false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1189793145m/1887438.jpg 1887438 1 <div>According to recent surveys, approximately 40% of American women between the ages of 18 and 44 do not have children. Yet these women are virtually missing from accounts of women's lives. In this important new work, Mardy Ireland defines a place for women outside the parameters of motherhood and gives voice to the significant number of women who are not mothers. She draws extensively from interviews with over 100 childless women from various ethnic and educational backgrounds, demonstrating the myriad ways they came to view themselves as complete adults without recourse to the traditional defining criteria of motherhood. Her work offers all women--mothers and nonmothers alike--a vision of self-defined adulthood and a recognition that every woman is the subject of her own life. <br><br>Challenging the assumption of deprivation or deviance that is traditionally applied to childless women in psychological theory and popular culture, Dr. Ireland reframes childlessness as a concept and lays a groundwork for an expanded view of women's identity and psychic development. Using contemporary psychoanalytic theory, she reexamines female identity development and presents a positive interpretation of women who--for whatever reason--are not mothers.<br><br>To contrast and compare the experiences of her interview subjects, she places them within the changing psychosocial context of the last few decades and catagorizes them according to their reasons for childlessness. Included are: `traditional' women, who are childless by reasons of infertility or health complications; `transitional' women, who are not mothers because of delaying circumstances; and `transformative' women, who have actively chosen not to bear children in order to develop lives beyond the field of motherhood. The legend of Lilith, a creation story of the first woman, described in the last chapter, places both female desire and female power in a longstanding historical and mythic context. <br><br>Animated by excerpts, quotes, and stories from the many interviews, RECONCEIVING WOMEN: SEPARATING MOTHERHOOD FROM FEMALE IDENTITY is illuminating for general readers and professionals alike. It provides valuable insights for anyone interested in women's studies and the psychology of women, and serves as an excellent textbook for courses in these fields. <br></div> 1888700 1 6 1993 Reconceiving Women: Separating Motherhood from Female Identity total:5|5:0|4:1|3:4|2:0|1:0| 5 16 11 0 0 0 false false Mon Sep 21 10:23:18 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 21 10:23:18 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Oct 21 11:59:36 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 19:08:57 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 22:44:44 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Aug 07 19:35:51 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 07 19:35:51 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Apr 25 17:51:09 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 23:22:31 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Oct 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jan 25 16:13:33 -0800 2009 Tue Jun 23 17:36:19 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Dec 20 10:39:13 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 20 10:39:13 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Sat Sep 13 00:42:57 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 13 00:42:57 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Fri Jul 04 11:55:28 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 04 11:55:28 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Mon Feb 18 06:58:59 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 18 06:58:59 -0800 2008 3 0 true false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Nov 27 19:26:12 -0800 2007 Tue Nov 27 19:33:11 -0800 2007 3 0 false false Fri Sep 14 11:05:51 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 14 11:05:51 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1887438