04. The Juggling Mother: Coming Undone in the Age of Anxiety with Dr. Amanda Watson
About this Episode
04. The Juggling Mother: Coming Undone in the Age of Anxiety with Amanda Watson
In this episode, I’m talking with Amanda Watson, author of The Juggling Mother and Simon Fraser Lecturer in Anthropology.
When I first connected with Dr. Amanda Watson last summer and learnt about her soon-to-be released book, The Juggling Mother, I immediately knew she would one of my first sought out guests for the podcast. Last year, during the holiday season she joined me on one of our Q&A Live's on Instagram and spoke SO many words of wisdom and offered such great perspectives on the ‘extra (usually invisible) load’ women tend to take on during the holiday season. It was an easy transition to included her as one of Season One's guests as we went on a deep dive into the conversation of The Juggling Mother and for so many mothers, how this pandemic has impacted their life.
In this episode, Amanda provides her expertise as a Lecturer of Sociology and Anthropology at Simon Fraser University and from her extensive research examining media representation of work, reproduction, and care. Her book, The Juggling Mother: Coming Undone in the Age of Anxiety makes a controversial case that mothers who appear to be frantically juggling paid and unpaid work perpetuate established social inequities of race, gender, class, and ability—even as they take on stigma and an unfair share of the load.
It is my hope, that my conversation with Amanda offers a sense of relief and common understanding on how we can begin to dismantle the term ‘The Juggling Mother’ or perhaps embrace it and create new strategies to gain more support and understanding – especially as we move through the second year of the pandemic.
SHOW NOTES
In this episode of the Thryving Mother Podcast, you will learn:
Who is The Juggling Mother?
How the pandemic has elevated even more anxiety, burnout and exhaustion for the Juggling Mother
What is the ‘invisible load’ and what are some strategies to ease this within our own household with our partners
What are the social inequalities of race, gender, class and ability — how can we as a community and “The Juggling Mother” give back?
Work with Casey
Brand and Marketing Consulting
1:1 Self-Discovery Coaching & Mentorship - Coming Soon
About Amanda Watson
Dr. Amanda D. Watson is a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Simon Fraser University. Her research examines media representation of work, reproduction, and care. Dr. Watson’s latest book, The Juggling Mother: Coming Undone in the Age of Anxiety, makes the controversial case that mothers who appear to be frantically juggling paid and unpaid work perpetuate established social inequities of race, gender, class, and ability—even as they take on stigma and an unfair share of the load.
Dr. Watson lives in East Vancouver with her partner, two kids, and two pups.
Where to find Amanda:
You can find her book at ubcpress.ca and join her conversation at #thejugglingmother or @spindrwatson.
Follow us on Instagram!
