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The Conflict: How Modern Motherhood Undermines The Status Of Women (2012)

by Élisabeth Badinter(Favorite Author)

3.14 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0805094148 (ISBN13: 9780805094145)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Metropolitan Books

review 1: What was an intriguing idea as a read came up pretty short as a rant against women who choose "extreme motherhood" (co-sleeping, attachment parenting, etc.). We've heard of the "Mommy Wars" and I was curious what this French feminist had to say about it all. Unfortunately it's a really boring read. I don't know if it was a translation issue or the author's style, but I was really bored by it all.Badinter offers a lot of statistics and studies to back her thesis of society moving towards women who choose not to work when they become full-time mothers and what becomes of that. She seems to have a lot of issues with those who choose to breastfeed (Amazon.com reviews note she sits on a board of a company that is involved with infant formula).I was hoping this would be thought-... moreprovoking and might leave me with some debates to think about. But this book was really more for the author to rant rather than to give answers or solutions. I also wonder whether that she is French (and I assume raised her children in France) has to do with how her work has been received in the US.
review 2: Interesting read, and it raises some thought-provoking questions. The author basically constructs the "naturalist movement" (natural parenting, attachment parenting, etc.) as being harmful to women's progress because it idealizes motherhood into an all-consuming preoccupation. The author is a feminist of the old guard and makes her distaste for certain things clear (e.g. La Leche League), and I think this prejudice limits the scope of her analysis. Still, the book doesn't read as extreme as some reviewers have made it out to be. less

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