As January ramps up, Americans and indeed, people around the world, are experiencing a kind of deadening whiplash that feels deeply problematic. From pandemics to earth shattering social events, our planet seems to be pushing back in unprecedented ways. Are we going to listen?
Here at the Museum of Motherhood our aim is to inspire as well as to educate. How do we balance dire predictions, and unrelenting reality, with uplifting content? Do we pretend, making conscious decisions to ignore what is right in front of our faces, like the movieDon’t Look Up? Or, do we create small changes through everyday actions by staying vigilant, practicing tolerance, and also heeding the call to make amends, offer support, or reach out to someone in need?
What does change even look like anyway? How can we possibly have any affect on anything when everything feels bigger than us as individuals?
In my experience, it is the little things that count. It is the everyday actions of many people doing one brave, smart, or kind action that inspires connection, healing, and hope. I think our lives are made up of little moments. Those individual moments can be transformative: One football play can win a Super Bowl. One song can reach millions of ears with a message of encouragement (or laughter). One person, holding someone’s hand in a hospital can mean the difference between fear and comfort.
At MOM, we are comprised of the individual academics, artists, and students who gained insight during their time with us, the visitors who told us their secrets and asked for help, and the strangers who have connected through the years– who are not strangers anymore.
We are a small museum with big dreams. But, more than the big dreams, we aim to touch hearts and minds individually. We aim to offer a safe space of illumination and awe. I’m excited to introduce some new initiatives in the coming months that include an online community, our upcoming conference, and a newly launched storefront that will feature guest artists.
When a friend wrote me recently, and included a note (along with a check), that stated my/ OUR museum was wonderful – I realized a simple dream of mine – the dream that others would want to take MOM on as their own. It was never intended to be ‘my’ museum, even though I have been nursing it along all these years.
As we look back, let us also look forward. Let us rally against the darkness by joining our individual lights into a collective of lights, each bright, each different, and all connected. Let us remember the souls we have lost, while lifting our own spirits in unity and appreciation of this brief, difficult, and tenuous life we share on this planet and try to ‘do better’.
I’ve always thought high-heeled shoes were ridiculous. Pretty women teetering on stilettos, inviting bunions, rushing about, that kind of beauty hurts. As it turns out, males in the Persian Empire first wore elevated soles in the 10th Century. The term, killer heels exemplify the fact that warriors used them to grip stirrups while riding ponies into battle. High-heels, as we know them today, weren’t invented until 1954, epitomizing an era when women were viewed as lovely vapid accessories.
2020 was not a good year for shoes. 2021 is not looking too hot either. Social activities have been curtailed. City streets are empty. COVID has presented unique challenges. While some hunker down, essential workers keep our country going. Teachers, first responders, delivery people, and health care practitioners (to name a few) perform the tasks necessary so that schools and emergency services are accessible.
I am a mother whose kids are grown. Under usual circumstances, our family spends lots of time together. We share vacation-time in Florida, gathering in the kitchen- cooking big home-style meals, engaging in loud, argumentative discussions about sports and philosophy. Now, life is weird. We wander around in slippers or even barefoot, wearing pajamas from the waist down, doing business on laptops, and Zooming with each other on weekends.
My daughter lives on the other side of the continent. She graduated nursing school this spring earning a residency in the emergency room of a hospital in Southern California. We have never been separated for more than a few months. Now, we are entering our second year of distanced communication. I mail her gifts. Vitamin packs, including zinc, D, and elderberry. She hustles through twelve-hour shifts. Working conditions have deteriorated over the course of many months. The entire hospital is overwhelmed and understaffed.
As the healthcare system topples around her, my daughter continues to push hard. She tells me about the chaos, the missing PPE, and the hallways filled with people. She is a warrior and I know she went to school because she believes in social justice and healthcare for all. Her uniform includes scrubs, gloves, a visor, and a mask. On her feet are white rubber clogs.
This New Year’s Eve, I was hoping for a new chapter in the story. Surely the release of the COVID vaccine and the end of the current political regime would bring a brighter day. I went to sleep at midnight, waking in the early morning to a group text from my daughter, sent to the entire family. The keys lit up at 6 AM, reminding me that sometimes things get worse for a time before they get better.
She texted: 2 firecracker victims, 4 stabbings, and my friend is intubated with COVID. Then six hours later she followed with, Meth lab explosion, two more COVID, two deaths. Finally, at the end of her shift, with nine understaffed workers in a fifty-bed emergency room, after only two months into her new job, she phoned exhausted in tears.
Optimism is hard to come by right now. I have to remind myself, the women in my family are warriors. As a proud feminist who has passed some of these qualities along, I hope her stamina for social change will stay intact, even in the midst of a crushing pandemic. It is challenging to be optimistic when metaphorically the house is on fire. I set my sites on the future, yearning to hug my beautiful daughter again. Then, perhaps my sense of humor will return, and joyously we can kick up our well-heeled souls once again.
