, which provokes a response of intense fear and helplessness. Recently, complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) has been recognized by the psychiatric community as a condition that results from chronic exposure to extremes of social and/or inter-
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personal trauma, such as in cases of long-term child abuse. Specifically, C-PTSD is thought to arise from a prolonged state of victimization where the person is held in a state of captivity, either physically or emotionally, with no means for escape. While PTSD may be temporary, symptoms of C-PTSD may continue for years. C-PTSD is characterized by chronic difficulties in many areas of emotional and interpersonal functioning. Treatment Child abuse treatment is typically directed toward the child victims, adult survivors, and/or the perpetrators. Few interventions have been developed that are unique to physical neglect and emotional abuse, as compared with those for physical and sexual abuse. Interventions focused on physical abuse typically aim to enhance the parenting skills of perpetrators, while programs focused on children aim to reduce the effects associated with the abuse. Relational-based interventions consider the healing of the parent–child relationship to be essential through facilitating the parent’s ability to meet the child’s needs for safety and protection. Community interventions often serve as adjuncts, based upon the view that there are multiple factors that contribute to child physical abuse, such as social isolation, financial stress, and excessive childcare demands. Research suggests that effective sexual abuse interventions for the child victims, adult survivors, or the perpetrators require an understanding of pre-abuse histories, the nature of the abuse experiences, and as available social supports and coping strategies so that services can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the client. See Also: Absentee Mothers; Alcoholism; Anger; Anxiety; Bad Mothers; Caplan, Paula J.; Child Custody and the Law; Child Poverty; Daycare; Depression; Discipline of Children; Drug Abuse; Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; Incest; Infant Mortality; Infanticide; Mothering Children With Disabilities; Mothers Who Leave; Postpartum Depression; Poverty and Mothering; Single Mothers; Violence Against Mothers/Children; Welfare and Mothering; Work and Mothering. Bibliography Cicchetti, Dante and V. Carlson, eds. Child Maltreatment: Theory and Research on the Causes and Con-
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sequences of Child Abuse and Neglect. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Corby, Brian. Child Abuse: Towards a Knowledge Base, Third Edition. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press, 2006. Howe, David. Child Abuse and Neglect: Attachment, Development, and Intervention. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Miller-Perrin, Cindy and Robin Perrin. Child Maltreatment: An Introduction, Second Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2007. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities: Statistics and Interventions.” Child’s Welfare Information Gateway Factsheet (June 2008). http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/ factsheets/fatality.cfm (accessed May 2009). Wolfe, David. Child Abuse: Implications for Child Development and Psychopathology, Second Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1999. Denise Vallance York University
Childbirth While childbirth is certainly a biological event, it also has a sociocultural component that has changed over time to reflect particular historical moments. At varying times childbirth has been a private affair undertaken by a woman alone, an intimate experience shared by two partners, and a grand social event involving friends and family. This shift over time can be seen to correspond to changes in society; the status of childbirth is closely linked with dominant views on how a society sees women and to some degree reflects the overall social standing of women at that time. In the U.S. context, the changing nature of childbirth is apparent. During the 1920s, childbirth became increasingly medical, moving from the home to the hospital. Many have cited the “assembly line” style of care that attended this move, and birthing women became a major commodity in the health care industry. This shift mirrored women’s widespread move from the home to the workplace and captured the overall tenor of the time—commodification of women’s labor. A
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similar phenomenon can be seen during the 1950s, when idealized white, middle-class women were embracing domesticity and were striving for lives of suburban disengagement. During this time, hospital birth became centered on complete pain management. With the advent of highly medical interventions, childbirth became a nonevent, perpetuating the cultural ideals of modesty, privacy and isolation. Gaining popularity during the early to mid-20th century, women were given scopolamine (an amnesiac) together with morphine (an opiate), resulting in a state popularly known as twilight sleep. This practice fell out of favor as its negative impact on mothers and babies was demonstrated (ranging from women’s nightmare birth recollections to infant and maternal death) and as medicalized birth advocates championed the reclamation of unmedicated birth. The ways that a society conceives of and approaches childbirth reflects its broader conception of women and speaks to the social standing of women at the time. The Landscape of U.S. Childbirth Since the turn of the last century, childbirth has become increasingly medicalized. Beginning with birth shifting from home to hospital in the 1920s, medical management and oversight has become the paradigm of Western birth. Over the decades, the delivery room has become a site of advancing technologies, and laboring women have witnessed a birth process that reflects these rapid changes. As the field of obstetrics has grown more closely intertwined with developing medical technologies, childbirth itself has become more technological, which has allowed for the routine surveillance of women’s birthing bodies through myriad devices. This ability to constantly monitor a woman’s labor has fostered the entry of a growing number of medical interventions and has legitimized doctors’ increased involvement in the birth process. Today, with the overall social consensus that hospital birth is safest, this rising rate of obstetrical intervention is viewed as evidence of birth security. Particularly when attended by an obstetrician, a safe birth is seen as virtually guaranteed within the hightech environment of the hospital delivery room. As a result, the vast majority of women continue to
choose physician-attended (91.4 percent) or certified nurse midwife-attended (7.6 percent) hospital birth over other nonhospital alternatives (less than 1 percent). These statistics have remained relatively stable over recent decades. Today, over 99 percent of births take place in a hospital environment, and are subject to the procedures and treatments that accompany medicalized care. The Landscape of Childbirth Internationally In many countries, childbirth remains a hazardous undertaking. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 529,000 women die in childbirth annually, almost entirely in low-income countries, and an additional 10 million suffer injury, infection, or disease. About half of women in developing countries give birth without the assistance of trained attendants or anesthesia. However, many developing countries have substantially reduced maternal mortality through low-cost methods, including training community workers to provide prenatal care and maternal education, providing basic medical supplies such as antibiotics to village clinics, and training nurse-midwives to assist at birth. Birthing Technologies Most commonly, medical technologies are used to monitor the birthing woman and manage the delivery of the baby. It is routine practice for women to be constantly monitored through the use of an electronic fetal monitor (EFM), an instrument that measures the heartbeat of the baby, during the course of her labor. The rate of birthing women monitored during labor with EFM has climbed steadily since 1989, reaching over 85 percent, or more than 3.2 million live births, in 2003. EFM is the most frequently reported obstetric procedure, and may in fact be used to monitor an even higher percentage of births. According to their National Vital Statistics Report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has suggested that EFM statistics are often vastly underreported on birth certificates. In addition to the EFM, it has become increasingly popular to employ internal fetal monitoring (IFM), where an electrode is attached through the vagina directly to the baby’s head, to ensure constant monitoring of the baby’s heart rate during labor. Both of these surveillance technologies
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require the body’s connection to wires, electrodes, and sensors. Because of the growing evidence of false positive reports of fetal distress as a result of IFM, greater attention has been focused on curbing women’s movement during labor and encouraging their immobility. Labor monitoring is also carried out through detailed charting to ensure that cervical dilation is progressing along expected lines. It is a common obstetrical assumption that women will dilate according to the Friedman Curve, which stipulates 1.2 cm dilation for each hour of labor. Though many women do dilate in such a manner, as many as 20 percent of otherwise low-risk women do not progress at this rate. Slow or stalled labors are thereby quickly noticed, and more stringent courses of medical management are then adopted. Induced Births, Assisted Labor, and Caesareans A woman in labor is routinely supervised, and her medical caregivers regularly intervene into her labor and delivery. One-fifth of all birthing women will have their labor induced, a rate that has more than doubled from the 9.5 percent rate in 1990. This rising rate has been linked to a growing number of elective inductions (which have no medical or obstetric indication), and today, 25 percent of induced labors are the result of these “patient-choice” inductions. Labor contractions are also increasingly amplified with a variety of chemical stimulants, and 16.7 percent of labors in 2003 were augmented in such a way. This represents a 59 percent increase from the 1989 stimulation rate of 10 percent. Even when there is evidence that certain medical interventions are in decline—such as vacuum extraction and forceps delivery, which have dropped by 41 percent to only 5.6 percent in 2003, down from 9.5 percent in 1994—there is often a more complicated explanation for these trends, such as the drastic increase in caesarean births. Today the U.S. caesarean rate is above 30 percent—the highest rate ever reported. Driven by both the rise in primary caesareans (particularly for low-risk women) and the steep decline in vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC), this represents a 5 percent rise from 2002 and a 25 percent rise from 1996. The rate of women having a vaginal birth after a previous caesarean (VBAC) fell 16 percent in the last year and has dropped 63 percent
Despite the increasing medicalization of childbirth, the alternative and natural childbirth movement is gaining momentum.
since 1996. Because the majority of medical liability insurance providers no longer cover the procedure, it is increasingly difficult for women to choose a VBAC in a hospital environment. Thus, women who have an initial caesarean delivery must now deliver all subsequent babies via caesarean section. Also leading to the growing rate of caesarean deliveries is the rising number of women with very lowrisk pregnancies delivering by caesarean, a trend that has risen 67 percent since 1990. A number of these are elective caesareans—surgical deliveries that were requested and scheduled by the woman herself rather than recommended by her medical team. Managing Pain Pain management plays a central role in childbirth today. The vast majority of women elect to use some sort of medication to alleviate the pain of childbirth. Most common is the epidural, a local or regional anesthesia or painkiller medication that is
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injected through a tubelike catheter into the birthing woman’s lower back. This technique of pain management numbs the body below the waist, and as a result women feel very little of the pain associated with childbirth. Analgesics are also given intravenously, and are commonly used to mitigate the pain of childbirth. In addition, tranquilizers are administered (often in conjunction with analgesics) to calm and sedate birthing women who are unsuccessfully navigating the pain of childbirth. Another pain mitigation technique, one that has persisted since the beginning of the last century, is the administration of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) to laboring women. In some situations, birthing women are injected with opioids (narcotics), which can also be given intravenously to manage pain. In the hospital, enduring the pain of childbirth is believed to require a number of different medications, all of which are available and administered by the birthing woman’s medical team. Even when women anticipate an unmedicated birth, many of them eventually request to one of the above-mentioned interventions for pain relief. The Critique of Childbirth Today The medicalization of childbirth has not arrived without a small but vocal critique. Critics of medicalized birth have suggested that recent trends in the birth process are in many ways inhospitable, and are frequently hostile to the bodies and the experiences of birthing women. Growing out of the “natural” birth tradition of the 1960s, this approach extols the virtues of midwifery care, unmedicated labor, and even home birth. They have claimed that the increase in technological dependence and medical intervention have not resulted in the expected levels of safety and security, and may in fact be partially to blame for the United State’s embarrassingly high rates of both infant and maternal mortality—26th in the world for infant survival in 1999, far below the rank of other developed (and a few less developed) countries. Though their ranks remain relatively small and their influence rather minimal, their rhetoric has empowered a growing number who are concerned with the current trajectory of medicalized childbirth. Their critical appraisal has occasionally garnered mainstream attention—particularly around the recent controversy over caesarean section—where it has led
to a more general critique of obstetrical practices and the medical management of birth. Ongoing childbirth activism has primarily focused on the character of medical care today. Particularly around issues of labor and delivery, the criticism has made a number of significant interventions into the nature of women’s health care. This work has been instrumental in pointing out that some medical practices are unfriendly (and sometimes harmful) to birthing women, and are part of a larger tendency to see childbirth as a medical malady rather than a normal, biophysical process. Practices such as the pubic shave and enema were contested as inhumane and medically unnecessary, and have gradually faded away after years of protest. Partners and relatives are now welcome to attend the birth. Studies demonstrating the correlation between soaking in water and a decrease in pain during labor have been used to fuel a push for the installation of tubs in delivery wards. Childbirth advocates and birthing women have long promoted the efficacy of sitting, standing, and squatting during delivery, and have mounted an ongoing campaign to allow birthing women off their backs and into more comfortable positions. Though these critiques offer some amendment to the current birth idiom, the more general course of medical intervention and management continues unabated. More recently, critics have wondered if medical practitioners can reasonably expect to follow their Hippocratic Oath of “first do no harm” in today’s medical environment. Many childbirth activists and critics have suggested that health care workers (including labor and delivery nurses and obstetricians) are influenced by a variety of pressures that can complicate decision making. In a litigious field such as medicine, the specter of malpractice hangs heavy, and coupled with the profit motivation for hospitals and health maintenance organizations (HMOs), encourages a health care system that tends toward intervention rather than employing a more tempered approach. Medicalization of Childbirth Continues Despite these critiques, the medical community continues to enjoy a high degree of legitimacy. The overall social consensus is that hospital birth is safest, particularly when attended by an obstetrician.
