{"product_id":"invisible-deviant-mothers-rachel-bride-ashton-9798376775813","title":"Invisible \u0026 Deviant Mothers: Childbirth in Visual Culture","description":"Institution-controlled births have predominated in our fictional on-screen culture for decades. When compared with less frequent home birth narratives, two dominant stereotypes emerge. People giving birth within the medical system tend to be portrayed as good, compliant but invisible, usually passive and not in control, as seen in examples like \u003ci\u003eE.R. \u003c\/i\u003e(1994-2009), \u003ci\u003e Greys Anatomy \u003c\/i\u003e(2017-2020), \u003ci\u003e Knocked Up \u003c\/i\u003e(2007), \u003ci\u003e Friends \u003c\/i\u003e(1994-2004), \u003ci\u003e Offspring \u003c\/i\u003e(2010-2017)\u003ci\u003e, What to Expect When You're Expecting \u003c\/i\u003e(2012)\u003ci\u003e and Sex Education \u003c\/i\u003e(2022). Those birthing outside of the hospital, and their attendant midwives are represented as active and visible but deviant and often ridiculous, for example \u003ci\u003eGrace and Frankie \u003c\/i\u003e(2018), \u003ci\u003e The Gilmore Girls \u003c\/i\u003e(2000-2007)\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e The Back Up Plan \u003c\/i\u003e(2010). More recently \u003ci\u003ePieces of a Woman \u003c\/i\u003e(2020) challenges the dominant home birth fiasco by exploring a more woman empowered narrative, but ultimately the (deviant) mother is punished by her baby's death, exacerbating deeply ingrained medical hegemony.\u003cbr\u003eReality television shows, \u003ci\u003eOBEM \u003c\/i\u003e(2010-2018)\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eNewborn Russia \u003c\/i\u003e(2014), inadvertently expose deep rooted misogyny and obstetric violence at the heart of the medical model of birth. This book argues that globally, on-screen culture could be seen as systemic medical propaganda which turns birth into a process where mothers are secondary to the baby-product. \u003ci\u003eThe Birth Reborn\u003c\/i\u003e (2013-2018) documentaries tackle these issues but are alone in highlighting the violence and racial inequalities in maternal care the world over. My method of research combines critical literature with my multi-disciplinary art practice. I embody and represent female tropes and helpful bacteria and reveal the 'deviant woman' as 'maternal holobiont' in complex installations. These portray powerful and active depictions of women-centered birth comparable to recent documentation by femicentric organisations like \u003ci\u003eRestore Midwifery \u003c\/i\u003e(2022), which are beginning to appear on social media. I argue that these could set the precedent for new ways of portraying birth in cinema and television.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Rachel Bride Ashton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798376775813\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/09\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 170\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.38lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.36d","brand":"Rachel Bride Ashton","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48450232353023,"sku":"9798376775813","price":12.07,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_68cab4d4-0411-4864-b42f-95b05bbea95a.jpg?v=1777266768","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/invisible-deviant-mothers-rachel-bride-ashton-9798376775813","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}