Photo: Shoe credit SPERA
BIO: Martha Joy Rose is a scholar, artist, and activist. She founded MaMaPaLooZa, after touring with her band Housewives On Prozac (1998-2008) and began work on the Museum of Motherhood (MOM) in 2003. The MOM Art Annex is currently in St. Petersburg, Florida with ongoing artist in residence initiatives and exhibits focused on elucidating the art, science, and history of mothers, fathers, and families. Rose teaches sociology at Manhattan College and holds an advanced degree in mother studies from CUNY, GC. Rose is the NOW-NYC Susan B. Anthony awardee (2009), has lectured extensively and served as founder of the Journal of Mother Studies. She has been organizing the international Academic MOM Conference each year since 2005. She is a co-editor of the Music of Motherhood (Demeter Press (2018), a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Motherhood (Sage 2011), and her work has been featured in the Mom Egg Review to name a few. She is currently at work on a memoir.
October is a harvesting celebration month. This October report describes some of my research and areas of interest on the topics of American Indians. Among them, are ethnobotany (in traditional acorn gathering) and Ecofeminism. Through my internship at MOM, I look forward to exploring the Indigenous lifestyles as I work toward the completion of my advanced degree in Public History at American Public University (full Bio online at Padlet). In particular, I also interested in the Chumash tribe, whose peoples populated central California until the establishment of the Spanish missions in the 1700s. Chumash tribe’s encounters are brief, the Indigenous information shared with Mother’s museum will come from extensive research.
My October report begins with a youtube video called, “A Conversation with Native Americans on Race”, which was suggested to me by museum director, Martha Joy Rose. This youtube video emphasizes American Indian identity and loss. The first interviewee remarked on how tribal populations were treated extremely poorly. Each of the interviewees had a slightly different perspective about terminology. But, based on the recommendations made, the term “American Indian” was preferred over Indigenous people. So, that is how I will henceforth make reference. According to his explanation, identity is valued, and “American Indian” refers to the culture (in general). Click on the image below if you would like to watch the video in its entirety.
Early attempts at Christian conversion aimed at removing the American Indian culture and identity have left deep scars. Further research about the California Chumash tribe and lifestyle provided historical depictions of life during the mission period. The Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa describes the missionary padres replacing the American Indian mother’s role as gathers. The padre’s lessons were instructions for farming and architecture building. Despite the padre’s efforts, the Chumash tribes continued their cultural traditions in festival celebrations and herbal trades. It is important to note, that American Indians have been disproportionately affected during COVID- with extremely high mortality rates.
In addition to the ongoing devastation of COVID, California (and now Colorado) wildfires have been burning at unprecedented levels. I accessed a segment about Native American cultural burns that historically encouraged diverse natural habitat and helped to control forest fires. I was also able to watch Kat Anderson’s “Tending the Wild”, a television documentary about the practice of motherhood acorn gathering traditions. The mothers’ role in the American Indian’s acorn gathering traditions is joyful. As if to counter the great obstacles currently facing not only Native Americans but all Americans in 2000, Kat places emphasis on Indian gathering activity as a heartful participation in cultural mindfulness. Her contributions in “Tending the Wild” encourage this tradition as well as ecological knowledge. She states, “these practices are essential if we are to completely utilize the living sustainable challenge”.
This connects to Kim Anderson’s article “Giving Life to the People”, which describes the spiritual aspects of Motherhood. She describes Native American Mother’ beliefs in the ability to maintain life’s creations. Kim cites Paula Guen Allen’s scholarly, spiritual tradition descriptions, stating “There is a relationship between creative thinking and the power of mothering.” She continues, “Mothers are connected to the original creation and the work in progress for a sustainability aspect.” Kim highlights this concept with anthological and petrograph studies and evidence. The Native Americans truly believe the Earth is the Mother of all life. She writes” Therefore, Women’s power is viewed in the ability to create and nurture.” The book featuring Kim Anderson’s essay is available at the Museum of Motherhood library (Maternal Theory, Essential Readings, edited by Andrea O’Reilly).
Kathryn Mile’s “Ecofeminism” and Mary Mellor’s “Feminism & Ecology” articles provide Ecofeminism descriptions and views. Kathryn describes ecological feminism as a branch of feminism that examines the connections between women and nature. This is a world view that respects organic processes, holistic connections, and the merits of intuition and collaboration. These protectives illustrate ecofeminism connecting both a commitment to the environment and an awareness of the associations made between women and nature. Mary Mellor agrees with these Ecofeminism concepts. She highlights, “Ecofeminism brings together the feminist elements and green movements.” She continues, “Ecofeminism, a ‘new term for an ancient wisdom’s that arose from various feminist, peace and ecology movements”. In the early 1980s, Francoise D’Eaubonne first used the Ecofeminism term. This gained popularity in protests against environmental destruction.