As a result, the vast majority of women (99 percent) continue to choose a medically managed hospital birth over other less medical alternatives. Medical intervention is seen as a normal part of the birth process, and medical technologies play a central role in the monitoring and management of labor and delivery. In fact, the increase in elective caesarean delivery demonstrates that today, more women than ever before are opting for a highly medicalized and indeed surgical birth. All of this occurs parallel to the mounting evidence suggesting that such a highly medicalized course of action may not offer the highest level of safety and security in childbirth. Many have begun to wonder why women continue to choose care that may compromise their goal of a smooth birth and a healthy baby. Early critics of medicalized childbirth believed that women choosing such care for their pregnancy and birth were operating without full knowledge of the data and research. It was believed that once women learned that medicalized (including surgical) birth may not represent the pinnacle of health care, a paradigm shift would occur and more women would denounce medical birth in favor of a more natural experience. This dichotomy of natural versus medical is common in the alternative birth movement, as is a variety of other language that feminists and others have found problematic. Instead, even as more research demonstrates the uncertain safety of medicalization during childbirth, women continue to choose hospital and even surgical birth in growing numbers. These rates demonstrate that women’s birthing decisions are based on a number of different factors, of which overall safety of a procedure may play only a minor role. Women are not, in fact, operating under a sort of false consciousness assumed by early alternative birth critics, but are responding to a complex set of forces—both external and internal—that shape their decisions and inform their choices. Much ink has been spilled debating the consequences of this medicalized childbirth trend. Arguments range from a profit- and fear-driven medical community to birthing women themselves who are actively requesting surgical birth and other medical interventions. The language of “elective,” “ondemand,” or “patient-choice” procedures is common. By couching the debate in terms of choice,
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medical practitioners assert that they merely comply with women’s delivery choices, even if medical evidence dictates otherwise. Critics suggest that such a choice is often fraught with social pressures— particularly when women opt for surgical birth to avoid the potential consequences of vaginal birth, including possible loss of vaginal tautness. Others have wondered if birthing women feel alienated by the moral superiority that often permeates the alternative birth movement, which is often laced with condescension toward those who do not adhere to the tenets such as unmedicated delivery, breastfeeding, and co-sleeping. As a result, women who may have benefited from the critiques offered by the alternative childbirth movement do not explore its appraisal of medicalization and surgical birth. It has also been observed that women are often pleased with the pain reduction and convenience of surgical birth and choose it regardless of the risks, troubling the false-consciousness assumptions made by the alternative childbirth movement. Clearly, women’s decisions about childbirth are influenced by a variety of social, economic, medical, and personal forces that shape the conclusions drawn about childbirth today. The Politics of Childbirth The trend toward higher levels of surgical birth, and the rising rates of medical intervention more generally, has generated much commentary over the nature of childbirth today and its consequences. Many have pointed to the increased influence on medicine by HMOs, that have certainly shaped health care management and choice of procedures. The complex relationship between HMO, medical insurance, and liability has no doubt altered the practice of medicine, making it more susceptible to the pressures of the market. While there is evidence to suggest that such medicalization of childbirth has resulted in dramatic economic gains for HMOs, hospitals, and doctors, it is dangerous to assume that this is the only force pushing the trend toward surgical birth and an intervention model of care. The medical community has been quick to respond to these claims, asserting that, in fact, this trend grows out of the demands made by birthing women themselves. There has been substantial evidence to support the argument that a grow-
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ing number of women are choosing procedure such as caesarean, induction, and epidural before even interacting with their medical team. Women who have low-risk pregnancies and show no need advanced intervention are requesting medical procedures such as caesarean sections and labor inductions even before their waters break. Such trends are particularly common among pop idols such as Madonna, Britney Spears, Jamie Lynn Spears, Angelina Jolie, Christina Aguilera, and Jennifer Lopez, who have been dubbed “too posh to push” and are increasingly opting for a “celebrity caesarean.” Many doctors feel compelled to provide women with medical interventions whenever they are requested, even if such a demand puts woman and baby at a higher risk for complications. This debate has been presented as a matter of a woman’s choice, which some (particularly alternative birth movement activists) have critiqued as being quite distorted. Critics have responded that the medical community has rarely been concerned with respecting a women’s right to choice and have demonstrated the long history of restricting women’s birth options, including harshly penalizing women who choose to birth at home, in a birth center, or with a midwife. The Debate of Choice A more careful deconstruction of the elective caesarean section as an issue of choice has revealed that this choice may reflect a deeper social inequality that encourages women to make decisions that privilege others over themselves. A woman’s choice to birth via caesarean section to preserve vaginal tautness or to prevent late-pregnancy weight gain, for example, reflects this tendency. Others have claimed that such reasoning strips a woman of her agency and undermines her autonomy. While both sides may have merit, it is clear that a debate around choice oversimplifies the complexity of the issue and escalates tension between the medical community, childbirth activists, and birthing women, all of whom find themselves defending a caricatured position in the face of mounting criticism. The alternative childbirth movement has clearly played a role in the overgeneralization and occasional misrepresentation of the medical opposition. Although childbirth activists have advocated for greater social awareness around elective birth
interventions since the 1960s, they have rarely managed to sustainably alter the direction of medicine, which they claim reflects the power held by a medical community working to systematically discredit and undermine critical opposition. Feminist critics have pointed to both the moralistic tone and language employed by the alternative childbirth movement, speculating that birthing women feel alienated by childbirth activists’ intense and often polarizing views. Furthermore, childbirth activists’ criticism of medical intervention does not consider that many women find the use of pain-relieving drugs and medical interventions both empowering and fulfilling. However, while there is substantial research demonstrating the risk associated with a number of these practices, this ubiquitous denunciation does little to bring new women into the alternative childbirth movement. Loss of Midwifery And yet, the kernel of their criticism remains valid— medicalization is often not the best practice in childbirth and does not promote the health of mothers and babies. Increasing levels of medicalization in obstetric care have resulted in shrinking midwifery units within hospitals and the decimation of out-ofhospital midwifery (also called direct-entry) care. In 15 states, including Illinois—where the American Medical Association is headquartered—practicing midwifery outside of a hospital environment is illegal, and direct-entry midwives operate through an informal, underground network without medical or legal support. In recent years, midwives have been tried and convicted of practicing medicine without a license, of manslaughter, and even of murder. Such efforts have been largely successful, and the number of out-of-hospital births in the United States dropped to less than 1 percent in 2008. This drastic shift in the landscape of childbirth has not only normalized hospital births for nearly all women, it has also acted to diminish the voices that have long critiqued the medical establishment and has truncated the rich supply of evidence and documentation that supports it. See Also: Birth Mothers; Homebirths; Maternal Body; Midwifery; Pregnancy; Prenatal Health Care.
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Bibliography Arms, Suzanne. Immaculate Deception II: Myth, Magic, & Birth. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts, 2004. Beckett, Katherine. “Choosing Caesarean: Feminism and the Politics of Childbirth in the United States.” Feminist Theory, v.6/3 (2005). Block, Jennifer. Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo Press, 2007. Davis-Floyd, Robbie and Carolyn Sargent, eds. Childbirth and Authoritative Knowledge: Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. Eakins, Pamela, ed. The American Way of Birth. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1986. Hay, Carla, Alice Kehoe, Krista Ratcliffe, and Leona VandeVusse, eds. Who’s Having This Baby? Perspectives on Birthing. East Lansing: Michigan State Press, 2002. Kitzinger, Sheila. The Politics of Birth. London: Elsevier, 2005. Leavitt, Judith Walzer. Brought to Bed: Childbearing in America 1750 to 1950. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Martin, Joyce, Brady Hamilton, Paul Sutton, Stephanie Ventura, Fay Menacker, and Martha Munson. “Births: Final Data for 2003.” National Vital Statistics Reports, v.542 (2005). Michaelson, Karen, ed. Childbirth in America: Anthropological Perspectives. South Hadley, MA: Bergin & Garvey, 1988. Natalie Jolly University of Washington, Tacoma
Childcare The past few decades have seen the rise in the number of young children in need of nonparental childcare. Much of this has been driven by changes in the world economy, which has resulted in an increasing number of women of working age employed outside the home. Many families find themselvesseeking nonparental care, and most children are cared for in private, unregulated care situations. When regulated early childhood education and care is
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available, most children benefit. Studies show that local and national economies also benefit from high-quality education and care. At the same time, some have found that nonparental infant care, if begun too early and for too long, comes with some increased risks to psychosocial development. For all other children, including and especially children from disadvantaged families, high-quality childhood programming has been found to support children’s social, emotional, and intellectual development. High quality is largely determined as having well-trained and well-paid early childhood education and care professionals. However, most early childhood education and care work continues to be underpaid and undervalued. Rising Need for Nonparental Childcare It has been well documented that the past few decades have seen a fundamental restructuring of modern economies, driven by global economic change. There has been a move toward an information society, where the main sources of innovation, particularly in the most economically advanced nations, are derived increasingly from the production of ideas and not the production of goods. Economically advanced nations have seen a fundamental shift from goods-producing to a service economy, and the growth of professional and technical classes. With globalization, many manufacturing jobs have been moving to parts of the world where labor is cheaper; a growing proportion of workers in the northern and western hemispheres are employed to work in service-sector jobs. While the knowledgeworker employment has increased in all regions of the world, the bifurcation within the service sector, and a polarization of jobs and earnings, is also well documented. Some of the new jobs are high skilled and knowledge based, but many are low paid, low status, and part-time (often with nontraditional work hours), or what some have colloquially termed “McJobs.” In countries like Canada and the United States, some three-quarters of workers are employed in the service sector, where sales and services was the largest of the top-10 broad occupational categories. As a result of these shifts, family earnings instability and inequality grew throughout the 1990s.
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With widespread worker displacement, an increasing proportion of families find themselves relying on individuals holding multiple jobs and/or having multiple incomes per household. While women’s increasing labor force participation rates are related to women’s rising levels of education and their desire for economic independence, families are increasingly dependent upon women’s income to make ends meet. This trend is not new. Women have been entering the labor force in large numbers since the end of World War II, but some things are different today. While fertility rates remain low across the most economically advanced nations, the proportion of women with young children in the labor force has been increasing steadily. By most recent accounts, more than two-thirds of all women of working age in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries—which are the most economically advanced in the world—are employed outside the home. In Canada, some 80 percent of women 25–54 years of age were in the labor force in 2005, as were about 72 percent of mothers with young children. In sum, one of the most striking changes in women’s labor force participation rates across OCED countries has been among women with at least one child under the age of 6. More women in the workforce improves a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), increases tax revenues, and reduces welfare cost. At the same time, new opportunities and new necessities for women with young children have resulted in new and more challenges surrounding childcare. Who Cares for Children There is a growing trend toward out-of-home care for most children under the age of 6. On the other hand, there are significant differences in policies and practice across the most industrialized countries when it comes to the provision of early childhood education and care services. For example, all countries in the European Union now guarantee at least two or three years of preschool. While preschool is not a statutory right in the United States, more than 60 percent of America’s preschool-aged children are in some form of early childhood program. Children not registered in early childhood programs are often cared for by relatives and nonrelatives in private homes, outside of daycare settings. Contrary to the
belief that modern nuclear families are less dependent on extended family than they were in the past, recent research is showing that grandparents are increasingly relied upon to play a more significant role in the care of their young grandchildren. Some parents who can afford it have turned to hiring foreign- or domestic-born nannies for live-in care. Today, much of the childcare sector, especially in North America, is private and unregulated, often with poor staff training and weak pedagogical programming. While some private, nonparental caregivers working outside a daycare setting may be well educated and knowledgeable about children’s developmental needs, the majority do not have formal college or university training in early childhood education. In most cases, when children are cared for by relatives and nonrelatives outside of daycare centers, they are likely receiving custodial care (supervision) rather than developmental care. Developmental care involves an understanding of child development, which often widens the range of developmentally appropriate activities to which children are exposed. Undervaluing Care Work Quality childcare entails well-trained and wellcompensated early childhood education and care professionals, since the quality of care depends on the caregiver’s ability to build and sustain strong relationships with children and their parents, and to provide secure, consistent, sensitive, stimulating, safe, and rewarding environments. The problem, however, is that caregivers and educators themselves also require stable work environments—and as it stands, many childcare professionals in most economically advanced countries have low wages, little job security, and few opportunities for career advancement. This results in high staff turnover rates, jeopardizing the quality of care. Staff with higher levels of education and specialized qualification provide more stimulating environments, and improve the quality of care; however, their pay and work conditions remain well below those of other educators and social care professionals. Early Childhood Education and Care Given global economic changes, some have argued that preschool education is an investment in the
future academic success and economic prospects of the world’s children. Cost-benefit analyses of early childhood interventions have shown that the returns can be high for every dollar invested in early childhood care. Heeding this, countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland have committed considerable energy and resources to establishing high-quality, universally accessible programs, particularly for children ages 3 to 5. Other countries, like Canada, Australia, and the United States, have invested considerably less. Canada and the United States are considered welfare states. This means that the state accepts (some) responsibility for the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens, through the provision of things like unemployment insurance and access to basic health care and education. But not all welfare states are alike. In fact, scholars have established subcategories or classifications to distinguish states as either more or less magnanimous or noninterfering Canada and the United States have been classified as liberal welfare states, meaning that they are among the states that distribute benefits less freely, relying on the free market rather than extensive state support to families and social programs. Within liberal welfare states, there is a shared basic assumption that the state will “step in” if citizens are in dire need, often with targeted rather than universal social programs; otherwise, they leave social welfare decisions to individuals. As such, decisions such as having children and using nonparental childcare are seen as personal lifestyle choices, and the responsibility of individual citizens and households. Of course, given that there are more magnanimous or social-democratic variants of welfare states, not all countries follow this model or agree with these basic premises—and this is obvious when comparing Canada and the United States to other developed nations when it comes to early childhood education and care. For over 40 years, OECD has been collecting comparative economic and social data. Recently, it published Starting Strong II (2006), a report comparing early childhood education and care across its economically advanced nations. The report notes that there is a growing need for nonparental care across nations and increasingly, it is seen as
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a public good. It identifies some of the challenges encountered in policy making and service coordination for early childhood education and care, compares availability and access to services, and provides a series of recommendations on how to improve quality and access to care. What is especially striking in the report is Canada’s and the United States’ showing compared to other developed nations. Of the 14 countries compared, Canada ranked the lowest—below the United States, which ranked 9th in public expenditure on early childhood education and care services as a percent of GDP. This means that while Canada and the United States are among the richest nations in the world, they also allocate the least in public spending on early childhood education and care. It also means that a larger proportion of the cost of care remains in the hands of individual families. Impact of Nonparental Care on Children Studies of early childhood education and care in a number of countries uncover a strong relationship between quality early childhood programs and improved school performance. High-quality, early childhood programs support children’s social, emotional, and intellectual development. They also have been shown to diminish the need for remediation in the school years, resulting in higher adult productivity later on, and reduction of antisocial behavior among high-risk populations. Past and recent research has shown that early childhood education and related interventions contribute significantly to putting children in lowincome families on a path toward success in school. Early childhood education programs targeting children in low-income families, like Early Head Start programs in the United States, have been successful at addressing some significant inequalities in the earliest years of children’s lives. Early childhood education programs cannot fully compensate for poverty, but have proven to mitigate some of the effects of poverty and help compensate children from disadvantaged families. Immigrant children, for example, have been found to be among the most destitute and disadvantaged in economically advanced nations like Canada and Germany. High-quality, early childhood education and care programs have helped
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immigrant children with their integration, improved their language skills, and reduced disadvantage on entry into formal education. In Germany, for example, children of immigrants are most likely to leave school early and least likely to go on to post secondary education. Those immigrant children who attended German preschools sufficiently improved their school record to compete with the same educational opportunities as low-income German families. Having said this, early childhood services alone cannot fully compensate for other social and structural problems faced by a nation’s most disadvantaged; and not all services to all children are equally beneficial. A number of studies have shown that infants who lack close interaction with parents and other significant adult caregivers have more poorly developed stress management systems, which can result in difficulties in responding to others. Some of these children have had longer-term problems, including depression, withdrawal, and inability to concentrate. As a result, concern has been raised over infants’ exposure to nonparental childcare too early and for too long. Some have argued that the younger the child, and the longer the hours spent in childcare, the greater the psychosocial risk, particularly for children under the age of 1. In response to this, some child advocates have pushed for, and some national governments have implemented, minimum parental-leave entitlements that would allow parents of newborns to stay home with their children for months, and years in some cases, with some income entitlement and job security. Increasingly, calls for high-quality, early childhood education and care programs have become coupled with calls for improved parental leave entitlements of at least one year, with significant salary compensation. Wider Social Benefits There is ample international evidence to show that universal, community-based systems of high-quality, early childhood education and care are important components of strong economies, and are especially important when economies are contracting and in need of stimulation. Early childhood education and care has been found to have short-term, mediumterm, and long-term economic and social benefits
for children, their parents, the labor force, and local and national economies. Accessible, high-quality early childhood education and care programs help keep families out of poverty by supporting women’s workforce participation, education, and training, which in turn builds stronger local economies. It helps support women already in the workforce and those who want to enter it. This in turn helps keep families out of poverty, increases tax revenue, and helps bolster national coffers. See Also: Childhood; Children; Child Poverty; Grandmothers and Grandmothering; Nannies. Bibliography Baker, Michael, Jonathan Gruber, and Kevin Milligan. Universal Childcare, Maternal Labor Supply and Family Well-Being. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2005. Doherty, Gillian, Martha Friendly, and Jane Beach. OECD Thematic Review of Early Childhood Education and Care: Canadian Background Report. Ottawa: Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2003. Doherty, Gillian, Donna Lero, Hillel Goelman, Annette LaGrange, and Jocelyn Tougas. You Bet I Care! Wages, Working Conditions, and Practices in Child Care Centres. Guelph, ON: Centre for Families, Work and Wellbeing, 2000. Fukkink, Ruben and Anna Lont. “Does Training Matter? A Meta-Analysis and Review of Caregiver Training Studies.” Early Childhood Research Quarterly, v.22/3 (2007). Immervoll, Herwig and David Barber. “Can Parents Afford to Work? Childcare Costs, Tax-Benefit Policies and Work Incentives.” In OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 31. Paris: Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, 2005. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Starting Strong II, Early Childhood Education and Care. Paris, OECD, 2006. Prentice, Susan, ed. Changing Child Care: Five Decades of Child Care Advocacy & Policy in Canada. Toronto: Fernwood Publishing, 2001. Patrizia Albanese Ryerson University
Child Custody and the Law Despite the fact that women give birth to children and usually are expected to provide primary nurture and care, mothers have had an ambivalent relationship with child custody law. In some historical periods, custody laws have been inversely related to the biological and social ties between mothers and children. Child custody law regulates disputes about who has a) the legal authority to make decisions affecting a child’s interests (usually termed legal custody, or sometimes guardianship, in North America); and b) the responsibility of taking care of the child (physical custody). Access and visitation are terms used to describe the contact between a noncustodial parent and a child. Parents may share legal custody (joint custody) and/or physical custody (shared parenting). Most parents arrive at consensual custody arrangements regarding their children. The main purpose of custody laws is to guide the resolution of disputes by judges or other decision makers, as well as provide a framework for the negotiation of disputes. Custody disputes arise most often between parents who are separating or divorcing, but others, such as adoptive parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles, sperm donors, or surrogate mothers, may also claim custody or access. Until well into the 20th century, fathers held the primary rights to custody or guardianship of children. In most Western countries, decisions on child custody are now made according to the principle of the “best interests of the child,” the primacy of which is affirmed in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This laudable but indeterminate principle has been interpreted differently depending on time, place, and circumstances, as well as factors such as race, class, and sexuality. The modern sole custody/access paradigm under which mothers generally held custodial responsibility for children following divorce and separation has now given way to a normative model that favors joint custody and shared parenting. Concerns have been raised about the safety of women and children in shared care arrangements where there has been a history of abuse prior to separation and for the well-being of children who are exposed to persistent parental conflict. Others have commented on the continuing lack of fit between legal trends and the
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material realities of postseparation parenting. The lack of joint custody reforms with broader cultural and workplace changes has meant that fathers lack the opportunity to care for children in practice, and mothers are typically left with greater responsibility for childcare. A mismatch between legal norms and social patterns has arisen. Early History Nineteenth-century English laws on guardianship and custody influenced many English-speaking countries such as the United States and Canada. Fathers initially held almost exclusive rights to the custody and guardianship of children born within marriage, including infants at their mothers’ breasts. The first English statute to erode this paternal authority, Lord Talfourd’s Act of 1839, resulted from a well-known crusade by Caroline Norton to gain access to, and the ability to communicate with, her three sons (one still a baby), who were in the custody of their father. Norton had left her husband after he subjected her to physical violence. Lord Talfourd’s Act gave courts the ability to award a mother access to a child in the father’s custody, or even award physical custody, until the child reached the age of 7. At that point, custody could revert back to the father, unless he decided otherwise. The father retained guardianship of the child throughout, and maternal rights remained exceptional. Proper Behavior of Mothers During the course of the 19th century and into the 20th century, paternal rights were further eroded as the welfare of children was prioritized in law. However, a mother’s enhanced ability to claim custody was usually conditional on her adherence to proper behavior as a wife and mother. For example, mothers who were adulterous, or even those who were viewed as having left the marital home and/or their duties as wives for no good reason, quickly lost their parenting rights to an overriding paternal power. Given the strict moral expectations of mothers and the societal and legal resistance to seriously consider abusive behavior by husbands, mothers were vulnerable to fathers who chose to pursue custody claims. Some mothers returned to marriages to avoid the risk of losing their children.
