About Linn Baran

Linn Baran  believes she was a feminist mother since she was 10 years old.

See her post here for this herstory.

A graduate of York University with degrees in English Literature and Women's Studies, Linn  stepped off the academic path  to put her feminist theorizing into practice in her community- at various women's centres, at a community health centre for street youth, at a midwifery practice, and at a shelter for young mothers.

When she became a mother herself in 2001, Linn returned to her academic research by presenting her work on feminist motherhood at various conferences as an independant scholar and began her most treasured work to date- as the Community Outreach and Promotions Coordinator at MIRCI..

In this position, Linn endeavours to link "lived mothering" to "examined motherhood"; bridging academe and activism via the Mother Outlaws Initiative.

In recent years, Linn has worked with various community-university research groups, family resource programs, advisory committees and parent action groups to increase community capacity and social inclusion of all mothers with young children in service provisions and family supports.

Linn is particularly interested in non-traditional forms of social networks (including blogs!)  that mothers engage in to both empower themselves and resist dominant narratives of “good motherhood”.

Her works in progress  include the Motherhood Watch project- focused  on issues of maternal surveillance and judgement as well as what she has defined as the “gentrification of mother’hood” -and a memoir about how the "waves"" of feminism both influenced and represent the mothering practices of her maternal grandmother, her mother, and herself.

Linn is available to facilitate "Un-Masking Motherhood" workshops for women interested in addressing core concerns of maternal identity while also examining the cultural constructions of motherhood. She is also available to represent MIRCI in the community at conferences, mother’s centres, family resource programs,  and other community initiatives.

Linn lives with her son and partner in  Toronto. Please contact her at linnbaran@sympatico.ca for further information