During my eco-feminism and acorn research, I found Acorn Recipes, which are close to the Native American bread-making traditions. I would say many of these have been modernized and do not look authentic, but I would still like to experiment with the recipe sometime. Actual acorn flour can be quite bitter and requires several soakings before pounding the material into pulp. Here is a link to more information about how to do that [LINK].
Mix cornmeal with cold water, add boiling water and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add sale and butter and cool to lukewarm. Soften yeast in lukewarm water. Add remaining ingredients to corn mixture, along with yeast. Knead to a stiff dough. Dough will be sticky. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk. Punch down, shape into two loaves, cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
Anderson, M. Kat. “Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources.” Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2006.
Anderson, Kim. “Giving Life to the People: An Indigenous Ideology of Motherhood.” In Maternal Theory: Essential Readings, edited by O’REILLY ANDREA, 761-81. BRADFORD, CANADA: Demeter Press, 2007.
Lillian Isabella is an award-winning documentary theatre maker. She’s looking to interview at least 100 different people with all different kinds of pregnancy and birth stories throughout the Summer of 2020.
If you have been pregnant, are pregnant, or have given birth (of all ages), as well as the people who support pregnancy including doulas, doctors, midwives, acupuncturists (who help pregnant women), she’d love to speak with you for a new documentary play she’s developing!
The narrative of the play will be formed by the people she talks to and she’d like to get a wide snapshot of the state of pregnancy and birth in the United States and how it compares to abroad.
Her first documentary play was commissioned by the Metropolitan Playhouse and was about the legendary Jonas Mekas. Her second docu play, How We Love/F*ck, celebrated female sexuality and had its world premiere at Cherry Lane Theatre.
CRAFTING COVID: Embodying Disobedience, Calls to Action & Motherhood at the End of the World /Submissions through June 30, 2020
How have our lives changed in 2020? How are they the same? Is feminism taking a back seat as mothers turn to homeschooling, as salaries fade, hardship and isolation fray nerves, and as illness coupled with civil disobedience take shape on the streets?
Let these writings serve as a site of resistance as we practice the ongoing labor of birthing, art-making, scholarship, caregiving, salary-making, and survival in the time of COVID. Let us offer hope, support, and empowerment through knowledge, education, and shared experiences.
This special edition of the Journal of Mother Studies seeks to elucidate the experiences of families from an interdisciplinary perspective.
We have already received multiple submissions on a variety of topics from those conducting research, making home-site projects, working in hospital or alternative birth settings, as well as auto-ethnographic perspectives. Submissions are open on a rolling basis to all, through the month of June 2020.
JourMS submissions are peer-reviewed and the journal is published annually on September 1 each year online.
The Editorial Collective of the Journal of Mother Studies invites submissions of scholarly articles and essays from the Interdisciplinary Humanities as defined by the arts, history, culture, the social sciences, women’s and gender studies, literary studies, anthropology, the folkloric, psychology, the digital humanities, and media studies. We encourage dialogue between varying fields and welcome feminist critiques of race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, technology, media, public health, and nation. The Journal also features book reviews about newly penned and forthcoming works.
Please submit abstracts electronically. We will then contact you and ask you to submit a full MS Word attachments article via e-mail: JourMS@gmail.com
All work should be double-spaced, with 1-inch margins, in 12-point Times font
Scholarly essays should be 5-18 pages double-spaced. Reviews should be approximately 500 words (we are flexible).
JourMS is interdisciplinary, therefore, writers can follow either APA or MLA format (depending on your discipline). Double-space all text, on 8 1/2 X 11-inch paper, using Times New Roman. American spelling.
All manuscripts must be submitted with a cover document:
Include a page with author’s name, address, email, phone number, brief bio, affiliation, & recent publications
A 250-word abstract
You are welcome to submit original art, or photographic images along with your manuscript; please ensure that you have (or will) proper permissions. Additionally, we will accept alternative formats such as PowerPoint, video, audio, and visual presentations.
We will send you an acknowledgment of receipt once your submission is processed. The Editorial Board reviews all submissions before sending them out for external, anonymous peer review. We may provide reader comments, and ask you to revise and resubmit your work.
Please submit a final manuscript in Word Document to JourMS@gmail.com
Seeking additional editorial board members as well for this year’s edition
Please circulate widely! PDF is here for sharing: JourMS_CFP_2020
How have our lives changed in 2020? How are they the same? Is feminism taking a back seat as mothers turn to homeschooling, as salaries fade, hardship and isolation fray nerves, and as illness coupled with civil disobedience take shape on the streets?