
The Juggling Mother
Coming Undone in the Age of Anxiety
Amanda Watson(Author)
University of British Columbia Press
Published on 22. November 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
184 pages
978-0-7748-6462-6 (ISBN)
Description
Who is the juggling mother, the woman who quietly flicks dried cereal off her blazer while running a corporate empire? The Juggling Mother explores this figure of contemporary mothering in media representations: a typically white, middle-class woman on the verge of coming undone because of her unwieldy slate of labours.
Mothers who frantically juggle paid and unpaid work demands do not threaten the way labour is organized. In fact, as Amanda Watson demonstrates, they are model neoliberal workers who uphold white privilege - along with ableist notions of mastery, capacity, and productivity - because of a desire for political visibility and social inclusion.
The Juggling Mother makes the controversial case that unfair labour distributions are publicly celebrated, intentionally performed, and intimately felt. Mothers with the most power are thus complicit in the exclusion of less privileged ones - and in their own undoing.
Mothers who frantically juggle paid and unpaid work demands do not threaten the way labour is organized. In fact, as Amanda Watson demonstrates, they are model neoliberal workers who uphold white privilege - along with ableist notions of mastery, capacity, and productivity - because of a desire for political visibility and social inclusion.
The Juggling Mother makes the controversial case that unfair labour distributions are publicly celebrated, intentionally performed, and intimately felt. Mothers with the most power are thus complicit in the exclusion of less privileged ones - and in their own undoing.
Reviews / Votes
Watson's book is a crucial, nuanced, and astute analysis of the ways in which our current capitalist system is failing mothers. - Melinda Vandenbeld Giles, University of Toronto and Lakehead University (University of Toronto Quarterly)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Vancouver
Canada
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
5 b&w photos
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Weight
250 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7748-6462-6 (9780774864626)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Amanda D. Watson is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Simon Fraser University. Her work has been published in the International Feminist Journal of Politics, Studies in Social Justice, and Politique de l'image.
Content
1 Coming Undone
2 The Juggling Mother
3 C-Suite Moms
4 You Are What You Nurse
5 Avoiding Regret
6 Dropping the Ball
Notes; Works Cited; Index
2 The Juggling Mother
3 C-Suite Moms
4 You Are What You Nurse
5 Avoiding Regret
6 Dropping the Ball
Notes; Works Cited; Index