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9781538114230

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Wendy Christensen doesn't let us slide into simplistic assumptions about either militarization or women as mothers. Her careful listening over a decade reveals American racially diverse women dealing with their government's pressures, their own expectations, their strategic choices about when to stay silent and when to speak out. This book has taught me a lot. -- Cynthia Enloe, Clark University; author of The Big Push: Exposing and Challenging Persistent Patriarchy

Wendy Christensen doesn't let us slide into simplistic assumptions about either militarization or women as mothers. Her careful listening over a decade reveals American racially diverse women dealing with their government's pressures, their own expectations, their strategic choices about when to stay silent and when to speak out. This book has taught me a lot.--Cynthia Enloe, Clark University; author of The Big Push: Exposing and Challenging Persistent Patriarchy Too often the experience of parents is left out of research about military families, despite military members' financial, psychological, and other reliance on parents, especially mothers, during enlistment, deployment, and their return, especially if injured physically or psychologically. Through an analysis of online message boards, military documents, and email interviews Wendy Christensen examines the gendered civic engagement of military mothers. Norms related to gender and patriotism encourage mothers to identify with and fiercely support the U.S. military, as well as the wars their children are ordered to fight. The rich ethnography deftly portrays the emotions of the homefront and the unpaid labor required to support troops. Mothers of the Military: Support and Politics during Wartime demonstrates how carework is translated into supplying the next generation of soldiers, coopted as support for military missions, and can also compel critiques of the Department of Veterans Affairs.--Lisa Leitz, chair of Peace Studies, associate professor of Sociology at Chapman University; author of Fighting for Peace: Veterans and Military Families in the Anti-Iraq War Movement

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Wendy M. Christensen, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. She has published in journals such as Ethnic and Racial Studies, Critical Military Studies, and the International Journal of Feminist Politics. Her current research interests focus on how race, class, and gender inequalities shape political participation and grassroots political organization.

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