Before the advent of infant formula and the regulation of the dairy industry, babies who were not breastfed faced mortal […]
Maternal Grief in Black and White: Enslaved Mothers and Antislavery Literature on the Eve of War
Mrs. Tamor and her six children. Helen and her son, a child of “tender years.” Margaret Garner, an “affectionate mother” […]
A Double-Edged Sword: War and Motherhood in Nineteenth-Century Latin America
The depictions of war mothers are the touchstone for gender debates and political tensions of any given period in history. […]
Losing ‘sorrow in stupefaction’: American Women’s Opiate Dependency before 1900
In 1791 Elizabeth Blake tried to help her sister, New Yorker Catalina Hale, to end her years-long dependency on laudanum, […]
Disappointed Love and Dangerous Temptations: Textile Factories and True Crime
Mary Bean enjoyed “unlawful relations” in the summer of 1849; by the fall she was pregnant. In November she entered […]
Neurasthenia, Capitalism, and Biopower in HBO’s Westworld
The HBO series Westworld has amassed a large fan base that has grown since the start of the second season. […]
Mary Seacole: Disease and Care of the Wounded, from Jamaica to the Crimea
While Florence Nightingale is legendary in the history of nursing because of her foundational role in the creation of Western […]
What Would Philippe Pinel Do? Old and New Understandings of Mental Illness
I was intrigued when, on February 1, 2018, I heard the journalist and author Johann Hari on Democracy Now! talking […]
Andrew Jackson’s Love Letters
In our era of political “bromances” between leaders who value aggression and belittle sensitivity, it’s easy to forget that expectations […]
If You’re Not My Kid, Please Don’t Call Me “Mom”
By Lara Freidenfelds
The dentist peered in my child’s mouth, then turned to me. “Hey, Mom, you did a good job, no cavities!” I brought my kids for a check-up recently, and our wonderful pediatric dentist warmly complemented me. But why on earth did he call me that? And why did it irk me?
