A brief definition

In this blog, I will use the word mother, not parent, because I am generally talking about a role--the general, not specific individuals. I understand that there are many alloparents in the world. That some children have more support from fathers or aunts or grandparents than mothers. But, one of my points is that the devaulation of motherhood is linked to gender and gender roles. Therefore, the female word seems to be the best choice. Therefore, if you are an aunt or a single father, please do not feel excluded or undervalued. All caregiving is important, and in some ways, relevant to this discussion. But here, I will focus on concept of motherhood as it relates primarily to women.

Introduction

This blog is an attempt for me to bring together two very big parts of my life: motherhood and critical theory.

Perhaps this seems silly. Motherhood is "natural" after all, right? Something that's been around for years, decades, millennia. . . True. But as our culture has gotten more complex, so has motherhood. Just ask any parent about how much advice, how many items, are available for today's parents. However, I think that it is precisely because motherhood is so "natural," because it is a thread that runs throughout time, that it should be theorized. As Judith Butler and many others have demonstrated sometimes it is exactly what we take for granted that is worthy of the most critical analysis.

In addition to Butler, this blog is inspired by the work of Derrick Bell, a legal scholar and one of the early thinkers behind Critical Race Theory. The basic tenets of this theory include the notion that racism is "critical in the maintenance of social stability in society marked by enormous disparities in income, wealth, and opportunity" (see Race, Racism, and the American Law). Tangentially, all whites benefit from their race whether they realize it or not.

In many ways, motherhood is a disadvantaged position in our society; I'll take up specifics in various posts. Non-mothers, and men (whether or not they have children) benefit from their status whether they realize it or not. And, as others have argued before me, such as Ann Crittenden in The Price of Motherhood, this imbalance is crucial to our maintenance of current cultural stability.

I do not intend for this blog to be angry or whiny, but rather a critical examination of the way motherhood functions in our society. I will apply a variety of critical theories to this life experience, as well as representations of this life experience. Movies, books, TV and other artifacts are full of mothers and representations of motherhood. Motherhood is such a large part of our world.

I hope this blog is of interest to a variety of people--those interested in questions of gender, those who enjoy theoretical debates, but most importantly, mothers. I hope that this blog allows women (and men as fathers) to distance themselves slightly from the baths and scraped knees, the soccer practices and the violin lessons, the sleepless nights and the first smiles, enough to realize how important they are to society as a whole