Rating: 
Summary: More Fun Than Theory
Review: "The Mommy Myth" is a lot of fun to read. The authors' critique of the ways in which the mass media have undermined and subverted the goals of 1970s feminism was right on - especially the look at annoying and ubiquitous "celebrity mom" profiles in popular magazines. In the beginning of the book, the authors display some spirited broadsides from the early feminist movement denouncing marriage and the patriarchy. As they suggest, it is a shock to see these scathing critiques in an age where marriage and family are the subjects of such endless media obsession and adulation.
However, I was extremely disappointed with the tone in which the book was written. Punctuated with witty remarks and sly back-talk to the messages critiqued in the text, the analysis was amusing and easy to read but there was no scholarly interpretation or in-depth analysis of the problems from a theoretical approach. I'm assuming that the authors used this approach to interest non-academics in the process of feminist criticism but I still feel that the book could have been more intellectually engaging without being *too* dry or theoretical. I felt like I was reading a Michael Moore book, and it wasn't what I had been expecting from these academic authors.
"The Mommy Myth" is a great way to get re-acquainted with the original goals and philosophies of feminism, and to cast a critical eye at media tropes surrounding motherhood, but it probably will not be helpful for research or scholarship purposes.
Rating: 
Summary: A book whose time has come
Review: A straight-talking critique of the Cult of the Perfect Mom, told with a healthy dollop of exasperation. The authors deconstruct this image -- peddled relentlessly by our media -- and assert that it's OK if you don't love parenting every minute. This is *not* an argument against having kids or loving them! The authors are simply trying to let the millions of guilt-ridden moms in this country off the hook, because being a parent isn't easy and it's so much harder when the media suggests otherwise. How this message can be perceived as "anti-child," as a number of reviewers here seem to suggest, is beyond me. So many mothers blame themselves if they aren't euphoric over every dirty diaper and spilled sippy cup. We believe the problem is within *us* and that if we only tried harder, we'd fit those media images. Why aren't we looking at the ways society fails to support mothers -- and fathers? Corporate America and the government get off scott-free, when in reality these institutions could be doing so much more to truly support families. "The Mommy Myth" shines a light on these unasked questions, and encourages mothers to stop blaming themselves and demand more from the institutions that benefit from our efforts to raise responsible, productive future workers and citizens.
Rating: 
Summary: Let's face it, if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy....
Review: After reading just the first chapter, I felt empowered with knowledge. I realized that attachment parenting is a lifestyle CHOICE and not the ONLY right way to parent as mothers are constantly reminded and made to feel guilty about. It is a lifestyle that my husband and I enjoy along with homeschooling our girls that really suits us. Although the book does patronize this choice often, I just brush it off. The point still stands. We must respect and support every woman's right to choose her parenting style and to decide what works for her unique family.
Rating: 
Summary: Why have children if others take care of them?
Review: Anyone who concludes that to be a good mother one must get a "real" job and dump their children in the hands of strangers is, in my opinion, immoral. If your children are in school/daycare all day, you are at work, and then when they come home you don't have much time for them (just "quality time," making children fit into YOUR schedule when kids don't understand such things and NEED a mommy)....*WHY oh why did you even HAVE children?!*
Rating:
Summary: Interesting view of motherhood
Review: Anyone who owns this book should also own "7 Myths of Working Mothers: Why Children and Most Careers Just Don't Mix." "The Mommy Myth" perpetuates the ideal that an acceptable "alternative" way to mother is to ship your kids off to daycare or a nanny so someone else can raise them. That shows so much love. After all, our society and the media has accepted it. Every mom who actually raises her kids knows that it sucks the intelligence right out of you. I thought it was really cute to say that nearly half of the male population is not available for marriage/family because they are either gay or destroying brain cells by snorting wasabi because they saw it on "Jackass." If that is not man-hating, I don't know what is.
Rating:
Summary: How about person AND mommy????
