Feminist Mothering of Sons: Ethical Practices for Everyone

It saved their lives: exploring feminist parenting practices

“…There was also a reoccurrence of opinion within the literature that feminist parenting was a continual fight against patriarchal designs of parenting (Green, 2006;Ott, 2011;White, 2006); "where they consciously intertwine their feminism and mothering, making it a site of resistance to patriarchal constructions of motherhood" (Green, 2009, p. 86) and making visible counter discourses of parenting. These designs are briefly dissected in the first theme around the confines of motherhood and are reiterated in the resistance of feminist parenting being a political act against the system.…”

“…The system we are discussing includes the patriarchal notions of parenting, mothering and familial space. In her article, Feminist Mothering of Sons: Ethical practices for everyone, Ott (2011) explains "I'm raising my children for the common good" and goes on to say, "I would say that is feminist parenting…It signals an ethical practice and value set that go against dominant cultural forms of patriarchal (and racist, heterosexist) parenting" (p.…”

“…We need to investigate these structural oppressions and understand how they take up space within the home. Patriarchy and heterosexism, along with many other societal dominations, can be seen seeping into the home through many ways: the mother is always seen through the male gaze (Friedman, 2014),; how we raise children based on gender (Mack-County & Wright, 2004;May, 2011;Ott, 2011;Wu, 2004); the concept that certain genders are responsible for certain obligations, for example women and cleaning (Green, 2015;hook, 2015;Mack-County & Wright, 2004;White, 2006) and lastly, the implications of internalized sexism and oppression in women (Green, 2015;hooks, 2015;Koyama, 2001).…”

“…Some ways we have already discussed above, like resisting patriarchal designs of parenting or resisting harmful stereotypes. A few others we will discuss below are: the fact that women need to resist against heteronormative, gendered ideals of parenting (Green, 2015;hooks, 2015), resistance against gender and sex binaries (Green, 2015;Koyama, 2001;Mack-County & Wright, 2004;Ott, 2011;White, 2006) and parenting from a rigid gender hierarchy. These are all models of resistance against normative approaches of parenting and mainstream thought.…”

Unpacking the Power of the Mommy Wars

“…However, other mothering ideologies—specifically those that do not promote Mommy Wars discourse—are, in fact, possible and associated with other racial and ethnic groups (Christopher ; Lamphere, Zavella, and Gonzales ; Segura ; Thornton Dill ). Perhaps the most fully theorized alternative paradigm is “collective mothering,” a communal‐oriented perspective on maternal practice that focuses on interrelationships with other women as critical in the joint parenting of children (Glenn, Chang, and Forcey ; Hooks ; O'Reilly ; Ott ). It is derivative of the practice of other‐mothering in African American communities, whereby the legacy of slavery forced mothers to rely on collective responsibility for the well‐being of their children as their own daily emotional and physical fates were unknown (Christopher ; Collins , ; Edwards ).…”