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In her analysis of the dialectical structure of reproductive consciousness, Mary O'Brien argued that the physical labor involved in women's reproductive experiences affirms women's connections with their children and integration in the human species, whereas men's discontinuous experiences negate such connections and integration. Patriarchy enables the reconciliation of this negation for men by allowing them to claim ownership of the products of women's reproductive labor. Drawing on interview data with eighteen postpartum women, this paper re-examines O'Brien's central argument in conjunction with empirical data. The findings support O'Brien's assertions that (1) labor is viewed by some women as an essential component of childbearing and (2) childbearing results in a sense of greater connectedness and integration in the human species for some women. However, women also emphasized the importance of another element of childbearing—an indescribable, incomprehensible, experiential component—that is missing from O'Brien's analysis and much feminist literature on reproduction. This paper concludes by merging the current findings with O'Brien's analysis and discussing the implications in relation to men's roles in reproduction.

Dominant discourses promote breastfeeding as essential to "good mothering," shown in research to set a difficult standard that many white mothers internalize. Little is known about African American mothers' perceptions of the connection between breastfeeding and mothering ideals. We analyzed perceptions of the relationship between breastfeeding and formula feeding and mothering through in-depth semistructured interviews with 22 predominantly middle-class African American mothers in the southeastern United States who breastfeed. One-third of participants upheld the dominant ideology that breastfeeding is required for good mothering, constructing formula feeding as lazy and selfish. Two-thirds associated breastfeeding with "extraordinary mothering," exceeding good mothering through additional hard work, self-sacrifice, and dedication. These participants were divided, with half (one-third of total) stating that mothers who formula feed are also good mothers and half (one-third of total sample) expressing ambivalence toward formula. Both groups acknowledged structural barriers and personal circumstances that prevent some mothers from breastfeeding, and therefore they either withheld or were conflicted about applying judgment. These findings confirm that although a powerful cultural association between breastfeeding and good mothering is evident, it is not uniform across race and class.

This article contributes to a movement to interrogate the history and foundation of sociology. The current hegemonic narrative credits a few European men for establishing sociology as a mechanism for using science to understand social conditions amid the rise of industrialization and modern capitalism. This hegemonic story defines positivism as a central concern in the foundation of the discipline, justifying its continued dominance in U.S. sociology and using binary logic to position non-positivist approaches as subordinate and unscientific. In this article, we explore the ways early Black sociologists integrated positivist and non-positivist approaches in their work to arrive at truth and discuss ways that transcending binary distinctions facilitated rich developments in their understanding of social relations and institutions. We draw on existing scholarship to argue that privileging binary logic helped justify these scholars' marginalization in the sociological canon and conclude with recommendations to move the discipline beyond the positivism/non-positivism binary as an important mechanism for transformation. In so doing, we contribute to the growing body of scholarship aimed at correcting the history of sociology and reimagining the foundational works and epistemological approaches to foster liberation within the discipline.

How did the study of sociology develop? History and Theory focuses on the development of sociological theorists' ideas about society and social research over time. Ideas of major classical theorists such as Auguste Comte, Karl Marx, and Max Weber are explored, as well as a range of schools of thought in sociology, including structural functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, ethnomethodology, critical theory, and postmodernism and emancipatory theories. This brand-new, full-color volume concludes with a discussion of the relationship between sociological theory a

ObjectivesThe purpose of this project is to assess (1) presence of anger toward Asian Americans "taking jobs," and (2) whether stereotypes, feelings of competitive threat, and principles of equality predict increased presence of anger.MethodsWe used an experimental list survey of 416 participants, which reduces social desirability effects compared to traditional surveys.ResultsFindings show feelings of group competition and threat were strong predictors of presence of anger toward Asian Americans taking jobs. This anger was not associated with stereotypes as suggested by past research.ConclusionsThis finding supports Blumer's Group Position Theory, which argues that racial animosity is rooted in concerns that out‐groups are vying for resources claimed by one's own group.

Objective. The purpose of this article is to assess over‐time trends in the interactive effects of gender and race on attitudes toward the changing roles of women in U.S. society.Methods. This article uses data from the 1974–2006 General Social Survey. Gender‐role attitudes are measured using two composite indices of traditionalism.Results. We find black females tend to hold less traditional gender‐role attitudes than their black male, white male, and white female counterparts. Black and white males tend to hold similar attitudes toward women entering politics, but differ significantly in their attitudes toward women working outside the home and its impact on children. Assessing over‐time trends, we find the difference between black females and the other social groups to be generally diminishing. This convergence is more pronounced for white and black females. The difference in attitudes toward women entering politics between black females and white males, on the other hand, appears to be maintaining over time.Conclusions. These findings support the idea that the labor force participation for women may have provided the groundwork for the evolution of attitudes for men and women. As white women in particular increase participation in the workforce, ideologies regarding the place of women in U.S. society have shifted.

