The Maternal is Political

The Maternal is Political, edited by Shari MacDonald Strong, is not for the faint of heart.

But neither is it for the decidedly political.

The first thing that struck me as I read through this anthology was the recurring theme of the essays:  I did not set out to be political.  But then I became a mother.

A sentiment I've felt very deeply myself.  Just as these women may not have set out to write on politics, neither did I. I don't think I wrote one political essay until the birth of my daughter four years ago. Since then, I've spoken out on a lot, most often about affordable childcare.  I didn't think America needed my voice until I was flung into the trenches of motherhood, and I realized there is so much to be done, and not just for me and my family, but for all families.

There are so many poignant and well-written essays in this book.  Let me just pull for you a few of the more powerful excerpts:

From Marrit Ingman:

As our public schools fail, as our most affordable foods are modified and processed, as our toys are recalled, and as our healthcare and housing costs balloon, mothers stretch themselves to nurture their children back from what feels like the brink of disaster.

From Tracy Thompson:

Watching my baby at my breast, I remember thinking that this was something women in Sri Lanka and Ireland and Bosnia and all over the world were doing at that very moment, and now I was a small part of that huge intricate web; I was a mother.

From Jennifer Margulis:

Financial pressure often drives us to make decisions that are best for our family's bank account but not for our mental health.

From Violeta Garcia-Mendoza:

Fear begins to gnaw at me that witnessing isn't enough.  That I can't save the world with something as passive as remembering, as simple as storytelling.

From Jane Hammons:

I feel certain they would not use the word "feminist" to describe themselves; nonetheless, they have a growing awareness of the fact that the welfare of children is often tied to the political power of women.

From Kris Molone Grossman:

Such as how the majority of today's parents, while they assure their girls they can grow up to inhabit any role they aspire to, rarely mention in detail the unique choices they might have to face as women.

From Helaine Olen:

The mothering world I would continue to encounter combined the worse of the 1950s and the modern age.  It was as harsh and judgmental as anything Betty Friedan condemned, yet it didn't offer the earlier world's compensations.  I never received the practical support that my mother -- along with most women of her generation --  took for granted:  effortless socialization with neighbors, easy access to other children, nearby friends who came over and pitched in when things went wrong.

And finally, from Shari Macdonald Strong:

Our culture didn't tell me -- as a woman, as a mother -- that I can change the world.  But no one's stopping me, either -- not really.

Nobody is stopping us from changing the world. It's a different world than our mothers inhabited, that's for sure.  We have more power and less.  The power we do have, as women, as mothers, can only be found in organization, and in unification.  Yet we fight each other, we draw lines in the sand, we deem our choices the best, the only.  The only way we can make this world better, easier, for us and for our children, is by dropping the pretenses and helping each other. And by not being afraid to speak out, even if it garners us criticism from our men or our peers. 

The women in this book write well.  They made me think.  And now I'm going upstairs to look at my sleeping daughter and hope it is easier for her when she steps into my shoes.

Comments

[Fweetieb]

Sounds thought-provoking...a worthy read as we head into Nov. But good for all times.

Thanks, Rita.

[Daisy]

Sounds like a valuable book and a fascinating read.