The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but the methods are questionable
Review: An interesting book for anyone who has ever grappled with balancing work and motherhood. However, Hays' review of secondary sources on family life throughout the ages reads like an undergraduate term-paper. Hays' analysis of child-rearing manuals concludes that while people are buying these manuals, the effect upon them is unknown. The meat of her analysis is based upon interviews with 38 women - a focus group too small to contain any conclusive evidence on the topic. If you are looking for a sociological analysis of motherhood & work, the rigorous quantitative approaches are just not there. If, however, you want an entertaining ancedotal book on how some women view motherhood, child-rearing & working, then this is the book for you.