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The limits of intensive feeding

Maternal Foodwork at the Intersections of Race, Class, and Gender

Bibliographic Data

ID2249249
AuthorsJoslyn Brenton (Department of Sociology Ithaca College New York USA, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume39
Issue6
Pages863-877
Publication date2017-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology of Health & Illness (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0141-9889 • E-ISSN: 1467-9566
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-9566.12547
PMID28271522
OpenAlexW2591746323
LanguageEN
Citations received50
References cited32

Despite experiencing numerous barriers, mothers today confront increasing social pressure to embody perfection through their foodwork. A growing body of social science research identifies how gender and class inequality shape women's perceptions of food and their feeding strategies, but this research is thus far limited in its understanding of the roles that race and ethnic identity play in a mother's food landscape. Drawing on 60 in-depth interviews with a racially and economically diverse group of mothers, this paper examines how feeding young children is intertwined with contemporary ideas about child health as well as women's efforts to negotiate race, class, and gender hierarchies. Extending Hays' concept of intensive mothering, rich descriptions of feeding children reveal how mothers in this study are discursively engaged with what I call an 'intensive feeding ideology' - the widespread belief that good mothering is synonymous with intensive food labour. Drawing on intersectional theory, this article discusses the limits of an intensive feeding ideology, particularly for poor and middle-class mothers of colour. The findings contribute to an understanding of how power relations are embedded within food ideologies and how mothers of young children attempt to negotiate them

Class (philosophy · Ethnic group · Identity (music · Ideology · Immigration · Intersectionality · Negotiation · Perception · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Race (biology · Social class · Social science · Sociology · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Gender Studies · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology · Rural development and sustainability · Social Psychology

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Unique citing works50
Citations per year6,25
Citation span2018 - 2026 (9)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 49
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