Maternal Desire

Esteemed psychologist Daphne de Marneffe examines women’s desire to care for children in an updated reissue of her “fascinating analysis that’s a welcome addition to the dialogues about motherhood” (Publishers Weekly). If a century ago it was women’s sexual desires that were unspeakable, today it is the female desire to mother that has become taboo. One hundred years of Freud and feminism have liberated women to acknowledge and explore their sexual selves, as well as their public and personal ambitions. What has remained inhibited is women’s thinking about motherhood. Maternal Desire is the first book to treat women’s desire to mother as a legitimate focus of intellectual inquiry and personal exploration. Shedding new light on old debates, Daphne de Marneffe provides an emotional road map for mothers who work and mothers who are at home. De Marneffe both explores the enjoyment and anxieties of motherhood and offers mothers in all situations valuable ways to think through their self-doubts and connect to their capacity for pleasure. Drawing on a rich tradition of writers, such as Simone de Beauvoir, Adrienne Rich, Carol Gilligan, and Susan Faludi, as well as her experience as a psychologist and mother of three, de Marneffe illuminates how we express our desire to care for children. By treating maternal desire as a central feature of women’s identity—rather than as an inconvenient or slightly embarrassing detail—we can look with fresh insight at controversial issues, such as childcare, fertility, abortion, and the role of fathers. An “absorbing look at the enormous personal pleasure that women derive from mothering….Maternal Desire is a stirring book that celebrates women’s love for their children and mothering while also supporting their interest in careers and other pursuits” (Booklist).

She argues that Ginzburg adopted a distinct aesthetic by allowing her family stories to be narrated through a female narrating "I." This volume focuses on the broad theme of the maternal by tracing the development of the voices of Ginzburg's narrating daughters, mothers, and sisters. Their texts read as auto/biographies; that is, they are narratives about both the self and the other."--BOOK JACKET.

Revolutionary and transforming, Maternal Desire is a book about ideas, a book about culture, and an invitation to self-reflection."--BOOK JACKET.

This is an important and exciting addition to the debate about children, love and the inner life. Does identifying and talking about maternal desire feed old notions about women's nature and justify restrictions of their rights? Or is it an opportunity to understand women more deeply? Maternal Desire shows that the iconic images of motherhood - from the sacrificial mother to the supermum - and the endless debates about what's best for children, obscure the profound meaning of mothering - and the desire to mother. Here is a book that gives a common voice to mothers and examines motherhood as an active and transforming experience.

The Maternal Lineage highlights various psychological aspects of the mothering experience. Clinical examples and theoretical research show that the transgenerational repetition of distressing mothering patterns can be successfully broken with professional help.

Drug Use, Recovery, and Maternal Instinct Bias: A Biocultural and Social-Ecological Approach draws upon theoretical perspectives in anthropology and public health to provide insight into the barriers women experience when seeking treatment for substance use disorders. In both theoretical perspectives in biological anthropology and social discourse within the United States, there is an emphasis on explaining why women avoid (or should avoid) using psychoactive substances during their reproductive years, especially during pregnancy. Theories of women's drug avoidance during the childbearing years rely on statistics to show that women are less likely to use all types of illicit drugs than their male counterparts. This gender gap, however, is closing in high-income countries (HICs), calling for more research on the biocultural and social-ecological factors contributing to women's drug use and the barriers to their recovery. The book uses qualitative data from participants in Indiana to illustrate women's struggles along the pathway to recovery. The overarching conclusion is that internalized models of “maternal instinct,” a topic inherent in theoretical and public discourse, can often impede efforts for women seeking treatment, and recovery is only possible when proper social and structural supports are in place.

Annotation An exploration of women's desire for women.

Provides an account of the agonies, frustrations, and struggles that thousand of women have endured in trying to have a child.