We Don't Belong to Ourselves

‘Never again can a pregnant woman, let alone a new mother, be waved away as having “brain fog”. Harris blows that idea apart in her brilliant deep dive into modern parenthood. We Don’t Belong to Ourselves is pure intellectual pleasure – and utterly galvanising.’ – Anna Krien, author of Night Games and Act of Grace

‘I was hooked by this remarkably nuanced, rigorously researched, and appealingly narrated treatise on the economy of baby-making. Harris works her way through an infinitely complicated nexus of commerce, culture, and personal experience to argue for our taking back, and expanding, the commons. Her handle on the material is expert, and her execution brilliant; the writing is fast-paced, erudite, and richly engaging. Harris is one of the best essayists we have, and We Don’t Belong to Ourselves is a deeply satisfying work of feminist philosophy.’ – Ellena Savage, author of The Ruiners and Blueberries

‘In a culture obsessed with sentimentalising and privatising motherhood, this book does the thrilling work of charting how we could reimagine it.’ – Gina Rushton, author of The Most Important Job in the World

Modern motherhood has been intensified and drip-fed onto social media in rose-tinted representations retouched by influencers and brands, but our birthing bodies are historical bodies, our conceptions of which are shaped over time by the images we see.

Relayed with an intimate, inclusive verve and wit, We Don’t Belong to Ourselves traces Lauren Carroll Harris’s quest – through gallery walls, television screens, and the digital parenting landscape – for real, unromanticised images of pregnant or breastfeeding women. Through her analysis and experience, Lauren unpicks the ways in which motherhood and feminism are being commodified, privatised, and controlled.

We Don’t Belong to Ourselves holds a mirror to our modern conception of motherhood, and asks how we might rebel against these ideas to imagine radical alternative systems of love and care. She shows that modern parenthood is an adaptable thing, one that might yet write a new, collective story.