Year: 2009
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The study explored whether South African mothers subscribed to the Western ideology of \nintensive motherhood and how this ideology was altered or resisted. Semi-structured \ninterviews were conducted with ten working South African mothers with a child under \nthe age of ten. Thematic content analysis revealed that motherhood was largely regarded \nas synonymous with womanhood, where the inherent and biological ability to bear \nchildren rendered the mother responsible for intensive efforts in child-raising. As a \nresult, motherhood was a gendered practice situated within a powerful and normative \nideology of inequality. These themes were discussed in the racially stratified and \ngendered context of South Africa from a feminist perspective. The research concluded \nwith a recommendation that alternative motherhood ideologies, more representative of \nthe diverse contexts and experiences of mothers, are explored.
Author: Sharon Van Doorene
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1569297409