Mothers and others : Australian writers on why not all women are mothers and not all mothers are the same PDF
Preview Mothers and others : Australian writers on why not all women are mothers and not all mothers are the same
About Mothers & Others ‘When are you having children?’ ‘Why didn’t you have another child?’ ‘Well, I guess that’s your choice, but … They are questions asked of women of a certain age all the time. Beneath them is the assumption that all women want to have children, and the judgement that if they don’t, they’ll be somehow incomplete. And that’s only the beginning … Being a mother, or not being a mother, has never been so complicated. The list of rights and wrongs gets longer daily, with guilt-ridden mothers struggling to keep on top of it all, and non-mothers battling a culture that defines women by their wombs. In this collection of fiction and non-fiction stories, Australian women reflect on motherhood: how it should be and how it really is. Their stories tackle everything from the decision not to have children to the so-called battle between working and stay-at-home mums. Including special contributions by Rosie Batty and Deborra-lee Furness, the stories explore every topic from infertility and IVF, to step-parenting and adoption, to miscarriage and breastfeeding, child meltdowns and marriage breakdowns, as well as giving much-needed voice to those who won’t ever be called ‘Mum’. With its unflinching honesty and clear-eyed wisdom, Mothers & Others holds a mirror up to the most romanticised, demonised and complex roles women play: those of mother or non-mother, and daughter. Cover About Mothers and Others Introduction The New Grandparents Nonfiction by Alice Pung The God Box Nonfiction by Brita Frost Mothers Nonfiction by Deborra-lee Furness Writing Gully Nonfiction by Simmone Howell On the Bus Fiction by Maggie Scott Future Brooke Nonfiction by Brooke Davis Interior. Kitchen Table. 10.45 am. Nonfiction by Cate Kennedy Why I Choose to Not Have to Make a Choice Nonfiction by Celeste Liddle Thirty Seconds Nonfiction by Rosie Waterland As a Mum Nonfiction by Christie Nieman Mothering in a Time of Fear Nonfiction by Shakira Hussein Main Street Fiction by Miriam Sved Grief Nonfiction by Debra Adelaide The Motherhood Penalty Nonfiction by Dianne Blacklock Other People’s Kids Nonfiction by Emily Maguire Motherland Nonfiction by Estelle Tang The Storm Nonfiction by Frances Whiting Twelve Years of Looking After Luke Nonfiction by Rosie Batty, as told to Maggie Scott Goat Song Fiction by Kathleen Mary Fallon The Childless Side of the Room Nonfiction by Liane Moriarty Paint Fiction by Maxine Beneba Clarke the Mother Lode Nonfiction by Geraldine Brooks Of a Lesser God Nonfiction by Melina Marchetta The Cuckoo Clock Fiction by Maya Linden The Disappearing Woman Nonfiction by Natalie Kon-yu What to Expect When You’re Someone’s Favourite Colour Nonfiction by Jessica Rudd No Fixed Position Nonfiction by Enza Gandolfo The Mother and Her Ghosts Nonfiction by Sue Gillett About the contributors Acknowledgements Also by the editors Copyright page W hen are you having kids? It’s a question asked of women all the time and seldom asked of men. A question that fails to consider the differences between women – social, psychological and physical – and assumes motherhood is the ultimate goal to which all women should strive. The last few decades have seen social changes with enormous implications for traditional parenting roles. In Australia, the rise of women in leadership positions, improved medical technology, better parental leave, same-sex parents, changing attitudes towards stay-at-home fathers, and an increase in women actively deciding to remain childless are just a few of the things that have challenged traditional ideas about motherhood in our culture. Yet traditions die hard and these changes arouse public debates which frequently descend into antagonism and judgement, once again limiting and polarising women. Complexity, difference and truly unique positions of motherhood are often lost in the oppositional fray. In 2013 we commissioned Just Between Us: Australian writers tell the truth about female friendship. The anthology presented friendships between women as they really are, focusing on individual experiences that challenged the pervasive myth of the ‘best friend forever’. In Mothers & Others we have turned our attention to this other important realm of women’s lives, to strip away the stereotypes and insidious ideologies that mask the truths of motherhood. Mothers & Others explores the plurality of experiences around motherhood – whether they be about non—traditional modes of mothering, economic and political constraints, infertility or the death of a child, or women side-stepping parenthood altogether, by circumstance or by choice. To write against the grain on this issue is scary. Our contributors have forged ahead and told their stories with warmth, wit and honesty. Given the enormity of the topic, its fundamental position in our culture and our lives, these stories are acts of courage. The women presented in this anthology are some of our nation’s finest writers and thinkers, and we are honoured to be able to share their ideas and experiences. Maggie Scott, Miriam Sved, Christie Nieman, Maya Linden and Natalie Kon-yu Editors
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