Theories of Motherhood

In light of evolving critical perspectives shaped by modern political ideologies, particularly the feminist goal of gender equality, the long-prevailing identities, roles, norms, and several practices within a society have been subject to transformative changes. Media has long been a key vehicle for such transformative change, spreading reformative ideological values through its narrative power and impact. Often regarded as a foundational pillar of popular culture, media encompasses diverse digital forms, including television shows, films, web series, advertisements, and social media applications. This study explores how Indian advertisements have broken gender stereotypes and positively reshaped societal attitudes through strategic narrative techniques and emotionally resonant representations. Using a theoretical framework grounded in Judith Butler's concept of gender performativity, this study examines Nissan's #SpiritOfMotherhood (2017) advertisement, which aims to degender motherhood by decoupling it from 'womanhood'. Drawing on Sara Ruddick's idea of mothering as a practice, it examines how the advertisement constructs and represents the maternal bond and care. This study emphasises a shifting paradigm of motherhood by redefining 'mothering' as a non-gendered, or gender-neutral, performance that justifies maternal care.

Motherhood is a complicated idea within the Indian patriarchal structure. Motherhood institutions defined by men are oppressive towards women/mothers. When these patriarchal norms regarding motherhood intersect with social stereotypes regarding disabled children, the lived experiences of mothers become far more disturbing and challenging. This paper intends to scrutinise the Bengali film Paromitar Ek Din (2000), directed by Aparna Sen, through the theoretical ideas of Andrea O'Reilly to unmask the lived experiences of mothers of disabled children such as Paromita and Shanaka. Furthermore, by incorporating theoretical ideas given by Kimberlé Crenshaw and Tom Shakespeare, the study argues that within Bengali family structure, societal ableism intersects with the patriarchal institution of motherhood and shapes the lived experiences of mothers who are raising disabled children within patriarchal domesticity. This analysis employs "feminist political economy" to question the hidden "maternal care politics" within the patriarchal Sanyal family. This study becomes a vital instrument to suggest that Aparna Sen's Bengali film offers pathways for rethinking the problematic issues of motherhood and, most importantly, the lived experiences of mothers of disabled children while critiquing the existing "maternal care politics".

The representation of pregnancy and lactation within adult entertainment presents a fascinating cultural paradox: the convergence of symbols traditionally associated with innocence, reproduction, care, and domesticity with those associated with eroticism, commercial sexuality, and bodily pleasure. This essay examines how the pregnant and lactating female body functions as a site of competing meanings in contemporary Western society. Drawing upon Michel Foucault's analysis of sexuality and biopolitics, Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity, Jean Baudrillard's critique of consumer culture, and Herbert Marcuse's distinction between liberation and 1 commodification, this essay argues that erotic representations of pregnancy challenge historically entrenched divisions between the maternal and the sexual body. While such representations exist within the commercial structures of late capitalism, they may also contribute to broader cultural recognition of pregnancy as a form of beauty, desirability, and embodied femininity.

This paper explores the crucial – yet largely overlooked – role of Catholic women’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in shaping international discourses on pregnancy and childbirth within the UN sphere from the end of the Second World War to the 1974 World Population Conference in Bucharest. It focuses on the international Catholic nursing association CICIAMS (Comité International Catholique des Infirmières et Assistantes Médico-Sociales) and its engagement with the World Health Organization (WHO). In postwar years, CICIAMS emerged as a key site for forging Catholic lay women’s participation in international affairs, given the centrality of issues such as maternity, motherhood, and family in Catholic social teaching. Claiming a distinctive form of moral expertise, Catholic nurses and obstetrics sought to contribute to the formulation of a distinct model of ‘modern maternity’ on a global stage, centred in Christian principles and alternative to the secular meanings of modernity and progress. Through the evolving relationship between CICIAMS and the WHO, the paper thus highlights the similarities, differences, and connections between their respective maternity models, contextualizing this complex interaction within the broader framework of the decolonization.

