Mothers have consistently relied upon one another for guidance and support as they navigate the difficult world of parenting. For many women, the increasingly established online community of “mommyblogs” now provides a source of camaraderie and support that acknowledges both the work of mothering and the implications of its undertaking. Beyond their capacity to entertain, how have mommyblogs shifted our understanding of twenty-first-century motherhood?

In examining the content of hundreds of mommyblogs, May Friedman considers the ways that online maternal life writing provides a front row seat to some of the most raw, offbeat, and engaging portraits of motherhood imaginable. Focusing on the composition of the “mamasphere” and on mommyblogs’ emphasis on connection, Friedman reveals the changing face of contemporary motherhood – one less concerned with the proscriptions of what good mothers should do, and more invested in what diverse mothers have to say.

May Friedman’s research looks at unstable identities, including bodies that do not conform to traditional racial and national or aesthetic lines. Most recently much of May’s research has focused on intersectional approaches to fat studies considering the multiple and fluid experiences of both fat oppression and fat activism. May works at Ryerson University as a faculty member in the School of Social Work and in the Ryerson/York graduate program in Communication and Culture.

May Friedman's profile page

• Winner, WGSRF Outstanding Scholarship Prize awarded by Women's and Gender Studies et Recherches Feministes

‘There are too many gems here that are worth your while. The new and, for me, very original concepts are sprinkled around like jewels, and they make reading the book worth your time and trouble.’

‘Mommyblogs is a dream of good scholarship.’

Ralph: Review of Art, Literature, Philosophy, and Humanities, number 243: Fall 2013

‘Informative and readable volume… Mother’s stories interspersed throughout the work help make the world of mommyblogging come alive. The authors’ theoretical reflections add further value – especially for researchers, and for college instructors who teach courses in gender, family, or parenting.’

CHOICE Magazine; vol 50:11:2013