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liminal_chaos's review
1.0
So often it felt like a good point was about to be made before completely dropping off.
After seeing a few recommendations, I bought and slogged through reading this book. But at far too many points it felt like just another piece that focused on the cookie cutter homemaker. Middle class, white, educated and with children. I was hoping for a little more variety in reasons for staying home/the types of people who did, but was sorely disappointed.
After seeing a few recommendations, I bought and slogged through reading this book. But at far too many points it felt like just another piece that focused on the cookie cutter homemaker. Middle class, white, educated and with children. I was hoping for a little more variety in reasons for staying home/the types of people who did, but was sorely disappointed.
mamasreadingnow's review
4.0
Really interesting read on a cultural trend I participate in without even having realized it. One of the more poignant quotes: "All this [new domesticity] puts us in the weird and somewhat uncomfortable position of having privileged people proudly 'reclaiming' the work that poor people have long done out of necessity." The book gets a bit repetitive but I found it to be a thorough analysis, raising many of the same questions I have about how this trend fits in with feminism.
alexisrt's review
5.0
This is a fairly brief, easily readable survey of what the author calls the "new domesticity"--the back to the home trend--and its impact on women.
I was already fairly familiar with a lot of the ideas--the cult of the natural, the romanticization of the past, and the "women leaving the workforce" idea. What makes the book work is that she ties it all together, as a manifestation of what is ultimately a pretty conservative, individualistic, DIY ethos. The new domesticity movement doesn't just place a burden on women to be nurturers: it places that burden on individual women to find their way and make their solutions. Whether it's questioning doctors about vaccines, homeschooling their kids, growing their own food, or quitting their job, the solutions are personal. Ultimately, as Matchar says (but could argue a little more forcefully) we need more collective, socially based solutions fo the problems women face. The New Domesticity is seductive--and there is creative satisfaction to be found in it--but it will not solve the problems women face today.
I was already fairly familiar with a lot of the ideas--the cult of the natural, the romanticization of the past, and the "women leaving the workforce" idea. What makes the book work is that she ties it all together, as a manifestation of what is ultimately a pretty conservative, individualistic, DIY ethos. The new domesticity movement doesn't just place a burden on women to be nurturers: it places that burden on individual women to find their way and make their solutions. Whether it's questioning doctors about vaccines, homeschooling their kids, growing their own food, or quitting their job, the solutions are personal. Ultimately, as Matchar says (but could argue a little more forcefully) we need more collective, socially based solutions fo the problems women face. The New Domesticity is seductive--and there is creative satisfaction to be found in it--but it will not solve the problems women face today.
eveak's review
5.0
I really liked this book ... I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of content and critique but I thought it was a current commentary on trends and the romanticization of a domestic sphere of influence - as seen through blogs, the media, and individuals - that is both valid and valuable. Matchar is looking at the idea of a New Domesticity that includes DIY (gardening, crafting, canning), homesteading, homeschooling, attachment parenting and other choices that are both individual choices and can be taken to extremes. She explores these areas as they are articulated by individual practitioners and in blogs and offers both the perspectives of the individual practitioners and a well thought out commentary/critique that asks questions and points out the dangers of both the extremism and individualism of these choices. She also creates a solid historical context for understanding the domesticity that is being romanticized by this segment of the population and offers a commentary that critiques and comments without devaluing the choices these women are making. She does ask relevant and valid questions particularly regarding understandings/misunderstandings of feminism and how societal change can happen in the midst of individualism where the response of people who are dissatisfied is to retreat vs engage and work for change.
I'm a bit older than the people who seem to be embracing the idea of new domesticity the most fervently - more generation Y than generation came of age in the 1980s - so while I share some of their interests and concerns regarding environment, parent, food, and workplace, I think I have a different approach and perspective. This added to my understanding of this movement in terms of both it's allure and challenges and I appreciate that this is a serious conversation that raises important questions that are not easily answered regarding parenthood, the employment landscape, social change/inertia, and about balance both for individuals and for society.
I'm a bit older than the people who seem to be embracing the idea of new domesticity the most fervently - more generation Y than generation came of age in the 1980s - so while I share some of their interests and concerns regarding environment, parent, food, and workplace, I think I have a different approach and perspective. This added to my understanding of this movement in terms of both it's allure and challenges and I appreciate that this is a serious conversation that raises important questions that are not easily answered regarding parenthood, the employment landscape, social change/inertia, and about balance both for individuals and for society.
themandapanda's review
4.0
I think this is a great book for ladies that are already interested in the New Domesticity movement (and the sub-movements it encapsulates: slow food, attachment parenting, etc). Matchar raises a lot of good questions and concerns about the movement, and I really enjoyed her final chapter where she addresses a lot of the problems that I found with the movement as the people she interviewed described it--- ie: some felt that feminism dis-valued feminine work, that those who didn't embrace slow food were somehow lesser, etc (my problems being that feminine work was dis-valued before second-wave feminism, and that second-wave was all about giving women the option to go out into the corporate world, and that not everybody could afford the lifestyle being described; it's a privileged position. Overall, Matchar does a good job at identifying why homesteading and diy-ing are suddenly en vogue. I wish she didn't over-use quotes. The one from the guy living in Charlotte who does canning and raises chickens was used at least three times!
ashley_crookham's review
4.0
"if you lived here, you'd be at work already"
"a culture that places an immense amount of faith in the idea of food as a solution for a variety of social ills, from childhood obesity to global warming to broken families to corporate greed"
"liberal feminism suggests that most gender inequality if culturally based (culture to blame), cultural feminism is the idea that some gender inequality is actually just gender difference and that we should honor it (blame the dislike of inequality)... New Domesticity shifting to cultural feminism"
"a culture that places an immense amount of faith in the idea of food as a solution for a variety of social ills, from childhood obesity to global warming to broken families to corporate greed"
"liberal feminism suggests that most gender inequality if culturally based (culture to blame), cultural feminism is the idea that some gender inequality is actually just gender difference and that we should honor it (blame the dislike of inequality)... New Domesticity shifting to cultural feminism"
kpwerker's review
5.0
Unlike many other reviewers, I don't mind that Matchar gives a very abbreviated history of feminism and domesticity. And I don't mind that she focuses on educated white women. Mostly because her book isn't about the history of feminism, per se, and it *is* about a trend that's apparent mostly among educated white women.
I give the book five stars not because it's flawless, but because it raises questions that are in dire need of being raised. Matchar effectively raises an eyebrow at the rampant gender essentialism proclaimed by so-called "natural" mothers, and the skewed perspective on feminism that so many of her interviewees had.
I give it five stars because I think *every* crafty, DIY-inclined, food-passionate woman should read this. Every one. Including you.
I've blogged about this here: http://www.kimwerker.com/2013/08/23/im-an-unnatural-mother/
And here: http://www.kimwerker.com/2013/08/29/the-apocalypse-is-coming-more-thoughts-on-homeward-bound/
I give the book five stars not because it's flawless, but because it raises questions that are in dire need of being raised. Matchar effectively raises an eyebrow at the rampant gender essentialism proclaimed by so-called "natural" mothers, and the skewed perspective on feminism that so many of her interviewees had.
I give it five stars because I think *every* crafty, DIY-inclined, food-passionate woman should read this. Every one. Including you.
I've blogged about this here: http://www.kimwerker.com/2013/08/23/im-an-unnatural-mother/
And here: http://www.kimwerker.com/2013/08/29/the-apocalypse-is-coming-more-thoughts-on-homeward-bound/
karleigh25's review
3.0
Left winger explaining what she sees anti feminist moment but wanting to be a part of it. Very condescending presentation of the people she interviewed. Not well researched, but makes some interesting points.
notbanana's review
3.0
This book tends to repeat itself after 100 pages, but the personal vignettes of women are interesting. It should actually be subtitled "Why White Upper-class Educated Women are Embracing the New Domesticity" as the women interviewed and the lifestyles described are from a very limited demographic. An unfortunate exclusion.