One Bad Mother

‘Smart, spiky, and straight-up necessary, One Bad Mother undresses the landmined label ‘bad mum’ with wit and receipts. Ej Dickson turns our favorite moral panics into a clear-eyed invitation to ditch impossible standards and parent like a person.’ Amanda Montell, NYT-bestselling author of Wordslut, Cultish, and The Age of Magical Overthinking

We all have an idea what it means to be a good mum: little screen time, kids hitting (or beating) their milestones, endless patience and understanding and self-sacrifice on behalf of one’s children. But what does it mean to be a 'bad mum' in modern society? Women as wide-ranging as Meghan Markle, Hannah Neelman (of Ballerina Farm), or anyone giving birth over 40, have been given labels as a 'bad mum.' In a world where the rules are constantly changing, it feels like women simply cannot win.

With this notion in mind, in her first book, Ej Dickson takes a sharp, provocative look at one of society’s most polarising labels: the ‘bad mum.’ What makes a mother 'bad,' and what are the cultural stakes of that judgment? Through the lens of pop culture and American history, Ej Dickson explores how this trope has evolved – from Victorian ‘angels in the house’ to the infamous Mommie Dearest, from Instagram influencers like EmRata and Mormon mumfluencers to fictional icons like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Each chapter dives into a different archetype of so-called bad motherhood – like the Stage Mum, the Tiger Mum, the MILF, the MLM hun – challenging readers to rethink their assumptions about femininity, parenting, and societal expectations. Drawing on insightful analysis and interviews, Dickson unpacks why our culture is obsessed with vilifying mums and how issues of race and class shape these narratives. Are bad mums truly ‘bad,’ or do they simply defy norms we don’t fully understand – or fear?

But don’t mistake this as just a pop culture analysis. To actually make women stop feeling like they’re bad mums and start actually enjoying the experience of motherhood, it’s important to deconstruct the trope and actually learn about where it comes from, what purpose it serves, and the insidious ways it continues to pop up in popular culture to this day. Because if we really take a close look, we might find that some of the women we’ve reviled throughout history aren’t actually that bad after all – and in doing so, mums today may take some much-needed pressure off themselves.

In tackling these urgent questions, One Bad Mother exposes the deeper forces driving our fascination with bad mom culture and reveals what it says about our world today.

Thoughtful, eye-opening, and downright funny at times, One Bad Mother is a vital exploration of modern motherhood.