All Photos © Alyson Aliano

Alyson Aliano‘s project “Real Mother” explores what it means to be a mother. She says, “I started the moms project when I was a stepmother to twins. People would continually ask, ‘Aren’t you going to have children? Don’t you want to have your own children? When are you going to have your own children?’ The implication was that as a stepparent, I wasn’t a ‘real’ parent. At the time, I did all the things ‘real’ parents did: I took the kids to the doctor, went to soccer games, organized play-dates, birthday parties, summer camp and saved for college. My experience was a roller coaster ride: amazing, scary and exhilarating. I began to think about what parenting and motherhood were all about. I looked to other women to share their experiences and I photographed all types of moms: biological, step, lesbian and adoptive mothers. These women shared their hopes, fears, questions and experiences with me.”