Друга по реду збирка песама Ане Ристовић под називом Уже од песка (1997) дискретно доводи културни феномен изгнанства у везу са мотивом куге, уводећи на тај начин читаоца у простор несвакидашњег карантина на који су осуђени сви они којима се овај свет даје у другачијим формама, у сваком смислу. Рад је усредсређен на песму „Једном, сањала сам кугу”, која својим ониризмом отвара збирку. Основну инспирацију збирке, везану за далека пространства Анда, прожима и надограђује тематско-мотивски комплекс који обухвата питања егзила, изолације и дискриминације, као и искуства аутсајдера, прогнаних и одбачених. Они који су различити, без обзира на то што на ту различитост нису пристали својом вољом, већ им је она од природе дата – за већину су група кужних, осуђена на усамљеност и изолацију.

This article explores the embodied experience of medication-induced abortion through a critical feminist and evolutionary lens. Drawing on personal diaries and narrative, I examine how the physiological process of abortion, particularly the unexpected intensity of the expulsion of large tissue clots, evoked associations with other adaptive ejection functions of the female body: menstruation, childbirth and lactation. I argue that the term "bleeding," as commonly used in relation to medication-induced abortion and rooted in biomedical and risk-oriented discourse, fails to capture the agency of the process. Rather than perceiving abortion as a site of trauma or shame, I experienced it with visceral awe at the female body's self-regulating force. Building on traditions of embodied knowledge, I situate abortion within a dual lens of function and sensation-showing how the same adaptive function can be lived as pain, relief or empowerment, depending on context. By reframing abortion as a powerful act of embodied ejection, like birth and lactation, I invite a shift in how we understand reproductive physiology and its relationship to agency and language. This article contributes to feminist psychology by foregrounding corporeal experience and reclaiming women's bodily knowledge as a generative source of both understanding and cultural meaning.

Motherhood Transformed is a regional platform dedicated to connecting researchers, activists, journalists, and artists from the Visegrad countries. We explore motherhood as a political and social issue, addressing care and creativity, economic precarity, reproductive health and justice and the often-overlooked struggles of mothers. In this newsletter, the platform members share what deserves your attention: insights from academia, art, civil society, and media from the region and beyond.

The study explores Indian motherhood complexities through feminist and intersectional perspectives. The study investigates the manner in which deeply instilled cultural norms and religious practices combine with nationalist ideology and legal systems together with economic inequalities and healthcare accessibility to impact mothers' experiences who belong to various segments including Dalits, Adivasis, LGBTQ+ individuals and solitary mothers. This research investigates how these women encounter barriers when practicing reproduction self-control as well as obtaining proper healthcare while dealing with community customs. Through this analysis the article offers specific policy recommendations to establish an equal and just environment that promotes all kinds of mothers throughout India regardless of their position or identity.

Abstract
Το παρόν άρθρο διερευνά το αρχέτυπο της μητέρας, όπως αυτό εκδηλώνεται στη νεοελληνική πεζογραφία του 19ου και των αρχών του 20ού αιώνα, συνδυάζοντας ψυχαναλυτικά εργαλεία (Jung, Freud, Klein, Winnicott) με φεμινιστική θεωρία (de Beauvoir). Μέσα από την εξέταση έργων τεσσάρων συγγραφέων — Παπαδιαμάντη, Βιζυηνού, Ξενόπουλου και Θεοτόκη — αναδεικνύεται η πολυσημία της μητρικής φιγούρας ως αφηγηματικού, συμβολικού και ψυχικού τόπου.
Στον Παπαδιαμάντη εντοπίζεται το ευρύτερο φάσμα του αρχέτυπου: από τη στοργική, θυσιαστική μητέρα έως τη χειριστική «στρίγκλα μάνα» και την τραγική Φραγκογιαννού. Ο Βιζυηνός αναδεικνύει τη μητέρα ως φορέα ενοχής, τραύματος και ηθικής μετάδοσης, προαναγγέλλοντας ψυχαναλυτικές αναγνώσεις. Στον Ξενόπουλο η μητέρα εμφανίζεται ως σκιώδης, παθητική φιγούρα που αναπαράγει την πατριαρχική τάξη, ενώ στον Θεοτόκη αναδύεται ως αντιφατική «Μητέρα-Θύμα», που αγαπά αλλά και στερεί, φροντίζει αλλά και τραυματίζει.
Το άρθρο υποστηρίζει ότι η μητρική μορφή στη νεοελληνική πεζογραφία δεν λειτουργεί ως απλός αφηγηματικός χαρακτήρας, αλλά ως δομικό στοιχείο του ψυχικού κόσμου των ηρώων και του συλλογικού φαντασιακού, αντανακλώντας τις κοινωνικές, ηθικές και ψυχολογικές συντεταγμένες της εποχής.

