Abstract
Chapter One: Motherhood and Ideology 1. 1 The development of the concept of "motherhood" from the late nineteenth century; discussion of how working-class women became objects of "training for motherhood" in the early twentieth century; the increase of "medical jurisdiction" over women and the production of guides to women's health. 1. 2 The pathologizing of pregnancy from the early 1930s and the rise of medical involvement in the prenatal process; production of training manuals emphasizing the primacy of the doctor during the pregnancy; feminist perspectives on pregnancy - pregnancy as an opportunity for male surveillance of women; the maternal instinct as a social construction rather than biological fact; the prejudice against unmarried mothers; feminist pleas for mother's control over the process of pregnancy and childbirth. Critique of modern obstetrics and view of women's bodies as "unreliable machines"; feminist criticism of the "discovery of the hormone". 1. 3 Descriptive critique of the rise of Freudian psychodynamic theories and their dominance in child care policies and practice; feminist view that such theories uphold male patriarchy and implied moral judgements of mothers - the notion of the "bad" mother; historical overview of Freudian theories translated into child care practice from 1920s; review of the research of Bowlby et al and its influence on postwar policy on day nurseries; critique of Bowlby's theories on maternal deprivation from East European studies, Rutter et al, and by feminist theorists. 1. 4 Presentation of feminist critique of the medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth, and the rise of psychoanalytic theory in the childcare field; the omission of structural explanations for problems encountered by women and children; the rise of new professions such as psychologists, obstetricians, and paediatricians; Marxist analysis of the role of women in the childbirth/childrearing process and the socioeconomic context of parenting; critique of modern obstetrics and gynaecology, with reference to the Wendy Savage case. 1. 5 Presentation of the main areas of tension between feminism and black women; differences in priorities and the failure of feminism to appreciate black women's responsibilities as heads of households; analysis of differences in the socioeconomic position of black women; differences in position on abortion and contraception; lack of black historical perspective in feminism; exclusion of black women by white feminists, with examples from USA and Britain; black child care arrangements and potential conflict with feminism. Chapter Two: Racism in Britain 2. 1 Introduction outlining justification for study of racism, and relevance to the issue of Afro-Caribbeans in day care. 2. 2 Historical perspective on the development of racialism in Britain; early black settlement in Britain and the rise of slavery and oppression justified by religion; role of black people as expendable commodities; immigration as a political issue; restrictive legislation on immigration; racism in popular culture from the early twentieth century; racism attitudes ingrained by the early 1950s when first large-scale immigration from Caribbean began. 2. 3 Analysis of racism in employment; large disparities between non-white and white in managerial positions, even more so when gender taken into account; critique of previous explanations for black unemployment, and poor position within the job market. Conclusion that racism primary cause; examples of discriminatory practice and institutional racism in employment; connection with local authority day care. 2. 4 Analysis of racism in housing; review of inequalities in housing between white and non-white; effect of poor housing on child health; connection between poor housing and other indices of poverty; institutionalized racism in council housing allocation; Townsend's analysis of racism in allocation of resources; race as the major variable in predicting deprivation; the connection with local authority day care. 2. 5 Analysis of racism in education; racial stereotyping in education - Afro-Caribbeans labelled as "ineducable"; pseudo-scientific theories of racial differences in intelligence, with reference to Jensen, Eysenck et al; over-representation of Afro-Caribbeans in ESN schools and under-representation in further and higher education; racism by teachers; critique of multiculturalism in education, and of theory of "black poor self-image" as explanation for underachievement; research demonstrating teacher prejudice against Afro-Caribbean pupils; parallels with local authority day care; critique of right-wing social policy on education. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).