DeepSummary
Christina Catarruci invites listeners to a special event for the new season of Slow Burn podcast at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City to celebrate Pride Month. The episode then features an interview with author Ruby Russell about her book 'Doing It All: The Social Power of Single Motherhood'. Russell discusses the societal stigma around single motherhood, how it challenges patriarchal structures, and why she chose to embrace single motherhood. She also touches on the importance of learning from traditions like 'other mothering' in Black communities.
In the triumphs and fails segment, Lucy shares her 'fail' about her 11-year-old daughter Avery getting into a heated argument with her husband Gino over taking away Avery's dance event as punishment. Elizabeth shares a 'triumph' about how she and her husband Jeff handled their son Oliver's injury during a vacation, working together calmly and getting him treated promptly at a hospital.
The hosts discuss the lack of shame and empowerment Ruby feels about being a single mother, contrary to the stigma many single mothers face. They explore what needs to happen to destigmatize single motherhood and see it as a viable option rather than a last resort.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Single motherhood is often stigmatized in society, seen as a burden or a result of mistakes, rather than a viable and empowering choice.
- Embracing single motherhood challenges patriarchal structures and the assumption that women need men to create families.
- Learning from traditions like 'other mothering' in Black communities can provide alternative models of support and collective parenting outside the nuclear family.
- Destigmatizing single motherhood requires shifting societal attitudes and providing more support systems for all mothers.
- Open discussions about the rights and autonomy of women who choose to have children are needed, beyond just the right to abortion.
- Personal anecdotes from the hosts highlight the challenges and triumphs of navigating parenthood, whether single or partnered.
- Maintaining open communication and working together as a team is crucial for successful co-parenting.
- Celebrating positive behaviors and character traits in children can help reinforce desired values and norms.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “The single mother is an object of pity or a burden on society. At best, the paradigm of endless self sacrifice, striving against the odds to make good what will always be broken and deficient. At worst, a symbol of pathological dependence.“ by Ruby Russell
- “Why, when we talk about reproductive rights, do we talk only about the right to abortion, the right not to have children? Like, what happens to our rights when we do have children?“ by Ruby Russell
- “If we didn't rely on men for our motherhood and our families to create families, it would completely change the power dynamics in a way that's long overdue.“ by Ruby Russell
- “We all need to be learning from the communities who know how to make motherhood work outside this kind of really patriarchal, restrictive, capitalist idea of what it means to be a mother or a family.“ by Ruby Russell
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Episode Information
Care and Feeding | Slate's parenting show
Slate Podcasts
5/16/24
On this episode: Jamilah sits down with author Ruby Russell to talk about her new book, Doing It All: The Social Power of Single Motherhood. They talk about the ways that single mothers upend the patriarchy — and why that’s a good thing.
Lucy, Elizabeth, and Zak also circle up for a round of triumphs and fails — including an epic saga involving a hospital in the Philippines.
Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.
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Podcast produced by Maura Currie.
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