The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender

The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender, Updated Edition An important text in the development of gender theory/ gender studies; fundamental text for critical Men's Studies as well as for Women's Studies. The tone of two of the earlier views reflect the continuing debates over quantitative versus qualitative research, nature versus nurture, and a bias for metricization: If one cannot measure it, count it (if there are no statistics) it is not science, not meaningful scholarship.Such a straitjacket view wants to invalidate Chodorow's work, which is held by many, perhaps the majority, to be foundational. I support the positive reviews and strongly recommend the book.

A true classic in feminist theory, and an example of the best scholarship. Rigorous, well-documented, exhaustively and logically argued, this book is a classic and deserves to be in print for the next fifty years.

The two people who reviewed this book before me probably did not read it carefully. Chodorow in fact quotes hundreds of researches and conclusions made by other psychoanalysts and herself. She states her own opinions about the issues she discusses, of course, but also other critics'. In the notes to the chapters she indicates several further readings to illustrate her points or other theories. This book is very educational and opens the readers' eyes to many crucial aspects of mothering, both for parents and children's sake. I recommend all her books.

I thought this book was very informative, but difficult to read if you are not familar with the terms used in the book.