Moms Rising.
Connected to this twenty-first-century motherhood movement is the multi-issue, intergenerational
reproductive rights movement, which has increasingly focused on the right to parent as well as the right
not to. Feminist leaders like Loretta Ross, of the group SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice
Collective, which formed in 1997, have critiqued the rhetoric of choice that has been so central to
feminist arguments for abortion rights. Focusing on choice alone, according to Ross, ignores the ways in
which the choices of women of color have been limited by economic constraints and a history of
regulating brown and black women’s bodies in the United States. “We wish all women had choices,” said
Ross. “But not all women do because of healthcare disparities, immigration policies, racism,
homophobia, etc.”^66 Building on the work done by feminists of color in the 1970s and ’80s, discussed in
chapter 2, SisterSong argues that reproductive rights must include not just the right to safe and legal
abortions but also the right to parent, an end to enforced sterilization, and access to comprehensive sex
education and free birth control, as well as prenatal care and other forms of healthcare. This movement
has broadened the reproductive rights movement using an intersectional approach that places race and
class at the center of analysis.
Groups like SisterSong argue that women should be able to parent (or not parent) without being
coerced by economic pressure, racism, and other concerns. Groups like MomsRising argue that the United
States should support those who raise children by becoming more like Europe and increase state funding
for social services and early childhood education. Expanding the social safety net would provide crucial
support to mothers—and fathers—and make it possible for them to both raise healthy children and engage
in meaningful work outside the home. SisterSong, MomsRising, and other feminist groups working to
change the way society supports women in their ability and choice to mother (or not), understand that the
work of parenting will not be solved on an individual level; rather, this problem will only be solved with
government intervention and employer compliance to ensure that all mothers, regardless of their education
or their occupation, are able to truly balance the work of parenting with paid work outside the home.
Other contemporary feminists take a different approach to solving women’s inequality. They argue that
it is not laws or employment policies that should be changed; rather, capitalism and the free market will
ultimately help to liberate women and bring about the gender equality they’ve been seeking—as long as
women are willing to pursue careers in traditionally male-dominated spheres. According to this
approach, as women rise to the top of the corporate workforce and break through its glass ceiling, they
will have access to the leadership roles, the power, and the wealth that have historically been the
exclusive province of men. A example of this approach can be seen in the 2013 bestselling book Lean In:
Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, by Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg. A member of