Viva la Feminista

Image by Erik Kastner on Flickr When Yvonne Brill died in 2013, her New York Times obituary famously led with her culinary skills. Her beef Stroganoff masked her innovative work on a propulsion system to help keep communications satellites from slipping out of their orbits. The feminist internet clapped back until the NYTimes edited the dish out. Last week Brenda Barnes, former CEO of Sara Lee, died. The Chicago Sun-Times framed her professional accomplishments along with her title of "Perfect Mom." Fortune called her a hero to working moms.       I remember reading about her stepping down to attend to her children during their teen years and then later her ramping back up. For a bit, I quite obsessed about Barnes. Why wouldn't I be? In Barnes returned to full-time employment in 2004 I was still a rookie mom with big career aspirations. Anytime I have big dreams, I scour the world for role models to study as if to find clues as to how I can replicate t...

I made it into the NYTimes, folks! I wrote an op-ed about how the perfect gift for Mother's Day is a selfie. It stems from the fact that I do not have a lot of photos with my mom. Please check it out and share widely. I also wrote a Mother's Day piece for LatinaMom.me about learning to love Mother's Day again : It has been 12 years since I've had a mom. It has also been 12 years since I became a mom. The cognitive dissonance can be overwhelming and becomes unbearable as we build up to Mother's Day. My mom died at the start of my third trimester, as I was pregnant with her much-requested first grandchild. And it sucks more and more every Mother's Day. But every year, I also grow to love Mother's Day in a new way. Soon after my mom's death, I let my subscription to Mother Jones lapse because their renewal notices had marketing copy on the envelopes that read: "Your Mother Wants to Hear from You!" In my head was a litany of curse ...

Half way through Frida Berrigan’s contribution to mom lit, It Runs in the Family: On Being Raised by Radicals and Growing Into Rebellious Motherhood , I thought this was the best book ever. I even said in my Goodreads update that it was so good that I could put my aspirations of writing a book on motherhood to bed. Now that I am done with her part-mothering book, part-memoir, I can say that I still might give mine a go, but this is certainly one the best books about raising children I have ever read. Berrigan is the daughter of acclaimed peace activist Philip Berrigan. Some of us might know his name from the Dar Williams song, I Had No Right , which depicts Phillip and his brother Daniel’s trial for burning draft cards . Frida was raised in strict accordance to her parents’ dedication to the peace movement which included a commitment to living as simply as possible and shunning good ole’ fashioned American consumerism. As a former priest and nun, Frida’s parents also raised them t...

Demeter Press is pleased to announce the release of: INTENSIVE MOTHERING: THE CULTURAL CONTRADICTIONS OF MODERN MOTHERHOOD Edited by Linda Rose Ennis To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Sharon Hays' landmark book, The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood, this collection will revisit Hays' concept of "intensive mothering" as a continuing, yet controversial representation of modern motherhood. In Hays' original work, she spoke of "intensive mothering" as primarily being conducted by mothers, centered on children's needs with methods informed by experts, which are labour-intensive and costly simply because children are entitled to this maternal investment. While respecting the important need for connection between mother and baby that is prevalent in the teachings of Attachment Theory, this collection raises into question whether an over-investment of mothers in their children's lives is as effective a mode of parenting, as being...

I've been blogging forever, well before Ella was a reality, when she was still just a glimmer in my eye. Before I became a "mom blogger," I was just a feminist blogger ranting about the world and George W. Bush's occupation of the White House. But as any woman who starts making friends in her mid-twenties quickly realizes, people start to have babies. And soon enough I did too. The beauty of mom blogging is that it is a way for us to connect with other new moms, to share our joys and fears. When we find a mom blogger who has kids just a big older than our newborns, she becomes our big sister or super cool cousin, who can talk us down from our daily "I AM THE WORST MOM EVER!" ledge. That is who Dawn Friedman became to me. We met online when she was just embarking on the journey to add her daughter to her family. The fact she had a son who was maybe 6 or 7 at the time meant she knew how to survive the early days of the mamahood. And boy, did she ever come i...

Demeter Press is pleased to announce the release of: STAY-AT-HOME MOTHERS: DIALOGUES AND DEBATES Edited by Elizabeth Reid Boyd and Gayle Letherby July 2014 / $39.95 / ISBN 978-1-927335-44-4 / 6 x 9 / 322 pp. ***This collection is included in our 50% off sale until September 1st! Please use coupon code MOTHER*** This book includes a remarkably diverse range of voices and perspectives on the under-researched topic of mothers electing to stay at home to care for their children or returning home after being in the paid workforce. As the first international collection of its kind, it explores with sensitivity and insight some of the deep cultural, personal and policy tensions around stay-at- home mothering. Elizabeth Reid Boyd and Gayle Letherby draw together contemporary social science research, media analyses and reflections on the lived experience of mothers. This book is distinguished by its openness, moving beyond familiar stereotypes and toward a different way of ...

