Here are a couple works I recommend on the topic. Any other suggestions?
Bobel, Chris. (2002). The paradox of natural mothering. Temple University Press: Philadelphia, PA.
Chris Bobel is Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. In addition to her research in The Paradox, Bobel is currently researching the menstrual activism movement. In The Paradox, Bobel researched thirty-plus women, who she coined as, ‘natural mothers’, who predominantly practiced attachment parenting, home birth, holistic remedies, home schooling, and who did not work outside the home. Although Bobel considers herself somewhat of a natural mother, she concluded that, because the natural mothers she studied believed in biological differences between men and women (children do best when their nurturing mother is very present for their needs) and because they typically chose not to work outside the home, they were supporting patriarchical structures rather than changing them. The Paradox is an interesting and somewhat disturbing read for scholarly feminists and natural mothers themselves, as it not only addresses a possible paradox between natural mothering and the feminist movement, but also highlights a paradox within Bobel’s research. A self-declared feminist herself, Bobel led the natural mothers to believe that she was supporting their practices while she actually had the intention of trying to prove faults in their lifestyles.
Ruddick, Sara. (1998). Maternal thinking: Toward a politics of peace. Ballantine Books: New York, NY.
Bobel, Chris. (2002). The paradox of natural mothering. Temple University Press: Philadelphia, PA.
Chris Bobel is Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. In addition to her research in The Paradox, Bobel is currently researching the menstrual activism movement. In The Paradox, Bobel researched thirty-plus women, who she coined as, ‘natural mothers’, who predominantly practiced attachment parenting, home birth, holistic remedies, home schooling, and who did not work outside the home. Although Bobel considers herself somewhat of a natural mother, she concluded that, because the natural mothers she studied believed in biological differences between men and women (children do best when their nurturing mother is very present for their needs) and because they typically chose not to work outside the home, they were supporting patriarchical structures rather than changing them. The Paradox is an interesting and somewhat disturbing read for scholarly feminists and natural mothers themselves, as it not only addresses a possible paradox between natural mothering and the feminist movement, but also highlights a paradox within Bobel’s research. A self-declared feminist herself, Bobel led the natural mothers to believe that she was supporting their practices while she actually had the intention of trying to prove faults in their lifestyles.
Ruddick, Sara. (1998). Maternal thinking: Toward a politics of peace. Ballantine Books: New York, NY.