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Maternal Presumption The early- to mid-20th century saw the development of a “maternal presumption” in child custody law. This presumption took the form of the “tender years doctrine,” which indicated that mothers should be favored for custody of a child during the period of nurture, namely until a child reached 7 years of age. After that point, fathers became entitled to claim custody. The tender years doctrine was not premised so much on female caregiving as on essentialist ideas that special ties exist between children and mothers, and that women’s “natural” role lies in the domestic sphere. Scholars disagree about the extent to which the maternal presumption actually privileged mothers in situations where fathers seriously challenged them for custody. In several Canadian provinces, for instance, all other issues had to be equal between the parents in order for the presumption to apply. In many cases, they were not equal; for instance, if a mother was adulterous
or had otherwise transgressed normative expectations. In some provinces, primary paternal rights prevailed well into the 1950s and 1960s. The Modern Ideology of Equality By the 1970s, child custody law shifted toward a no-fault orientation, a more gender-neutral treatment of mothers and fathers, and a clear emphasis on the best interests of children as the predominant factor under consideration. Less weight was placed on adultery and on distinctions between the roles that mothers and fathers were meant to play in relation to children. Opportunities arose for lesbian mothers to claim custody of their children without denying their sexuality, although they typically had to be discreet in order to succeed. The “fathers’ revolution” began, and movies such as the 1979 film Kramer v. Kramer, about fathers claiming custody of children, captured the public’s imagination. The women’s movement called for fathers to
Shared parenting can be stressful on children as they transfer from one home to another, especially if there is parental conflict. Manipulative ex-spouses can use child custody disputes to exert control, which can cause mental and physical damage.
increase their childcare responsibilities, especially as mothers increasingly participated in the paid labor force; fathers who did so were applauded. Blaming of mothers who entered the paid labor force, used daycare services, or left marriages also influenced the trend away from any preference for maternal custody. In order to ensure that fathers maintained contact with children, novel court orders such as joint legal custody emerged. However, most children still resided primarily with their mothers after separation or divorce, reflecting the fact that women still bore the brunt of childcare labor. This fact also influenced privately negotiated agreements and court awards, which gave primary care of children to mothers in most cases. Joint legal custody typically meant that an access father would not share childcare, but would share in decisions about schooling, health care, or religious instruction. If the parents did not agree about such an issue, then joint custody effectively gave the father a veto over the mother’s decision. Given the ongoing sexual division of labor in most heterosexual households, joint custody could be seen as granting mothers responsibilities for care whereas fathers gained rights to dictate decisions. During the 1980s, the emerging fathers’ rights movement gained in strength and exerted influence over law reform. Fathers’ rights advocates typically argued that the legal system was biased in favor of mothers and against fathers, citing custody statistics on maternal custody awards. They suggested that mothers, and even judges, often denied fathers’ contact with children, and argued that increased paternal rights would operate in children’s best interests. They lobbied for joint custody presumptions, the use of mediation, and restrictions on the mobility of custodial parents. Psychological studies also began to suggest that children need two (opposite sex) parents, and to emphasize the importance of a paternal influence. Some jurisdictions adopted joint custody presumptions, meaning that mothers who were concerned about joint custody would have the burden of proving why a joint custody arrangement would not work or would not be safe for themselves or their children. Other jurisdictions opted for “maximum contact” legal provisions that enhanced contact with both parents and rewarded
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“friendly parents”—those who facilitated such contact between the child and the other parent. Unless a mother had clear evidence of serious abuse by a father or other safety concerns, she might be advised not to raise such concerns for fear of being labeled an unfriendly parent and losing custody. The legal push toward formal equality for mothers and fathers sat uncomfortably alongside the ongoing sexual division of labor in heterosexual families, where even employed mothers continued to assume greater responsibility for childcare. The ideology of motherhood still held women to stricter standards of responsibility in relation to children, but once parents separated, it was assumed that the tasks of motherhood could be taken over by others, such as fathers, new wives, or grandmothers. The new norms were also juxtaposed against the increasing awareness of woman abuse both during marriages and/or after the separation process. Shared Parenting Throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century, the emphasis on the relationship between children’s well-being and contact with their fathers continued to increase, despite research showing that the key determinants of children’s well-being are a well-functioning, custodial parent and avoidance of parental conflict. Although continuing contact with each parent is also associated with positive outcomes, its benefit is diminished if the contact generates conflict between the parents. Shared parenting has been reported to work well when parents have a history of sharing parenting responsibilities, or when they are clearly capable of cooperating. Shared parenting arrangements can also relieve mothers from the constraints of full-time responsibility for childcare. However, these arrangements can be damaging to both mothers and children when parents are in conflicted or abusive relationships. Custody disputes can be used by an abusive or manipulative spouse to continue an unhealthy relationship or to perpetuate control over a mother. Some fathers claim custody or shared time in order to reduce their child-support commitments, as increased time spent with a child may diminish the amount of paid support. Moreover, cases involving conflict between parents are most likely to end up in court, raising questions about the wisdom of court-ordered joint
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custody or shared parenting, as opposed to arrangements agreed upon by parents. Debates about the merits of laws promoting joint custody and shared parenting have been lively. Many feel that the work of motherhood has never been properly valued in child custody law, and that the current trends exacerbate the extent to which mothers’ caregiving labor is simultaneously reinforced and taken for granted in society. Modern trends also require sometimes unwanted ties between mothers and fathers, regardless of the parents’ living arrangements or quality of their relationship. Even fathers who have never cohabited with a mother have sometimes been accorded generous custody or access rights, often based little more than their genetic tie with a child. For many judges, lawyers, and mediators, joint custody and shared parenting represent a useful compromise in difficult custody cases. However, the empirical evidence suggests that workable, postseparation shared-care arrangements require high levels of cooperation and good communication between parents, indicating that a shared parenting regime is not appropriate for highly conflicted families that resolve their disputes through the legal system. Studies also indicate that there has been, over time, a considerable drift away from joint custody arrangements that have been ordered by a court, with children tending to return to live primarily with mothers. This drift indicates the difficulty of making genuine, shared-parenting arrangements work effectively for parents and children. The aspirational nature of shared-parenting reforms contrasts with the lack of government initiatives to support paternal caregiving on a broader scale. New Shared-Parenting Initiatives Despite these concerns about the rise of shared parenting and alternative law reform proposals, such as presuming that the custodial parent should be the one who has provided past primary care (generally favoring maternal custody), new shared parenting initiatives appeared. In an effort to reduce conflict between parents and encourage cooperative post-separation arrangements, some countries have eradicated the property-laden terms of custody and access in favor of terms such as residence, contact, and parental responsibility, which would determine
where a child should live, the degree of contact with each parent, and who has responsibility for decisions. In 1995, for instance, Australia introduced these changes and vested children with the right to be cared for by both parents and to have regular contact with each, subject, of course, to the child’s best interests. Although judges were supposed to watch for the safety needs of children and other family members, the philosophy that children should have contact with both parents generally predominated. In 2006, after lobbying by fathers’ rights groups and a three-year reform process, Australia went even further and introduced shared parenting amendments, including a presumption for “equal shared parental responsibility.” This presumption that consultative decision making by parents is in a child’s best interests does not apply if there is evidence of abuse, and can also be rebutted if evidence shows it is not in the child’s best interests. Otherwise, a court must consider making an order for the child to spend equal time with both parents, and if not equal time, then “substantial and significant” time. These amendments appear responsible for an increase in substantially shared care arrangements, but research indicates that a significant number of such arrangements are characterized by intense parental conflict. Worryingly, shared care of children appears to be a key variable affecting poor emotional outcomes for children, suggesting that it is not always in a child’s best interests. The shared-parenting trends, resting on the premise of maternal and paternal equality, may overemphasize formal genetic ties rather than caregiving ties with children, or the most appropriate arrangements from a child-centered perspective. These trends certainly pose challenges for heterosexual mothers who have a conflict-ridden or abusive relationship with their child’s father. But it is even less clear how paternal equality, premised on a man’s genetic tie with a child, can be reconciled with the “lesbian baby boom,” as children are increasingly born into lesbian-headed families through the use of assisted insemination. Although some jurisdictions now permit both lesbian co-mothers to be named as legal parents, the legal status of sperm donors often remains unclear. As a result, lesbian mothers remain vulnerable to
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custody claims by sperm donors who wish to claim paternal status. Custody claims have also arisen between lesbian co-mothers; the few existing judicial decisions tend to favor the birth mother and her genetic ties. Cases such as these challenge the legal system to prioritize either biogenetic ties or the caregiving relationship that mothers develop with children. Disputes between birth mothers and adoptive parents, or surrogate mothers and intentional parents, also raise difficult questions about the weight of genetic ties versus intentional-parenting ties. Ongoing Issues for Mothers Mothers who “win” sole custody or primary care of children can nevertheless encounter problems related to both their children’s nurture and their financial well-being. Although child support laws typically require the other parent to contribute to the children’s expenses, enforcement can be difficult if payments are late, incomplete, or missing. Moreover, child support guidelines are not applied as strictly once a shared parenting arrangement is in place. Some fathers press for more time with a child, assuming they will have to pay less support. Some mothers relinquish claims to financial support or property in order to guarantee sole custody. As well, modern custody laws expect that a custodial mother will facilitate contact between the children and their other parent (usually a father). If a mother is not willing to do so, citing concerns about a child’s safety or well-being, she may be tagged as a “no-contact mother” and even lose custody. Ironically, as public consciousness about woman abuse and sexual abuse of children rose during the 1980s and 1990s, it became increasingly difficult for mothers to raise such concerns in the custody context. Requests to limit a father’s contact with a child conflicts with the legal system’s new objective to enhance contact with both parents. Additionally, should a mother wish or need to relocate, for instance to rejoin her family or obtain better employment, she may encounter difficulties if the other parent objects. The direction that child custody law has taken in the name of children’s best interests has caused maternal autonomy—or ability to make choices and decisions—has been constrained.
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See Also: Essentialism and Mothering; History of Mothering; Law and Mothering; Lesbian Mothering; Violence Against Mothers/Children. Bibliography Boyd, Susan B. Child Custody, Law, and Women’s Work. London: Oxford University Press, 2003. Chesler, Phyllis. Mothers on Trial: The Battle for Children and Custody. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986. Fineman, Martha A. The Neutered Mother, The Sexual Family and Other Twentieth Century Tragedies. New York: Routledge, 1995. Mason, Mary Ann. From Father’s Property to Children’s Rights: The History of Child Custody in the United States. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994. Millbank, Jenni. “The Limits of Functional Family: Lesbian Mother Litigation in the Era of the Eternal Biological Family.” International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, v.22 (2008). Rhoades, Helen. “The ‘No Contact Mother’: Reconstructions of Motherhood in the Era of the ‘New Father.’” International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, v.16 (2002). Smart, Carol and Selma Sevenhuijsen, eds. Child Custody and the Politics of Gender. New York: Routledge, 1989. Susan B. Boyd University of British Columbia
Childhood When childhood is believed to begin and end varies from culture to culture, across time, and between institutions within every society. For example, at what age can children legally work for pay? When can a young person legally consent to have sexual relations? Who does child pornography legislation protect? When can a parent stop paying child support? The varying answers to these questions indicate that childhood is a social construct—a social creation subject to redefinition. Historically, differing philosophical approaches to understanding childhood exist, and childhood is experienced differently depending on a child’s sex, race, and class background.
