Description
Book SynopsisThe Ethos of Black Motherhood in America: Only White Women Get Pregnant examines the ethos of Black and white mothers in America's racialized society. Kimberly C. Harper argues that the current Black maternal health crisis is not a new one, but an existing one rooted in the disregard for Black wombs dating back to America's history with chattel slavery. Examining the reproductive laws that controlled the reproductive experiences of black women, Harper provides a fresh insight into the “bad black mother” trope that Black feminist scholars have theorized and argues that the controlling images of black motherhood are a creation of the American nation-state. In addition to a discussion of black motherhood, Harper also explores the image of white motherhood as the center of the landscape of motherhood. Scholars of communication, gender studies, women’s studies, history, and race studies will find this book particularly useful.
Trade ReviewKimberly C. Harper’s The Ethos of Black Mothers in America is an essential study in the history and rhetoric of Black women’s maternal health care. Harper shows how racist ideology has been rhetorically constructed in White political philosophy, legal decisions, and legislation. Further, she reveals the ways in which Black women have been silenced or unheard, unrepresented, or misrepresented in medical training and in popular pregnancy books. Harper opens a new domain for health communication, for feminist and womanist studies, and for social and racial justice research and education in the rhetoric and technical communication field.
-- Gerald Savage, Illinois State University
Table of ContentsDedication
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: Historical Representations of Black Motherhood
Chapter 2: Setting the Tone
Chapter 3: The Legislative Decisions Governing Black Wombs
Chapter 4: Ideology, Ethos, and Silence
Chapter 5: Where are all the Black Mothers in Pregnancy Books?
Chapter 6: Reproductive Justice and Black Women’s Lives
Chapter 7: Black Midwives & Reclaiming Choice
Chapter 8: The Will to Resist is a Form of Love
Conclusions
Appendix A
Appendix B
About the Author
