Join Professor Andrea O’Reilly, a trailblazer in Motherhood Studies, as she discusses her transformative journey in academia. She shares insights on the historical neglect of motherhood in women's studies and the establishment of key initiatives like the Journal of the Motherhood Initiative. Topics include empowering mothering versus patriarchal norms, the importance of community for mothers, and reframing motherhood to prioritize maternal voices. O’Reilly advocates for a feminist lens that truly centers mothers, making their experiences the forefront of societal discussions.
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Andrea's Motherhood Journey
Andrea O'Reilly became pregnant during her undergraduate studies and realized motherhood was invisible in women's studies.
She started the first motherhood course in North America and created a community around motherhood scholarship.
insights INSIGHT
Motherhood's Academic Marginalization
Motherhood remains largely invisible in academic feminism despite growing scholarship.
Mothers face a 'double whammy' of marginalization as women and as mothers, lacking institutional support.
insights INSIGHT
Distinguishing Motherhood and Mothering
Patriarchal motherhood is oppressive, but mothering can be empowering and self-defining.
Feminists should distinguish motherhood's oppression from the potential liberatory practice of mothering.
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Join us for a groundbreaking conversation with Professor Andrea O'Reilly, the internationally renowned pioneer who founded the field of Motherhood Studies. In this powerful episode, Dr O'Reilly shares her 40-year journey from questioning motherhood's absence in Women's Studies as a pregnant undergraduate to establishing an entire academic discipline dedicated to mothers' experiences. She discusses the creation of the Journal of the Motherhood Initiative, Demeter Press (which has published nearly 200 titles), and concepts like "Mother Outlaws" and Matricentric Feminism. Key themes explored include the difference between patriarchal motherhood and empowered mothering, the ongoing struggle for legitimacy in academia, raising "outlaw children" against patriarchal norms, the vital importance of community for resistant mothers, and her vision for making mothers "the before thought, not the afterthought." Andrea reflects on the costs and joys of feminist mothering, the need for a mother-centered lens in all disciplines, and why mothers need their own feminism. This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in understanding how motherhood shapes our world and how we can create more supportive spaces for all mothers.
Demeter Press Website: https://demeterpress.org/
In (M)otherwords (Prof O’Reilly’s essays) book: https://demeterpress.org/books/motherwords
The Mother Wave collection: https://demeterpress.org/books/the-mother-wave
Journal of the Motherhood Initiative, open access: https://jarm.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/jarm
For those inspired to dive deeper into this field, you can be trained in the sociology of motherhood through the Motherhood Studies Certification. The next wave of this certification has been directly inspired by my chapter in "The Mother Wave" book, helping to contribute to Dr O'Reilly's ground-breaking work, and turning Motherhood Studies concepts into practical application for professionals working with mothers - https://drsophiebrock.com/motherhoodstudies
Listen to free training on The Missing Piece in Mother-Care Work here: https://motherhoodstudies.newzenler.com/courses/the-missing-piece-in-mother-care-work/buy?coupon=missingpiecefree
The Good Enough Mother 
