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How All Politics Became Reproductive Politics

From Welfare Reform to Foreclosure to Trump

Laura Briggs author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:University of California Press

Published:28th Nov '17

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

How All Politics Became Reproductive Politics cover

Now all politics are reproductive politics, argues esteemed feminist critic, Laura Briggs. Today's economic realities mean we are always at work, and time to care for dependents and communities has evaporated. Our households bear witness to this with trends towards later childbearing, growing use of IVF, widening racial disparities in infant mortality, and popular dependence on risky marriages and mortgages for semblances of security. Meanwhile an immigrant workforce (which is actually more female than male) cares for US households while leaving their own kids in home countries. This brilliant book outlines our crisis and explains how we got here. From Republican and Democrat stories of Black "welfare queens" and Latina "breeding machines" that helped destroy the so-called nanny state to stagnant wages in rising McJobs, and from a Queer turn to same-sex marriage to the blame game for the subprime crisis, Laura Briggs shows how from the 1980s to Trump and beyond, our current woes are anything but our fault.

"Makes a convincing argument that reproductive labor is at the heart of all public conversation and policy over the past several decades. . . . She manages to pull off this extensive examination in just 212 pages, using language that is accessible to those who are new to the material, while also creating crucial new understanding for those who consider themselves informed on gender and politics and/or people who are examining ways to use public policies to create change as part of broader justice movements." * Rewire *
"Offers readers a way to understand how neoliberalism’s solutions run absolutely counter to social needs." * Against the Current *
"This engaging book covers feminist theory and how it views a divergence of issues since the 1970s. Excellent for collections on feminism, current affairs, and American politics." * Choice *
"Briggs concludes dramatically that 'in the US . . . there is no outside to reproductive politics.' Until governments and business pay attention to this, the crises of our time will only deepen—and not just in the US." * Times Higher Education Supplement *
“Offers readers a way to understand how neoliberalism’s solutions run absolutely counter to social needs.” * In These Times *
"Makes a clear and significant contribution to our understandings of reproductive politics." * Gender and Society *
"Briggs handles complex politics clearly and straightforwardly. Her text is well-suited for academics and activists alike." * RGWS: A Feminist Review *

ISBN: 9780520281912

Dimensions: 210mm x 140mm x 25mm

Weight: unknown

304 pages