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Defining Children and Childhood There is little consensus in how the terms children and childhood are defined, even among contemporary legal documents. For example, according to the 2006 Canadian Census Dictionary, children refers “to blood, step- or adopted sons and daughters (regardless of age or marital status) who are living in the same dwelling as their parent(s), as well as grandchildren in households where there are no parents present.” Here, child has nothing to do with physical maturation, chronological age, or level of maturity. Instead, it refers to the nature of the living arrangement, which is more likely to have something to do with dependency. This seemingly has its origins in the idea that economic adulthood begins with moving out of one’s parental home. Many of the current ideas about childhood are related to parental rights and obligations toward children. But the end of parents’ legal obligations to children varies considerably, depending on its jurisdiction and type; therefore, childhood’s span depends on the context in which it is used, the purpose it is intended to serve, and the type and nature of interactions it involves. Childhood can refer to a chronological age range, a level of maturity, a period of physical maturation, or of economic dependency. Our definitions largely reflect assumptions about ability, power, autonomy, and dependency, which vary over time and across cultures. Understanding Variations in Childhood Because many children living in the past were silent or silenced by history, circumstance, lack of a public presence, powerlessness, and illiteracy, we are left with a considerable amount of speculation about the true lives of children and historical experiences in and on childhood. This has sparked theoretical debates about childhood, one of the more significant starting in the 1960s with Philippe Ariès’s first book, Centuries of Childhood (1962). Medieval Indifference Toward Childhood French historian Philippe Ariès, has been recognized by many as one of the first, best-known, and most influential and controversial historians of childhood in the 20th century. Ariès argued that “there was no place for childhood in the medieval world.” He
explained that he was not arguing that children were neglected or despised in the medieval world, nor that they lived lives devoid of affection, but rather that in the past people lacked the awareness of the distinctiveness of childhood apart from adulthood. He added that adults in the 10th and 11th centuries in Europe simply did not devote much time or special attention to them, as evidenced by their absence, marginalization, and adult-like depictions in portraits, and by their absence from the focus of religious festivals. He deduced that adults must not have had a distinctive conception of childhood as a separate stage in life since children were not given special emotional or legal allowances, and because they were depicted clothed as mini-adults or mingling with adults in everyday life for the purposes of work, relaxation, and sport. He also noted a lack of vocabulary in French and English for distinguishing children of different ages from one another. Children were either relegated to the margins or were fully integrated into the adult world because they were so much a part of adult life in work and leisure. An outcome of this supposition of the medieval world’s indifference toward childhood was that it gave children more latitude, less monitoring, and more autonomy. The Development of Childhood Ariès noted that at about the 13th century, images of children, at least in Europe, appeared closer to the modern concept of childhood. As a result, Ariès declared that “no doubt, the discovery of childhood began in the 13th century, and its progress can be traced in the history of art in the 15th and 16th centuries. But the evidence of its development became more plentiful and significant from the end of the 16th century and throughout the 17th. Among the elite of 17th-century Europe, there was a growing recognition of children’s special need for attention, nurture, and guidance accompanied by increased attention to schooling. Birth rates began to drop, allowing parents the resources to pay more attention to individual children. The vocabulary relating to infancy appeared and expanded. He explained that with the passage of time, a more formal distinction was made between childhood and adulthood, especially among the elite who could afford to protect children longer.
While some scholars, like Albrecht Classen and Peter Stearns, note that Ariès’s work was influential in kick-starting the historical study of childhood, they also note that a growing body of research indicates that Ariès’s thesis was not always substantiated. Many have tried to prove, contrary to Ariès’s views, that some medieval societies did have a view of childhood as unique and special. For example, Classen points to the writings of Jean Gerson (1363–1429), which suggested that parents pay more attention to their children’s emotional needs; and to Mapheus Vegius (1406–58), who reprimanded parents for assuming that physical punishment was an ideal tool in education. Both Gerson and Vegius wrote in the period that Ariès claims reflected indifference to childhood. Others criticize Ariès for generalizing, overemphasizing, and misinterpreting on the basis of a limited and select amount of evidence. Other scholars, like Colin Heywood, have argued that there was less homogeneity of experiences and thought about childhood than Ariès claimed. Heywood notes that “running like a red thread through the historical literature is the contradictory nature of ideas and emotions concerning childhood.” Using evidence from diverse cultural traditions, he shows that at any given point, one can find competing themes in the treatment and understanding of childhood. Heywood shows that children have been concurrently written about as both innocent and wicked, products of nature and of nurture, needy and dependent, and unsupervised and independent. He also points to considerable variations in perceptions of childhood within Europe, at about the same periods in time as the work of Locke and Rousseau. For some, the inventor of the concept of childhood was Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78). The French philosopher has been credited with pushing the concept of childhood to mean something that was not only quantitatively different from adulthood, but qualitatively different as well. Others point instead to the work of John Locke (1632– 1704), the English philosopher, for his pioneering work on childhood. Turning Points in European Thought John Locke, the “father of English liberalism” in Some Thoughts on Education (1693), is believed to have provided Europeans with the first treatise
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or manifesto on a scheme for child-centered education. His work on governance refers to childhood as a distinct and unique period in the life of a person. Locke wrote about children as “citizens in the making” or incomplete versions of their future adult selves. While this may not seem especially significant to readers today, it was revolutionary for his time, when it was commonly believed that children were born either good or bad (born of original sin), a concept that could be twisted to relieve parents of a sense of responsibility over how children turned out. His views that children have needs and interests different from adults required that children receive special attention and proper upbringing. He argued that children are born free of reason—as blank slates, and that experience alone, slowly acquired, stocked the mind. In other words, with proper education, children—who were not yet fully rational—were brought gradually to reason. Contrary to popular views of the time, he argued that children should not be driven into conformity and good behavior by being beaten or coerced. For Locke, education formed a child’s ability to reason and function as a free and equal adult. In contrast to Locke, as Rousseau expressed in the first sentence of his most famous work, Social Contract (1762), is the concept that “Man is born free but everywhere is in chains.” Rousseau’s political statement also expresses his views on childhood, which implies that a child is born carefree and innocent, but not “blank” and unequal, as Locke believed; and not “of sin,” as many, especially priests and educators, believed. In another of his famous works, Emile, (1762), Rousseau exclaims, “God makes all things good; man meddles with them and they become evil.” For Rousseau, childhood was uniquely a time of innocence and honesty, in sharp contrast to Locke’s view of childhood as an “imperfect state.” He believed that children had their own way of seeing, thinking, and feeling apart from adults; and while they did not reason as adults, they had their own form of sensitive or puerile reason that they should be free to explore and enjoy. He condemned Locke’s advice that children should be reasoned with, explaining that they should be left alone to “be children” as nature intended, left to enjoy their social worlds before becoming stifled by life experiences.
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Rousseau blamed educators and other adults for much of the stifling. While his views were highly controversial, they were extremely significant in challenging past European views on childhood. Ironically, Rousseau and his lifelong companion, Thérèse Levasseur, abandoned their own five children at the Paris orphanage soon after their birth. Although these views seem very different, both had profound social consequences because their views laid the responsibility on parents and educators for how children turned out. While they did not agree on the type of attention needed, both recognized childhood as distinct from adulthood, and both expressed an underlying need for more adult attention to addressing children’s needs. They also show that there was no single, unified view on what childhood was or how it should be treated. Cross-Cultural Variations Across borders and within cultures, oscillations in the notion of childhood are caused by social, cultural, economic, and political diversity and change over time. Anthropologists hold that there are multiplicities of childhoods, each culturally codified and defined by age, ethnicity, gender, history, and location. Transnational variations exist in such assumed standards as the structuring of age categories and chronological age. Some, like Peter Stearns, have taken a world history approach in the study of childhood, and examine how the economic organization of diverse societies (hunting and gathering versus agricultural versus industrial) affects how childhood is understood and experienced. Stearns explains that nomadic peoples in hunting and gathering societies, with more temporary settlements, represent childhood as a period of dependency that potentially burdens the group. He cites anthropological evidence from the Americas, Australia, and India to show that in hunting and gathering societies, birth rates were kept relatively low through prolonged lactation, abortion, infanticide, or regulation of sexual contact. Stearns notes that in agricultural societies, however, children of different ages quickly come to be seen as part of an essential labor force. With an expanded food supply, birth rates begin to grow. With more children in society, they gain attention in legal codes, have more peers, and are considered
a distinct group. Their increased numbers, worth, and visibility also resulted in the rise of protective superstitions; in agrarian societies, it was important that children be protected so they could work. Other interesting information has been uncovered about childhood and the treatment of children in early civilizations. The four great civilizations that emerged between 10,000 and 5000 b.c.e., close to large rivers—the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia (the Middle East), the Nile in Egypt, the Hindus River in Indus, and the Yellow River in China—all provide examples that counter Ariès’s thesis that childhood did not exist as a concept before medieval European times. For example, some of the earliest known codes of law, dating back to 4,000 years ago in ancient Sumer in Mesopotamia, reference the concept of parental responsibility toward children. Similarly, around 1792 b.c.e., the famed ruler Hammurabi created a code of 282 laws, of which 16 directly mentioned children. Some of these laws protected children from abduction (punishable by death), and from loss of rights resulting from a loss of one parent (through remarriage) or of both parents. Archaeological evidence of toys have been found buried with their affluent, young, prematurely deceased masters. The notion of childhood has oscillated, taking on a more or less significant place within the life cycle depending on the economic, political, and cultural composition of any given group at any point in time. Childhood also varied along social class and gender lines; the same can be said about childhood today. See Also: Adolescent Children; Care Giving; Children; Child Poverty. Bibliography Albanese, Patrizia. Children in Canada Today. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press Canada, 2009. Archard, David. Children: Rights and Childhood. New York: Routledge, 2004. Ariès, Philippe. Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962. Bentley, Kristina A. “Can There Be Any Universal Children’s Rights?” International Journal of Human Rights, v.9/1 (2005).
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Classen, Albrecht. “Philippe Ariès and the Consequences: History of Childhood, Family Relations, and Personal Emotions.” In Childhood in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: The Results of a Paradigm Shift in the History of Mentality. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 2005. Colón, A.R. and P.A. Colón. A History of Children: A Socio-Cultural Survey Across Millennia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001. Heywood, Colin. A History of Childhood. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2001. Jalongo, Mary. “On Behalf of Children.” Early Childhood Education Journal, v.30/1 (2002). Jimack, P.D. “Introduction.” In Emile, by Jean Jacques Rousseau. New York: Dent/Everyman’s Library, 1974. Locke, John. Of the Conduct of the Understanding. New York: Oxford Press, 1975. Locke, John. Treatise of Civil Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration. New York: D. AppletonCentury, 1937. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile. New York: Dent/Everyman’s Library, 1974. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. “On the Social Contract.” In Collected Writings of Rousseau, Vol. 4, R. D. Masters and C. Kelly, eds. Lebanon, NH: Dartmouth College Press/University Press of New England, 1994. Statistics Canada. “Census Family Status.” In 2006 Census Dictionary. Ottawa, ON: Statistics Canada, 2007. Stearns, Peter. Childhood in World History. New York: Routledge, 2006. Stearns, Peter. Growing Up: The History of Childhood in a Global Context. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2005. Patrizia Albanese Ryerson University
Childlessness In contemporary Western society, there are higher numbers of infertility cases than ever before. In addition, there are more women and men choosing to remain childless. Those who do have children have them later and have fewer; and increasing
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numbers of babies are born following some form of medical assistance, from self-administered donated sperm to medically sophisticated procedures such as egg donation. World fertility surveys and national censuses suggest that virtually all permanent childlessness in the developing countries is involuntary. Falling birth rates stimulate many concerns, and throughout the world, ideologies of motherhood (and fatherhood) and expectations to parent affect all women and men, whether or not they are parents. Arguably, these ideologies are more of an issue for women, as the ideal view of woman is synonymous with the image of the ideal mother. One response to the disjunction between the ideology and the experience of motherhood is a focus on “the right to choose,” which is defined in terms of the right not to have children. Yet, feminists and others have suggested that choice in this context is something of a red herring, because of the expectations and ideologies of ideal womanhood. In addition, even if it is possible to decide not to have children, it is not always possible to choose motherhood, which is often dependent on ideal biological and social conditions. Yet, issues of kinship and the fear of genetic death are significant in contemporary Western society, which can be demonstrated by the rise of surrogacy and posthumous sperm donation. Furthermore, motherhood remains a primary expectation for women, which means that childless women are often defined as “other,” although the terms voluntarily childless and involuntarily childless lead to different responses. Voluntary childlessness is often associated with selfishness, while involuntary childlessness can incur pity. Motherhood is associated with full adulthood; therefore, women without children are sometimes viewed as less than adult, like children themselves. There are many ways in which women have become mothers (biological and social), and there are many ways to have children in one’s life; for example, as a teacher, aunt, godmother, and friend. However, there appears to be no description of the childless nonmother other than to refer to what she does not have. The Choice of Voluntary Childlessness Some studies of voluntary childlessness argue that for some women, the choice not to have a child is a
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fairly simple one. However, other research suggests that choice is this context is a complex experience, with childlessness being described by some women as an ongoing practice. Involuntary childlessness is a social experience, different from infertility. However, it is often experienced in conjunction with the medical condition of infertility, which is defined as the inability to conceive a child after a year or more of unprotected intercourse, or the inability to carry a pregnancy to term. Some writers refer to a continuum of voluntary or involuntary childlessness, which individuals move along at different times. Thus, a woman may at one time in her life define herself as certain she does not want children, but later in her life feels that choice has been taken away from her. Alternatively, a woman who begins by describing herself as desperate to have children may come to feel more voluntarily than involuntarily childless. Others may adapt, but still feel a sense of loss and exclusion from what some describe as the “motherhood club.” Feminists have argued for the recognition of and space for ambivalence within mothering, but less attention has been given to ambivalence and childlessness. Yet, ambivalence is significant to childlessness too. The voluntary childless are often believed to be ambivalent even if they claim the contrary, whereas the involuntary childless are assumed not to be serious about their desire for a child if they display any ambivalence at all. Thus, the everyday understanding of voluntary and involuntary childlessness (and of infertility) are affected by medical, political, and lay discourses that are powerful and authoritative. Among other things, these discourses suggest that childless women lead barren lives, and medical solutions are available for those who deserve them. Ironically, the increased availability of techniques to assist to the involuntary childless has likely added to the pressure that some women (and men) feel. For these individuals, childlessness becomes a defining, stigmatizing condition. However, research in this area overwhelmingly suggests that just as the lives of those women and men who parent are complex and multifaceted, so are the lives of those who do not. See Also: Ambivalence; Emotions; Fertility Maternal Absence; Maternal Desire.
