Cecilia Winkler, Single Mothers and the State: the Politics of Care in Sweden and the United States - Book Review

Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, Dec, 2003

Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield, 2002, $69.00 hardcover.

Single motherhood is deeply stigmatized in the United States. Although there are several ways in which women can become single mothers, once a woman is parenting alone she faces many challenges including the daunting task of raising of her children on her own. There is little relief for women in this position, fathers often do not assist in the raising of children, the welfare system may decline assistance or become a cycle in which women are trapped with no opportunity for a more promising future. Single mothers in the United States are stretched emotionally, physically and financially to the breaking point with little to no relief in sight. However, single women in other many countries such as Sweden do not face the same challenges. Indeed, in Sweden single mothers are treated very differently. This book explores the difference in the treatment of single mothers in the two countries.

The view of single motherhood in the two countries is diametrically opposed. Winkler notes that in the United States single motherhood is frequently stigmatized and difficult in the best of circumstances. The view of single motherhood is quite different in Sweden. The task of mothering is seen as a honored occupation rather than a burden to the individual's productivity potential. Concessions are made so that women in Sweden have the opportunity to spend as much time and resources as necessary to raise healthy, adaptive children. The book shows that there is a wide gap in political philosophy when it comes to single parenting in the two countries.

Winkler divides the text into nine chapters which follow each other in a logical way. The book begins with an introduction to the issues associated with single motherhood and then a description of the historical differences in social policies for single mothers in the advanced welfare states is given. The next chapter discusses women's issues in the United States including issues such as reproductive rights, work, illegitimacy and social rights for single mothers. The following several chapters discuss the historical and current state of political affairs regarding single motherhood policy in Sweden. Winkler presents the issues of equality in the workplace, women's economic independence, Neoliberalism and privatization of the family, all as they relate to social conditions in Sweden. The final chapter discusses equality and freedom for solo mothers in both countries. The closing chapter suggests modifications to the discourse of single parenthood in order to soften the social and political climate in the United States.

This book's contents is well presented, the organization is excellent and the authors points are brought across in a salient manner. Winkler examines some of the most difficult issues that have faced women in the last three decades stressing the policies that seem to be working for the betterment of womankind in Sweden. The only criticism that can be make of this text is the stark way material on the two countries is presented in different chapters. Because the two countries share many common features, it may have been preferable if the material had been presented together instead of in separate chapters dealing respectively with the two countries. Nevertheless, this is an excellent book that will make excellent supplemental reading for a special topics course on the family or single parenthood. It would also be beneficial for policy makers and those who work closely with single mothers.