Recent comments made by Indra Nooyi, the current CEO of PepsiCo, has been making the rounds on my Twitter and Facebook feed. I poke my head up to read such things when stories like this seem to cross the borders of my feminist friends and my friends who are feminists, but don't share every feminist story. The gist is that Nooyi at Aspen Ideas Week said the not-so-radical statement: I don't think women can have it all. I just don't think so. We pretend we have it all. We pretend we can have it all...every day you have to make a decision about whether you are going to be a wife or a mother... yet the media acts as if she is shattering a commandment. Mashable goes on to report that, "Nooyi says there's no way to square a high-pressure career with raising kids." So let's take this one step at a time. If anyone under 40 still believes in the "women can have it all" fairytale, STOP NOW. I truly believe the only women who really, really belie...

Today is my mom's birthday. She would had been 58. That's me with her when I was about three years old. That's my puppy in my tiny hands! This is one of my favorite photos of my mom and me. And after she died in 2003, I realized it was one of the few photos I had of us together. Today the #365FeministSelfie challenge is one week old. Apt that it falls on her birthday because of all the comments/captions I have been reading when people, mostly women, post their photos, the one that stands out is, "I want my kids to have more photos of us together after I'm gone."  Back to 2003.  My parents had moved from the Chicago are to North Carolina in 2000. As with any more, things are lost.  I always felt they lost a lot of photos.  And the suckiest part of someone dying is digging through boxes of photos. Can there be a worst time to dive into memory lane? GAWD! So there I was, by the way 6-months pregnant, digging for photos I swear we had. Finding piles of ph...

The plight of incarcerated mothers is an issue I don't write nearly enough about , but when I stop to think about it...well, I get, um, steamed. A few weeks ago, Maya Schenwar, executive director at Truthout , wrote about her sister's experience giving birth while incarcerated and then having her daughter taken away. In Illinois we have few options for women who want to bond with and nurse their newborns. Friend of VLF, Matthew Filipowicz, spoke to Maya and I highly recommend you listen in. If you want to skip right to Maya, her segment starts at 14:38.

CALL FOR PAPERS Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI)   Mothers and Work; Mothering as Work: Policy, Ideology, Experience, and Representation June 24-27,2013,Toronto,Canada The conference, taking place at the same time as the Academic Motherhood and the Communicating Mothers Conference will explore the topic of mothers and work and mothering as work across a wide range of perspectives and themes. Topics include but are not limited to: Work/Life Balance; "The Mommy Wars"; "Opting Out"; Maternal Activism; Motherhood Movements; Mothers and Leisure; Representations of Working Mothers and Mothering as Work in Literature, Film, Art, and Social Media; Mothers and Education; Other Mothering/Co-Mothering; Mothering and Migration; Migrant Mothers; Transnational Mothering/Mothers; Carework; Motherwork and Feminism; Maternal Thinking; Maternal Practice; Breastfeeding/Pregnancy and the Workplace; Reproductive L...

Demeter Press will be publishing an edited collection, A Reader, on Mothering-Motherhood Across Differences in Maternal Subjectives/Experiences . We have in place chapters on Latina Mothers, Aboriginal Mothers, Queer Mothers, Young Mothers and so forth. We are seeking chapters on the following mothers. Chapters will be approximately 25 pages in length and will explore theories on this particular group of mothers as well as the experiences of such mothers. The chapters will be due July 1, 2013. The  book will be published late 2013 or early 2014.  If you are interested in writing a chapter on one of the following, please send a bio of your expertise on the topic by Jan 15, 2013 to Dr. Andrea O'Reilly, editor of the collection,  aoreilly@yorku.ca . Information on Demeter Press available on our site  www.demeterpress.org   1) Older Mothers 2) Low Income/Poor Mothers 3) Single Mothers 4) Immigrant/Refuge/Migrant Mothers 5) Workin...

CALL FOR PAPERS Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement  (MIRCI) ONE-DAY SYMPOSIUM ON ADRIENNE RICH October 20, 2012, Toronto, Ontario, Canada In celebration of the life and work of Adrienne Rich (1929-2012) Poet, Essayist, Radical Feminist, Anti- War Activist, Mothering Theorist, and Author of Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Institution and Experience. We welcome submissions from scholars, students, activists, workers, artists, and others inspired by the work of Adrienne Rich. Cross-cultural, historical and comparative work is encouraged. We are open to a variety of types of submissions, such as: academic papers from all disciplines; presentations by community activists and social service providers; creative submissions - performances, films, storytelling, visual arts; and workshops.    Please send a 250-word abstract and 50-word bio to aoreilly@yorku.ca by July 1, 2012. One must ...

Demeter Press is pleased to announce the release of: Mother-Talk Conversations With Mothers of Lesbian Daughters and FTM Transgender Children by Sarah F. Pearlman  Mother-Talk is a collection of stories of twenty-four mothers--twelve who found out a daughter was a lesbian and twelve who learned that a child, once a biological female, was planning to transition to male--capturing the complexity of coming to terms with the loss of a daughter who has changed sex or an anticipated relationship with a daughter, now a lesbian, who lives in a different world and will lead a different life. This groundbreaking book will help other mothers as well as lesbian daughters and FTM transgender children to understand their own mothers, their changed lives, and their determination to remain connected.   Sarah F. Pearlman was selected by the American Psychological Association Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bis...

Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement CALL FOR PAPERS The editorial board is seeking submissions for Vol. 4.1 of the Journal of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (JMI) to be published in spring/summer 2013. Mothering, Education, Maternal Pedagogies and Motherhood Studies The journal will explore the topic of Mothering, Education, Maternal Pedagogies and Motherhood Studies from a variety of perspectives and disciplines. We welcome submissions from scholars, students, activists, government agencies and workers, artists, mothers, and others who work or research in this area. Cross- cultural, historical and comparative work is encouraged. We also welcome creative reflections such as poetry, short stories, and artwork on the subject. Topics can include (but are not limited to): Normative & disruptive discourses about motherhood and education; pedagogical othermothering & midwifery; mothering i...

Demeter Press is pleased to announce the releases of Latina/Chicana Mothering edited by Dorsía Smith Silva Latina/Chicana Mothering provides a glimpse into the journey of mothering within the diverse spectrum of the histories, struggles, and stories of Latinas and Chicanas. Here, the Latina/Chicana mothering experience emphasizes the need for various conceptualizations of mothering, especially in regard to the conditions which shape the lives of Latinas and Chicanas, such as race, gender, sexuality, culture, language, social status, religion, kinship, location, and migration. The book has four sections: testimonios (narratives), links between motherhood and communities, mothering challenges, and literary and cultural images of Latina/Chicana mothers. As the essays in this book unfold, they reveal new images of motherhood and offer ways to transform Latina/Chicana mothering. "Compelling narratives, testimonios, empirical research and literary representations on mothering...

CALL FOR PAPERS Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI) MOTHERING AND REPRODUCTION featuring an embedded conference on the topic of MOTHERING, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY October 18-20, 2012, Toronto, ON, Canada We welcome submissions from scholars, students, artists, mothers and others who research in this area. Cross-cultural and comparative work is encouraged. We are open to a variety of submissions including academic papers from all disciplines and creative submissions including visual art, literature, and performance art. This conference will examine the ethical, political, social/cultural, economic, historical, religious, spiritual, and psychological dimensions of reproduction and mothering. While the larger conference will be broad in its interpretation and engagement with the subject of 'Mothering and Reproduction', an embedded conference will be specific to exploring how mothers' decisions and experiences of reproduction and...

Call For Papers: Motherhood/Fatherhood and Popular Culture Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA)National Conference: 2012 Boston, Massachusetts, April 11- 14 Julie Tharp and Susan MacCallum-Whitcomb write in This Giving Birth: "Ever since a pregnant Demi Moore exploded the beauty myth by posing nude for a magazine cover and Madonna cast off her boy-toy image to sing the praises of maternity, popular culture has also begun to embrace dear old mom." At the same time, Modern Family, Mr. Mom, Thomas Beatie, the At-Home Dads Convention, and Superdad: a Memoir of Rebellion, Drugs and Fatherhood are just a few examples testifying to how popular culture has been embracing dad. Liz Podnieks is looking for papers for multiple panels for the new PCA Area Motherhood/Fatherhood which showcases (from humanities and social sciences perspectives) any aspect of motherhood and or fatherhood in popular culture. Possible topics to consider include, but a...

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! The Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI) announces our continuing 2011 events for the Mother Outlaws' Speakers Series The Mother Outlaws Speakers Series is a free monthly event open to the public presenting topical issues on motherhood and feminism. Tuesday September 20th, 2011 6:30pm- 9:00pm Women's College Hospital , Boardroom E252 76 Grenville Street (Bay and College), Toronto (scent-free environment please) Please distribute flier widely: mother outlaws september flier The 21st Century Motherhood Movement This panel will address several motherhood organizations featured in the ground breaking 2011 anthology by Demeter Press that highlight maternal advocacy, activism, and social change The keynote address will discuss the challenges and possibilities of maternalism, detail the strategies of 21st century maternal activism, and affirm a much-needed mother-...

Eight years. I just read through eight years of blog posts about Mother's Day*. I stopped keeping a diary in college. Maybe that's why blogging has such an appeal to me. I write and know it's going to be read. Going through eight years of highs and lows of marking this day was tough. Some years I wrote a lot. Oddly last year I didn't write a damn thing on Mother's Day because I was so damn busy. The past month has seen me give no less than three interviews about my feminism and how it came to be. Those who know me, know it means talking about my mother and maternal grandmother. Each interview helped me rediscover a bit about my past than I would have ever expected. My maternal grandmother was heart broken that I didn't heed her advice to go to college and THEN find a boyfriend. Instead I found a boyfriend and then we both went off to college together. I think it turned out pretty well. We have a daughter and will celebrate 12 years of marriage on Mother...