The Good Mother

"The good mother" brings together essays on the contemporary relevance of the 'good mother' in Australia. Although the ideals of the 'good mother' change with time, fashion and context, they persist in public policy, the media, popular culture and workplaces. They place pressure on women to conform to particular standards, against which they are judged and judge themselves. This book captures the diversity of contemporary women's experiences. Chapters address the experiences of executive mothers, mothers working in manual trades, 'yummy mummies' and 'slummy mummies', low income mothers, single mothers, Indigenous mothers, lesbian parents, adoptive mothers and mothers negotiating schools and school choice. The essays demonstrate that while the 'good mother' is no longer exclusively white, heterosexual, economically dependent and child focused, prevailing ideas about mothers and motherhood continue to influence the way 'types' of women are represented and the way that all mothers think, act and present themselves.

Susan Goodwin is senior lecturer in policy studies in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. Her research areas include the study of gender, social policy and contemporary cultural sociology. Kate Huppatz is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. Her research areas include Bourdieusian theory, the sociology of gender, class and work and the relationship between gender, class and femininity.