At the Breast CL

by Linda M. Blum

Book Overview

"I can't recommend this book highly enough " -Katha Pollitt In our ironic, "postfeminist" age few experiences inspire the kind of passions that breastfeeding does. For advocates, breastfeeding is both... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807021407
• ISBN13: 9780807021408
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Beacon Press (MA)
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Not simply a how-to book on the pros of breastfeeding...

This book has gotten bashed because it doesn't come out and say that breastfeeding is a must - but it does reveal a diversity of opinions, some of them mixed, about breast feeding. I found it refreshing and a welcome change from the "Women MUST breastfeed" books out there, masquerading as "unbiased" but actually quite one-sided. Yes, I believe breastfeeding is a good thing for mother and child but this doesn't mean (as Ms. Blum reveals) that it is always a joy. Unfortunately, I'm afraid so many will bash this book that it won't get a fair chance at finding its readership - and that is too bad.

Great book for feminist perspective

This book brought out so many emotions from me. Not only am I a breastfeeding mom, in August 2000 I will be a receiving a BA in Women's Studies. I used this book as part of an independent research project that I did with one of my professors in the department. The research entailed looking at breastfeeding from a feminist perspective. Blum does have some really great key points that I had not considered when critically analyzing infant feeding decisions. Race and class are definitely issues that can affect breastfeeding initiative. She also seems to show that health professionals actively promote breastfeeding. However, I am also doing an internship at a major hospital which does over 6500 births a year, and I can tell you that the health professionals are definitely lacking in the promotion of breastfeeding. Grassroots efforts are being done by the Lactation Consutlants on staff and others involved in this area however the resistance is still very high from Dr's and nurses. I realize some who read this book may not understand why she reiterated all the negative reasons why women continue not to breastfeed, however this is reality. Our society is NOT as breastfeeding friendly as we think we are. I agree, as a breastfeeding mom, that she did not really address the breastfeeding experience as well as she could have. But overall, I think this is a great book to get a good synopsis of feminist issues in relation to breastfeeding. **sidenote** As a result of this independent research my professor is using this as part of the required reading for her Body Politics graduate level class in the Women's Studies Department.

Fascinating read! Superb feminist scholarship!

Linda Blum reveals the complexity and diversity of American motherhood and American women's experiences with (or refrain from) breastfeeding in this scholarly, yet enjoyable read. At the Breast highlights the potential for breastfeeding to be an "empowering, radical feminist" act (despite the contrary interpretation in Granju's review), a tool for social and state control AND many things inbetween. A must read for people interested in feminist research and discussions of the body and particularly, how women's bodies are entangled with state power and race and class relations in the United States. Superb!

Excellent!

At the Breast is sociology at its best-- we think of breastfeeding as "natural" but of course it is social and cultural too. Blum's discussion of how race and class shape women's attitudes toward breast feeding--and their chances of success with it -- was a revelation to me. If you read this book, you'll think twice before casually assuming that women who don't breastfeed are selfish, bad moms, lazy, ignorant etc etc. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

Excellent examination of the diversity of US motherhood.

Blum has written an excellent book exploring the diversity of US women's experiences of motherhood, particularly as they revolve around breastfeeding. In the contemporary US, Blum argues, breastfeeding is the "measure of the mother." The author takes special care to discuss the diversity of women's breastfeeding experiences in relation to race and class. Drawing from historical experience as well as contemporary interviews, Blum finds that white, married middle-class mothers--with their greater resources and respectability--are more likely to experience breastfeeding as enjoyable and rewarding as compared to white and African-American working class mothers. Furthermore, Blum is rightly suspicious with medical "facts" on breastfeeding and is concerned to unearth how "knowledge" of breastfeeding is related to power relations. Readers will find this an exceptionally well-researched and well-written book, rich with insights about motherhood in our "postfeminist" era.