MOTHERING, POPULAR CULTURE and the ARTS P?
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A YORK UNIVERSITY PUBLICATION MOTHERING, POPULAR CULTURE .t.. S+-- - <>:\.s&&:2g;$-@g$s+$$7>:,x.c7#%2- ,*-a, p~:;~~~Tyzg~;@sg:;z~ AND THE ARTS FL~~:~$~ 3t.T:L;is~$ ;g+ *,-%%X s-.w+.+a z.&T3g f$iz9z ;,g$w3<:s?qlx-%&*%- . ,,& .& *.:*~.~-~+.<*?~*:*>z2~~ ~@~g*&&&&&; ?.:: z.F3.<w5 -;?L.; C*?*$ gzJ{;c $-;$g+g&ggf$, v?:$+- &+33-k=.,-.tr .,G$ SpringISummer 2003 &'S+--..?? -SF&%- ~,<+ *-.:&..>., ;z3:~.~ge%x2~:. ?$% Volumep?F*q 5, Number 1 $15 +$F<$;~J~* <a.- ...*S<% thering, Popular Culture and the Arts Spring/Summer 2003 Volume 5, Number 1 Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief Andrea O'Reilly Advisory Board Patricia Bell-Scott, Mary Kay Blakely, Paula Caplan, Patrice DiQuinzio, Miriam Edelson, Miriam Johnson, Carolyn Mitchell, Joanna Radbord, Sara Ruddick, Lori Saint-Martin Literary Editor Susan MacCallum-Whitcomb Book Review Editor Ruth Panofsky Managing Editor Cheryl Dobinson Guest Editorial Board Rishma Dunlop Christina Halliday Andrea O'Reilly Gail Vanstone Consulting Editor/Production/Layout Luciana Ricciutelli Proofreader Randy Chase Association for Research on Mothering Room 726, Atkinson College, York University 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Tel: (416) 736-2100 ext. 60366 Email: [email protected]; Website: www.yorku.cdcrm Printed in Canada TheJournal of theAssociationfor Research on Mothering (ISSN 1488-0989) is publ&hedby The Association for Research on Mothering (ARM) The Association for Research on Mothering (ARM) is the first feminist organization devoted specifically to the topics of mothering and motherhood. ARM is an association of scholars, writers, activists, policy makers, educators, parents, and artists. ARM is housed at Atkinson College, York University, Toronto, Ontario. Our mandate is to provide a forum for the discussion and dissemination of feminist, academic, and community grassroots research, theory, and praxis on mothering and motherhood. We are committed in both membership and research to the inclusion of all mothers: First Nations, immigrant and refugee mothers, working-class mothers, lesbian mothers, mothers with disabilities, mothers ofcolour, and mothers ofother marginalized communities. We welcome memberships to ARM and submissions to the Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering, our biannual publication, from all individuals. Membership and Subscription Information Full individual memberships are available for $65Cdn/US; institutional memberships are $85Cdn/US for 2002. A fill membership includes member- ship to the association, a members directory, a biannual newsletter, participa- tion on a listserve, pre-registration for annual conferences, and a subscription to the biannual Journal ofthe Associationfor Research on Mothering, as well as regular information mailings with respect to upcoming events, lecture series, conferences, workshops, and fundraisers. Basic and student memberships are also available, as is a subscription solely to the journal. Please see the last page of this journal for detailed information and order forms. Submission Guidelines In order to submit articles, book reviews, or poetry to the Journal ofthe Associationfor Research on Mothering, contributors must be a member of ARM. Thejournal will only consider material which is not under consideration at any other journal or publication. Please contact us for a list of upcoming themes as well as a copy of our style sheet. Articles should be typed, double-spaced, no longer than 3750 words (or 15 pages), and accompanied by a diskette. Art or photographs may accompany your work. ARM reserves the right to edit manuscripts for length and conformity to our editorial guidelines and house style. We will not publish writing that is sexist, homophobic, racist, or in any way discriminatory. Submissions will be blind-reviewed by a guest editorial board. Articles printed in the journal do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors, the staff of the journal, or of our finders. Contributors retain copyright. No reproduction of any part of this journal is permitted without prior written permission from ARM. Mothering, Popular Culture and the Arts Spring/Summer 2003 Volume 5, Number 1 Contents Deconstructing Images of Mothering in Media and Film: Possibilities and Trends for the Future by Sbaron M. Abbey Maternal Metaphors: Artists/Mothers/Artwork by Myrel Cbernick Poem for September 13th, 2001 by Laurie Kmk Born Under the Sign of Joan: Margaret Atwood's Lady Oracle, Mommie Dearest, and the Uses of Maternal Ambivalence by Jenny Lawn 33 Black Women and Motherhood in Contemporary Cinematic Science Fiction by Carol B. Duncan 45 Swimming with My Daughters by May G. Parbam 53 Dancing the 'True Story" by Cbristina Halliday 54 On Mother's Day by Rosita Georgieva 