<p>‘Informative and readable volume… Mother’s stories interspersed throughout the work help make the world of mommyblogging come alive. The authors’ theoretical reflections add further value – especially for researchers, and for college instructors who teach courses in gender, family, or parenting.’</p> - R. LaRossa (CHOICE Magazine; vol 50:11:2013) <p>‘There are too many gems here that are worth your while. The new and, for me, very original concepts are sprinkled around like jewels, and they make reading the book worth your time and trouble.’</p> <p>‘Mommyblogs is a dream of good scholarship.’</p> - Lolita Lark (Ralph: Review of Art, Literature, Philosophy, and Humanities, number 243: Fall 2013)

Mothers have consistently relied upon one another for guidance and support as they navigate the difficult world of parenting. For many women, the increasingly established online community of “mommyblogs” now provides a source of camaraderie and support that acknowledges both the work of mothering and the implications of its undertaking. Beyond their capacity to entertain, how have mommyblogs shifted our understanding of twenty-first-century motherhood?

In examining the content of hundreds of mommyblogs, May Friedman considers the ways that online maternal life writing provides a front row seat to some of the most raw, offbeat, and engaging portraits of motherhood imaginable. Focusing on the composition of the “mamasphere” and on mommyblogs’ emphasis on connection, Friedman reveals the changing face of contemporary motherhood – one less concerned with the proscriptions of what good mothers should do, and more invested in what diverse mothers have to say.

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Beyond their capacity to entertain, how have mommyblogs shifted our understanding of twenty-first-century motherhood?

Chapter 1: Introduction

The Emergence of Networked Communication and the Birth of Blogs

Mommyblogs: The Term

Why Do Mothers Blog?

What Mommyblogs Offer: The Theoretical Frameworks

Limitations of the Genre: The Digital Divide

Authenticity: Do Mommyblogs Tell the Truth?

About This Book

Chapter 2: A Short History of the Mamasphere and the Discursive Construction of Motherhood

How Blogging Happens

Creation of the Mamasphere

How Do We Read Mommyblogs?

Life Writing Theory: The “Self-in-the-Writing”

Chapter 3: On Hybridity: The Diversity and Multiplicity of the Mamasphere

Motherhood from the Margins: The Need for Diverse Motherhood Stories

Transnationalism and Hybridity: Gaza Mom

Mainstream Black motherhood: The Young Mommy Life

Motherhood and Ethnicity: Devis with Babies

Mothering and Power: The Dominatrix Next Door

Anonymity: The Renegade Rebbetzin

Gender and Normativity: Transgender Mom and Unwellness

Contradictory and Convergent Motherhoods: Fannfare and Friday Playdate

Hybridity and Advocacy: Dream Mom and Live from the Wang of America

Interrupting Good Motherhood: Peter’s Cross Station and Any Mommy Out There?

Writing from the Centre: Starbloggers and Hybridity

Why Does Hybridity Matter? What Does Hybridity Offer?

Chapter 4: On the Cyborg: Dialogism, and Collective Stories

The Cyborg Mother Relationality

“Whuffie”: Popular Mommybloggers On Temporality

The Multidimensional Cyborg: The Mamasphere’s Collective Mother

Chapter 5: On Queer: A Liminal and Unfixed Motherhood

History of Queer Theory

Illuminating the Queer Mother

Changing the Subject: Destabilizing Individuality

From “Mother” to “Mothering”

Queering the Kids: Mommyblogging and Privacy

Making the Queer Shift

Chapter 6: Conclusions

Precariousness of the Medium

Monetization and a Changing Voice

Moving Forward

Appendix A: List of blogs selected for primary research

References

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‘I enjoyed reading Mommyblogs and the Changing Face of Motherhood, a book that makes an important contribution to motherhood studies. May Friedman pays excellent attention to the complexity of bloggers and what they mean for our understanding of contemporary motherhood. I also appreciate how well-versed Friedman is in terms of the theories she uses to analyze mommyblogs.’
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'I enjoyed reading Mommyblogs and the Changing Face of Motherhood, a book that makes an important contribution to motherhood studies. May Friedman pays excellent attention to the complexity of bloggers and what they mean for our understanding of contemporary motherhood. I also appreciate how well-versed Friedman is in terms of the theories she uses to analyze mommyblogs.' -- D. Lynn O'Brien-Hallstein, College of General Studies, Rhetoric Division, Boston University
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781442614307
Publisert
2013
Utgiver
University of Toronto Press
Vekt
300 gr
Høyde
226 mm
Bredde
154 mm
Dybde
14 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
200

Forfatter

Biografisk notat

May Friedman is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Ryerson University and the author of the award-winning Mommyblogs and the Changing Face of Motherhood.