Analysing American Advice Books for Single Mothers Raising Sons: Essentialism, Culture and Guilt

Although single fathers as primary careers are on the rise, most single-parent households in the US are headed by women. These women are a lucrative market for parenting books and most of these books are aimed at single mothers raising sons. This intersectional study analyses the way in which these advice books draw on mother blame language, misconceptions of neuropsychological research and traditional conceptualisations of masculinity and femininity to convince the mother readers that they are unable to raise a son to be a man. The study further connects the advice books to a cultural backlash against ideas of ‘involved fatherhood’ and ‘caring masculinity’, exploring how the authors argue for a return to traditional family structures.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Childcare and Advice in Times of Change; Gender: Borderwork, Science and the Dangerous Mother; Class and Race: Expectations of Mothers and Sons; Reinstating the Father: Fathers in Advice Books for Mothers; Conclusion; Appendix; Notes; Bibliography; Index

About the Author :
Dr Berit Åström is an associate professor at the Department of Language Studies, Umeå University, Sweden. Her main research field is motherhood studies.

Review :
“BeritÅström’s book is a beautifully crafted, cogent and intersectional critique of the heteronormative, racist, middle-class and essentialising ideas about parenting and gender in American advice books aimed at single mothers who are raising sons. It’s a critical call for the recognition of diversities, heterogeneities and complexities of contemporary families, parenthood and childhoods” — Andrea Doucet, Canada Research Chair in Gender, Work and Care, Professor of Sociology and WGST, Brock University, Canada. “Examining expert literature directed towards single mothers in America (and particularly those raising sons), she shows how the advice rests upon raced, classed and gendered ideals about the family form. For these mothers in particular [however], there is the added sting that however hard they work at their parenting, they will never be able to make up for the ‘lack’ of a father figure, a fact which has important implications for their own subjectivities – as well as for conversations about social reproduction more broadly” — Dr Charlotte Faircloth, Associate Professor of Social Science, UCL Social Research Institute, UK. “This is an original and insightful book and an excellent addition to the field of motherhood studies. While the focus is on advice books for single mothers, the study also contributes significantly to the understanding of motherhood more generally. Åström’s intersectional approach provides wonderfully rich and varied detail on the constructions of motherhood”— Jenny Björklund, Professor of Gender Studies, Centre for Gender Research, Uppsala University, Sweden.