Sunday, June 11, 2023

Old books are resurfacing

The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined Women
~ by Susan J. Douglas and Meredith W. Michaels, 2004, sociology / women's studies, 400 pages

Taking readers on a provocative tour through thirty years of media images about mothers — the superficial achievements of celebrity moms, the sensational coverage of dangerous day care, the media-manufactured "mommy wars" between working mothers and stay-at-home moms, and more — this book contends that the "new momism" [that was two decades ago!] was shaped by out-of-date mores, and that no matter how hard they try, women could never achieve it.  Susan J. Douglas and Meredith W. Michaels shatter the myth of the perfect mom and all but shout, "We're not gonna take it anymore!"

An old book on my shelves ~ Moving means books get shifted around.  I'm finding books I've owned for years and never finished reading, including this one.  The pages have browned, but I've pulled it off the shelf to read — finally!  The old bookmark is between pages 38 and 39, but I'll start at the beginning, obviously.  Does this sound familiar to anyone besides me?  By the way, I first wrote about this book in 2014  HERE — ten years after its publication date.

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb Nance at Readerbuzz.

3 comments:

Harvee said...

I've finished giving away 99 percent of my books, most of them not yet read. On the other hand, I have a ton of ebooks which I find easier to read, with ability to control lighting, font size, etc. The only problem is that I sometimes lose my place and have to hunt for the right page on my reader. Have a good week.

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

I have a similar story. My sister-in-law knows I love France and she loves to thrift, so for my last birthday she brought me a book from the local thrift shop about moving and starting over in France. I realized it is a book I'd started but never finished, and it was confirmed that it was my copy when I saw the BookCrossing label inside. The bookmark where I stopped was still inside.

Hope you enjoy this book that has been on your shelf for such a long time!

Joy said...

That's an intriguing title. I get annoyed at the way that our society equates womenhood with motherhood, especially since I never had children.