This article examines motherhood and migration through a decolonial lens, arguing that migrant mothers embody both absence and care, rupture and resistance. While dominant ideals, shaped by patriarchy, colonialism, and Catholic tradition, confine women to self-sacrificial motherhood, the lived realities of Latin American migrants reveal alternative maternal practices forged in contexts of systemic violence and economic precarity. Compelled to leave their children to provide for them abroad, these women participate in the "globalization of care", sustaining the global economy while failing cultural ideals of motherhood. Yet this failure becomes resistance: through transnational mothering, cell-phone care, remittances, and communal solidarity, they reconfigure gender hierarchies and enact politics of affection. Their practices challenge both colonial norms and certain feminist frameworks, offering maternalism as a lens to recover motherhood as agency. Migrant mothers thus generate new ethics of life
grounded in resilience, solidarity, and relationality.

Монографията се фокусира върху романово творчество на видните американски писателки Тони Морисън и Алис Уокър. Целта на проучването е да се разгледат женските персонажи в произведенията на авторките съпоставително, за да се покаже многоаспектността на афроамериканските женски идентичности, които са обусловени от множество фактори (напр. раса, род, класа, сексуална ориентация, етнос, възраст и т.н.) и дискурси. Романите са разпределени тематично по глави според етапи и аспекти на житейското развитие на жената – съзряване, зрялост, майчинство, любов и отношения с другите. Особеностите на анализираните героини обрисуват цветната, противоречива, и винаги жива картина на афроамериканското съществуване в продължението на три столетия. По този начин в изследването от една страна става обозримо многообразието на женския опит чрез представяне на кръстопътите и граничните пространства, влияещи върху конструирането на идентичността, а от друга се предлага прозорец към кариерното и личното развитие на авторите, което не е съвсем познато на родна почва. Умението на Тони Морисън и Алис Уокър да разказват превръща романите им в произведения на изкуството, носители на вековна история, традиции и фолклор. Проучването пренася редица диалози, свързани с афроамериканския опит и култура, в български контекст и прокарва интересни пресечни точки между време, женско съществуване и идентичност.

In this article, I explore how 'narratives of sacrifi ce' shape the lives of Palestinian women living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and in exile in Lebanon and affect the choices they make. By focusing on women's 'everyday practice', I argue that, in response to the dangers and apparent hopelessness of their situation, Palestinians have adopted sacrifi ce as a conscious mode of struggle, one that also offers a way of giving meaning to senseless events. There is a tendency to identify sacrifi cial acts as male, but such assumptions need to be reconsidered. The concept of sacrifi ce is complex and is also gendered. I investigate inadvertent sacrifi ce -the role of the victim or resister -and deliberate sacrifi ce, as a way of protecting the community. The notion of sacrifi ce is closely linked to practices of resistance. As well, it has a strong affi nity with the preservation of identity and should therefore not be interpreted solely as a symptom of powerlessness.

In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by me and Dr. Lesley Biggs, who supervised my thesis work. It is understood that any copying, publication, or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy

Future faculty members are shaped through the socialization processes of doctoral education. Training the best and the brightest minds for faculty positions is a key interest for colleges and universities, however, structural barriers exist that can impede or prevent many talented students from successfully completing Ph.D. programs. This is especially the case for students from marginalized groups. Within the doctoral student population, there is very little understanding of the experiences of mothers in Ph.D. programs. As women continue to enter the academic workforce, and therefore doctoral education, in increasing numbers the interaction between mothering students and their universities become more salient to understand. Policies, practices, facilities and events are all structural elements that inform the socialization of doctoral mothers. Understanding these structural arrangements sheds light on ways that doctoral education can be improved to be more equitable and effective i...

