TY - JOUR
T1 - Daughters and their mothers: The reproduction of pronatalist discourses across generations
AU - Bartholomaeus, Clare
AU - Riggs, Damien
PY - 2017/5
Y1 - 2017/5
N2 - The expectation that all women will become mothers, and that they will mother in particular ways, has been a focus of feminist attention for many decades. What has been less considered is how pronatalist discourses are reproduced across generations within the same family. This article draws on interviews with five pairs of white middle class daughters currently planning to have children and their mothers living in South Australia, in order to examine the ways in which mother-daughter relationships are a key site for the reproduction of pronatalist discourses. Three recurring themes are examined: 1) expectations mothers have of their daughters to have children, 2) (grand)mothers as advice-givers, and 3) generational differences relating to paid work combined with the continued privileging of mothering. The article concludes with a discussion of the ways in which pronatalist discourses are mobilised in mother-daughter relationships, and how these position women in relation to motherhood.
AB - The expectation that all women will become mothers, and that they will mother in particular ways, has been a focus of feminist attention for many decades. What has been less considered is how pronatalist discourses are reproduced across generations within the same family. This article draws on interviews with five pairs of white middle class daughters currently planning to have children and their mothers living in South Australia, in order to examine the ways in which mother-daughter relationships are a key site for the reproduction of pronatalist discourses. Three recurring themes are examined: 1) expectations mothers have of their daughters to have children, 2) (grand)mothers as advice-givers, and 3) generational differences relating to paid work combined with the continued privileging of mothering. The article concludes with a discussion of the ways in which pronatalist discourses are mobilised in mother-daughter relationships, and how these position women in relation to motherhood.
KW - Daughter
KW - Generation
KW - Mother
KW - Mothering
KW - Parenting
KW - Pronatalism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85015408211&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.wsif.2017.02.004
DO - 10.1016/j.wsif.2017.02.004
M3 - Article
SN - 0277-5395
VL - 62
SP - 1
EP - 7
JO - Women's Studies International Forum
JF - Women's Studies International Forum
ER -