Abstract
Rachel Thomson, Mary Jane Kehily, Lucy Hadfield and Sue Sharpe, Making Modern Mothers, Bristol: Policy Press, 2011, 328 pp. £16.99. ISBN 9781847426048 (pbk).
This book aims to explore what it means to be a mother in contemporary Britain. It considers first-time mothering within a wider framework of the changing nature of motherhood. Drawing on differences between women in terms of age, social class, ethnicity and sexuality, it illuminates where narratives of mothering converge whilst also highlighting the idiosyncrasies of individual lives.
Written using accessible language, the authors present a comprehensive picture of the changing landscape of motherhood by drawing on rich ethnographic data. Interviews, focus groups and photographs are embedded within the longitudinal and cross-generational research design. For those readers interested in the methodological and conceptual framework, the authors signpost appropriate and relevant aspects. Details of the research process include sampling methods and the rationale for research decisions during phases of research design, data collection and analysis. Interestingly, in parts of the book, readers get a glimpse of reflexivity in action (Doucet, 2006) as the researchers describe how: ‘We tried our hardest to be a good listener, to not interrupt these [participant’s] accounts …’ (p.26)
Following the introduction, which contextualises the study of making modern mothers, Chapter 2 attends to ‘conception narratives’. This chapter outlines ways in which a diverse sample of research participants ‘story’ their experiences of finding out they are pregnant and how they then share this news with others. Chapter 3 provides a useful discussion of the embodied nature of pregnancy. Within this, the authors make clear how the pregnant body is represented in popular media. The complexity of relationships within the lives of mothers is clearly outlined in Chapter 4. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 entitled ‘Expert Advice’, ‘Work’ and ‘Commodities’ explore each of these subjects respectively with some use of photographic evidence. In these chapters, readers are presented with accounts that demonstrate the fluidity of mothering identities. By referring to expert advice, work and commodities, the authors demonstrate generational differences and change in mothering practices and maternal culture. Chapter 8 draws on case studies with new mothers, partners and grandmothers to demonstrate both nuanced and collective experiences of birth. This flows logically into the concluding chapter, 9, which describes revisiting women after birth. This final chapter reinforces the books overarching point that becoming a mother encapsulates continuity and change.
There is no doubt that this book provides a rich detailed document on the topic of motherhood. As the authors establish early on, this is an immensely complex area and, at times, the book seems ambitious in its broad coverage. However, as its premise is to tell the stories of the mothers, it seems the content is driven, justifiably, by what emerges from the data. With this in mind, the authors do a good job in attending to a range of identity and gender aspects within the frames of feminist theory and social science.
Anyone with an interest in understanding the lived experiences of mothering will recognize the difficulty of capturing its dynamic nature. In this book the authors draw on enduring historical and political debates regarding gendered binaries and inequalities whilst providing fresh insights into how experiences of these are ‘lived out’ in the everyday lives of their research participants. By illuminating dominant cultural discourses of mothering, this book contributes to the growing body of literature on both mothering (See Doucet, 2006; Henwood et al., 2008; Miller, 2005) using feminist informed research to develop thinking on the evolving nature of gendered care practices.
Overall I enjoyed reading Making Modern Mothers, its coverage is gratifyingly wide and I would happily recommend it to students, researchers and policy makers.