...essentialist feminism" stressed the differences between the sexes rather than their similarities, celebrating menstruation, childbirth, and other experiences unique to womanhood. ...Yet another new task awaits the ecologically minded mother." According to the only statistic she invokes - presumably the most impressive she could find - 20 percent of English babies "regularly or occasionally" sport cloth diapers. ...in turn, as people poured more energy into their own health, they had less time and inclination to invest in civic or political involvement. Since 1980 this outlook does not seem to have abated, to say the least, and for parents it applies doubly to their children. Warner and Druckerman marvel at the French government's support for families, whether by implementing a sliding price scale for high-quality daycare or furnishing monthly cash grants to parents.