Caitlin Killian, "Failing Moms: Social Condemnation and Criminalization of Mothers" (Polity Press, 2023)
The role of mother is often celebrated in the United States as the most important job in the world but Dr. Caitlin Killian argues that American motherhood is increasingly monitored and perilous. From preconception, through pregnancy, and while parenting, she argues that women are held to ever-higher standards and punished \u2013 both socially and criminally \u2013 for failing to live up to these norms.\nUsing historical accounts, public health pronouncements, social psychological research, and course cases,\xa0Failing Moms: Social Condemnation and Criminalization of Mothers\xa0(Polity Press, 2023) documents how women of all ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses have been interrogated, held against their will, and jailed for a rapidly expanding list of offenses such as falling down the stairs while pregnant or letting a child spend time alone in a park, actions that were not considered criminal a generation ago. While poor mothers and moms of color are targeted the most, Dr. Killian argues that all moms are in jeopardy, whether they realize it or not. Women and mothers are disproportionately held accountable compared to men and fathers who do not see their reproduction policed and almost never incur charges for \u201cfailure to protect.\u201d The gendered inequality of prosecutions reveals them to be more about controlling women than protecting children. Other books have examined the specific risks to either pregnant or parenting women \u2013 but few connect the issues \u2013 and that is Dr. Killian\u2019s goal. Using a reproductive justice lens, she analyzes the extent of the crisis and what must change to prevent mass penalization and provide resources to allow people to mother well.\nDr.\xa0Caitlin Killian\xa0is a professor of sociology at Drew University specializing in gender, families, reproduction, and immigration. She has worked as a consultant for the United Nations, developing the module on sexual and reproductive health and rights for UN staff training and co-authoring a UNDP report on Syrian refugee women. Her articles have appeared in Contexts magazine and The Conversation, and she has published in numerous academic journals about adoption, overblown warnings about women\u2019s alcohol consumption during pregnancy, sexual and reproductive health and justice, and immigrant and refugee women.\nDr. Killian mentions:\n\nMichele Goodwin,\xa0Policing the Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood\n\n\nRenee Almeling,\xa0GUYnecology: The Missing Science of Men\u2019s Reproductive Health\n\n\nJeanne Flavin,\xa0Our Bodies, Our Crimes: The Policing of Women's Reproduction\n\n\nMiranda R. Waggoner,\xa0The Zero Trimester: Pre-Pregnancy Care and the Politics of Reproductive Risk\n\n\nCynthia Daniels,\xa0Exposing Men: The Science and Politics of Male Reproduction\n\n\nKim Brooks,\xa0Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear\n\n\n\ufeff\nGeorge Lobis served as the editorial assistant for this podcast.\nSusan Liebell\xa0is a Professor of Political Science at Saint Joseph\u2019s University in Philadelphia.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies