Download or read book Counting on Motherhood, Not Men written by Jennifer Marie Utrata and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 738 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unlike most studies of single motherhood, this dissertation argues for the centrality of culture in explaining rising single motherhood and shows that in spite of material difficulties, Russian single mothers do not see themselves as victims and many are adapting fairly well, even successfully, to post-Soviet challenges. In contrast to the late-Soviet period, single mothers today face both minimal stigma and minimal state support. Most Russian women transform themselves into pragmatic realists, creating the selves necessary to navigate the gap between ideals of family life and local realities. They also turn to their own mothers, their children's babushki, for extensive support in managing the triple burden of paid work, childrearing, and housework. In Russia themes related to matrifocal families are widespread, with women turning to other women to solve problems in conditions of economic uncertainty and a perceived dearth of reliable men, without the spatial isolation of ghettoes and the feminism of U.S. society, and they are normalized and taken for granted.