Review: As a woman, no matter what your choices, you are always asked to consider, "Have I wasted my life???" Douglas and Michaels show the way the media have focused endless disussions of this -- the very dumbest and least productive question you could ask. Valiently insisting on the personhood of mothers, children and even fathers, Douglas and Michaels rip the veil off of the insidious cult of "Mom-ism," which has resurfaced in a new form. These witty writers expose the cult of "the Mom" for what it is -- NOT an embrace of the good mothering every child should have by rights, but rather, the attempt to suffocate all families with just one, Healthfood- June-Cleaver set of standards for "success." When all the perfectly coiffed movie stars on the covers of the supermarket rags started sporting their babies as if they were new accessories to go with their shoes, you knew something was all wrong. Working back from this "celebrity-mom" phenomenon, Douglas and Michaels carefully trace their way back through the history of the ways a variety of mothers have been pictured in the mass media these last 30 years. What they document is rich with familiar detail, sometimes as surprising as it is right-on.
Remember all the times during a film, or reading a popular article you felt insulted, though you were not sure quite how or why?? In THE MOMMY MYTH, mothers and non-mothers alike will find your own moments of self-doubt and bile provoked by the movies, tv shows and magazines you have read and seen, taken apart and examined through a lense not colored by the self-doubt we have learned so well. With humor and wisdom, Douglas and Michaels prove that EVERYONE has a right to a good parent, to being a good parent if they so desire, but not necessarily at the expense of belonging to the world outside the toilet bowl. Bless them for this passionate book. They even revisit that halcyon moment in the early 70's when some women known as "feminists" (ohmygod) had the nerve to raise these questions as part of a dialogue on public policy. Did you beleive the article in the magazine in the doctor's office that said that day care was the devil's idea??? READ THIS BOOK AND THINK AGAIN.
Rating:
Summary: Definition of bad parents
Review: Bad parents come in all shapes and sizes -- working mothers and stay-at-home moms alike. If you look at these authors objectively -- and don't stereotype them as working mothers or "the enemy" -- you will see this book is all too true and a good read.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read For The Thinking Mother!!
Review: Best book I've read on motherhood yet. What an absolute relief to read. Exposes and debunks the whole ridiculous notion that you're a "bad mom" if you don't WANT to "intensive-mother" or "attachment parent" your kids 24/7. Explains that "intensive mothering" is a choice, and if you don't want to choose it, you're not an inferior or bad mother by any means. So many women I know are unhappy as mothers with young kids because they subconsciously think they must succumb to this "new momism" parenting style in order to be a good mother...yet the style simply doesn't suit them, their kids, or their relationship with their kids. They don't understand why they are so miserable, unfulfilled and depressed...but this book explains why, especially how they've bought into the myth of the "new momism."
Contrary to what the media is trying to tell us, "intensive mothering" is a valid choice but is not the ONLY valid choice. This books reminds mothers to parent your child according to what suits your situation the best, not according to what the media tells you.
Rating:
Summary: A piece of mind
Review: I am a mother of two that is constantly asking myself, "did I do the right thing?" This book is a real view of what parenting is like (without the sugar coating). I know that I am a good mom, I get frustrated and confused and angry but I love my girls. This book sort of reinterates that it is okay to have these feeling, that other woman feel the same way and you are not alone. It is in our nature to want to be the best mom, but who gets to decide what the best mom is, only you and your children. Read this book and you will understand.
Rating:
Summary: This book should be called, "How to be a bad parent"
Review: I am horrified that anyone would read this and believe in the alternative "ideals" put forth by Douglas and Michaels. I am appalled that anyone would say something to their children as violent as "Get your butts in here this instant or I'll murder you immediately," (as is quoted in the beginning of the book). The book is filled with examples of inappropriate language toward children, violent punishment, and constant put-downs of gentle discipline and research-supported parenting methods -- what the authors treat as too "fluffy" for "mothers with attitudes." I feel deeply disturbed that another mother would condemn me -- and other mothers like me -- for finding fulfillment in being a mother. I believe in babywearing, cosleeping, and breastfeeding exclusively. I believe in spending time with your kids and respecting them, so they learn respect and have a good deal of self-confidence. Unfortunately these ideals are only criticized by the authors. Also, there seems to be an underlying message that mothers should listen to all of the consumerist media that's thrown at them; if you feel bad looking through a magazine that advertises $500 baby clothes, then you shouldn't look through them. Read a book instead... but not this one.
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