Challenging motherhood(s)

About this book

"Challenging Motherhood(s) critically examines contemporary social and legal constructions of motherhood in the context of a more general discussion of families in Western and British society. The title reflects the ways in which 'motherhood' has come to be increasingly scrutinised and challenged according to a particular set of Western ideals as to what motherhood could and should entail. This is evidenced through a number of case studies which focus upon the social and legal regulation of family life e.g. the social and legal representations of the issues of child support, paternal contact cases, and particularly political and media presentations of lone mothers." "It also includes a discussion of the ways in which women themselves articulate their experiences as mothers within and through the complex set of discourses on motherhood. In other words, it reflects the capacity of women to challenge dominant discourses about motherhood and to engage in the critique of this disputed field of knowledge."--Jacket.