Description
Mother's Milk examines why nursing a baby is an ideologically charged experience in contemporary culture. Drawing upon medical studies, feminist scholarship, anthropological literature, and an intimate knowledge of breastfeeding itself, Bernice Hausman demonstrates what is at stake in mothers' infant feeding choices--economically, socially, and in terms of women's rights. Breastfeeding controversies, she argues, reveal social tensions around the meaning of women's bodies, the authority of science, and the value of maternity in American culture. A provocative and multi-faceted work, Mother's Milk will be of interest to anyone concerned with the politics of women's embodiment.
About the Author
Bernice L. Hausman is Professor of English at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where she also teaches for the Women's Studies Program. She is the author of Changing Sex: Transsexualism, Technology, and the Idea of Gender and writes about medicine, gender theory, and the body. She lives in Blacksburg, VA.
Reviews
"Hausman's book is in the best tradition of cultural studies, readings of different sorts of cultural texts to make a series of important points about the issue of breastfeeding in the current American cultural climate." -- Lillian S. Robinson, Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia University
Book Information
ISBN 9780415966573
Author Bernice L. Hausman
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 530g
