Motherhood Business : Consumption, Communication, and Privilege, Hardcover by Demo, Anne Teresa (EDT); Borda, Jennifer L. (EDT); Kroløkke, Charlotte H. (EDT); Chess, Shira (CON), ISBN 0817318909, ISBN-13 9780817318901, Brand New, Free shipping in the US

Contributed by communication and other scholars from the US and Denmark, the 10 essays in this volume examine the emerging industries associated with motherhood and how consumption and consumer culture restrict and empower mothers. Using concepts from rhetoric and communication studies, they outline the rhetorical dynamics of consumption and how it is impacted by contradictory discourses about motherhood; illustrate how class privilege is a marker of marginalization and cultural and social capital; and show how the market activity of mothers in terms of consumption, entrepreneurship, and commodification have altered and reinforced key norms of contemporary motherhood. Essays discuss fertility aspects, including the egg donation business and fertility travel in Europe, marketing appeals for fertility and adoption services from the perspective of an African American woman, and the surrogacy business in India; the class dynamics of intensive mothering and consumption in the US, addressing the expert nutritional advice promoted on the TLC show Honey, We're Killing the Kids, the role of consumerism in the mommy blogosphere, the emerging mompreneur category and organic baby food companies run by mompreneurs, and responses to a New York Times online commentary about Bridget Kevane, a mother charged with child endangerment; and how the marketplace imperative to maximize outputs informs the goods, services, and investments purchased for a child and overvalues child-rearing practices and modes of play that promote consumption, with discussion of mothering video games designed for women, child-rearing philosophies and the proliferation of achievement toys, and school vouchers. Annotation ©2016 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR ()