NEWS:
Who Are The Outlaw Mothers - Article about UK mother outlaws group on thefword.org.uk
For more information and to discuss please visit ambitiousmamas.blogspot.com.
ABOUT:
"We were conspirators, outlaws from the institution of motherhood; I felt enormously in charge of my life"
Adrienne Rich, Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Institution and Experience, 1976
"Mother Outlaws recognize that mothers and children benefit when the mother lives her life, and practices mothering, from a position of agency, authority, authenticity and autonomy"
Andrea O'Reilly, Mother Outlaws: Theories and Practices of Empowered Mothering. Toronto: Women's Press, 2004
Mother Outlaws is a community outreach initiative of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI) . Since 2004, Mother Outlaws has organized several events in the Toronto area to establish itself as a recognizable image and cultural signifier of how mothering against the institution of motherhood can be envisioned and experienced as empowering for women. More specifically, Mother Outlaws endeavours to challenge normative discourses of motherhood and bridge the divides between "lived mothering" (personal experiences and activism) and "examined motherhood" (academic scholarship).
The outreach initiatives of Mother Outlaws include: a Toronto Feminist Mothers' discussion group, a continuing Mother Outlaws' Speakers Series, special events, activist activities, media coverage, T-shirt sales, and assisting with the start-ups of Mother Outlaws groups elsewhere.
For more information, including how a Mother Outlaws chapter can be launched in other communities/cities/countries - please contact Andrea O'Reilly at aoreilly@yorku.ca.
We are also continuously in the process of planning our Mother Outlaws Speakers Series and are interested in hearing from individuals who would like to present their work at our community events. Please forward inquiries and abstracts about your scholarly work, activism, writing, art, etc to aoreilly@yorku.ca.
OUR NEXT EVENT
Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement
140 Holland St. West,
PO 13022
Bradford ON L3Z 2Y5