
Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change

But the issue of children and who looks after them has become, in my view, profoundly political, and so it would be a contradiction to write a book about motherhood without explaining to some degree how I found the time to write it. For the first six months of Albertine’s life I looked after her at home while my partner continued to work. This exp
... See moreA life's work
Care jobs help humans flourish, and, properly understood and compensated, they can power a growing sector of the economy, strengthen our society, and increase our well-being. Goods are things that people buy and own; services are functions that people pay for. Relationships require two people and a connection between them. We don’t really have an e... See more
Anne-Marie Slaughter • We Need a New Economic Category
Right now, we lack the societal, institutional, and cultural support structure to help mothers meet their breast-feeding goals. If we’re telling women that they should breast-feed exclusively for six months, then we should give them—at minimum—the same amount of paid family leave.
Angela Garbes • Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy
So how do we keep doing all this passion work that needs doing? How do educate, and make art, and create spaces to enjoy it? How do we comfort the infirm, and protect the vulnerable, and agitate for a better world? We can agree that the outcome of this type of work is valuable and venerable. It is essential . But the we value the people doing the w... See more