Objective. The purpose of this article is to assess over-time trends in the interactive effects of gender and race on attitudes toward the changing roles of women in U.S. society. Methods. This article uses data from the 1974-2006 General Social Survey. Gender-role attitudes are measured using two composite indices of traditionalism. Results. We find black females tend to hold less traditional gender-role attitudes than their black male, white male, and white female counterparts. Black and white males tend to hold similar attitudes toward women entering politics, but differ significantly in their attitudes toward women working outside the home and its impact on children. Assessing over-time trends, we find the difference between black females and the other social groups to be generally diminishing. This convergence is more pronounced for white and black females. The difference in attitudes toward women entering politics between black females and white males, on the other hand, appears to be maintaining over time. Conclusions. These findings support the idea that the labor force participation for women may have provided the groundwork for the evolution of attitudes for men and women. As white women in particular increase participation in the workforce, ideologies regarding the place of women in U.S. society have shifted. Adapted from the source document.

In this article, we examine the ways gendered frames shift to make room for societal changes while maintaining existing pillars of systemic gender inequality. Utilizing the case of U.S. media representations of transgender people who reproduce, we analyze how media outlets make room for increasing societal recognition of transgender people and maintain cisnormative and repronormative traditions and beliefs in the process. Specifically, we outline how these media outlets accomplish both outcomes in two ways. First, they reinforce cisgender-based repronormativity via conceptualizations of transgender reproduction as new and occurring in contrast to normative, cisgender reproduction. Second, they create a transnormative reproductive subject, which establishes a new socially sanctioned script for what it means to be transgender and what types of transgender experience may be recognized or accepted in mainstream society. In conclusion, we draw out implications for understanding how social authorities may shift existing gender frames to make room for changes in society while at the same time maintaining normative beliefs. These normative beliefs continue to facilitate societal patterns of gender inequality within such new frames.

Reducing race disparities in breastfeeding has become a health objective in the United States, spurring research aimed to identify causes and consequences of disparate rates. This study uses critical discourse analysis to assess how Black women are constructed in 80 quantitative health science research articles on breastfeeding disparities in the United States. Our analysis is grounded in critical race and intersectionality scholarship, which argues that researchers often incorrectly treat race and its intersections as causal mechanisms. Our findings reveal two distinct representations. Most commonly, race, gender, and their intersection are portrayed as essential characteristics of individuals. Black women are portrayed as a fixed category, possessing characteristics that inhibit breastfeeding; policy implications focus on modifying Black women's characteristics to increase breastfeeding. Less commonly, Black women are portrayed as a diverse group who occupy a social position in society resulting from similar social and material conditions, seeking to identify factors that facilitate or inhibit breastfeeding. Policy implications emphasize mitigating structural barriers that disproportionately impact some Black women. We contribute to existing knowledge by demonstrating how dominant health science approaches provide evidence for health promotion campaigns that are unlikely to reduce health disparities and may do more harm than good to Black women. We also demonstrate the existence of a problematic knowledge set about Black women's reproductive and infant feeding practices that is both ahistorical and decontextualized.

Peer breastmilk sharing—the unregulated gifting of human milk for the purpose of feeding a child—is a growing practice in Western societies despite official warnings against it. Milk sharing occurs in a context of breastfeeding promotion, and cultural expectations that mothers take individual responsibility for their children's health, weigh expert recommendations on childrearing, and engage in responsible consumerism to minimize children's toxic exposure. This study analyzes the perspectives of parents who milk‐share within this broader context. Data consist of a survey asking 392 parents who milk‐share to evaluate the healthiness of mothers' own milk, peer‐shared milk, and formula, and explain their evaluations. Participants rated mothers' breastmilk as healthiest, followed closely by peer‐shared milk, and infant formula as least healthy. They drew on scientific discourses regarding the health benefits of breastmilk, and natural versus artificial dichotomies to construct formula as unhealthy based on its synthetic makeup. Engaging with scientific and neoliberal motherhood in their constructions, peer‐shared breastmilk emerged as a healthier option than formula when mothers' own milk was unavailable.