Shadow Mothers: Nannies, Au Pairs, and the Micropolitics of Mothering

Shadow Mothers: Nannies, Au Pairs, and the Micropolitics of Mothering
ISBN-10
0520947819
ISBN-13
9780520947818
Category
Political Science
Pages
288
Language
English
Published
2011-02-09
Publisher
Univ of California Press
Author
Cameron Lynne Macdonald

Description

Shadow Mothers shines new light on an aspect of contemporary motherhood often hidden from view: the need for paid childcare by women returning to the workforce, and the complex bonds mothers forge with the "shadow mothers" they hire. Cameron Lynne Macdonald illuminates both sides of an unequal and complicated relationship. Based on in-depth interviews with professional women and childcare providers— immigrant and American-born nannies as well as European au pairs—Shadow Mothers locates the roots of individual skirmishes between mothers and their childcare providers in broader cultural and social tensions. Macdonald argues that these conflicts arise from unrealistic ideals about mothering and inflexible career paths and work schedules, as well as from the devaluation of paid care work.

Other editions

Similar books