Bibliography Letherby, Gayle. “Childless and Bereft? Stereotypes and Realities in Relation to ‘Voluntary’ and ‘Involuntary’ Childlessness and Womanhood.” Sociological Inquiry, v.72/1 (2002). Letherby, Gayle and Catherine Williams. “Non-Motherhood: Ambivalent Autobiographies.” Feminist Studies, v.25 (1999). McAllister, Fiona, and Lynda Clarke. Choosing Childlessness. London: Family Policy Studies Centre and Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 1998. Monach, James H. Childless No Choice: The Experience of Involuntary Childlessness. New York: Routledge, 1993. Petchesky, Rosalind. “Reproductive Freedom: Beyond a Woman’s Right to Choose.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, v.5 (1980). Gayle Letherby University of Plymouth
Child Poverty Although the United States and Canada are the most advanced industrialized countries in the world, they have some the highest child poverty rates in the industrialized world. Some children are poor because their parents are working, yet poor. Other poor children live with single mothers or recent immigrants. Children living in poverty experience increased strain on their physical, emotional, psychological, and social well-being. That said, there are some industrialized nations that have reduced child poverty rates through a number of programs and policies. Gap Between Rich and Poor By many accounts, the poor in weathlier countries like Canada and the United States are getting poorer, and the gap between the lowest- and highestincome families has widened. Average incomes for the poorest in Canada, for example, have increased by about 18 percent over the past 10 years, while the wealthiest families experienced a 30 percent increase. Young couples with children experienced significant downward shifts, as their average wealth
fell about 30 percent over the last decade. Inequality has worsened among families with children. Causes of Poverty Children may be contributing to family poverty because they are a drain on family resources; however, research shows that in countries with more family-friendly policies, disposable income falls only moderately when families have children. In 2007, Wendy Sigle-Rushton, London School of Economics, and Jane Waldfogel, Columbia University School of Social Work, used data from seven Western, industrialized countries to compare gaps in gross and disposable family income between families with and without children. They found that differences in earnings and labor market participation of women were major drivers in the gap in gross and disposable income; taxes and government transfers also narrowed the differences. This means that poverty rates are strongly related to parents—especially mothers—having access to the labor force, the wages they receive, and government policies aimed at assisting families in obtaining and holding decent-paying, stable employment. Many studies have documented the rise of precarious employment characterized by poor job quality, low wages, and few or no benefits. Over the past decade, Canada and the United States have lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the manufacturing sector, resulting in the loss of higher-waged, permanent jobs with relatively low education requirements. Many of these displaced workers become employed in temporary, low-waged, precarious, nonstandard jobs. Recent immigrants to Canada and the United States, who often reside in large cities (with high cost of living) parachute into precarious labor markets. This has forced many recent arrivals and others to become multiple job holders in an attempt to make ends meet. This has also contributed to family instability, at a time of substantial cuts to social assistance. Children are poor for many reasons—mostly due to their parent’s relationship to the labor force. Some are poor because their parents earn low wages and/ or work nonstandard jobs; others have parents with inadequate education or educational credentials that are not recognized in North America; some have experienced their parents’ marital breakup and/or
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live in lone-parent households; and others have been affected by government cuts in social spending. The most vulnerable children are those from recent immigrant families; from racialized groups, including Aboriginal children; children with disabilities; and (despite some improvements) those living in female-headed, single-parent families. Measuring Poverty Countries like Canada have been publishing lowincome rates based on a measure called the low income cutoff (LICO), but no common measure of poverty currently exists across developed nations. The LICO has been used to measure whether a family’s basic food, clothing, and shelter expenditures are too large compared to other families. Today, LICOs are calculated using either/both after-tax and pretax income; a family is considered to be living in strained circumstances if it spends approximately 55 percent (the average of 35 percent plus 20 percent in the before-tax calculation of LICO, or 44 percent plus 20 percent in the after-tax calculation) or more on basic food, clothing, and shelter. This measure has been standardized and calculated based on family and community size (which typically affects cost of living). The low income measure (LIM) is also commonly used and is based on a country’s median income, which represents the middle value if all incomes in the country were ranked from highest to lowest. The LIM considers a family to be strained (poor) if it has a household income of less than half the country’s median income. LICO and LIM are considered to be relative measures that compare incomes and deduce that some are too low in relation to others. Noting this, some have argued that in countries like Canada and the United States, there is no absolute poverty, which is lacking the basic necessities of life—but rather relative poverty, implying that some only “feel” poor compared to others. But the negative effects of poverty on children are real and well documented. Emotional and Cognitive Impacts of Poverty Studies show that as family incomes fall, risks of poor developmental outcomes in children’s health, learning, and socialization increase. Analyses reveal that higher income, regardless of the measure, is
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almost always associated with better child outcomes, with the relationship being most significant among younger children. Young children depend on adults for their wellbeing, and their healthy development depends on access to basic nutrition and safe neighborhoods. Lower income contributes to limited access to adequate housing (more overcrowding, strained living conditions, residential instability, and poorer and less safe neighborhoods); decreased ability of parents to purchase children’s learning assets; and decreased ability to afford recreational activities that promote child development. Children living in low-income households exhibited delayed vocabulary development compared to children in high-income families, and household income was a significant predictor for many measures of 5-year-old children’s readiness to learn. Early childhood poverty affects years of schooling, such that poor children are less likely to graduate from high school compared to children who are not poor or who experience poverty later in childhood. Studies found that the physical environment of the home (with access to simulating materials and high levels of parental activities with the child) was the most important mediator in the relationship between income and children’s applied problem scores. Family income was also associated with maternal emotional distress, parenting practices, and family stress, affecting parents’ ability to cognitively stimulate children, which affected readiness to learn. Physical Impacts of Poverty Studies show that child poverty negatively impacts physical outcomes: mortality, morbidity, accidents, and abuse. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) research reveals that while the majority of children born into today’s developed nations enjoy unprecedented levels of health, the wealthiest nations are not the healthiest. The Canadian Medical Association Journal, for example, noted that despite a decline in the rate of unintentional injuries among Canadian children in urban areas, poor children were still twice as likely as children in affluent homes to die of an unintended injury. There is a noted association between several measures of low socioeconomic status and adverse birth outcomes across a
number of countries, including those with universal health care. Children in low-income families are over two and one-half times more likely than children in high-income families to have problems with vision, hearing, speech, or mobility. Poor parents, because of limited resources, often have a difficult time supplying their children with the best food, as well as adequate clothing and housing, resulting in exposure to harmful environmental conditions and increased stress. One of the most threatening outcomes of poverty is the risk of poor children growing up to be poor adults. Children living in low-income families are not destined to live deprived lives. The effects of longterm poverty on children are mediated and moderated by neighborhood resources and social capital. Neighborhoods with more social supports have been found to positively modify the effects of longterm poverty. Poor children who live in families with constructive and supportive relationships also have an advantage. Children living in low-income families have been found to benefit from parental supports in the form of high-quality childcare, antipoverty programs, targeted welfare programs, and a host of other national- and neighborhoodbased initiatives. International Comparisons and Initiatives All industrialized countries have been exposed to global economic pressures, with surprisingly different results compared to Canada and the United States when it comes to child poverty. In 2005 UNICEF (2005) released its Report Card 6—Child Poverty in Rich Countries. While child poverty rates dropped slightly in Canada and the United States, Canada still ranked 19th and the United States ranked 25th out of 26 countries compared. English-speaking countries filled most of the bottom rungs of this ladder: Australia was one spot above Canada; filling the remaining bottom spots were the United Kingdom (UK), Portugal, Ireland, New Zealand, Italy, and Mexico. The report noted that in all countries, poverty levels were determined by a combination of social trends, labor market conditions, and government policies. But the report also found that while labor market conditions and social change played a key role in high child poverty rates, higher government spending
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on family and social benefits is associated with lower child poverty rates. UNICEF’s report shows that all nations in the study made significant efforts to reduce poverty through cash and other benefits to the unemployed and those living on low income. However, countries with the lowest rates of poverty, like Demark, Finland, and Norway, did a considerably better job when it came to government intervention. It found that the greater the proportion of Gross Domestic Product devoted to family allowances, disability and sickness benefits, formal day care provisions, unemployment insurance, employment promotion, and other forms of social assistance, the lower the risk of growing up in poverty. The report also explained that benefits that are universally provided (rather than targeting lowincome families), though seemingly more expensive, actually work best to reduce poverty. Canada, the UK, and the United States have made some attempts to reduce poverty; however, their initiatives reflect a patchwork of policies and programs. Compared to western European countries with low child poverty rates, Canadian, UK and U.S. policies reflect an individual-responsibility approach, in regard to families, which does not recognize a philosophy of society’s shared responsibility for children. In contrast, western European nations with low poverty rates embrace a socialresponsibility framework that assumes that children are the responsibility of both parents and the state. Unlike Canada and the United States, they have unified social and family policies that express society’s shared responsibility for children, provide an adequate income floor for families with children, reduce gender inequalities, expand family time options for parents, and aim to ensure an adequate and consistent living standard for all children and families. See Also: Aboriginal Mothering; Childhood; Childcare; Children; Class and Mothering; Divorce; Lone Mothers; Poverty and Mothering; Single Mothers. Bibliography Ackerman, B., E. Brown, and C. Izard. “Continuity and Change in Levels of Externalizing Behavior in School of Children From Economically Disadvantaged Families.” Child Development, v.74 (2003).
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Beiser, M., F. Hou, V. Kaspar, and S. Noh. Changes in Poverty Status and Developmental Behaviours. Ottawa, ON: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, 2000. Bradshaw, J. “Child Poverty and Child Outcomes.” Children & Society, v.16/1 (2002). Chung, H. and C. Muntaner. “Political and Welfare State Determinants of Infant and Child Health Indicators: Analysis of Wealthy Countries.” Social Science & Medicine, v.63/3 (2006). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Society at a Glance: OECD Social Indicators. Paris: OECD, 2005. Sigle-Rushton, W., and J. Waldfogel. “Incomes of Families With Children: Cross-National Comparison.” Journal of European Social Policy, v.17/4 (2007). Stanwick, R. “Canada Gets a Marginal Grade in Childhood Injury.” Canadian Medical Association Journal, v.175/8 (2006). UNICEF. Report Card 7—Child Poverty in Perspective. New York: UNICEF, 2007. UNICEF. Report Card 6—Child Poverty in Rich Counties. New York: UNICEF, 2005. Patrizia Albanese Ryerson University
Children The status and lives of children around the Western world have changed considerably over the past century. In fact, childhood as we know it is a relatively new phenomenon that is constantly evolving. As the family has changed—from being a unit of production to one of consumption—so has the status, role, and value of children within it. Children have become a pivotal point of family aspirations for higher social status and cultural retention, among other things. As a result, since the 1950s and 1960s, a great deal of emphasis has been placed on ideas surrounding proper parenting and child rearing. This is evidenced by the growth in popularity of parenting manuals, journals, books, and Websites—all of which have transformed the meaning and expectations surrounding motherhood and fatherhood. With this, and growing inter-
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national initiatives concerning children’s rights, we have seen changes in the lives and experiences of children living in the North and West. What and Who Is a Child Children exist in every society, but what is meant by child or children, and when childhood is believed to begin and end, varies from culture to culture, across time, and between organizations and institutions within societies. Even by legal definitions, a child can be anyone under the age of 6, 12, 14, 16, 18, or 19, or can be anyone, of any age, as long as they have a living parent. There is little consensus in how child, children, and childhood are defined, even among contemporary official or legal documents. Within any given time period or region, there are differing philosophical approaches to understanding children and childhood; and children of different genders, races, and social class backgrounds often experience childhood differently. Redefining Roles of Mother, Father, and Child The post–World War II period, and especially the 1950s, was an anomalous period for families in North America. After the war and the return of soldiers, marriage rates soared, especially among younger women. In Canada, for example, for those aged 15 to 19, the marriage rate more than doubled, climbing from 30 marriages per 1,000 in 1937 to 62 marriages per 1,000 in 1954. The average age of brides at first marriage fell from 25.4 in 1941 to 22 years by 1961. Women married younger and had children at younger ages. The sharpest increase in birth rates occurred among women under 25. Not only were they having children at a younger age, they were also having more total children. What resulted was a baby boom—a bulge of births in the postwar period. Changes in fertility rates contributed to the redefinition of motherhood and child rearing. Before this, particularly during early industrialization, a significant number of women (and children) were in the labor force or working the land alongside adult men; older children were expected to care for younger ones. To be a woman did not exclusively mean being a mother. Families could not afford to have women as childminders first and foremost. While women could not own prop-
erty or vote, rural societies nonetheless needed women to work the land, and later, with industrialization, work in factories alongside their husbands. Like their husbands, women contributed to the household as producers. First in the Victorian period and then again with the end of World War II and the baby boom, womanhood was redefined and more closely equated to motherhood. It was expected that mothers should devote more time and attention to child rearing at the expense of other pursuits, including paid work. This put pressure on working-class mothers who were seen as neglectful if and when they needed to work for pay. With these ideological and demographic shifts there was also the emergence of the traditional nuclear family as an ideal (while not always the reality), with the husband in the labor force, and wife/mother in the home caring for her growing family. This shift in thinking about family roles was reflected in the ever-expanding number of often contradictory magazine articles on parenting, and the rise in popularity of child psychologists and childcare experts. Many of these emphasized the importance of developing emotional bonds between mother (not father) and child; but with this increased emphasis grew mothers’ anxiety about their abilities as parents. Women got conflicting advice on feeding: follow a strict time schedule, like their mothers had, or feed when the baby demanded it? Breastfeed or bottle feed? The debates raged, and women were bombarded with conflicting views. North American women increasingly came to rely on books on how to parent. One of the most popular was Dr. Benjamin Spock’s Baby and Child Care, first published in 1946, which sold more than 50 million copies by 1998, when he died at age 94. Starting in the 1960s and 1970s, mothers’ labor force participation rates increasingly raised fears of the effects of maternal deprivation on children, although those rates continued to rise. In fact, a profound, recent shift in parenting ideology was triggered by the rapidly growing number of women, and especially mothers of young children, in the labor force—resulting in more dual-earner couples. The “typical” North American family has become more difficult to identify among the growing number of family forms now legally recognized as families.
Political, economic, and other factors have also meant that young children residing in north America today are much more likely than ever before to be raised by mothers who are older, more educated, and working for pay. For some children, this has amounted to more economic stability, but child poverty rates remain high. More children are raised by single parents, especially single mothers, and some live with their same-sex parents. Contrary to popular belief, this has also meant that children are more likely to be surrounded by adults (because of more only-child families), and more likely to spend more time with their parents than in the past. Today, the family adaptation model of parenting seems to prevail, where both mothers and fathers are expected to navigate paid and unpaid work, and adapt to complex schedules that include an
Rather than simply adult perspectives on childhood, children themselves are increasingly becoming subjects for researchers.
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adequate amount of family time. With more mothers working for pay, more expectations have been placed on fathers (in heterosexual families) to get involved in parenting. Having said this, mothers are still more likely than fathers to spend more time in direct care of children. Changing Notions of Parenthood Fatherhood has received less attention than motherhood, yet historical analyses suggest a number of periods of influence that have shaped our views of the father’s role in child development over time, although fatherhood has generally been slow to change. Some have noted that in colonial times, father was seen as the disciplinarian, moral teacher, and head of the household. With industrialization, father was absent from the home and seen as provider or breadwinner. In the post–World War II period, fatherhood changed again to take on a more important role in gender socialization (daddy’s little girl and playing sports with sons)—but he was generally not expected to be a primary caregiver or nurturer. Increasingly, literature shows that men are taking more responsibility for children’s daily lives, embracing the role of the new, nurturing father. The increasing presence of fathers in parenting, and mothers’ changing employment status, has in turn affected how women mother. Employed parents with children under 12 spent more time with their children today than was the case even 20 years ago; but the time they spend with children is more goal-oriented, structured and saturated with activity. As North American culture places heavy emphasis on the value of paid work (where stay-at-home mothers and fathers are seen as anomalies), there is less social support for parenting, and increased expectations upon them. For many, parenting has come to involve finding and negotiating programs; registering children; paying fees; volunteering for fundraising; attending practices; driving children to games, classes, and recitals; speaking with teachers and coaches; monitoring practice; and praising them for their efforts. These kinds of shifts have altered parental beliefs about what are desirable characteristics in their children; for example, some parents have come to see dependent behavior in children as “clingy,” worrisome and symptomatic of an underlying problem.
