Review by Choice Review
Contributing to the deconstruction of the myth of the perfect mother, this monograph by Clements and Nixon (both, English, Whitworth Univ.), two scholars of rhetoric and literature, argues that contemporary advice on maternity has been made even more constraining and anxiety-inducing by the rise of social media, the dominance of neoliberalist ideology, and the political polarization of American society. According to the authors, the cult of true womanhood prevails, more privatized, data-driven, and polarized than in earlier generations. Themes emerging from Facebook exchanges among a sample of new parent groups over a four-year period form the data for the analysis. Issues examined include pregnancy, delivery room experiences, postpartum experiences, and feeding and sleeping arrangements. Interviews with a convenience sample of women who became mothers between 1998 and 2018, at age 17 through 30, supplement the social media sources. Specific chapter topics include responses to the CDC's no-alcohol recommendation in 2016, birth stories and birth plans, the binary of diagnostic categorizations following birth, post-pregnancy support, and the polarization of feeding and sleeping routines. Documenting in detail the rise of the rigid binary, the authors conclude with a community-based action plan for overcoming its distancing effects. Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. --Kathleen M. McKinley, Cabrini University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