This book chapter argues that argues that Cusk’s novel 'Outline' (2014) is a work of matricentric feminism, urging us to remember our Mother-Line.  Cusk’s narrator Faye is depicted as a feminist mother in a state of “dereliction” (Luce Irigaray’s term for feminine homelessness under patriarchy), who is propelled on a time travel to the “matricidal” beginnings of literature and philosophy. On her journey, Faye discovers how the past lingers on in our present.  Through investigating the link between maternity and temporality, Outline criticizes the lack of attention to the mother in contemporary feminism, and pushes Faye into “digging up her liquid ground” (Irigaray), in a bid to elbow out some space for an embodied maternal subjectivity that is nevertheless de-essentialized.

In maart 2006 is er in Maastricht een promotieonderzoek van start gegaan naar de wensen, verwachtingen en ervaringen van vrouwen en hun partners ten aanzien van de verloskundige zorg tijdens zwanger- schap, baring in het algemeen en de plaats van bevallen in het bijzon- der. Verder wordt gekeken of er door de zorgverleners een ander beleid wordt gevoerd bij de thuisbevalling, de poliklini sche of de klinische bevalling. In samenwerking met TNO is nu besloten om dit onderzoek in 2007 landelijk uit te breiden.

The chapter explores Ivan Illich's critique of institutional education, focusing on the concept of "motherlessness," which symbolizes the erosion of maternal care, vernacular wisdom, and intergenerational bonds in modern education. ​ Illich contrasts institutionalized education ("it") with relational, community-based learning ("She"), advocating for mutuality, conviviality, and diverse epistemologies. ​ The critique extends to colonial education, genderless systems, and the commodification of knowledge, which alienate individuals from life, community, and ecological responsibility. ​ The text proposes practical pathways, such as motherline mapping and intergenerational dialogue, to reclaim maternal ways of knowing and foster a pluriversal vision of education rooted in care and reciprocity. ​

Translating news reports can hardly be free from subjectivity, especially in relation to a conflict, since the opposing ideology often creates friction that necessitates translators to assume complex and multifaceted roles. The concept of positioning refers to participants' attitudes or stances toward the event or other participants in the event which significantly influences the interpretation of a text. The objective of this study is to examine the positioning regarding Hamas in a parallel corpus-based Israel-Palestine conflict. The corpus comprises 160 articles that have been translated from English to Indonesian. The researcher applied the evaluative model proposed by Pan and Liao (2020), that integrated CDA (Fairclough, 2013), Appraisal Theory (Martin & White, 2005), and Narrative Theory (Baker, 2006). It was found that the translators intentionally and carefully (re)positioned of Hamas by implementing a discursive strategy called redacted labelling in their actual activities. This can be done by omitting, adding, softening, and even strengthening the word construction embedded in these elements. The activities were motivated by the political stance of the news organization as determined by its official identity, media discourse counterpoints, the situation of the political of Indonesia toward the conflict, and their expectations of the reaction of the target audience. Examining news translation using CDA adds to translation theory by providing a critical perspective on how non-linguistic elements like ideology, power, and culture influence the translation process. It provides a more in-depth understanding of the translator's position as an agent who translates meanings, values, and worldviews as well as words.

This paper asks whether–and if so, how–Islamic groups such as Hamas that clearly define themselves outside a feminist framework can be studied in terms of women’s empowerment. The material discussed is based on fieldwork conducted with Hamas-affiliated female Islamists, as well as women’s rights activists in general, in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2007. Centrally, this work debates whether it is possible to think of women\u27s empowerment in non-feminist terms. The significance of this study lies in two critical contributions to questions of women’s empowerment in Muslim societies: Firstly, the case of Islamism exposes the hegemony of feminism–religious and secular–as a theoretical framework when we study conservative religious groups. The discourse of the Palestinian women’s movement functions as the ‘invisible’ framework that we often use to evaluate non-feminist groups. Secondly, this paper shows the importance of giving more attention to Islamist practice. While Musl...

