Review by Choice Review
The editors proposed that the new journal would be interdisciplinary by nature, focusing on interpretation as the shared characteristic of the various fields in the humanities. The primary areas of interest include canon formation, theory/pedagogy, aesthetic and social formations, and literary discourse. During the first two years of publication, the journal has maintained its focus on the problems outlined in its editorial statement by printing articles on such diverse topics as literacy, literary theory, Freud, camp, film, feminism, and nuclear domesticity. The theoretical exploration of the primary areas of interest occurs in the section of the journal reserved for excerpts from symposiums sponsored by the Whitney Humanities Center. The excerpts also represent the area most accessible to advanced undergraduate and graduate students. In scope, the journal is comparable to South Atlantic Quarterly from Duke or Critical Inquiry from the University of Chicago, and many of the issues (canon formation, feminism, poststructuralism, literacy, and power) are similar in the three journals. However, the areas being articulated are large enough to not only support but also demand several professional journals. -W. F. Williams, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
This is a powerful, compassionate analysis of the connections between abortion, day-care, and surrogate motherhood. Rothman employs a Marxist analysis, seeking to undercut a patriarchal understanding of paternity that sees the child as a product of its parents' egg and sperm. To combat this view, she suggests focusing on the relationship that develops between mother and child in pregnancy. A child, she asserts, is born into a social relationship as well as a genetic one. To realize this fact, she goes on, is to center the experience of pregnancy and birth entirely on the woman, the only visible member of the relationship in progress. Rothman brilliantly interweaves personal narrative with documentary evidence to create an important, perhaps vital book. Notes; to be indexed. MPM.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Rothman, a sociologist at the City University of New York, is herself a wife and mother, and her third book, following In Labor and The Tentative Pregnancy , centers on how ``motherhood'' can be undermined by technology. Indicting scientific ``progress'' that can reduce women to machines bearing children for sale, she adds her opinion to the controversary surrounding ``Baby M'' and related issues. Rothman warns of the grave social problems already evinced by alternative methods of ``having'' babies, such as surrogacy, artificial conception, etc. Readers may quarrel with some of the author's convictions but they will agree with her argument that it's past time for women to restore motherhood to its proper status. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Rothman examines the impact of the new reproductive technologies on the institution of the family. Using the Baby M and Baby Doe cases as points of departure, she discusses the medical, legal, and ethical aspects of current medical advances. She notes with alarm the tendency to look at children as commodities and mothers as a means of production. Unlike other books dealing with this material, Rothman's goes beyond warnings of abuse by the male-dominated medical and legal professions and beyond the traditional feminist call for taking control from the oppressor. She offers practical suggestions for an enlightened social policy regarding parenthood, family structure, and childcare. A thoughtful, well-written analysis of contemporary issues for a wide audience. Barbara M. Bibel, Oakland P.L., Cal. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An intelligent and rigorous feminist discussion of social, legal, and medical issues surrounding motherhood; a well-based conclusion offers starting points for change. Rothman (In Labor; The Tentative Pregnancy) takes as her starting point her reflections and discussions with other feminists on the Baby M case: not just the legal questions of parenthood and custody directly addressed by the court, but also the drastic difference in reaction to Mary Beth Whitehead versus Elizabeth Stern (""Yes, Whitehead was being treated shabbily. 'But what about Elizabeth Stern?' one of my colleagues asked. 'After all, she's one of us' ""). Rothman doesn't think that feminism should be ""tailored to the needs of the Elizabeth Sterns of the world""--it should recognize the needs of all classes of mothers. Rothman goes on to identify and examine three ideologies that shape our understanding of American motherhood: those of patriarchy; of technology; of capitalism. At present, she argues, ""legal, social and technological changes are being used to devalue motherhood, to commodify children and parents' relations with children."" She proceeds to examine in depth developments in selected areas of current concern: abortion, adoption, infertility, midwifery, child care, and fatherhood, among others. Finally, Rothman argues that we must recognize maternity claims (""birth mothers have full parental rights, including rights of custody""); allow adoption only after the birth of the baby, and preferably after a fixed waiting period; banish surrogacy (the woman who bears the child is the mother, says Rothman, regardless of the source of egg or sperm); and reexamine fatherhood (if men want children, they will have to either develop the technology to become pregnant, or rely on relationships with women). Rothman also makes recommendations regarding infertility, pregnancy, newborn medical care, and child care. Responsible scholarship and discussion; worthwhile not just as a starting point for change, but also as an aid in helping concerned readers sort out for themselves the torturous issues so wrenchingly exemplified by the Baby M quagmire. (For a more favorable view of surrogacy, see Andrews' Between Strangers, above.) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
