Anderson, Gillian

The chapter, "“Doing it all…and making it look easy!”: Yummy mummies, mompreneurs and the North American neoliberal crises of the home" was written by the listed authors including Joseph G. Moore (Douglas College Faculty). Neoliberal policies and austerity measures have unequivocally altered the landscape of women’s lives globally. The most detrimental effect has been on mothers as they are faced with increasing responsibility and decreasing resources. Despite mothers being the primary producers, consumers, and reproducers of the neoliberal world, their centrality has been largely silenced within economic discourse. Thus, Mothering in the Age of Neoliberalism calls for a new economic framework to counter the individualized neoliberal model, one in which the needs of mothers and children are prioritized. This volume provides a crucial starting point. By identifying the sources of neoliberal failure toward mothers, we can begin to collectively formulate an alternative paradigm in which mothers’ voices are no longer rendered invisible, but rather predominate in the global landscape.Neoliberal policies and austerity measures have unequivocally altered the landscape of women’s lives globally. The most detrimental effect has been on mothers as they are faced with increasing responsibility and decreasing resources. Despite mothers being the primary producers, consumers, and reproducers of the neoliberal world, their centrality has been largely silenced within economic discourse. Thus, Mothering in the Age of Neoliberalism calls for a new economic framework to counter the individualized neoliberal model, one in which the needs of mothers and children are prioritized. This volume provides a crucial starting point. By identifying the sources of neoliberal failure toward mothers, we can begin to collectively formulate an alternative paradigm in which mothers’ voices are no longer rendered invisible, but rather predominate in the global landscape. -- From publisher description. Neoliberalism in North America has not only restructured the public sphere, it has engendered a troubling “crisis of home” (Duyvendak). Longer work hours, the erosion of collective supports and heightened consumption expectations have intensified the burden of social reproduction shouldered primarily by women as mothers. This chapter examines the emergence of Anglo North American “Yummy Mummy” and “Mompreneur” discourses as a cultural response to this “crisis of the home.” Content analysis of a Canadian parenting magazine alongside a growing scholarship on this “new Momism”¹ reveal seductive stories of women who reconcile the “new reality” of neoliberal economies with their mothering... -- From publisher description.

"This original collection is the first to explore sociological analyses of home in Canada, drawing upon studies of family, urban and rural communities, and migration and immigration to interrogate the idea of home as a powerful site of identity, community, and belonging. The text examines how we conceive of home at the levels of personal homemaking, neighborhood community, and political ecology. The authors address the diversity of homes and lived experiences across Canada, from apartment dwellers in downtown Vancouver to a remote Inuit community in Nunavut. The edited collection looks at contemporary housing phenomena such as 'tiny homes' and condos, considers historical case studies, and includes chapters on youth homelessness and homemaking in marginalized communities."-- From by publisher description. The first Canadian collection of its kind, Sociology of Home draws on sociological approaches to family, urban and rural communities, and migration and immigration to discuss the idea of “home”―an intensely personal concept that is, in its varying iterations, bound to larger economic and political systems. Moving from private homemaking to community building and political ecology, authors investigate home as a constructed space within the context of a diverse set of cultural, political, built, and natural landscapes that ground Canadian experiences. This comprehensive introductory reader explores a diversity of homes and homemaking and is an important contribution to the sociological studies of home, family, environment, gender, and social inequality. Features looks at geographic contexts across Canada, including Vancouver, St. John’s, and the North includes contributions from gendered, class-based, racialized, and Indigenous perspectives features work by new and established scholars