Background Video feedback interventions have been designed to improve maternal sensitivity by reducing the negative effects of maternal depression symptoms on the quality of mother-infant interaction during the postnatal period. However, little is known about how these interventions may indirectly influence a mother's sense of identity or who she understands herself to be. Methods Eight Australian women, with signs of perinatal depression, participated in a 3-session Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) intervention and a follow-up interview. Their interview responses were qualitatively analysed with a constructivist, inductive thematic analysis. Results VIG showed potential to support positive maternal self-concept, through its strengths-based approach. Women reported positive benefits, and their responses engaged with broader cultural discourses of "good" motherhood, which they both reflected and challenged. This process was supported by both the external evidence of the video clips and the insider validation of "seeing" the preferred sense of motherhood identity in action. Conclusions Findings expand the scope of VIG from its original aim of increasing maternal sensitivity, to that of indirectly assisting mothers with forming a more positive and durable sense of motherhood identity. Clinical implications and suggestions for the role of video feedback interventions in maternal depression are discussed, including the need for further research on VIG interventions in this group.

The Phenomenology of Pregnancy and Early Motherhood provides an ethical, social and psychological investigation of the process of becoming a mother. Through a phenomenological analysis that engages with feminist philosophy, medical ethics, philosophy of care and phenomenological psychology, Susi Ferrarello unravels the intricacies of this transformative phase of life to shed light on layers of lived experiences that impact the well-being of the woman. This book addresses the complexity of common lived experiences characterizing this transition: the overarching period from the first to the fourth trimester, issues concerning maternal-fetal bonding, breastfeeding, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, loss of identity and coming back to work. Enriched by case studies from Ferrarello's philosophical counseling practice, the book provides a compassionate and insightful exploration of the struggles, triumphs and moments of self-revelation that mothers encounter in their daily lives. By exploring the heart of the maternal experience, this book shows the often-unspoken realities faced by women as they strive to balance their roles as caregivers, partners and individuals. The book offers a powerful means for everyday reflection on early motherhood and the ethical, as well as practical, dilemmas it raises. This text is an essential resource for graduate students studying phenomenology, ethics, feminist philosophy and moral psychology, as well as therapists and professionals interested in the challenges of pregnancy, motherhood and women's mental health.

This article explores the relationship between musical aesthetics and evolving submarine imaginaries in an age of unprecedented threats to the ocean. The discussion is structured around two case studies: Björk's performance of the song 'Oceania' at the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Olympics, and John Luther Adams's 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning Become Ocean for orchestra. In these examples, culturally and historically situated visions of the ocean are modulated by compositional and sonic devices that ground oceanic imaginaries in bodily sensation. Björk and Adams cultivate an oceanic aesthetics: musical sensations that align with the phenomenology of submersion or that address the materiality and ecology of the undersea. Throughout the article the author asks what music and musicology can offer to the interdisciplinary endeavours dubbed the 'blue humanities'. A turn to music foregrounds listening as a mode of perception and scholarly enquiry less defined by terrestrial categories. Music and sound-based art can be an intellectual resource in cases where visual terms and frameworks have a tough time accounting for the specificity of the oceanic environment.

The aim of this paper, in Morrison's fictional novel, God Help the Child (2015), is to examine the detrimental impact of the hostile and violent mistreatment of a light-skinned mother who restrains from nurturing her Black daughter. Nancy Chodorow's (1978) Object Relations Theory helps us determine how patterns of gendered-parenting and early-childhood development contribute to the reproduction of traditional sex roles. Her theory includes three basic "affects", namely attachment, frustration, and rejection, in which the female identity is chiefly based on the inextricable attachment to the mother, and the status of women in culture is defined by the tie between the mother and daughter. These "affects" are universal emotions that are vital for infantile identity formation. Drawing upon her Psychoanalytic theory, the overarching argument of this paper is that the mother is the initial object for the infant to gratify its desires; however, from Freud's (1926) standpoint, her breast, as the source of nurturance, is the first object. For our purposes, traditional theory of Freudian Oedipus Complex is not the primary concern of this paper and Chodorow's (1978) contemporary Object Relations Theory is applied, for Psychoanalytic Feminism contributes to examining the ambivalent nature of motherhood. Our findings indicate that Chodorow elucidates the essence of motherhood in terms of the social constructions in lieu of biological ones. Given both Chodorow's and Freud's (1926) viewpoints, the inextricable maternal bond between Sweetness and Bride, the mother and daughter of the novel, is traumatically distorted once the mother deprives her infant of the maternal milk.

