Donna Reed blew her mind!

Mother Knows Better.

Our thanks to Jeff Call for bringing this entertaining academic webinar to our attention. Emilie Raymond, professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University, speaks with Annie Newton, a 2018 master’s degree recipient whose thesis is titled “Mother Knows Better: The Donna Reed Show, The Feminine Mystique, and the Rise of the Modern Maternal Feminist Movement.” Several episodes are discussed at length in this lively discussion to show that the character of Donna Stone embodies maternal feminism. Note: A table of contents with timestamps can be found in the Youtube comments section of the almost hour-long presentation. Watch the webinar.