The stereotypical concept of womanhood is tethered to childbearing and motherhood. Even though childlessness is becoming more common, the belief seems to be that all women must want and should have children as well as should assume the role of primary caregiver. I explore and argue against the belief that bearing and raising children is essential to the concept of womanhood. I pinpoint four reasons why childbearing and motherhood are thought to be rightly tethered to the concept of womanhood: that childbearing and mothering are the “norm” for women, that women’s potential to bear life is considered a sufficient and necessary condition to reproduce, that the presence of a “maternal instinct” means women want to bear children and they exhibit maternal behaviour, and that it is “natural” for women to want to procreate and mother. I then present a series of arguments showing why childbearing and mothering must be extricated from the concept of womanhood. I focus on the concern that the concept of womanhood demanding procreation means a woman cannot independently meet the criteria for womanhood, the oversimplifying consequences of making a biological possibility a defining characteristic of women, the oppressiveness of prescribing the demanding role of motherhood to all women, and the freedom associated with the child-free life. I argue against the existence of the maternal instinct and point to the coercive manner in which the term “natural” is employed. After illustrating the social pressures women face to procreate and mother, I argue that such pressure would not be needed if procreation and mothering were indeed “natural” for women. Allowing for the possible existence of the “maternal instinct” I argue that its existence is irrelevant in light of the wax and wane of the importance placed on what is “natural” and the ability of social pressures to overcome what is deemed “instinctual” and “natural”. Finally, I argue that both a belief in the “maternal instinct” and the idea that wanting and raising children is “natural” undermine belief in women’s intelligence. / Thesis (Master, Philosophy) -- Queen's University, 2008-08-27 00:43:24.991

Thesis (PhD) -- Australian Catholic University, 2005. / Submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Bibliography: p. 268-298. Also available in an electronic format via the internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 246-258).

Childlessness, whether voluntary, involuntary or circumstantial, is becoming more common in our society. Statistically, greater numbers of Australian women and their Western counterparts will not bear children, thereby creating a larger quantum of couple families. The unwelcome socio-economic consequences have prompted research into reproductive intentions and behaviour to address barriers to reproduction. Studying those who are childless by ‘choice’ or ‘infertile’ provides important ‘reference points’ but also creates a myopic view of the childless that often overlooks circumstantial factors or ignores the fluctuating nature of fertility intentions. Moreover, the medical discourse on infertility has conditioned our thinking and focused research on the psycho-social effects and impacts of assisted reproduction treatment and its failure. This has blurred and obscured the distinction between infertility and involuntary childlessness. Too often these are viewed through the same prism of grief and bereavement as a temporary but pervasive ‘crisis’ and as impediments to adult development in the long term. The thesis provides new insights that challenge our conventional ways of thinking particularly its findings that although infertility and childlessness are related, they are separate phenomena. This has wide-ranging implications, especially for reformulating related clinical practice and counselling. There are several important considerations. One is the finding that the grief and bereavement model has its limitations beyond the infertility stage. Another is the theoretical reconstruction that the thesis provides of the grief that the involuntary childless experience. Finally, it makes a strong case for a more appropriate alternative which the thesis argues should be based on a growth-oriented model. The time point at which the information for this study was collected has rarely ever been used before. This adds significant weight to the findings and applications that potentially derive from them. The thesis also examines gender issues including the complexities in differential experiences, amongst and across gender categories. It builds on the existing body of knowledge on the gendered experience of involuntary childlessness and offers additional explanations for the variations found, around which clinical interventions should be framed. Overall, this study makes an important contribution to our knowledge and understanding by documenting the transitional process to involuntary childlessness in broader terms than has hitherto been the case. Contrary to conventional thinking related to adult development, the findings underscore the importance of viewing involuntary childlessness as an alternative developmental pathway.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-97).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-97). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A. (Health Social Sciences))--Mahidol University, 2008. / LICL has E-Thesis 0039 ; please contact computer services.

Using the account episode (Schonbach,1992) as a framework, this study examined several variables related to how attributions are made and managed in the context of voluntary childlessness, arguably an instance of concealable stigma (e.g., Park, 2005; 2002). More specifically, the means by which voluntarily childless persons account for their childless decision (and how these accounts are evaluated) were examined, along with factors salient to social identity and intergroup perceptions (e.g., social dominance orientation, self-construal). Extant scholarship suggested that excuses and justifications would be evaluated differently in terms of both their acceptability and the interpersonal implications they carry. Findings indicate that excuses and justifications were not related to the account's acceptability, but did produce different attributions of interpersonal warmth and competence in those who used them. The acceptability of the target's childless decision was higher for those with a strong independent self-construal, and lower for those holding a high social dominance orientation. Few differences between the voluntarily childless man and woman were found. All findings are discussed in the context of both account evaluation and perceptions of the voluntarily childless.

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No description available.