The Reproduction of Inequality : How Class Shapes the Pregnant Body and Infant Health / / Katherine Mason.
2023
RG526 .M316 2023
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Unlimited
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DRM-Free
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Can lend chapters, not whole books
Details
Title
The Reproduction of Inequality : How Class Shapes the Pregnant Body and Infant Health / / Katherine Mason.
Author
Mason, Katherine, author.
ISBN
9781479801909
Published
New York, NY : : New York University Press, [2023]
Copyright
©2023
Language
English
Language Note
In English.
Description
1 online resource : 3 b/w illustrations
Other Standard Identifiers
10.18574/nyu/9781479801909.001.0001 doi
Call Number
RG526 .M316 2023
Dewey Decimal Classification
362.1984
Summary
An important analysis of the difference class makes in reproductive health choicesCan you run a marathon, drink coffee, eat fish, or fly on a plane while pregnant? Such questions are just the tip of the iceberg for how most pregnant women's bodies are managed, surveilled, and scrutinized during pregnancy. The Reproduction of Inequality examines the intense social pressure that expectant and new mothers face when it comes to their health and body-care choices.Drawing on interviews with dozens of pregnant women and new mothers from poor, middle-class, and mixed-class backgrounds, Katherine Mason paints a vivid picture of the immense weight of expectation that comes with the early stages of motherhood. The women in Mason's study universally sought to give their children a healthy start in life; however, their chosen approaches varied based on their socio-economic class. Whereas middle-class mothers attempted a complete lifestyle change and absolute devotion to the achievement and maintenance of "the healthy pregnant body," poorer women made strategic choices about which health goals to prioritize on a limited budget, lacking the economic and cultural capital required to speak and perfectly adhere to the language of "good health." The unfortunate result is that middle-class mothers are more likely to be seen by others and by themselves as "good" parents, whereas the efforts of working-class mothers are often misread as displaying inadequate concern about their health and that of their child. This in turn contributes to longstanding stereotypes about poor families and communities, and limits their children's chances for upward mobility. The Reproduction of Inequality is a compelling analysis of the impact of class on new mothers' approaches to health and wellness, and a sobering examination of how inequality shapes mothers' efforts to maximize their own health and that of their children.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
System Details Note
Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
Digital File Characteristics
text file PDF
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 18. Sep 2023)
Series
Health, Society, and Inequality
In
EBOOK PACKAGE COMPLETE 2023 English
EBOOK PACKAGE COMPLETE 2023
EBOOK PACKAGE Medicine and Life Sciences 2023 English
EBOOK PACKAGE Medicine and Life Sciences 2023
New York University Press Complete eBook-Package 2023
EBOOK PACKAGE COMPLETE 2023
EBOOK PACKAGE Medicine and Life Sciences 2023 English
EBOOK PACKAGE Medicine and Life Sciences 2023
New York University Press Complete eBook-Package 2023
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Online Access
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Table of Contents
Frontmatter
Contents
Introduction
1. Maternal Embodiment: How Reproductive Body Projects Work
2. The Gender of Wellness: The Labor of Body Care Falls to Mothers
3. The Costs of Avoiding Risk: Trust and Accountability
4. The Stories Mothers Tell: Class Identity in Women's Body-Care Narratives
5. Rigid and Flexible Agency: Navigating Bodily Change and Unpredictability
6. Care Work as Status Work: The Child's Body as a Site of Social Reproduction
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Appendix: List of Interview Subjects
Notes
References
Index
About the Author
Contents
Introduction
1. Maternal Embodiment: How Reproductive Body Projects Work
2. The Gender of Wellness: The Labor of Body Care Falls to Mothers
3. The Costs of Avoiding Risk: Trust and Accountability
4. The Stories Mothers Tell: Class Identity in Women's Body-Care Narratives
5. Rigid and Flexible Agency: Navigating Bodily Change and Unpredictability
6. Care Work as Status Work: The Child's Body as a Site of Social Reproduction
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Appendix: List of Interview Subjects
Notes
References
Index
About the Author