Reconceiving Women: Separating Motherhood from Female Identity

By Mardy S. Ireland

Book Overview

According to recent surveys, approximately 40% of American women between the ages of 18 and 44 do not have children. Yet these women are virtually missing from accounts of women's lives. In this important new work, Mardy Ireland defines a place for women outside the parameters of motherhood and gives voice to the significant number of women who are not mothers. She draws extensively from interviews with over 100 childless women from various ethnic and educational backgrounds, demonstrating the myriad ways they came to view themselves as complete adults without recourse to the traditional defining criteria of motherhood. Her work offers all women--mothers and nonmothers alike--a vision of self-defined adulthood and a recognition that every woman is the subject of her own life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0898620163
• ISBN13: 9780898620160
• Release Date: June 1993
• Publisher: Guilford Publications
• Length: 195 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Very intelligent and thorough

This is one of the most intelligent books on childless and childfree women that I've ever read. Despite being a little dense and relying too much on psychoanalytic theory (I would very much have liked to see some discussion of Adlerian psychology on this topic), this is a strong exploration of the topic. It discusses and provides sympathetic examples of women who do not have children for various reasons, and analyzes why childless women are so disturbing to society. This is a solidly academic book, but is worth reading if you're genuinely interested. Much better than other books I've read.

With our without child, this is a MUST READ for ALL WOMEN

I sat down, opened this book and did not put it down until I was finished. Even then, I re-read three chapters. This book is a neccessary read for those of us without children, struggling to find our purpose in the world.

Great! Technical and In-depth

This is another great book that supports women who choose to not have children. The author theorizes that women can fall into one of three catagories (or a combination thereof): Traditional, Transitional, and Transformative. Pyschological theories abound and there are personal stories about real women. There's a little too much Freud for my taste - but it does help the reader get the full picture not only from the author's view, but from ordinary women and the world of psychology as well. This book is a little more in-depth than some other books on the subject -it's not a quick read- but is well worth the time invested. I think psychology and women's studies students - even if they don't agree witht the content - should read this book. I really hope the author is right when she talks about a future day when people will shudder in disbelief at the cruel stereotypes that were directed at childfree women - just as we do now at past thinking that a woman not married by the age of 25 was an old spinster!