Women who came of age in the late twentieth century were raised in the era of choice; they grew up believing that reproductive decision-making is a political right, a responsibility of women living the successes of second wave feminism, and under their control. Contemplating Maternity in an Era of Choice: Explorations into Discourses of Reproduction explores contemporary maternity both within and in light of these late-twentieth century understandings. Employing a variety of feminist communication approaches, the volume's contributors discuss how discourses of choice shape and are shaped by women's identities and experiences as (non)mothers and how those same discourses affect and reflect private practices and public policies related to reproduction and motherhood. Through this process, the contributors illustrate a variety of ways of conducting feminist thinking, research, and practices within the communication discipline. Major sub-disciplines within communication studies are represented here including feminist organizational, interpersonal, rhetorical, critical/cultural, and social movement studies. Whereas many of the previous scholarly investigations into maternity highlight only one aspect or phase of motherhood, Contemplating Maternity in an Era of Choice is unique because it investigates discourses of choice across the arc of maternity and as enacted through various (non)maternal subject positions.

The SAGE Handbook of Gender and Communication is a vital resource for those seeking to explore the complex interactions of gender and communication. Editors Bonnie J. Dow and Julia T. Wood, together with an illustrious group of contributors, review and evaluate the state of the gender and communication field through the discussion of existing theories and research, as well as through identification of important directions for future scholarship. The first of its kind, this Handbook examines the primary contexts in which gender and communication are shaped, reflected, and expressed: interpersonal, organizational, rhetoric, media, and intercultural/global. Key Features: Brings together the expertise of leading scholars: Esteemed scholars edit each section and leading researchers in the field author each chapter. The distillation of scholarship in each area by seasoned scholars clarifies what is and is not known in that area of research. Offers historical and theoretical perspectives: Authors discuss the development of gender and communication research during the past three decades and examine the theories, questions, and issues about gender and communication that are ascending to define the next stage of work in the area. Provides comprehensive reference lists: Each section summarizes existing theory and research related to an area of gender and communication scholarship and guides readers to the central works in the field, as well as directs future scholarship toward the most urgent, important, and promising topics, methodologies, and/or perspectives.

"The author offers surprising connections and comparisons in the book . . . and she provides a solid overview of the women's movement in America to the present. . . . Highly recommended for upper-division and graduate media, cultural, and feminist studies collections."--"Choice" "Dow's critical insights are inventive, ranging wisely across several disciplines, particularly the history of the U.S. women's movement."--"Journal of Communication" Dow discusses a wide variety of television programming and provides specific case studies of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, One Day at a Time, Designing Women, Murphy Brown, and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. She juxtaposes analyses of genre, plot, character development, and narrative structure with the larger debates over feminism that took place at the time the programs originally aired. Dow emphasizes the power of the relationships among television entertainment, news media, women's magazines, publicity, and celebrity biographies and interviews in creating a framework through which television viewers "make sense" of both the medium's portrayal of feminism and the nature of feminism itself. ""Prime-Time Feminism" is an important book for scholars and courses in gender and the media. It is a crucial piece of a picture that has not always been pretty."--"Quarterly Journal of Speech" Bonnie J. Dow is Assistant Professor of Communication at North Dakota State University.

In 1970, ABC, CBS, and NBC--the "Big Three" of the pre-cable television era--discovered the feminist movement. From the famed sit-in at Ladies' Home Journal to multi-part feature stories on the movement's ideas and leaders, nightly news broadcasts covered feminism more than in any year before or since, bringing women's liberation into American homes.
In Watching Women's Liberation, 1970: Feminism's Pivotal Year on the Network News, Bonnie J. Dow uses case studies of key media events to delve into the ways national TV news mediated the emergence of feminism's second wave. First legitimized as a big story by print media, the feminist movement gained broadcast attention as the networks' eagerness to get in on the action was accompanied by feminists' efforts to use national media for their own purposes. Dow chronicles the conditions that precipitated feminism's new visibility and analyzes the verbal and visual strategies of broadcast news discourses that tried to make sense of the movement.
Groundbreaking and packed with detail, Watching Women's Liberation, 1970 shows how feminism went mainstream--and what it gained and lost on the way.