Fostering the passive maternal experience: Language and prescription in the 'What to Expect Series' of maternity literature

The chapter, "Fostering the passive maternal experience: Language and prescription in the 'What to Expect Series' of maternity literature" was written by Sally E. Mennill (Douglas College Faculty). A collection of essays showcasing intersections of mothering, the media, and popular culture. Through feminist, psychoanalytic, sociological, literary, and cultural studies perspectives, the twenty chapters in this book examine an array of current and relevant contemporary topics related to maternal identities such as working, stay-at-home, ambivalent, absent, good, bad, single, teen, elder, celebrity, and lesbian mothers; and issues such as the mommy wars, self-care, pregnancy, abortion, contraception, infanticide, adoption, sex and sexuality, breastfeeding, post-partum depression, fertility, genetics, and reproductive technologies. Contributors from Canada, the United States, Britain, and Australia engage critically and theoretically with stereotypes perpetuated by popular culture media, and chart some of the provocative and liberating ways that we can use and interpret this media to encourage and promote alternative and transformative maternal readings, identities, and practices.