Mothers and Others
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: The author reflects on some of the papers that were published in Studies in the Maternal in the last decade, in particular on the theme of childlessness. She discusses anthropologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy’s view of communal care for babies and children as a specifically human characteristic that makes us uniquely cooperative. Through relations with ‘mothers and others’, babies compile a picture of how the social world functions, establishing the basis of capacity for concern, care, and recognition. The paper links these views to Winnicott’s and Juul’s ideas of relating to others on the basis of equality. It argues that the maternal refers to more than just parenting. It is evoked as the answer to human dependence and suggests a particular way of connecting to (vulnerable) adults, creating a social network of relations.
Source: Studies in the Maternal
DOI: 10.16995/sim.281
Author: Polona Curk
Institution: University of Essex
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W3111429291