Maternalism Reconsidered

Motherhood, Welfare and Social Policy in the Twentieth Century

Bibliographic Data

ID19926579
EditorsMarian van der Klein, Rebecca Jo Plant (0000-0003-0579-4025), Nichole Sanders, Lori R Weintrob
Year2012
Publication date2012-04-01
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueMaternalism reconsidered (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherBerghahn Books (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.3167/9780857454669
OpenAlexW4399408445
ISBN9780857454669
Open LibraryOL25061442M
LanguageEN
Citations received13

Beginning in the late 19th century, competing ideas about motherhood had a profound impact on the development and implementation of social welfare policies. Calls for programmes aimed at assisting and directing mothers emanated from all quarters of the globe, advanced by states and voluntary organizations, liberals and conservatives, feminists and anti-feminists – a phenomenon that scholars have since termed ‘maternalism’. This volume reassesses maternalism by providing critical reflections on prior usages of the concept, and by expanding its meaning to encompass geographical areas, political regimes and cultural concerns that scholars have rarely addressed. From Argentina, Brazil and Mexico City to France, Italy, the Netherlands, the Soviet Ukraine, the United States and Canada, these case studies offer fresh theoretical and historical perspectives within a transnational and comparative framework. As a whole, the volume demonstrates how maternalist ideologies have been employed by state actors, reformers and poor clients, with myriad political and social ramifications

Sociology · Gender Studies · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · History · Psychology · 20th century · Maternal Behavior · Motherhood · Mothers · Public policy · Public welfare · Social policy · Social Welfare

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