Pronatalism - (Critical Language and Literacy Studies) by Sarah Benesch (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book centers on women who voluntarily forgo having and raising children. Grounded in a discourse approach, it examines reproductive decision-making in the context of pronatalist discourses ('maternal instinct', 'biological clock' and 'having it all') as well as anti-natalist eugenic discourses.

Book Synopsis

This book centers on women who voluntarily forgo having and raising children. Grounded in a discourse approach, it examines reproductive decision-making in the context of pronatalist discourses ('maternal instinct', 'biological clock' and 'having it all') as well as anti-natalist eugenic discourses.

Review Quotes

Pronatalism is, above all, a quintessential expression of feminist unity. While it staunchly and unapologetically defends nothers, it offers a complex and nuanced understanding of the realities of women's lives. The final chapter's exhortation for reproductive solidarity urges support for women who choose to be either mothers or nothers, especially in the current environment of relentless reproductive injustice. As an academic treatise, the book would be informative for linguists and scholars in cultural studies, and it would be equally instructive for a non-academic audience in shedding light on one of the most socio-politically relevant themes of our times. Benesch's book enlightens, informs, and educates us with this valuable intellectual contribution and vital call to action.

Benesch has produced a hugely powerful and captivating book that informs and challenges. Stunningly written, it draws on literature, popular culture, empirical data, and personal experience to explore 'notherhood' from multiple discursive perspectives. It is a ground-breaking work that will appeal to readers well beyond applied linguistics. An extraordinary contribution.

Blending academic rigor with personal memoir, Sarah Benesch embarks on a groundbreaking exploration of pronatalism. She shrewdly dissects the sociopolitical forces that collectively champion motherhood as a moral imperative and polarize women's identities into 'mother' or 'nother' through various forms of cultural policing. Pronatalism, reminiscent of Foucault's Discipline and Punish, offers an archaeological examination of how women's bodies continue to be battlegrounds for discursive and sociopolitical struggles. As ultra-conservative voices gain traction globally, the timing of this book is impeccable.

Sarah Benesch has once again written a path-breaking book. This timely volume challenges us to critically examine deep-seated assumptions embodied in the discourses that shape how we think and talk about women's reproductive destinies. Benesch's hybrid personal/scholarly voice reveals how academic writing can embrace an author's lived experience and advocate for change while making a truly original contribution to applied linguistics research.

About the Author

Sarah Benesch is Professor Emerita of English, College of Staten Island, the City University of New York, USA. Over the course of her career, she has written about critical English for academic purposes and the relationship between emotions and power in English language teaching.