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Today, parenting advice is abundantly available, through a variety of formats including the Internet, parenting magazines, advice columns, and books. Information is available on a wide range of topics, from breastfeeding, infant care, and healthy physical development, to divorce, stepfamilies, and parenting advice about terrorism. Analyses of parenting magazines have found a significant shift in emphasis from engaging in “fun” activities with children and fending off the “I’m bored” syndrome, to an increased focus on academic encouragement, choosing schools and programs, and children’s cognitive development. Parents are increasingly encouraged and advised to foster their children’s academic skills and stimulate their minds. Analyses have also found that parenting magazines, despite their names, are still primarily written for mothers and often reinforce traditional gender stereotypes and myths. Some change, however, has happened at national and international levels, with growing attention paid to the lives of children themselves, and to improving children’s rights. Growing Emphasis on Children’s Rights Some have noted that historically, children’s rights and the child liberation movement in the West was born of mid-20th century resistance to hegemonic racial, ethnic, gender, and economic oppression. With time, children’s rights increasingly became the subject of legal theory, philosophy, political science, and social sciences, as children’s rights became enshrined in global human rights declarations such as the United Nations’ (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Some studying children have identified a paradigmatic shift in the 1980s and early 1990s that resulted in children and childhood becoming a new locus of concern. This shift has coincided with increased attention placed on children’s rights and autonomy. In 1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the CRC, which includes ����������������������� a universally agreed-upon set of standards and obligations that are expected to be respected by the governments who have signed and ratified the agreement (the United States is one of only two nations, with Somalia, yet to ratify the agreement). The articles it contains are founded on the principles of respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, regardless of race,
color, gender, language, religion, opinions, origins, wealth, birth status, or ability, and are expected to apply to every child everywhere. Its four main key commitments are: (1) the best interests of the child; (2) survival and development; (3) children’s participation; and (4) nondiscrimination. Upon ratifying this agreement, governments are obliged to help improve conditions for children everywhere. In 1990, at the World Summit for Children, world leaders made a joint commitment and issued an urgent, universal appeal to give every child a better future. This was the largest gathering of world leaders in history. Led by 71 heads of state and 88 other senior officials, the World Summit adopted a Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and a Plan of Action for implementing the Declaration in the 1990s. In 2002���������������������������������������� the UN again called upon world leaders to join them in a global movement aimed at building “a world fit for children.” This “new world” would be built on a commitment to uphold a large number of principles and objectives, including a commitment to put children first; eradicate poverty; leave no child behind; care for every child; educate every child; protect children from harm and exploitation; protect children from war; combat HIV/AIDS; listen to children and ensure their participation; and protect the Earth for children. At the international level, the 1990s was a decade of great promises to and for children and children’s rights—at least on paper. Even if only on paper, these international movements and initiatives have helped transform some of the theorizing about children and childhood. To begin with, it has amounted to a growing number of questioning and challenging of the notion of adult as “the being” and doer, and child as “becoming.” Writing on this in 1994, Jens Qvortrup explained that adults are seen as human beings, while children are treated as human becomings—unstable, incomplete, incapable of independent thought. Qvortrup observed that it is the fate of children to be waiting: waiting to become adults, mature, become competent, get capabilities, acquire rights, become useful, have a say in societal matters, and share resources. This critique has contributed to the development of a new sociology of childhood—at least in the United Kingdom (UK) and a number of other locales.
New Sociology of Childhood What has come to be called the new sociology of childhood has been in existence for over a decade, and has been especially prominent in the UK and Australia (and recently gained prominence in Germany and Scandinavia). It arose symbiotically with the rise of the global children’s rights agenda. Proponents of global children’s rights movements and of the new sociology of childhood are committed to the view that children are more competent and autonomous than they appear or are allowed to be. They seek to overturn adult paternalism that refuses to recognize children’s capabilities and rights. The goal of these “new” theorists is to provide a better understanding of childhood that recognizes the capacity of children for autonomy, competent decision making, and their role as social agents—this would in turn better inform policy and research. The new sociology of childhood focuses on an appreciation of what children presently are, rather than what they will eventually become. This approach addresses dynamic, social, structural, relational, and interpretive dimensions of the state of childhood and status of “child,” and emphasizes that children are active “doers” in and of their social worlds, lives, and activities. Children do not just passively adapt to and learn from the culture surrounding them, as assumed in developmental and socialization theories, but rather actively participate in the cultural routines offered to them in and by their social environments. Children are seen and treated as active reproducers of meaning, and are understood to be able to appropriate and reinterpret their situations and environments and so themselves contribute to cultural reproduction and change. This approach seeks to highlight both the agency of children and their social, political, and economic status in contemporary societies—combining both macro/structure and micro/agency approaches. This means that children are seen and understood as participating actively in the construction of their own social situation, but children and childhood are also understood as being constituted in relation to the adult world in which they live. Through this theorizing, there is a new focus on the way that childhood has been constituted and reconstituted through the dynamic interplay of adult structures and children’s social situations.
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Research on and With Children So much of what is known about children today comes from adults, either reflecting upon their own experiences as children or reporting on the experiences of children responsibility—as parents, guardians, teachers, or other experts. This is not to say that this research is not valuable, insightful, or important. Many adults have contributed a great deal to our understanding of children and childhood by sharing their attitudes and experiences from when they were young, or as adults, on behalf of children. However, academics are increasingly involving children themselves as subjects, contributors, and participants— rather than objects—in the research process. A great deal of emphasis has been placed on the ethics of research with children, and their protection from risks involved in participation in research. However, recent work in the area has focused on a general concern to empower children through the inclusion of their voices, views, and experiences. More child-centered methods have forced researchers to explore, reflect on, and understand children’s social location; and at the same time, critically assess their own assumptions about children. As research, theory, and practice move forward, it is important to have high-quality and reliable research about children, but it is also important to have equally solid research with and by children. See Also: Adult Children; Birth Control; Childlessness; Child Poverty; Childcare; Childhood; Family Planning; Fathers and Fathering; Fertility; History of Motherhood: 1900 to Present; Preschool Children; Pronatalism. Bibliography Albanese, Patrizia. Children in Canada. New York: Oxford Press, 2009. Daly, Kerry. The Changing Culture of Parenting. Ottawa, ON: Vanier Institute of the Family, 2004. Daly, Kerry. “Reshaping Fatherhood: Finding the Models.” Journal of Family Issues, v.14/4 (1993). Handel, Gerald, Spencer Cahill, and Frederick Elkin. Children and Society: The Sociology of Children and Childhood Socialization. Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing, 2007. Howe, R. Brian and Katherine Covell, eds. A Question of Commitment: Children’s Rights in Canada. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2007.
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James, Allison, Chris Jenks, and Alan Prout. Theorizing Childhood. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1998. Jenson, Jane. “Changing the Paradigm: Family Responsibility or Investing in Children.” Canadian Journal of Sociology, v.29/2 (2004). Lee, Nick. Childhood and Society: Growing Up in an Age of Uncertainty. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press, 2001. Moosa-Mitha, M. “A Difference-Centred Alternative to Theorization of Children’s Citizenship Rights.” Citizenship Studies, v.9/4 (2005). Qvortrup, Jens, M. Bardy, G. Sgritta, and H. Winterberger, eds. Childhood Matters: Social Theory, Practice and Politics. London: Avebury, 1994. Stasiulis, Daiva. “The Active Child Citizen: Lessons From Canadian Policy and the Children’s Movement.” Citizenship Studies, v.6/4 (2002). United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Convention on the Rights of the Child. New York: United Nations, 1990. Wyness, Michael. Childhood and Society: An Introduction to the Sociology of Childhood. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Patrizia Albanese Ryerson University
Chile The Republic of Chile has one of the lowest birthrates in South America; contraceptive use is high. Prenatal care is available at public hospitals and private clinics, and mothers are eligible for maternity benefits and breastfeeding breaks. Divorce was illegal until 2004 and remains rare, but marriage rates are decreasing and traditional gender roles are changing. The Catholic Church has influenced opposition to divorce and abortion. Thirty-six percent of Chileans complete secondary school. Women’s involvement in formal employment increased during and continued after the Pinochet era. The gopulation growth in Chile has been stable since the 1970s. Chilean women have an average of 1.95 children, compared to 5.3 in 1960. The low birthrate is attributed to increasing prosperity and urbanization. Maternity leave is available six weeks
prior to and 12 weeks following childbirth. Mothers may leave work to breastfeed and to care for an ill infant under age 1. Due to the influence of the Catholic Church, divorce is legally difficult to obtain and was illegal until 2004. As a result, Chile has one of the lowest divorce rates in the Western Hemisphere. Marriage rates are decreasing, and many children are born outside of marriage. Acceptance of nonformal unions is increasing. Chile is comprised mostly of Spanish immigrants; most Chileans are of mixed Spanish and indigenous descent. Traditional gender roles are changing with women’s increased education and labor participation, although household responsibilities fall largely on women. A culture of Marianismo, women as selfless mothers, supports traditional gender roles. Men are considered head of the household, although growing numbers of families are female-headed (30 percent in 2002). Many Catholics accept premarital sex despite strong Church disapproval, and 81 percent accept usage of some form of birth control, which is widespread and available without a prescription. Most national family planning programs target mothers of at least one child or those who can pay. Access to contraception is more difficult for younger and poorer women. Abortion is illegal, but not uncommon; Chile’s abortion rate is one of the highest in South America. Many women are familiar with infusions made from plant products believed to induce abortion. Maternity care is available at private clinics and public hospitals, where low-income and poor women receive free care. All births are attended by skilled personnel. More than 36 percent of men and women completed secondary school. In 2000, 47.2 percent of students accepted into universities were women. The regime of General Augusto Pinochet left more than 3,000 dead and missing in Chile, and many mothers became activists for the disappeared. During and after the Pinochet era (1973–89), women’s involvement in formal economic activity increased to the point where women comprised more than half the workforce. The expectation under the Minimum Employment Program and the Occupational Program for Heads of Households was employment for all working-age family members, includ-
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ing mothers. The 1993 return to democracy and opening of new international markets meant even greater access for women to the economic world. Famous Chilean mother Isabel Allende has had books translated into 27 languages. A memoir, Paula, focused on her daughter’s illness and death. Michelle Bachelet, pediatrician and mother of three, was elected the first female president of Chile in 2006. See Also: Activist Mothers of the Disappeared; Allende, Isabel; Postcolonialism and Motherhood. Bibliography Donoso-Maluf, Francisco. “Chile: New Bottle, Old Wine.” In Families Across Cultures: A 30-Nation Psychological Study, James Georgas, John W. Berry, Fons J. R. van de Vijver, Çigdem Kagitçibasi, and Ype H. Poortiinga, eds. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Vergara-Mery, Alvaro. “Chile.” In The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Women’s Issues Worldwide, Lynn Walter, ed. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. Keri L. Heitner University of Phoenix
China The role of motherhood is defined in China by cultural tradition and by the politics of the state. In China’s long history, mothers were charged with the responsibility of nurturing, caring, and educating children, as well as looking after such domestic affairs as cooking and cleaning. Mothers were subjugated by a male-centered order in a traditional household, dominated by Confucian patriarchal culture. Their identity was defined by their obedience to their husbands and sons. Completely dependent on their husbands, both economically and psychologically, mothers were still expected to be role models for their offspring. Beginning in the early 20th century, influenced by Western culture and communist ideology, some educated Chinese women began to break free of traditional values and fight for their rights. A dramatic change in Chinese motherhood took place
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when the communist party gained power in 1949. Proclaiming the emancipation of Chinese women and improving both their social and family status, the government enacted policies that brought them into the workplace, for the sake of both mobilizing them as human resources to help construct socialism, and to promote political and economic equality. While opportunities opened up for women in education and various other professions, mothers as a result often were working the equivalent of two full-time jobs, both inside and outside of the household. This caused immense stress, especially when many daycare centers and kindergartens established in the early 1950s were discontinued. In rural areas, mothers engaged in even more exhaustive work, by farming, tending livestock, producing textiles, and processing food. Another significant obligation for Chinese mothers has often been taking care of elderly relatives. Mothers’ intensive load of bearing, rearing, and bringing up children was reduced by the onset of China’s one-child policy in the late 1970s, which aimed to curb the rapid growth of population. China’s economic reform and modernization has in some ways lightened household labor, although less so in rural areas, where the majority of mothers do not have the convenience of refrigerators, washing machines, and sometimes have insufficient water sources. Cultural Norms The term mother in Chinese culture is almost synonymous with the term sacrifice. For more than 2,000 years, its connotation was based on the Confucian code of women’s conduct in the practice of motherhood. Numerous images of selfless, devoted, and sacred mothers have been portrayed in poems, plays, fictional works, and music, as well as by modern mass media, with an emphasis on their submission and self-sacrifice. In these works, a mother’s sufferings from oppression are often hidden in the eulogy of her deeds. The mother is presented as goddess-like, without personal feelings or frustrations. During radical periods, such as the May Fourth Cultural Movement and the Cultural Revolution, along with the weakening Confucian patriarchal ideology, women gained some equality both in the family and society. Yet, their emancipation was interlocked with national reconstruction, their
