Anya Jabour, University of Montana – Katharine Bement Davis, “Childless Cat Lady”?

Motherhood was a big topic in the news this year.

Anya Jabour, Regent’s professor of history at the University of Montana in Missoula, examines this.

Anya Jabour is Regents Professor of History at the University of Montana, where she teaches US women’s history, the history of American families and children, and the history of gender and sexuality in the US. Her newest book, “Sex Matters: Katharine Bement Davis and the Pioneering Study of Female Sexuality,” is forthcoming from NYU Press.

Katharine Bement Davis, “Childless Cat Lady”?

During the 2024 presidential race, Republican politicians called Democratic candidate Kamala Harris a “childless cat lady” with no “physical commitment” to the country’s future—even though she is stepmother to two children who call her “Mamala.”

Our current conversation about biological motherhood is too narrowly conceived.

My research on Katharine Bement Davis, a social reformer in Progressive-era New York, offers a broader perspective on women’s experiences of mothering and a deeper understanding of “the politics of motherhood.”

Although Davis had no children of her own, maternity was central to her personal life, her professional career, and her political commitments.

Davis was a devoted aunt to her motherless niece. She also promoted child welfare in her professional career. After teaching school in western New York, she established a kindergarten and playground in Philadelphia before returning to her home state to supervise youthful offenders at Bedford Female Reformatory.

Davis became New York City’s first woman Commissioner of Correction in 1914. Soon after taking office, she used what she called “motherly methods” to quell a prison riot. Afterward,

arguing that “wise motherhood” was essential to good government, she campaigned for woman suffrage in the Empire State.

Davis next joined the movement to promote “voluntary motherhood,” advocating for both better sex education and legal birth control.

Understanding the history of so-called “childless cat ladies” like Davis is vital to understanding contemporary politics. And, in case you’re wondering—yes, Davis did love cats!

Read More:

 https://apps.umt.edu/directory/details/c17ea2baca9d455be68f452da2bb820d

 https://theconversation.com/childless-cat-ladies-have-long-contributed-to-the-welfare-of-american-children-and-the-nation-240199#comment_3001860

https://theconversation.com/how-a-survey-of-over-2-000-women-in-the-1920s-changed-the-way-americans-thought-about-female-sexuality-236927

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/05/09/mothers-have-long-used-their-identities-push-social-change/