This collection of chapters written by prominent researchers addresses the representations of mothers and motherhood in certain contemporary societies, notably in South Asia.

1. Theorising Motherhood; 2. (M)othering and the Politics of Early Intervention: Biologisation and the Reproduction of Gendered, Classed and Raced Inequalities; 3. A Mother's Place is in the Home: Deconstructing Self-Interest and Altruism in Feminist Economics; Part 1 Difficult Times for Mothers; 4. Mother Figures Behind Bars: Pregnant Women and Mothers in Prison in England and Wales; 5. Martyr, Miscreant, or A Modern Mama? Exploring the Archetypal and Realistic Images of Mothers of Children with Disabilities; 6. South Asian Mothering in White Spaces; Part 2 Unorthodox Mothers; 7. Motherhood and Mothering in Contemporary ''IP Memoirs''; 8. Teenage Mothers in England; Resisting or Silenced by the Regulatory Framework?; Part 3 Asian Mothering/Mothers; 9. Motherhood Experiences of East Asian Women in Britain; 10. Chinese Motherhood in the UK; Part 4 Lesbian Mothers/Mothering; 11. Lesbian Mothers and Citizens: The Morality Test at the United States Supreme Court; 12. Lesbian Motherhood: From the Social Recognition of Female Homosexuality to the 'Lesby-boom': A Comparison Between Britain and France; Part 5 Representations of Mothers in Art; 13. Maternal Fantasies in an Era of Crisis - Single Mothers, Self-Sacrifice, and Sexuality in Japanese Television Drama; 14. Countering Allegorical Motherhood in Irish and Northern Irish Contemporary Art: The Female Body as a Tool for Resistance; 15. Female ''Transformational Energy'' in Louise Erdrich's Works.