An Ideological Analysis of Breastfeeding in Contemporary America: Disciplining the Maternal Body

(Hardback)

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An Ideological Analysis of Breastfeeding in Contemporary America: Disciplining the Maternal Body analyzes the discourses involved in the pro-breastfeeding, breast is best paradigm, highlighting how such politically charged rhetoric restrains womens ability to make the choices that are best for them and their families. Loreen Olson and Jenni M. Simon combat the idea that is so often espoused by medical professionals, researchers, and society at large: to be a good parent, one must provide breast milk to the infant in order for the baby to grow into a healthy, productive citizen. By exposing the biases present, Olson and Simon advocate for the need to make discursive space for all parents and all feeding choices. Scholars of communication, rhetoric, gender and womens studies, and feminism will find this book particularly useful.

Reviews

This book is a great addition to the wider scholarship on breastfeeding discourse. The work is well-suited for scholars and academic libraries, and given its more informal, clear style of writing, could be used effectively in undergraduate courses, particularly social science courses.--Patricia Hamilton, Stellenbosch University

Author Bio

Loreen Olson is professor of communication at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Jenni Simon is lecturer at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.