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devotion and sacrifice expected for the country’s welfare. Since the economic reform starting late in the 20th century, followed by a revival of Confucianism, traditional views of mothers have in many ways been restored. Social expectations for mothers become imbued with modern content. Female virtue has again become the standard for judging a good mother. Contemporary Chinese culture, influenced by commercialism, further encourages the attributes of beauty and fashion in motherhood. On the average, Chinese mothers have 1.6 children. Birth control has proved very effective since the one-child campaign became strictly enforced by the state. It limits urban families to one child, but is a little more flexible for rural families. If the first child is a girl, a second child is allowed. Just before the state intervened in 1979, the average birthrate in China was 5.7 children per mother. It fell to 1.8–2.0 in the 1990s, and 1.3 by 2005, while in rural areas the rate decreased from 6.4 to 2.0. Birth Control Practices and Laws Efficiency, however, comes at the cost of an extreme invasion of women’s autonomy and privacy. The imposed procedures (with and without a mother’s consent) include intrauterine devices (IUDs), sterilization, and abortion, with X-rays and ultrasound tests for pregnancy. Many methods of contraception are provided free of charge, including sterilization and condoms, yet in practice are not accessible for many citizens. Between 1995 and 2003, the successful rate of pregnancy prevention for married women was 90.4–90.5 percent, dropping to 84.6 percent in 2006. These figures are much higher than the global average of 56 percent, with the level in developed countries at 66 percent. Forty-eight percent of women use intrauterine devices, and 33.9 percent have undergone sterilization. Among males, only 10 percent use condoms, and 5.3 percent have undergone sterilization. This highlights how birth control in China has largely been the responsibility of women. While abortion in China has been decreasing since the 1990s, psychological damage to the mother is still a large concern. The government actively encourages sterilization as an alternative to abortion. In 1990, the number of abortions was 14.3 million. It decreased to 7.5 million in 1995,
and 7.14 million in 2004. As a percentage of total pregnancy preventative measures, abortion was chosen in 33.6 percent of cases in 1995, 37.6 percent in 2000, and 38.5 percent in 2004. The enforcement of birth control includes both rewards and penalties. Policies for the employment of single-child parents are similar in all of China. They include financial assistance for daycare, and medicine provided up to age 18, and a one-time monetary compensation of over 1,000 Yuan for single-child mothers above age 55, and fathers above 60. In rural areas, single-child parents receive rewards for having only one child, and enjoy preferential treatment when being considered for retirement funds and housing. Parents with twins or other multiple-birth pregnancies, however, do not receive an reward, and only one parent receives a one-time compensation. Pregnant women protected by the state’s one-child policy enjoy routine prenatal care provided by the government. Monthly appointments are required during the first two trimesters, during which physical examinations and ultrasounds are conducted to detect any abnormalities. During the last trimester, weekly appointments are required. Single-child parents in rural areas who are legally allowed to have another child, but indicate in writing that they will not, are awarded meritorious awards, as well as a monetary compensation of 500 Yuan. If the only child of a family becomes disabled or dies, and its parents choose not to have another, and if the mother and the father are at least 55 and 60 years old, respectably, they are each awarded 5,000 Yuan. Couples who violate the one-child policy receive penalties, such as having to pay the cost of giving birth without assistance, denying them any promotions or salary benefits during the mother’s maternity leave, and paying a monetary fine. State employees and government officials may be demoted or even lose their positions. In a society with a deep-rooted patriarchal tradition, Chinese mothers are under pressure to give birth to a son in order to fulfill the expectation of carrying on the family line. Many mothers in rural areas go into hiding when they have an unregistered daughter, in the hope that they might give birth to a son the next time. Infanticide and abandoned baby girls are a consequence of the one-child
policy, which results in China’s uneven gender ratio in general, and in mental trauma to the mothers specifically involved. State/National Financial Aid It was not until 1995 that financial assistance to poor mothers, mostly in rural areas, came into practice. The Happy Project was set up by the China Population Welfare Foundation to help poverty-stricken mothers become literate and live more healthy lives. Since 2000, the Chinese government has run special aid programs to help impoverished mothers. Funds for medical training and equipment aim to lower delivering mother and infant mortality rates. They also subsidize the cost of hospitalization and of treating obstetric complications. However, these funds are not regularly accessible to every poor mother, and are available only in emergencies. There are no aid programs or policies regarding the rights of unmarried mothers, though the law does entitle rights to children born out of wedlock. In recent years, the government has allowed nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to provide medical aid. Unmarried mothers usually give their children to orphanages, individual adopters, or members of their own families. This is frequently done without using the proper official procedures. Unmarried mothers are discriminated against and ostracized in Chinese society, and government employees who have children outside of marriages are penalized and may lose their jobs. China’s education system has guaranteed basic education to the majority of girls during the last half century. The steadily increasing percentage of girls in primary school reflects the declining number of illiterate mothers. In 2005, literacy of Chinese girls aged 15–24 was 97.7 percent, a difference of less than 1 percent of that of boys. In rural areas, literacy in girls aged above 15 was 78 percent, compared to 92 percent for boys. The literacy gap between boys and girls varies in different provinces, and can range from 4 to 27 percent. Women still reflect a disproportionate number of China’s illiterates Marriage and Divorce Chinese marriage was relatively stable during its long history. Divorce was relatively uncommon, but some of the reasons for it, such as failure to
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produce a son, was discriminatory toward women. The stability of marriage has more recently been undermined by social and economic reform. Since 2000, there were over a million divorces in China annually. In 2007, the number rose to 2.1 million. Religious and Cultural Practices Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism have played crucial roles in defining Chinese motherhood throughout history. Besides following Confucian teachings regarding codes for women’s conduct, many Chinese mothers worship Buddhist and Daoist goddesses, such as Bodhisattva and Chen Jinggu, the goddess of Birth, in the hope of conceiving a son and receiving protection. Religion may manifest cultural expectations concerning goddesses, whose attributes are idealized and emulated by mothers. Such goddesses commonly possess traits traditionally attributed to mothers: being fertile, caring for the young, and the power to bless the family. Religion, whether Buddhist, Daoist, or Christian, also provides psychological support for mothers, as well as social support from others belonging to the same faith. In rural areas, it is common to find instances of female ancestor worship, where fertile elderly women are highly revered, and believed to be able to bestow good fortune to newborn children. The tiny, matrilineal Mosuo culture—population approximately 40,000—of the Chinese Himalaya is very unique in China. The Mosuo live near the border between Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces, and participate in zou huns, or “walking marriages,” whereby a man is invited to a woman’s hut at night, but is required to leave in the morning. There are no formal marriages; women can change partners as often as they like without stigma, but typically retain partners for extended periods of time. Men help to raise children as a group, and as a result, have only limited relationships with their children. The previously isolated Mosuo culture has become a tourist attraction—primarily for curious male Chinese visitors. There are nearby brothels staffed primarily with non-Mosuo women, considered shameful by the Mosou. Their society is reported to be very stable, and Mosou village women head the households, make business decisions, and own property, which they pass on in a matrilineal fashion.
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Famous Mothers Three women stand out as the most revered mothers in Chinese history: Meng Mu, Xu Mu, and Yue Mu. Meng Mu, Mencius’s mother, is celebrated for her efforts at single-handedly raising Mencius to become one of China’s most eminent philosophers and thinkers. She is said to have moved her home three times, eventually to a plot beside a school, in order to provide the most beneficial environment for the upbringing of her son. Xu Shu was a brilliant military strategist in the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. In order to make him betray his master, his mother, Xu Mu, was held hostage in a rival kingdom run by Cao Cao. Xu Mu, after seeing her son betray his master for her, committed suicide, thereby sending the message that her own safety was far less important than loyalty to one’s country. Yue Mu was the mother of Yue Fei, a legendary general and hero in the Song dynasty, who defended Han China against invaders. When the Jin kingdom invaded China, Yue Mu tattooed the words Jingzhong baoguo, meaning “honor and serve your country,” on Yue Fei’s back, constantly reminding him to fight for his country to the death. Since 2007, a Mother Culture Festival has been held on Meng Mu’s birthday in her hometown of Choucheng, Shangdong, to celebrate her devotion and service to both her son and the state. See Also: Abortion; Angel in the House; Anthropology of Mothering; Birth Control; Birth Goddesses; Childcare; Communism and Motherhood; Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Motherhood; Employment and Motherhood; Religion and Mothering; Social Construction of Motherhood. Bibliography Bossen, Lauurel. “Women and Development.” In Understanding Contemporary China, Robert E. Gamer, ed. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2003. Handwerk, Brian. “No-Fathers Day: Remote Group Has No Dads, and Never Did.” National Geographic News (June 18, 2009). http://news.nationalgeograph ic.com/news/2009/06/090619-fathers-day-2009-no -fathers.html (accessed July 2009). Office of Statistics of Society and Technology. Women and Men in Chinese Society—Data and Facts.
Beijing: Office of Statistics of Society and Technology, National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2007. Robinson, Jean C. “Of Women and Washing Machines: Employment, Housework, and the Reproduction of Motherhood in Socialist China.” The China Quarterly, v.101 (March 1985). Wolf, Margery, et al. Women in Chinese Society. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1975. Xueqing Xu York University Feng Yuan ActionAid International China
Chodorow, Nancy Sociologist, psychoanalyst, and professor Nancy Julia Chodorow is a leading scholar in the fields of feminist psychology, psychoanalysis, and sociology and has helped link these fields through her interdisciplinary approach. She has written numerous essays and groundbreaking books, including The Reproduction of Mothering, which is widely considered to be a classic in its field. Topics she has helped bring to prominence include female psychology and the psychology of motherhood, psychoanalysis, the social construction of gender formation and identity, and objectrelations theory. Her work offers both a critique and an alternative to patriarchal society and the belief that women are biologically predetermined to the role of nurturer, which she feels is the foundation for male dominance. Nancy Chodorow received her B.A. from Radcliffe College in 1966 and her Ph.D. in sociology from Brandeis University in 1975. She received her psychoanalytic training at the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute. She has taught Women’s Studies at Wellesley College and Sociology at the University of California at Santa Cruz and the University of California at Berkeley. She retired from teaching in 2005. Her influences include the work of Beatrice and John W. M. Whiting, Philip Slater, Karen Horney, and Melanie Klein. Scholars consider her work to be an essential contribution to the Second Wave of feminism, which lasted approximately
from the 1960s through the 1980s. Her research into mothering fit within the Second Wave of feminism’s emphasis on issues of equality, including the basis for social and cultural inequality and ways to change the patriarchal nature of society. Chodorow’s sometimes controversial work approached psychoanalysis as an essentially interpretive field. She has also blended theoretical approaches with the recognition of each person’s individual differences in both her scholarly work and her private psychoanalytic practice. Her work emphasized the necessity of considering cultural and historical influences on the formation of gender identity rather than universal generalizations concerning this process. Her interdisciplinary emphasis on cultural and historical relativity blended well with the discipline of sociology while her emphasis on gender, and the development of gender identity blended well with the discipline of feminist theory. One of Chodorow’s main interests was the search for psychological explanations for most women’s desire for motherhood and female centrality in childcare across cultures and historical eras. She explored alternative theories to the traditional scientific theory that it was biological differences between the sexes that predisposed women to the nurturing roles of infant care and childrearing. The absence of biological determinism provided a basis for feminist challenges to the patriarchal basis of society and its cultural perspectives on the functions of motherhood. She determined that the cultural belief that child rearing is a woman’s responsibility is the foundation of male dominance and the social and political oppression of women. Chodorow’s work also offered groundbreaking new perspectives on the mother–child relationship and how that relationship differed depending on the child’s gender. Chodorow’s use of object-relations theory was a unique approach among American psychoanalysts. Object-relations theory is based on the importance of an individual’s formation of relationships, beginning with that between mother and infant, and the belief that the desire to form such bonds is a prime motivation for individuals throughout the course of their lives. She believed that mothers felt a stronger sense of unity with daughters because they shared the same sex while they naturally felt a sense of “other” with
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sons despite the closeness of the maternal bond. Object-relations theory became central to her work because she believed that the individual’s perception of these relationships, both on the conscious and unconscious levels, was the key determinant in that individual’s ability to form and maintain a variety of intimate adult relationships. Self-Identity Chodorow shifted from psychoanalytical theory’s traditional emphasis on renowned Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud’s Oedipal Complex, which focused on the son’s relationship to his father, to an emphasis on the pre-Oedipal stage and the child’s relationship with the mother, who is the object of the child’s first identification and love. She also notes that this identification continues for female children even after male children begin the process of separation and independence from their mothers during the Oedipal stage of development. Thus, the male child develops his own self-identity, or ego, more readily than the female child. Emphasis on formation of self-identity in opposition to the mother places the mother as the central factor in child development. Placing the mother in a primary role represented a revision of Freud’s earlier theories, which placed women in a subordinate role. Her work thus brought the formerly opposing fields of psychoanalysis and feminist theory together. Chodorow’s work explored the family’s role in shaping the individual gender identity that reinforces social and cultural gender roles. She stated that children begin to unconsciously perceive their self and gender from infancy and that these perceptions develop differently depending on the child’s sex. Children grow up within and internalize the socially prescribed framework of gender roles of their culture and this, rather than biological necessity, is what determines their gender identity. The ultimate result in patriarchal societies is female children who grow up to replicate the pattern of desire for motherhood and child rearing and male children who grow up to replicate the patterns of male dominance and difficulty with intimate relationships. See Also: Feminist Theory and Mothering; Freud, Sigmund; Institution of Motherhood; Reproduction of Mothering; Psychoanalysis and Motherhood.
