Book

Shadow mothers : nannies, au pairs, and the micropolitics of mothering

Macdonald, Cameron Lynne, author

Overview

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.

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Subject: Child care. / Au pairs. / Nannies. / Child care services. / Motherhood.
• ISBN: 9780520222328, 0520222326, 9780520266971, 0520266978

Item info:

1 item available

1 item total in all locations

Holdings :

Call Number	Copies	Material	Location
HQ778.5.M33 2010	1	BOOK	AUTOSTORE