Mothering is a rich and complex experience involving challenging tasks, a developing relationship with one's child, and socially defined roles. How mothering is viewed varies depending on the cultural norms and historical era under consideration. This study is a textual interpretation of three books written about perinatal mental health, especially how those texts describe the challenges and struggles of birthing and mothering. I develop understandings about how clinicians respond to those issues and in the process understand themselves, their practices, and their sociocultural roles. Finally, I consider the shape of the current social terrain that brings to light the experiences of birthing women and the clinicians who treat them. Drawing on philosophical hermeneutics I interpret three books concerned with perinatal mental health . Considering the themes that emerged, I describe how the beliefs of this era regarding birthing and mothering and corresponding therapeutic practices are reflected in these texts. Five main themes are identified. First, is that maternal suffering is overlooked and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are undertreated. Second, suffering is reduced to a medicalized disorder located within the mother and her biochemistry. This created disorder in the mother and prevented her from enacting her role as mother and necessitated an individualist response. Third, the mother 1971;. Just as history has traditionally focused primarily on the experiences of powerful, white, European and American men, so too, the history of motherhood has tended to consider mothers a homogenous group, rather than diverse people whose mothering decisions occurred within differing contexts and circumstances . As opposed to the idea of biological determinism, where mothering is an instinctive, universal role for all biological females, Apple and Golden (1997) argued that motherhood is a culturally defined idea. It is formed and reformed by the members of a society, the social, political, and economic forces, and the structures and traditions that define that society and those individuals. Further, scholars argue that though mothers cannot remove themselves from these traditions and ideas, they are not passive recipients of these ideals either . As Apple and Golden (1997) noted, "whether mothers reject prevailing social beliefs or embrace them fully, they are, through their daily practices, continually redefining the meaning of motherhood" (p. 3). Several authors have described and critiqued the cultural landscape in which contemporary women mother (e.g.

Mothering is a rich and complex experience involving challenging tasks, a developing relationship with one's child, and socially defined roles. How mothering is viewed varies depending on the cultural norms and historical era under consideration. This study is a textual interpretation of three books written about perinatal mental health, especially how those texts describe the challenges and struggles of birthing and mothering. I develop understandings about how clinicians respond to those issues and in the process understand themselves, their practices, and their sociocultural roles. Finally, I consider the shape of the current social terrain that brings to light the experiences of birthing women and the clinicians who treat them. Drawing on philosophical hermeneutics I interpret three books concerned with perinatal mental health . Considering the themes that emerged, I describe how the beliefs of this era regarding birthing and mothering and corresponding therapeutic practices are reflected in these texts. Five main themes are identified. First, is that maternal suffering is overlooked and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are undertreated. Second, suffering is reduced to a medicalized disorder located within the mother and her biochemistry. This created disorder in the mother and prevented her from enacting her role as mother and necessitated an individualist response. Third, the mother 1971;. Just as history has traditionally focused primarily on the experiences of powerful, white, European and American men, so too, the history of motherhood has tended to consider mothers a homogenous group, rather than diverse people whose mothering decisions occurred within differing contexts and circumstances . As opposed to the idea of biological determinism, where mothering is an instinctive, universal role for all biological females, Apple and Golden (1997) argued that motherhood is a culturally defined idea. It is formed and reformed by the members of a society, the social, political, and economic forces, and the structures and traditions that define that society and those individuals. Further, scholars argue that though mothers cannot remove themselves from these traditions and ideas, they are not passive recipients of these ideals either . As Apple and Golden (1997) noted, "whether mothers reject prevailing social beliefs or embrace them fully, they are, through their daily practices, continually redefining the meaning of motherhood" (p. 3). Several authors have described and critiqued the cultural landscape in which contemporary women mother (e.g.

