Feminist Perspectives on Young Mothers and Young Mothering

Dr. Joanne Minaker is Associate Dean, Academic, in the Faculty of Arts and Science at MacEwan University. A sociologist, qualitative researcher, and ardent mother. Works include the book Youth, Crime and Society: Issues of Power and Justice (2009), co-authored with Bryan Hogeveen, Criminalized Mothers, Criminalized Mothering (2015), as well as numerous articles that call into question marginalizing processes that dehumanize groups. Deborah Byrd s Professor of English and Women’s & Gender Studies at Lafayette College, where she teaches women writers, 19th-century British poetry, and a community-based learning course on single motherhood. Her publications focus on young and low-income single mothers; on feminist, maternal, and community engagement pedagogies; and on a variety 19th and 20th-century writers. Andrea O’Reilly, PhD, is Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at York University. O’Reilly is founder and director of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement, founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Motherhood Initiative, and founder and publisher of Demeter Press. She editor/author of 21 books including Matricentric Feminism: Theory, Activism, and Practice (2016).

“Feminist Perspectives on Young Mothers and Young Mothering is a ground-breaking and insightful book that explores the unique experiences of young mothers as they navigate complex patriarchal social structures, ideologies of mothering, and challenging and diverse social locations and circumstances. This book provides invaluable insight into the multiple and varied ways that young mothers experience mothering based on intersections of gender, race, social class, and age. The authors effectively highlight the voices, experiences, and counter-narratives of young mothers who challenge stigmatizing generalizations about young mothers’ capabilities, underscoring the need for greater support and empowerment of young mothers and young mothering. The personal narratives of young mothers discussed in the chapters are significant, moving, and though-provoking. Academics, students, service providers, and the wider general public would benefit from reading this book as it provides a greater understanding of the experiences of young mothers and young mothering, which has been invisible for far too long.” -- Caroline McDonald-Harker, PhD, Sociologist and Associate Professor, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Mount Royal University, Calgary, Alberta