Images, representations and constructions of mothers have historically shaped and continue to shape the way we imagine the institution of motherhood and the experience of mothering. The various contributions included in this volume consider the diversity of maternal images and narratives that circulate in literature, the arts and popular culture and analyse how they reflect on and influence the cultural meaning of motherhood in the contemporary era. Mindful of the fact that the images of motherhood that we see in popular media, on television, and in literature are not mere background noise to our daily lives, the various chapters explore how they influence our understanding of what it means to be a mother, affect our expectations of motherhood and of mothers, frame our experience of mothering, and even inform our reproductive decisions. Including insights from media studies, cultural studies, literary studies, and the performing and visual arts, this book explores how engaging with diverse representations of mothers and mothering contributes to a broader and deeper interdisciplinary understanding of how motherhood is constructed in our time. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Women: A Cultural Review.

The various contributions included in this volume consider the diversity of maternal images and narratives that circulate in literature, the arts and popular culture and analyze how they reflect on and influence the cultural meaning of motherhood in the contemporary era.

With the global expansion of reproductive technologies, there are ever more ways to create a family, and more family types than ever before. This book explores the experiences of those persons - whether single, in a couple, or part of collective co-parenting arrangements; whether hetero- or homosexual; whether cis- or transgender - who are creating what has been termed ‘new family forms’ with reproductive ‘assistance’. Drawing on qualitative research from around the world, the book is particularly anchored in two bodies of social science scholarship - sociological and anthropological inquiries into the cultural impact of reproductive technologies on the one hand, and parenting culture studies on the other. It seeks to create fertile conversations between these scholarships, highlighting the intersections in the ways we think about conceiving and caring for children in today’s ‘reproductive landscape’. Focusing specifically on persons whose reproductive journeys do not conform to dominant scripts, the book traces the many ways in which intentions, expectations and technological developments contribute to changing and enduring conceptions of good parenthood in the twenty-first century. Taking a holistic perspective, the book presents deep insights into the experiences not only of (intending) parents, but also of donors, surrogates, medical professionals and activists. The collection will be of interest to an international readership of scholars of gender, reproduction, parenting and family life. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Anthropology & Medicine.

***LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION*** “An extraordinary and dazzlingly original work from one of our most gifted and interesting writers” (Emily St. John Mandel, author of The Glass Hotel). The Need, which finds a mother of two young children grappling with the dualities of motherhood after confronting a masked intruder in her home, is “like nothing you’ve ever read before…in a good way” (People). When Molly, home alone with her two young children, hears footsteps in the living room, she tries to convince herself it’s the sleep deprivation. She’s been hearing things these days. Startling at loud noises. Imagining the worst-case scenario. It’s what mothers do, she knows. But then the footsteps come again, and she catches a glimpse of movement. Suddenly Molly finds herself face-to-face with an intruder who knows far too much about her and her family. As she attempts to protect those she loves most, Molly must also acknowledge her own frailty. Molly slips down an existential rabbit hole where she must confront the dualities of motherhood: the ecstasy and the dread; the languor and the ferocity; the banality and the transcendence as the book hurtles toward a mind-bending conclusion. In The Need, Helen Phillips has created a subversive, speculative thriller that comes to life through blazing, arresting prose and gorgeous, haunting imagery. “Brilliant” (Entertainment Weekly), “grotesque and lovely” (The New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice), and “wildly captivating” (O, The Oprah Magazine), The Need is a glorious celebration of the bizarre and beautiful nature of our everyday lives and “showcases an extraordinary writer at her electrifying best” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

This edited volume addresses how single mothers and fathers are represented in novels, self-help literature, daily newspapers, film and television, as well as within their own narratives in interviews on social media. With proportions varying between countries, the number of single parents has been increasing steadily since the 1970s in the Western world. Contributions to this volume analyse how various societies respond to these parents and family forms. Through a range of materials, methodologies and national perspectives, chapters make up three sections to cover single mothers, single fathers and solo mothers (single women who became parents through assisted reproductive technologies). The authors reveal that single parenthood is divided along the lines of gender and socioeconomic status, with age, sexuality and the reason for being a single parent coming into play. Chapter 11 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

There is extraordinary diversity, depth, and complexity in the encounter between theatre, performance, and human rights. Through an examination of a rich repertoire of plays and performance practices from and about countries across six continents, the contributors open the way toward understanding the character and significance of this encounter.

This book updates the Oedipus complex for a contemporary audience in the light of social and cultural changes and explores its implications for psychoanalytic treatment and our understanding of queer families. Growing evidence during the past few decades indicates that children who grow up in same-sex families adapt well. These findings, which do not conform to the predictions of Oedipal theory, expose the theory’s biases, and call for reexamination of its premises. This book based on ground-breaking research and pursues a methodical investigation of the characteristics of the same-sex families that defy the expectations of Oedipal theory. Furnished with vivid illustrations, it invites the reader to engage actively in the interpretive effort and presents a diverse and complex story about kinship, opening a window onto a rich world of infantile phantasies and parents’ psychological conflicts, at the fascinating intersection of the personal and the social. Oedipal Experiences in Same-Sex Families will appeal to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, educators and policymakers, same-sex parents, and parents who were assisted by gamete donation.

Mothers in the twenty-first century confront us, both in clinical practice and in theory, with fascinating challenges that to some extent subvert the traditional maternal ideal: the motherhood of single women, motherhood in which the mother-child relationship seems minimal (in the case of very busy working mothers), teenage motherhood in which there is no true awareness of the maternal function, motherhood in couples of homosexual women, men who take upon themselves the maternal function (men-mothers), complex motherhood by virtue of the multiple variants that have nowadays become possible thanks to new reproductive techniques, shared motherhood, surrogate motherhood, sublimated motherhood and perverse motherhood.

Biographical note: Markus Nehl received his PhD from the Graduate School”Practices of Literature“at the University of Münster. His research interests include African American, Black Diaspora and Postcolonial Studies.

Maternal Representations in Twenty-First Century Broadway Musicals: Stage Mothers analyzes Broadway productions within the context of their presentation and assessment of motherhood and the variety of roles for mother figures. Using a frame of feminist and psychoanalytical positions, Gina MacKenzie establishes, defines, and interprets mother figures in contemporary Broadway, according to original categorizations of the absent, inconsequential, and overbearing mothers. MacKenzie considers how and why commercial representation of mother figures are limited and predominantly negative, even as fiction, poetry, and other forms of drama offer a much wider and progressive view of the varieties of motherhood possible in society, asserting the need for greater representation of mother figures in commercial musical theatre today.