Visible Black Motherhood is a Revolution

Morgan, Danielle Fuentes

doi:10.1353/bio.2018.0082

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Slavery and its aftermath, including segregation, redlining, racial restrictive covenants, racial violence, and lynchings, have had enduring impacts on how Black women mother their children (Bezusko, 2013; Higginbotham, 1994; Webster, 2017). The institution of slavery exploited both the productive and reproductive labor of Black women and slaveholders often destroyed the kinship ties of enslaved people as reflected in the omnipresent threat of familial separation (Christian, 1994; Dill, 1994; Hill, 2001; Morgan, 2018; Patterson, 1982; Shaw, 1994; Webster, 2017). Given this backdrop, the doctrine of separate spheres has not been the dominant practice among Black families (Coontz, 2011; Hill, 2001).…”

Section: Historical Foundations and Structural Challenges Of Intensiv...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Intensive mothering norms are often articulated in a way that is devoid of race, but in reality racism has always shaped to whom society applies these norms and the resources available to perform them (Morgan, 2018). As the doctrine of separate spheres was evolving, a different set of historical circumstances were shaping the lives of African Americans.…”

Section: Historical Foundations Of Intensive Motheringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, Black mothers have a long history of engaging in labor beyond the family, as evidenced in slavery, and continuing by necessity with the economic exploitation and exclusion of Black men from jobs offering a family wage (Christian, 1994; Collins, 1994; Hill, 2001). The threat of the familial separation and racial violence, in the form of mass incarceration and police shootings of unarmed Black men, continues to this day to shape how Black mothers enact motherhood (Dow, 2016b; Elliott & Reid, 2019; Morgan, 2018; Turner, 2020).…”

Section: Historical Foundations and Structural Challenges Of Intensiv...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Visions of childhood across time have also been intricately connected to racialized inequalities, resulting in Black children often being excluded from the view that children are innocent and in need of protection (Bernstein, 2011; Morgan, 2018; Webster, 2017). During slavery in the US, Black children engaged in different forms of labor, typically beginning around age 6, including caring for White children, caring for younger enslaved children, and working on plantations (Collins, 1994; Mintz, 2004; Mintz & Kellogg, 1988; Shaw, 1994).…”

Section: Historical Foundations and Structural Challenges Of Intensiv...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Decentering intensive mothering: More fully accounting for race and class in motherhood norms

Minnotte

2023

Sociology Compass

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In 1996 Sharon Hays published The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood describing the ideology of intensive mothering calling upon mothers to engage in a time‐intensive, expensive, and expert‐informed style of mothering. In this article, I describe the historical circumstances giving rise to intensive mothering and how structural and historical realities diverge across race and class. I argue that enactments of motherhood are varied, forming a mosaic of motherhood enactments informed by mothers' social locations, including their positions in racialized and classed hierarchies. Mothers operating from marginalized locations innovate and resist intensive mothering, while also being judged by these norms, despite often lacking the resources to meet them. Privileged, primarily White mothers, have been able to harness their resources to achieve intensive mothering and redefine what constitutes good mothering to match the style of mothering they practice. Among some privileged, predominantly White mothers, I contend an even more intense version of intensive mothering is being practiced, with some moving beyond being “expert informed” to positioning themselves as the experts who possess specialized knowledge superior to that of medical and educational experts. All told, I argue that mothering enactments are more diverse than is often portrayed by the concept of intensive mothering.

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Section: Historical Foundations and Structural Challenges Of Intensiv...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Historical Foundations Of Intensive Motheringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Historical Foundations and Structural Challenges Of Intensiv...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Historical Foundations and Structural Challenges Of Intensiv...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Decentering intensive mothering: More fully accounting for race and class in motherhood norms

Minnotte

2023

Sociology Compass

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“…In her work, Danielle Fuentes Morgan (2018) says that Black motherhood is marked by ancestral trauma, while Jennifer Nash reminds us that Black motherhood is "a political position … because of its proximity to death" (2018,700). This is made most clear in the worry women in this study have for their children in public spaces, most notably those with teenage sons.…”

Section: Analysis and Take-awaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mothering and Self-Care While Black in the Age of COVID

Hagan¹

2021

Race and Yoga

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This article examines the experiences of Black mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic through a lens of self-care. As a group of people particularly impacted by persistent gender inequality, the economic and health disparities laid bare by the pandemic, as well as the structural racism that underscores these inequities, Black mothers' self-care emerges as an important topic of conversation as women everywhere confront the challenges of parenting, running households, and attending to their own well-being. Communicated through a collection of short case studies, this piece presents a broad range of narratives that demonstrate the way Black mothers engage the practice of yoga to attend to their needs and the needs of their families. Presented with statistical and analytical context, this piece demonstrates the ways yoga supports Black mothers and how it falls short.

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The Politics of Doulas: Black Feminist Collective Action in Response to “Birthing While Black”

Fast

2024

Hypatia

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A central function of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the United States has been to center and express the lived experiences of Black people within the social and political framework of white supremacy. Regarding reproductive justice, BLM, as well as organizations like the Black Mamas Matter Alliance and Sistersong, have drawn political attention to the oppressive parameters existing for pregnant people “birthing while Black.” Attention to disparities in health and birth outcomes for Black persons has necessary positive effects, such as the ability to produce data on the deleterious effects of anti-Blackness. However, discourses surrounding Black birthing persons can function to obfuscate the collective action undertaken by Black women and non-Black women of color. In this paper, I argue the hyper-focus on the problems Black pregnant/birthing persons face has at least four issues: (1) it encourages an ontological collapse wherein Black birthers are positioned as problems, rather than human beings facing problems; (2) obscures the collective action and care Black women undertake to support one another; (3) results in state solutions that rely on underpaid and volunteer labor of Black and non-Black women of color; and (4) focuses myopically on the time period of pregnancy and birthing for Black persons.

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Visible Black Motherhood is a Revolution

Cited by 9 publications

References 6 publications

Decentering intensive mothering: More fully accounting for race and class in motherhood norms

Decentering intensive mothering: More fully accounting for race and class in motherhood norms

Mothering and Self-Care While Black in the Age of COVID

The Politics of Doulas: Black Feminist Collective Action in Response to “Birthing While Black”

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