Mother: WSQ: Fall/Winter 2009

The media flurry over the birth of octuplets, the obsession with celebrity moms and baby bump sightings, LGBT moms and men as moms—fascination with motherhood is at an all-time high. But what does it mean to be a mother in this moment? Televised debates pit stay-at-home moms against working moms, but the majority of mothers pursue both family and paid employment. Why is so much of the discussion around mothering about choice and agency, when women's reproductive rights are vulnerable and the pro-choice movement is on the defensive? Mother addresses these cultural contradictions in personal essays, analysis, fiction, and artwork.