Analysing American Advice Books for Single Mothers Raising Sons

Essentialism, Culture and Guilt

By (author) Berit Åström

Publication date:

07 February 2023

Publisher

Anthem Press

Dimensions:

229x153mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781785278884

Although single fathers as primary careers are on the rise, most single-parent households in the US are headed by women. These women are a lucrative market for parenting books and most of these books are aimed at single mothers raising sons. This intersectional study analyses the way in which these advice books draw on mother blame language, misconceptions of neuropsychological research and traditional conceptualisations of masculinity and femininity to convince the mother readers that they are unable to raise a son to be a man. The study further connects the advice books to a cultural backlash against ideas of ‘involved fatherhood’ and ‘caring masculinity’, exploring how the authors argue for a return to traditional family structures.

Introduction: Childcare and Advice in Times of Change; Gender: Borderwork, Science and the Dangerous Mother; Class and Race: Expectations of Mothers and Sons; Reinstating the Father: Fathers in Advice Books for Mothers; Conclusion; Appendix; Notes; Bibliography; Index

“BeritÅström’s book is a beautifully crafted, cogent and intersectional critique of the heteronormative, racist, middle-class and essentialising ideas about parenting and gender in American advice books aimed at single mothers who are raising sons. It’s a critical call for the recognition of diversities, heterogeneities and complexities of contemporary families, parenthood and childhoods” — Andrea Doucet, Canada Research Chair in Gender, Work and Care, Professor of Sociology and WGST, Brock University, Canada.