Review by Choice Review
By examining diverse mothering experiences using the tools of the ethnographer and the theoretical framework of contemporary feminist anthropological theory, this collection traces the outlines of the social construction of nonnative mothering. It contains nine high-quality, qualitative studies, eight of which involve interviews or participant observations with women doing "mother work," and one of which is an analysis of court custody cases. Subjects of the studies include adopting mothers, white mothers of black children, mothers of children with disabilities, mothers who have miscarried, homeless mothers, mothers of revolutionaries in Nicaragua, surrogate mothers, lesbian mothers, and infertile women. All of the essays examine women doing real mothering work, bringing into view the boundary lines carved by cultures as they naturalize motherhood and the "good mother." Two of the essays deal with questions raised by the technologies of reproduction such as in vitro fertilization and gestational surrogacy. Individual and court responses to these technologies problematize even the definition of biological motherhood. Issues of class, race, and sexuality contextualize the essays. Certainly the book is a significant contribution to what Rayna Rapp in the foreword calls a feminist anthropology of stratified reproduction. Graduate students and faculty. K. M. McKinley; Cabrini College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