68 Mother Art: Feminism, Art and Activism by Micbelle Moravec 69 A Woman's Identity by Isabella Colalillo fitz 78 Can America Catch Up to the Wonderful Midlife Mother? Postmaternal Characters in Contemporary Culture by Margaret Morganroth Gullette 82 AU You Need is Love: Representations of Maternal Emotion in Working Mother Magazine, 1995-1999 by Jillian Duyuaine- Watson 91 Travel by Renee Norman Old Photograph by Diana L. Haleman Afterimage: A Photographic Journal of Making Art and Mothering Teens by Leslie Reid How to Leave Mothering by Joyce Harries The Stepmother in the Grimms' Children's and Household Tales by Caitlin Hewitt- White Mama Bear as Dometic Micromanager: The Evolution of Cultural Ideas of Motherhood in Berenstain Bears Book Series, 1960-2000 by Jodi E. Vandenberg-Dave Needles and Pins: Dialogue on a Mother/Daughter Journey by Kathryn Church and Lorraine Church liquid wisdom by Jill Scott "Pregnancy Chic": The Marketing of Maternity Wear by Jennifer Musial coiled chalk circles by Andra McCartnty Constructing Parenthood: Portrayals of Motherhood and Fatherhood in Popular American Magazines by Elizabeth Francis-Connolly Misfit Mothers: Memoirs by Mothers of Children with Disabilities by Trudelle Thomas Jdie Payette made it to the stars by Isabella Colalillo Kah Book Reviews Parenting Together: Men and Women Sharing the Care of Their Children reviewed by Elise Pflum 201 Children's Interests/MothersJRkhts: The Shaping ofAmerica's Child Care Policy reviewed by Merry1 Hammond 202 Constructing Lived Experiences: Representations $Black Mothers in Child SexuaZAbuse Discourses reviewed by Sara Collings 203 Creating a Life: Professional Women and the Questfor Children reviewed by Carolyn Cunningham 205 4 1 Volume 5, Number l With Humor and Hope: Learningffom Our Mother's Depression and Alcoholism reviewed by Rivka Greenberg Midwifey and Childbirth in America reviewed by Ruth Nemzoff Birth by Design: Pregnancy, Maternity Care, and Midwifey in North America and Europe reviewed by Amy Mullin Rediscovering Birth and Birth Your Own Way: Choosing Birth at Home or in a Birth Centre reviewed by Robbie Pfeufer Kahn Pregnant Pictures reviewed by Lisa M. Mitchell Birth Passages: Maternity and Nostalgia, Antiquity to Shakespeare reviewed by Ji Scott Women in Labor: Mothers, Medicine and OccupationalHealth in the United States, 1890-1 980 reviewed by Amy Cuomo Born to Procreate: Women and Childbirth in Franceffom the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Centuy reviewed by Susan S. Hennessy Mothers and Sons: Feminism, Masculinity and the Struggle to Raise Our Sons reviewed by Fiona Joy Green My Journey withJake: A Memoir of Parenting and Disabiliq reviewed by Trudelle Thomas Pregnant with Meaning: Teen Mothers and the Politics of Inclusive Schooling reviewed by Sylvia Moore Kidstress reviewed by Ruthe Thompson The Lost Daughters of China: Abandoned Girls, TheirJourney to America and the Search for a Missing Past reviewed by Andrea Riesch Toepell Child:An Anthology of Poety and Prose reviewed by Roxanne Harde American Family Album: 28 Contemporay Ethnic Stories reviewed by Melissa Hamilton Hayes Contributor Notes 226 Front Cover Brenda Clews, "Bloom," Birth Painting Series, watercolour on paper, 13.25" X 9", 1986. Artist Statement on page 198. Journal ofthe Association for Research on Mothering 1 5 Brenda Clews, "Women, Meditating," Birth Painting Series, watercolour on paper, 21.5"~35: 1987. Brenda Clews, "Torrent,"Birth Painting Series, watercolour on paper, 21"x 29: 1987. Sharon M. Abbey Deconstructing Images of Mothering in Media and Film Possibilities and Trends for the Future In the collision of reality with mythology, it is the mythology that tends to prevail, as the language and the conventions of the story shape not only what is thought but also what can be said, not only what is heard but what can be understood. (Pope, Quinn, and Wyer, 1990: 445) Over the past two decades, feminist researchers have persuasively argued that representations of the mother in popular culture shape our complex feelings about motherhood (Bassin, Honey and Kaplan, 1994). In fact, the "ideology of mothering can be so powerful that the failure of lived experience to validate often produces either intensified efforts to achieve it or a destructive cycle of self- andor mother-blame" (Pope et al., 1990: 442). From June Cleaver to Murphy Brown, television has obviously had a powerful impact on how maternal roles are valued and played out. These images have been well analyzed and deconstructed. In addition, the film industry and Hollywood directors have also had a significant part to play in what we value and expect of motherhood in North America. However, these big-screen mothers have not been as carefully scrutinized as their television counterparts. This paper explores the mother-as-subject as depicted by