Ourselves As Mothers: The Universal Experience Of MotherhoodSheila Kitzinger writes with understanding of the problems facing mothers in the West today, about the pain of infertility, the struggles of working mothers, the myth of the "new man", the underrating of housework, and the ways in which women try to juggle their identities as both mothers and achievers in today's world. Citing examples from India to Jamaica, South Africa to Communist China, she reveals what motherhood means in our own and different cultures. From preparing for pregnancy to the ritualization of hospital birth, from the bonds forged between mother and child to the changes in behavior expected of women when they become mothers, Kitzinger's unique anthropological exploration enables us to reflect upon and reexamine our own rituals. Ourselves as Mothers is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging study of its kind, and an invaluable contribution to our knowledge of women and society. It is a celebration of the diversity, the ingenuity, the energy, and the courage of the great sisterhood of mothers. |
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Page 55
... female . They must also be forever on their guard to maintain their chastity and to defend themselves against male sexuality . Virtue lies in " shame " and it is said , " Better to lose your eye than your reputation . " When God ordered ...
... female . They must also be forever on their guard to maintain their chastity and to defend themselves against male sexuality . Virtue lies in " shame " and it is said , " Better to lose your eye than your reputation . " When God ordered ...
Page 55
... female . They must also be forever on their guard to maintain their chastity and to defend themselves against male sexuality . Virtue lies in " shame " and it is said , " Better to lose your eye than your reputation . " When God ordered ...
... female . They must also be forever on their guard to maintain their chastity and to defend themselves against male sexuality . Virtue lies in " shame " and it is said , " Better to lose your eye than your reputation . " When God ordered ...
Page 68
... female fetuses are selectively aborted . Sometimes women go through the whole pregnancy and are then expected to kill a newborn baby girl . One result is that males now form over half the Chinese population , and in another two decades ...
... female fetuses are selectively aborted . Sometimes women go through the whole pregnancy and are then expected to kill a newborn baby girl . One result is that males now form over half the Chinese population , and in another two decades ...
Contents
Mothers Cut to Shape | 17 |
The Empty Womb | 33 |
Experimenting with Motherhood | 63 |
Copyright | |
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abdomen adult African baby's become behavior blood body born breast-feeding ceremonies cervix cesarean section Chaim Bermant chil child child-rearing childbearing childbirth clinic couple delivered delivery doctor dren drugs emotional epidural episiotomy experience father feeding feel female fertility fetus girl give birth hands hospital household human husband important Jamaican Jewish John Bowlby kibbutz laboring woman live London look male marriage massage maternal menstruating midwifery midwives modern months mother and baby motherhood nana National Childbirth Trust never normal obstetric obstetrician oxytocin pain parents partner patient percent perineum Pethidine placenta preg pregnancy pregnant woman prenatal relationship responsibility risk ritual role sexual Sheila Kitzinger social sometimes technological things tion touch traditional cultures traditional societies treated Truby King United usually uterus vagina vitro fertilization weeks West Western wife women