Cornell University Press
Lesbian Mothers
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About this book
Within a society that long considered "lesbian motherhood" a contradiction in terms, what were the experiences of lesbian mothers at the end of the twentieth century? In this illuminating book, lesbian mothers tell their stories of how they became mothers; how they see their relationships with their children, relatives, lovers, and friends and with their children's fathers and sperm donors; how they manage child-care arrangements and financial difficulties; and how they deal with threats to custody. Ellen Lewin's unprecedented research on lesbian mothers in the San Francisco area captured a vivid portrait of the moment before gay and lesbian parenting moved into the mainstream of U.S. culture. Drawing on interviews with 135 women, Lewin provided her readers with a new understanding of the attitudes of individual women, the choices they made, and the texture of their daily lives.
Author / Editor information
Ellen Lewin is a cultural anthropologist who holds a joint appointment in the departments of Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies and Anthropology at The University of Iowa. She is the author of Recognizing Ourselves: Ceremonies of Lesbian and Gay Commitment and Gay Fatherhood: Narratives of Family and Citizenship in America.
Reviews
Lewin’s study of lesbian motherhood, which consisted of interviews of seventy- three lesbian mothers and sixty-two single heterosexual mothers for comparison, confirmed her assumption that the two groups have a great deal in common. It seems that single mothers, whatever their sexuality, tend to relate to their children as partners and count other mothers as better friends than childless people, and that the experience of divorce for heterosexual women often mirrors the experience of coming out for lesbians—both are steps toward autonomy.
Topics
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Frontmatter
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Contents
vii -
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Acknowledgments
ix -
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Prologue
xiii -
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1. Looking For Lesbian Motherhood
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2. Becoming s Lesbian Mother
19 -
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3.“This Wonderful Decision”
47 -
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4. Ties that Endure
75 -
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5. “This Permanent Roommate”
95 -
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6. Friends and Lovers
117 -
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7. Life with Father
143 -
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8. Lady Madonna in Court
163 -
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9. Natural Achievements: Lesbian Mothers in American Culture
181 -
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Appendix
193 -
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Notes
199 -
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Works Cited
209 -
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Index
225 -
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Anthropology of Contemporary Issues
234
