Lesbian Mothers : Accounts of Gender in American Culture / / Ellen Lewin.

• Author: Lewin, Ellen.
• Place / Publishing House: Ithaca, N.Y. : : Cornell University Press,, 1993.; ©1993.
• Year of Publication: 1993
• Language: English
• Series: Anthropology of contemporary issues.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (256 pages).

Within a society that long considered "lesbian motherhood" a contradiction in terms, what were the experiences of lesbian mothers at the end of the twentieth century? In this illuminating book, lesbian mothers tell their stories of how they became mothers; how they see their relationships with their children, relatives, lovers, and friends and with their children's fathers and sperm donors; how they manage child-care arrangements and financial difficulties; and how they deal with threats to custody. Ellen Lewin's unprecedented research on lesbian mothers in the San Francisco area captured a vivid portrait of the moment before gay and lesbian parenting moved into the mainstream of U.S. culture. Drawing on interviews with 135 women, Lewin provided her readers with a new understanding of the attitudes of individual women, the choices they made, and the texture of their daily lives.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Prologue -- 1. Looking For Lesbian Motherhood -- 2. Becoming s Lesbian Mother -- 3."This Wonderful Decision" -- 4. Ties that Endure -- 5. "This Permanent Roommate" -- 6. Friends and Lovers -- 7. Life with Father -- 8. Lady Madonna in Court -- 9. Natural Achievements: Lesbian Mothers in American Culture -- Appendix -- Notes -- Works Cited -- Index -- Anthropology of Contemporary Issues / Sanjek, Roger