Resumo: Com objetivo de golpear as estruturas androcêntricas, muitos textos de autoria feminina se propõem a negar qualquer laço com tais estruturas. Uma forma de marcar esse rompimento é negar, ou até mesmo excluir a maternidade dessas narrativas, especialmente aquelas publicadas pós-1960. Nas narrativas desse período há um grande número de personagens que opta por não ter filhos, nas quais o silêncio das relações maternais caracterizou esse momento. Por outro lado, a mulher economicamente independente, separada ou não, completará as narrativas como modelo de uma tipificação feminina que sobreviveu ao domínio masculino e que, a partir de então, a presença do homem não lhe serviria para nada, a não ser como objeto de seus desejos. Quanto às personagens, elas buscam compreender-se e saber a sua função no mundo, que em muitas ocasiões são descentralizadas e colocadas em um turbilhão de papéis, não conseguindo efetivamente atuar em nenhum deles. Isto é particularmente intenso com relação à personagem da mãe, que não consegue um equilíbrio entre os papéis de mulher, esposa, mãe e profissional. Amalgamar essas múltiplas funções é um processo que revela grande complexidade, uma vez que o papel exclusivo de mãe vai aos poucos perdendo a razão de ser. Duas obras de Sonia Coutinho, O último verão de Copacabana e Uma certa felicidade, enfatizam personagens femininas que negam a maternidade ou depreciam as ocasiões quando ela acontece. No entanto, as mulheres que habitam essas narrativas são de meia idade, frustradas, vivendo um sentimento de incompletude. Mesmo não tendo conseguido o ideal de felicidade feminina, os contos retratam que recuar não seria a melhor solução.

In a dark room, from behind a small black cardboard theater that I made with a box I brought on the plane from Boston, I start to hum. It's a Suzanne Vega song that took on special significance after I knew what it was to be so bone-tired… mother-tired: Oh Mom, I wonder when I'll be waking It's just that there's so much to do And I'm tired of sleeping. 1 A light illuminates the paper screen that separates me from the audience who are mostly scholar-mothers or mother-scholars that have come to the Motherhood Studies conference in St. Petersburg, Florida. The story I am performing for them is a story of motherhood--one that I need to tell. Behind the screen, I begin to manipulate colorful images cut from transparency paper, photos of my children and pages from Medieval illuminated manuscripts. The jewel-like translucency of the images glow through the paper, telling a story with shadow and light. I move the lazy susan with the doll-sized table and doll-sized ironing board and their shadows swing around cinematographically. I set down a small patch of marshy grass embedded in airdry clay and then a lone miniature chair, suggesting in song that this could be the fabled Babylon as I slowly turn the world around in cast shadows on the screen. The performance is a deeply personal exploration that I have disguised in metaphor, allegory, myth, fairytale, and tall tale-and confessions that might not even be true, all gathered up and loosely bound together. Even the

Rich in description and breadth of content, Incarcerated Mothers has room to deepen the analytical scope. Problematizing the tensions between oppression and resistance (and better clarifying the concepts) would allow for more about "what is done to mothers in and by these systems" and "the agency of the mothers themselves, their resistance and values that are of high importance to them" (11). Eljdupovic and Bromwich extend Andrea O'Reilly's idea of "Mother Outlaw" as a way to "bridge the gap" between incarcerated and many other mothers (21). There is room left to explore a link between empowered mothers as "ideological outlaws" and incarcerated mothers as "legal outlaws." Constrained choices are found in all mothering contexts but are particularly salient for incarcerated mothers whose decisions about how they mother and meet their child(ren)'s needs are inextricably bound in the social spaces in which their lives are embedded, structured by race, gender, class and other inequalities. Shame of letting others down may be shared among mothers, yet a freedom some of us find in letting go of the cultural myth of the "perfect good mother" by embracing a maternal role on our own terms, as "outlaw," may be less likely for incarcerated moms, ironically. Eljdupovic and Bromwich argue: "when women from the margins do mother, they place value on themselves and on children that the society in which they live has deemed unworthy of investment" (6). Stories about "Other" mothers challenging mainstream discourse on parenting and gender justice may help to shift the social devaluation of incarcerated mothers and their children. In response to women's oppression a new paradigm where we support amelioration through stable and caring communities for all mothers and children over criminalization holds promise for social justice.

