Mothers Work

Michelle Napierski-Prancl is professor of sociology and faculty director of the Women's Institute at Russell Sage College.

In this volume, Napierski-Prancl (Russell Sage College) uses in-depth focus group research from a diverse group of mothers, including those working in the paid labor force and those who are stay-at-home moms, to share these women's experiences of, perspectives on, and understandings of motherhood. She combines this data with an evaluation of relevant media to broadly assess the institution of motherhood in American society. A unique aspect of the book is that Naperski-Pranci intersperses her own experiences as a working mother with the voices of the mothers she met. This helps to connect her experiences to the women she interviewed, along with understanding her own positionality. Foregrounding the voices of interviewees, the author challenges the cultural assumption of the “Mommy Wars” and uses a sociological perspective to demonstrate how women’s similar and different experiences of mothering can be used to foster structural change that values women’s work in both the paid and unpaid labor force. She ultimately argues that change can be driven by mothers themselves.Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.

• Chapter One: The Mommy Wars: An Imaginary Battle over Mothers(’) WorkChapter Two: Listening to Their Side of the Story: Introducing the MomsChapter Three: Mothers Work: Nostalgia, Language, and the Myth of Eating Bon BonsChapter Four: The Dreaded Question: So What Do You Do? Stay-at-home Moms, the Issue of Identity, and the Decision to Stay HomeChapter Five: Supermoms, Daycare, and Family Friendly Policies: Full-time Working MothersChapter Six: The Best of Both Worlds? Part-time Working MomsChapter Seven: Moving Forward: Mothers as Agents of Social Change