The Mommy Myth: the Idealization of Motherhood and How it has Undermined Women.(Book Review)

The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How it has Undermined Women Susan J. Douglas and Meredith W. Michaels. Free Press, 2004

In The Mommy Myth, philosopher Meredith Michaels and cultural critic Susan Douglas articulate and denounce the contemporary mythology of motherhood, analyzing the cultural messages they label "the new momism" that emanate from women's magazines, popular television and film, child care experts, the toy industry, and the media. Feisty and irreverent, Michaels and Douglas explore the paradox that motherhood, while venerated as a higher calling that requires vast sacrifice, is consistently undervalued. In America, mothers are the prime socializing force responsible for raising each new generation of Americans, yet their work isn't supported by economic and social policies--because, according to the authors' analysis of media messages, "good mothers don't need governmental help." In short, they claim that the past 30 years witnessed the following progression:

 
   Feminism won; you can have it all; 
   of course you want children; 
   mothers are better at raising children 
   than fathers; of course your 
   children come first; of course you 
   come last; today's children need …