There are around 2.2 billion mothers ("Statistics"), and over 77 million live in the United States (US) (United States Census Bureau). Unfortunately, feminists have self-admittedly done a poor job representing the interests of mothers. Shari L. Thurer, for example, asserts that as soon as a woman becomes a mother, "her personal desires either evaporate or metamorphose so that they are identical with those of her infant"
(191). In short, she "ceases to exist" (Thurer 191). Moreover, even though women's unpaid domestic work in the US raises the gross domestic product by 25.7 per cent (McCann), economists often overlook the work of full-time mothers. This article situates mothers within feminist theory and discourse by demonstrating that mothers are not fully represented by feminists or economists and as such are marginalized by both identities. In short, motherhood is an experience that is not adequately addressed by the experiences of women or workers. An intersectional approach will help ensure mothers get the attention they deserve as a social identity in intersectional feminist scholarship.

In the UK, asylum seekers are at the forefront of political and media discourse, with research describing how they are perceived as imminent threats to the nation and its citizens. Research also questions whether this discourse, the asylum and immigration framework, and discriminatory practice result in young asylum seekers being exposed to health risks and inequalities in standards of service delivery and outcome. Particular concerns have been raised about sexual health and sexual exploitation for those young asylum seekers separated from parents, who, if under social services care, are categorised as 'unaccompanied'. There is a paucity of studies exploring these issues and suggesting ways in which the situation might be improved. Our research seeks to help redress this. We carried out in-depth interviews and small focus groups with 17 young unaccompanied asylum seekers, and in-depth interviews What is known on this subject. Asylum seekers are at the forefront of political and media discourse and have been associated with issues including criminality, religious extremism, terrorism, the spread of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, as well as overfertility and overpopulation, which is understood to carry negative implications for already scarce health, housing and welfare resources.. Certain reports and non-governmental organisations suggest that young separated asylum seekers may experience inequalities and risks in sexual exploitation and sexual health, although there is a paucity of research regarding this.. These issues are compounded by other research suggesting difficulties in access to healthcare for them, which may be further added to by the stigma they face in wider society. What this paper adds. Qualitative data on the under-researched area of sexual health with young separated asylum seekers concerning sex and relationships, sex education and knowledge, sexual exploitation and accessing sexual healthcare.. Insight into: culture, gender, religion and their impacts on sex and relationships; gaps in sex education and knowledge; links between material resources, the possibility of removal and sexual exploitation; barriers in access to healthcare.. We add practice and policy implications on widening access, sexual exploitation and cohesive service delivery, as well as sex education and sexual healthcare in educational establishments for this client group.

Scholars and philosophers of motherhood studies have continuously highlighted the contradictions in the dominant cultural ideologies of motherhood and the lived experiences of mothers. While the ideologies define the mother as selfless, unconditional, and unequivocal in her love for her children, the actual experience, psychological and sociocultural studies reveal, is often permeated with negative, violent, and conflicting emotions towards children, known as maternal ambivalence. In India, where the idealisation blatantly spills over to deification, voicing such feelings becomes sacrilegious. This paper attempts to study how the novel Burnt Sugar (2020) by Avni Doshi dares to speak the “unspeakable” and demonstrates maternal ambivalence as resulting from a combination of psychological, social, and cultural factors. The analysis looks at how the text negotiates the interspace between daughter-centricity and matrifocality in women’s writing by giving voice to ambivalences on both sides of the mother’s experience—of mothering and being mothered. Ultimately, this study investigates the manner in which these feelings, which are not acknowledged within cultural conceptions of the mother, result in ambivalence and trauma across generations.

Keywords: daughter-centricity; maternal ambivalence; matrifocality; mothering; transgenerational trauma

tivity is cited in many ofthese essays. The dificulty of articulatingthis maternal subjectivity, whether in the therapeutic setting orwithin feminist discourse, has left the experience ofmothering and all its contradictions in the hands ofothers, to be described, yet again, in the most idealistic or denigrated terms. As these writers argue, it is only by recognizing the mother's subjectivity-her autonomy, her sexuality, her ambivalence-that the institution of motherhood will ever change. It is imperative that feminists rejoin the debate about the changing institutions of motherhood and the family. As Susie Orbach argues in an interview compiled in this volume, W e ought not to keep relinquishing ground and letting the Right run the debate on this" (91). At a time when conservatives on the Right seem to have all but taken over contemporary discourse on the family, this book provides a useful intervention.