Breeder: Real-Life Stories from the New Generation of Mothers - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1580050514 ISBN 13: 9781580050517

Publisher: Seal Press, 2001

Synopsis

In this ground-breaking anthology, Ariel Gore and Bee Lavender ask real moms—from Web site designers to tattoo-clad waitresses—to laugh, cry, scream, and shout about motherhood. Allison Crews fights to have a voice and be recognized as a teen mother. Angela Morrill eschews both doctors and midwife and gives birth at home. Kimberly Bright draws compelling comparisons between "raising a toddler and having a psychotic boyfriend.” For every young mom, Breeder offers inspiration, strength, wisdom, and humor. Contributors include Allison Crews, Beth Lucht, Ayun Halliday, Katie Granju, Peri Escarda, Allison Abner, and Kimberly Bright.

About this title

About the Author

Ariel Gore is a journalist, writer, and teacher. Her novel We Were Witches was celebrated for its "piercing and wise" (Booklist) examination of modern womanhood. Gore is the founder of Hip Mama, an Alternative Press Award-winning publication covering the culture and politics of motherhood, and the creator of the Fascism Fatigue Coloring Book. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Reviews

Contrary to the intent of editors Gore and Lavender of the zine Hip Mama, this collection of essays by Gen-X writers proves that motherhood is much the same no matter what generation one is from. Many of the essays attempt to rely on the strength of their stories to keep the reader involved, but the stories are often carelessly written, predictable and generic. Among the exceptions is "Learning to Surf," in which Jennifer Savage thoughtfully recounts her journey from being 22-year-old single mom and punk rocker to a married mother of three learning to surf. Other stories are also unusual, but less reflective. "When I Was Garbage," Allison Crews's sangfroid account of her teenage pregnancy, does not explain how Crews was able to simply deny that she was pregnant for the first 16 weeks. "On the Road (with baby)" by China is equally unsatisfying, never illuminating why the author chose to hitchhike across the U.S. with her baby in tow for the first eight months of her daughter's life. Sadly, the recurrent themes sounded by these Gen-X voices alienation, economic insecurity and the importance of health insurance ("the beauty of health insurance tolls like a soft, sweet chime at three in the morning," writes Joy Castro) are never articulated clearly enough to express what makes this generation different from those that came before.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gore (The Mother Trip, LJ 5/15/00) and Lavender, founding editor of HipMama 'zine and managing director of HipMama.com, respectively, have collected 36 short parenting tales from Gen-X moms. Rich/poor, lesbian/straight, single/married dozens of different lifestyles are represented here with the common theme of choosing motherhood young while pursuing other goals. These are not 35-and-clock-ticking, overly educated, late-in-life moms but the daughters of the baby boomers, who sought motherhood as students, employees, and single girls. Some chapters are poignant (Beth Kohl Feinerman's lament about not being able to conceive after taking birth control pills for years), while others are very funny (Kimberly Bright's comparisons of a toddler to a psychotic boyfriend). The writers are self-satisfied but honestly so; here are women who chose to follow their dreams without trading on others. A worthy acquisition that includes a foreword by nationally syndicated sex columnist Dan Savage.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Seal Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1580050514
• ISBN 13: 9781580050517
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Gore Ariel, Lavender Bee