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The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood Hardcover – September 10, 1998

by Sharon Hays (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2 ratings
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Working mothers today confront not only conflicting demands on their time and energy but also conflicting ideas about how they are to behave: they must be nurturing and unselfish while engaged in child rearing but competitive and ambitious at work. As more and more women enter the workplace, it would seem reasonable for society to make mothering a simpler and more efficient task. Instead, Sharon Hays points out in this original and provocative book, an ideology of "intensive mothering" has developed that only exacerbates the tensions working mothers face.

Drawing on ideas about mothering since the Middle Ages, on contemporary childrearing manuals, and on in-depth interviews with mothers from a range of social classes, Hays traces the evolution of the ideology of intensive mothering―an ideology that holds the individual mother primarily responsible for child rearing and dictates that the process is to be child-centered, expert-guided, emotionally absorbing, labor-intensive, and financially expensive. Hays argues that these ideas about appropriate mothering stem from a fundamental ambivalence about a system based solely on the competitive pursuit of individual interests. In attempting to deal with our deep uneasiness about self-interest, we have imposed unrealistic and unremunerated obligations and commitments on mothering, making it into an opposing force, a primary field on which this cultural ambivalence is played out.
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Yale University Press
  4. Publication date
    September 10, 1998
  5. Dimensions
    9.24 x 6.12 x 0.6 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0300076525
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0300076523
  8. See all details
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From the Back Cover

Working mothers today confront not only conflicting demands on their time and energy but also conflicting ideas about how they are to behave: they must be nurturing and unselfish while engaged in child rearing but competitive and ambitious at work. As more and more women enter the workplace, it would seem reasonable for society to make mothering a simpler and more efficient task. Instead, Sharon Hays points out in this original and provocative book, an ideology of "intensive mothering" has developed that only exacerbates the tensions working mothers face. Drawing on ideas about mothering since the Middle Ages, on contemporary child-rearing manuals, and on in-depth interviews with mothers from a range of social classes, Hays traces the evolution of the ideology of intensive mothering - an ideology that holds the individual mother primarily responsible for child rearing and dictates that the process is to be child-centered, expert-guided, emotionally absorbing, labor-intensive, and financially expensive. Hays argues that these ideas about appropriate mothering stem from a fundamental ambivalence about a system based solely on the competitive pursuit of individual interests. In attempting to deal with our deep uneasiness about self-interest, we have imposed unrealistic and unremunerated obligations and commitments on mothering, making it into an opposing force, a primary field on which this cultural ambivalence is played out.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press; First Edition (US) First Printing (September 10, 1998)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0300076525
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300076523
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.24 x 6.12 x 0.6 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2 ratings

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Sharon Hays

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Robert Z.
    3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but the methods are questionable
    Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2000
    Verified Purchase
    An interesting book for anyone who has ever grappled with balancing work and motherhood. However, Hays' review of secondary sources on family life throughout the ages reads like an undergraduate term-paper. Hays' analysis of child-rearing manuals concludes that while people are buying these manuals, the effect upon them is unknown. The meat of her analysis is based upon interviews with 38 women - a focus group too small to contain any conclusive evidence on the topic. If you are looking for a sociological analysis of motherhood & work, the rigorous quantitative approaches are just not there. If, however, you want an entertaining ancedotal book on how some women view motherhood, child-rearing & working, then this is the book for you.
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