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Bibliography Chodorow, Nancy. Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theory. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989. Chodorow, Nancy. The Power of Feelings: Personal Meaning in Psychoanalysis, Gender, and Culture. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999. Chodorow, Nancy. The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978. Marcella Bush Trevino Barry University
Christianity and Mothers Christianity has always held a largely positive view of motherhood, although not uncomplicated. Biblical mothers play mostly supporting roles, and are remembered more in relation to other, more central characters of the stories in which they appear. Theologically, because motherhood involves procreation and therefore sex, it has been associated with sin and impurity as well as blessing and life. Historically, although mostly a private enterprise, Christian motherhood has also been active in highly public political movements, such as temperance and more recently, issues related to family values, such as abortion and gay marriage. Because Christianity is so diverse across cultures and denominations, teachings about motherhood vary. Most well known are two classic debates: one between Roman Catholics and others regarding the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and the other more long term and more popular, but less denominationally focused, about the Virgin Birth. There are a few common threads, however, including the image of mother as nurturer and healer; and though the theological details may differ, the centrality of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as model and principal image. Biblical Mothers According to the Bible, the first mother was Eve, whose name means “mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20). Along with Adam, they appear in Genesis, not merely as the first people as literalists might claim, but also as representatives of humanity in general. The
Bible records very little about Eve as a mother, noting only that she bore an unknown number of sons and daughters (Genesis 5:4), and that she claimed to do so “with the help of the Lord” (Genesis 4:1). Moreover, Eve is remembered for her participation in the introduction of sin into the world through a fall from grace, which was followed by specifically gendered punishments from God. For women, this included pain in childbirth, desire for one’s husband, and wifely obedience to husbandly rule (Genesis 3:16). For centuries, some interpreters underlined Eve’s role as the creator of sin, which they associated with sexuality and, by extension, childbirth. A number of other notable mothers appear in the Hebrew Scriptures. Sarah, the first matriarch, was also the first among a number of “barren” women who eventually bore sons with the help of God. A complicated woman, she became jealous and even cruel when her maidservant, Hagar, bore a son before her, both caught in a patriarchal system in which women were only valuable as mothers of sons. In the end, both Sarah and Hagar bore sons who were valued by Abraham, and who went on to establish large and influential families, though it is Sarah’s lineage that carries on the Judeo-Christian pedigree. The mother of Moses, unnamed and described only as “a Levite woman” (Exodus 2:1), was a key player in saving her important son from the Pharaoh’s edict to kill all male infants (Exodus 1:22). She placed the baby in a basket and hid him among the reeds along the Nile, which was soon found by the Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses’s sister Miriam, perhaps a third conspirator, happened along and suggested that she knew a Hebrew woman who could nurse the child, who was in fact Moses’s mother. All three women participated in the lifesaving project, one as mother/wet nurse, one as daughter/sister, and one as a kind of adopted or foster mother, all with the motherly characteristic of compassion for a child. The importance of the law of levirate, a dictate allowing a widow to procreate with the brother of her deceased husband so that she could produce an heir, is uniquely illustrated in the story of Ruth and Naomi. In this case, Naomi’s husband and two sons all died, leaving her with no heirs. One of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, instead of striking out on her own in search of a new husband, stayed with
the widow, and in levirate style, married one of Naomi’s relatives. She eventually bore a son, Obed, whom Naomi nursed. Through Ruth’s motherhood, Naomi maintained her place in the family lineage, and Obed eventually became the grandfather of King David. While the law of levirate may seem oppressive to modern readers, it was intended to maximize women’s procreative potential, which gave them worth, while also providing for their care in families within a highly patriarchal society. Black theologians have often read these stories somewhat differently. They have seen the biblical mothers as strong and powerful, not only doing God’s work by passively bearing important males, but as responsible for raising their children and thereby bringing liberation in their own right. A mother’s power is not then in her fertility, but in her power to influence the next generation. Mary, Mother of Jesus The most famous mother in Christianity has always been Mary, the mother of Jesus. At one end of the theological spectrum, the Council of Ephesus (431 b.c.e.) gave her the name theotokos—mother of God. This was a radical notion, as critics claimed that God would not be found in a woman’s womb. At the other end of the scale, Saint Francis, whose teachings focused on poverty and simplicity, preferred to envision Mary as a peasant mother, sitting cross-legged on the ground, holding her child. Luke’s account is the best known. An angel appeared to Mary, a virgin, and announced that she would conceive and bear a great son. Mary questioned the angel, asking how this could be, as she had no husband. The angel responded that other barren women had conceived (a common biblical theme), as nothing is impossible with God; and in this case, the Holy Spirit would “come upon” her (Luke 1:26-38). The birth then occurred while Mary was traveling with her fiancé, Joseph. No description of the birth is offered—only that she had to lay the baby in “a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). Images of Mary as mother abound in Christian art, once the main conveyor of theological teaching to a largely illiterate populous. Early artistic depictions of Mary nursing the baby Jesus were common. Her milk was a metaphor for the gift of life, feeding
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not only her own child, but the entire Church. Just as Jesus displayed the wounds on his hands, connected with his saving act in the resurrection, Mary showed her breasts as a source of healing and a symbol of salvation as well. The nursing Madonna eventually disappeared in art, however, due to nursing’s increasing association with the peasantry, a growing sense of modesty around the naked female body, and the way such images reminded people of the suffering in childbirth associated with sin, which was linked not to Mary, but to Eve. One remaining sign is Liebfraumilch (“dear lady’s milk”), a sweet wine first produced at a German monastery. Also common in art are depictions of the weeping mother Mary. Known as pietàs, (from the Italian for “pity” and Latin for “piety”), these sculptures and paintings show Mary mourning over the dead body of Jesus. These works became especially important during the Black Death of the 14th century, as mourning mothers were common, and many found solace in their association with Mary. Depictions of the Virgin were used as religious decorations in homes as early as the 6th century. The mother of God has always been an important intercessory figure for women. For most of Christian history, infant mortality rates were high, and sterility was common and blamed on women, for whom successful childbirth was essential. Women’s special concerns around fertility and health of children made Mary their most important intercessory figure, but some men appealed to her as well. For some, depictions of the holy family’s domestic life became like a second trinity—one to which average people could relate. Mary as mother has also been at the heart of two theological debates: the Virgin Birth and the Immaculate Conception. The Doctrine of the Virgin Birth, the belief that Jesus was miraculously conceived while Mary remained a virgin, was a universally held belief in Christianity by the 2nd century, largely uncontroversial, as accounts of virgin births had been common in explaining the origins of heroic figures. Through the Middle Ages that followed, the doctrine became central to how Christian women were defined—that is, as virgins or not. They were to be virgins before marriage and mothers soon afterward, as it motherhood was thought to redeem them from the sin of sex. Hence, the period between
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marriage and motherhood was problematic. Eve may have brought sin into the world through her disobedience, but Mary brought salvation, or its agent, into the world through exactly the opposite—her obedience. Motherhood was a way for all women to be obedient, not necessarily in bearing the son of God as in Mary’s case, but in following God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) in general, crucial in an unstable world of constant disease and death. Today, the Doctrine of the Virgin Birth is still accepted by Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and many Protestants, though feminist theologians criticize the teaching as merely the theological interpretation of a highly patriarchal church, creating an impossible model for women—that of virgin and mother. The Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception came much later, declared by Pope Pius IX in 1854, though widely believed and celebrated as a Roman Catholic feast day for hundreds of years before. This edict states that Mary, like Jesus, was born without original sin, though unlike Jesus, she was conceived through sexual intercourse. Again, feminist and other liberal critics of the teaching see it as further distancing Mary from real mothers who are neither virgins nor sinless. Other than commentaries on these biblical models with Mary as primary, early Christian leaders had little to say about motherhood until the modern era. Most medieval writings about motherhood were authored by monks and nuns, focusing on their own spiritual growth as nurturers, or mothers of the church. Their texts were not read outside of their own circles, and had little basis in the reality of “earthly” mothers, illiterate and busy raising their children. American Protestant Motherhood While Roman Catholics had an honorable alternative to motherhood through the monastic orders, Early Protestants did not—motherhood was the only respectable option for women. As a result, Puritan women married young and hoped for children early and often. While Puritan teaching relegated women to the domestic sphere, it also valued their work as Christian labor and an important contribution to Puritan society. Usefulness was a central Puri-
Christian mothers teach their children the importance of prayer. They are also more likely to home-school their children.
tan virtue, and mothers made themselves useful as they oversaw the increasingly isolated world of the home. Women were not permitted to teach adult men, but religious teaching of children and servants was expected. In addition, Puritan theology held that children were naturally sinful, and taught mothers to break each child’s will and replace it with obedience. As later waves of immigrants settled in the United States, homes became ethnic and religious centers, where mothers led in the maintenance of traditions. Mothers also sought support for their efforts, and formed maternal associations for that purpose. The first was organized in 1815 by Ann Louisa Payton, a Congregationalist minister’s wife in Maine. She and other Christian mothers gathered regularly to pray and discuss the religious training of their children.
Another high point in Christian motherhood was the umbrella movement broadly known as Home Protection, led by Frances Willard and other First Wave feminists. They organized around temperance and suffrage, as well as other causes, in an attempt to guard the home from the evils of the world. Motherhood was hailed as second only to the church as the holiest institution, and was used in this case as a partner of the church in setting social morality. These early feminists also participated in the settlement house movement, bringing culture through Christian charity to the urban poor. Most of the social issues they addressed involved poor women and children, including fighting against prostitution and working to build the first urban playgrounds. As Republican Mothers, active in the political arena, suffrage was their crowning achievement. Participating fully in elections made it possible to make an impact on all of the various social issues that affected mothers and the children on whose behalf they wanted to vote. Contemporary Christian Motherhood The two most prominent voices on contemporary Christian motherhood are the Roman Catholic Church and the conservative evangelical Family Values Movement, reflected in such organizations as Focus on the Family. Based in their belief that motherhood is natural and God-intended, they support policies that discourage abortion, enable childbirth, and maintain marriage as only between a man and a woman, the form they believe was created by God for the bearing and raising of children. A vocal minority have criticized women who work outside the home to the extent that they pursue their own fulfillment at the expense of their children’s. Many in the homeschool movement would also be included in these two groups. They feel that the public schools neglect the teaching of values, or teach against Christian values, so they place their children in Catholic or Christian schools, where their values are specifically taught; or, they teach their children at home, which in the large majority of cases means mothers. Although Mother’s Day is celebrated, or at least acknowledged in most Christian churches, there is no official connection between the two. The day was inspired as a way to hail the public efforts of mothers to clean up poor neighborhoods and to bring
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peace during wartime, but when it was proclaimed a holiday in 1914, it was announced as a celebration of the private home. Almost immediately, it became a market force for flowers, cards, and gifts. Because the day is so popular among Americans in general, and given the positive history of motherhood in Christianity, the recognition of Mother’s Day in churches has become customary. See Also: Family Values; Islam and Motherhood; Judaism and Motherhood; Religion and Mothering; Republican Motherhood. Bibliography Bellis, Alice Ogden. Helpmates, Harlots, and Heroes: Women’s Stories in the Hebrew Bible. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994. Hill Lindley, Susan. “You Have Stept Out of Your Place:” A History of Women and Religion in America. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1996. Mellon, Joelle. The Virgin Mary and the Perceptions of Women: Mother, Protector and Queen Since the Middle Ages. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2008. Warner, Marina. Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary. New York: Vintage, 2000. Gail Murphy-Geiss Colorado College
Cisneros, Sandra Sandra Cisneros, born in Chicago on December 20, 1954, is a Chicana writer and poet. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Loyola University of Chicago in 1976 and a Master’s of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa in 1978. Her published and award-winning works include Bad Boys (1980), The House on Mango Street (1984), My Wicked, Wicked Ways (1987), Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991), Hairs = Pelitos (1994), Loose Woman: Poems (1994), Caramelo (2002), and Vintage Cisneros (2003). In addition to writing, Cisneros is a founder of the Macondo Foundation and Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Foundation. Cisneros’s childhood had a strong effect on her writing and the themes that permeate her work.
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First, her father, Alfredo Cisneros de Moral, took a job as an upholsterer, which led the family to move multiple times between Chicago and Mexico City. Second, she is the only daughter in a household of six brothers. Finally, she looked at her mother, Elvira Cordero Anguiano—an avid reader—as her strongest female supporter. Each of these circumstances flavors Cisneros’s writings as her characters often contend with their Chicana identities, female sexuality, and cultural boundaries. Literary critics argue that Sandra Cisneros’s focus throughout her work on feminist resistance to patriarchy indirectly stems from her relationships with her father and her six brothers. For instance, there is the preteen narrator, Esperanza Cordero, in The House on Mango Street. Esparanza understands that, in her culture, a woman’s place is in the home, but that does not prevent her from looking for opportunities outside of what her culture allows. It is her mother who urges her to do well in school so that she can have the opportunities that transcend the notion that women should remain within the private sphere. Feminine Resistance To illuminate her focus on feminist resistance, Sandra Cisneros often writes about threefold representations of woman, what Gloria Anzaldúa referred to as “Our Mothers”: La Llorona (the legendary woman who weeps for her children, whom she drowned); La Malinche (the Aztec woman who was interpreter and mistress to Hernan Cortés, thus paving the way for Spanish conquest in Mexico); and La Virgen de Guadalupe (the saintly and self-sacrificing woman). Each archetype is associated with a different notion of female sexuality, autonomy, and motherhood. Cisneros not only highlights each archetype in her writing, however; she reinvents them. An example of Cisneros rewriting a legendary image is in her short story Woman Hollering Creek. The heroine, Cleófilas Enriqueta DeLeón Hernández, is a mother of one with another on the way, and wife to an abusive husband. Without support from her female neighbors, she finds help from two women who work at a women’s center. These women resolve to help Cleófilas return to her family in Mexico. As they drive across the arroyo on the way out of town, Felice, the woman who drives
Cleófilas to the bus station, releases a surprising and loud yell. Thus, in this story, Cisneros transforms La Llorana to a story of female empowerment, as the arroyo Felice and Cleófilas travel is not named so much after the “Woman Weeping” as it is about the “Woman Hollering.” One literary critic identified Cisneros as the most famous Chicana writer, which can be corroborated by the numerous awards she has won for her writing. The House on Mango Street won the Before Columbus Foundation’s American Book Award in 1985. Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories was presented the Quality Paperback Book Club New Voices Award and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and was named a noteworthy book of the year by the New York Times and the American Library Journal. Loose Woman received the Mountains & Plains Booksellers’ Award. Caramelo was named a notable book of the year by, among others, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune. Her other honors include a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1995 and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Loyola University, Chicago, in 2002. In addition to the numerous accolades that Cisneros has received for her work, she is also lauded for her the services she provides for her fellow writers. She is the president and founder of the Macondo Foundation, a community of artists who serve their communities through their writing. Moreover, she established the Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Foundation in 2000. This foundation awards grants for writers who were born in Texas, live in Texas, or write about Texas. Sandra Cisneros is a writer-in-residence at Our Lady of the Lake University. She continues to live and write in San Antonio, Texas. See Also: Chicana Mothering; Literature, Mothers in; Mexican Spirituality and Motherhood; Mexico; Poetry, Mothers in; Texas. Bibliography Brackett, Virginia. A Home in the Heart: The Story of Sandra Cisneros. Greensboro, NC: Morgan Reynolds Publishing, 2004. Cisneros, Sandra. Bad Boys. San Jose, CA: Mango, 1980.
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Cisneros, Sandra. Caramelo. New York: Knopf, 2002. Cisneros, Sandra. Hairs=Pelitos. New York: Knopf, 1994. Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. Houston, TX: Arte Público, 1984. Cisneros, Sandra. http://www.sandracisneros.com (accessed December 2008). Cisneros, Sandra. Loose Woman: Poems. New York: Knopf, 1994. Cisneros, Sandra. My Wicked, Wicked Ways. New York: Knopf, 1992. Cisneros, Sandra. Vintage Cisneros. New York: Vintage, 2004. Cisneros, Sandra. Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. New York: Random House, 1991. Jago, Carol. Sandra Cisneros in the Classroom: “Do Not Forget to Reach.” Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2002. Mirriam-Goldberg, Caryn. Sandra Cisneros: Latina Writer and Activist. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 1998. Florence Maätita Southern Illinois University
Civil Rights Movement and Motherhood The grassroots Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s had a profound and lasting impact on the mothers and families involved because of the oftenprofound experiences of activists. Some participants in the Civil Rights Movement separated their roles and parents and activists, others integrated these roles, and still others chose one role over the other. Some mothers active in the movement faced public criticism for neglecting their socially expected gender roles as wives and mothers. Children of civil rights activists continued to be affected by their parents’ experiences into adulthood as they sought to establish their own identities. Adult children of renowned activists faced even more pressure due to their famous last names. Activist parents, most often fathers, were absent from their families for long periods, which could result in marital tensions, financial difficulties, and distant relationships with children who had
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little memories of them. White activists sometimes endured estrangement from their own parents. Some parents introduced their children to the movement and their personal experiences, while others isolated their children and did not discuss their roles or emotions. Some children did not learn the extent of their parents’ experiences until they had reached adulthood themselves. They were sometimes left with a sense of embitterment or a longing for missed parental affection. Activists sometimes also faced public criticism for their neglect of family life, especially mothers whose activism countered their traditional gender role as wives and mothers. Some, such as Black Panther leader Elaine Brown, faced challenges within her own organization due to her gender. Some children were active in the movement themselves, participating in school integration, sit-ins, Freedom Rides, marches, and demonstrations. Even those who were not active participants still experienced the racism, taunts, and violence that accompanied the movement, such as viewing beatings and cross burnings, and in some cases the violent deaths of their parents. Interracial children whose parents were brought together by the movement faced discrimination and bullying. Those whose parents introduced them to the movement often felt part of an extended family, as they frequently interacted with other participants. Some, such as children of Black Panthers members, attended communal schools and were raised according to a community-based parenting philosophy. Others could feel isolated if they lived in a neighborhood where their parents were among the only activists. Life After the Movement The influence of the Civil Rights Movement on families continued after the movement reached its heights in the 1950s and 1960s. Mothers and fathers who returned to full-time parenting had to adjust to unfamiliar roles. Some struggled with depression, substance abuse, posttraumatic stress, or difficulties adjusting to life after the movement. Women who were raised within the movement became mothers and grandmothers themselves, facing the challenges of passing its lessons and goals on to the next generation. The language of the movement’s history plays
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on social definitions of motherhood, such as referring to female civil rights leaders Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King as Mothers of the Movement. Many adults whose parents were active in the Civil Rights Movement have felt a sense of the past in the present and a social and personal burden of carrying on the family tradition. They also feel a sense of duty to keep the memories alive in the public conscience. Some parents utilized summer camps and mentor networks designed to teach children to carry on the civil rights struggle, while others have encouraged their children to follow their own paths or discouraged them due to the physical risks of activism. Some have become activists in civil rights or other causes, while others have rebelled against the expectations that they carry on the struggle. Some who choose different paths feel a sense of guilt or a fear of disappointing their parents and race. Children of segregationists face a different challenge as they become parents themselves: how to explain their parents’ actions to their own children. See Also: Activism, Maternal; African American Mothers; Anti-