Finally, here is an enlightening and empowering book that defines motherhood from a feminist perspective and then explores the implications of that definition. Feminist authors examine some of women's full, rich, and varied thoughts and experiences about motherhood. In contrast to the too often accepted male notions of what constitutes a good' mother or a normal family, this important book presents a comprehensive and balanced view of motherhoodas women have observed and experienced it.

Jane Price Knowles, Ellen Cole

Contents
Preface

• Section I: Introduction
• Woman-Defined Motherhood
• Section II: Mothers and Daughters
• I Was in Hawaii
• The Gold Taloned Mirrors
• I Hope I'm Not Like My Mother
• Daughters Discover Their Mothers Through Biographies and Genograms: Educational and Clinical Parallels
• Mourning the Myth of Motherhood: Reclaiming Our Mothers' Legacies
• Section III: Mother-Blaming
• Making Mother-Blaming Invisible: The Emperor's New Clothes
• Mother-Hatred and Mother-Blaming: What Electra Did to Clytemnestra
• Mother-Blaming and Clinical Theory
• Old Women as Mother Figures
• Section IV: Diversity
• Caught Between Two Worlds: The Impact of a Child on a Lesbian Couple's Relationship
• The Myth of the Wicked Stepmother
• Feminist Considerations of Intercountry Adoptions
• No Accident: The Voices of Voluntarily Childless Women--An Essay on the Social Construction of Fertility Choices
• Establishing the First Stages of Early Reciprocal Interactions Between Mothers and Their Autistic Children
• Section V: Oppression
• Mothering the Biracial Child: Bridging the Gaps Between African-American and White Parenting Styles
• Lesbian Parents: Claiming Our Visibility
• Sarah and the Women's Movement: The Experience of Infertility
• Sturdy Bridges: The Role of African-American Mothers in the Socialization of African-American Children
• Section VI: Research
• Motherhood and Sex-Role Development