Mommyblogs and the Changing Face of Motherhood

May Friedman is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Ryerson University and the author of the award-winning Mommyblogs and the Changing Face of Motherhood.

• Chapter 1: Introduction The Emergence of Networked Communication and the Birth of BlogsMommyblogs: The TermWhy Do Mothers Blog?What Mommyblogs Offer: The Theoretical FrameworksLimitations of the Genre: The Digital DivideAuthenticity: Do Mommyblogs Tell the Truth?About This BookChapter 2: A Short History of the Mamasphere and the Discursive Construction of MotherhoodHow Blogging HappensCreation of the MamasphereHow Do We Read Mommyblogs?Life Writing Theory: The “Self-in-the-Writing”Chapter 3: On Hybridity: The Diversity and Multiplicity of the Mamasphere Motherhood from the Margins: The Need for Diverse Motherhood StoriesTransnationalism and Hybridity: Gaza MomMainstream Black motherhood: The Young Mommy LifeMotherhood and Ethnicity: Devis with BabiesMothering and Power: The Dominatrix Next DoorAnonymity: The Renegade RebbetzinGender and Normativity: Transgender Mom and UnwellnessContradictory and Convergent Motherhoods: Fannfare and Friday PlaydateHybridity and Advocacy: Dream Mom and Live from the Wang of AmericaInterrupting Good Motherhood: Peter’s Cross Station and Any Mommy Out There?Writing from the Centre: Starbloggers and HybridityWhy Does Hybridity Matter? What Does Hybridity Offer?Chapter 4: On the Cyborg: Dialogism, and Collective StoriesThe Cyborg Mother Relationality“Whuffie”: Popular Mommybloggers On TemporalityThe Multidimensional Cyborg: The Mamasphere’s Collective MotherChapter 5: On Queer: A Liminal and Unfixed Motherhood History of Queer TheoryIlluminating the Queer MotherChanging the Subject: Destabilizing IndividualityFrom “Mother” to “Mothering”Queering the Kids: Mommyblogging and PrivacyMaking the Queer ShiftChapter 6: ConclusionsPrecariousness of the MediumMonetization and a Changing VoiceMoving ForwardAppendix A: List of blogs selected for primary researchReferences

‘Informative and readable volume… Mother’s stories interspersed throughout the work help make the world of mommyblogging come alive. The authors’ theoretical reflections add further value – especially for researchers, and for college instructors who teach courses in gender, family, or parenting.’- R. LaRossa (CHOICE Magazine; vol 50:11:2013) ‘There are too many gems here that are worth your while. The new and, for me, very original concepts are sprinkled around like jewels, and they make reading the book worth your time and trouble.’‘Mommyblogs is a dream of good scholarship.’- Lolita Lark (Ralph: Review of Art, Literature, Philosophy, and Humanities, number 243: Fall 2013)