A creative nonfiction thesis, Luke's Mama is a memoir of personal essays that explore how the birth of my son has affected the ways that I relate within and interpret different areas of my life. Chapter I, Introduction, identifies personal and ethical concerns involved in telling my story and explores how others have handled similar issues. Chapter II, Family, illustrates how my relationship with my family of origin has changed since I've become a parent and also how my new family and I interact with society. Chapter III, Calling, depicts my struggle in finding a balance between work and family priorities. Chapter IV, Partner, presents a contrast between my relationship with my partner before and after my son's birth. Chapter V, Parent, displays the beginning of my ever-growing relationship with my son and sense of parenthood.

This thesis is a comparative analysis of the African American author Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved and the Native American writer Louise Erdrich’s novel Love Medicine. The focus of this essay will be the theme motherhood. A feminist theoretical and critical approach are used throughout the thesis and focus is laid upon the third wave of feminism which: “borrows from post-structural and contemporary gender and race theories (…) to expand on marginalized populations’ experiences.” (Purdue OWL). In the novel Love Medicine the characters Marie and Lulu are examined. Both characters are strong independent women and through them the author challenges the Western-European image of motherhood, family and female characteristics. In the novel Beloved, the characters Sethe and Baby Suggs are studied with two focus points. The first is the impact that motherhood can have on the development of the self and how Morrison shows this through the character Sethe. The second focus point is the effects that come from slavery and mainly the effects that can come from the denial of motherhood. These novels manage to challenge the western norm of motherhood through different aspects and in different ways.

Au Japon, le mariage est une importation partielle de l'idée européenne au sein de la tradition japonaise. Pendant l'époque de modernisation japonaise, l'idéalisation de la famille est établie par ce mariage et a servi à donner de l'importance à un état de femme, « être bonne épouse et bonne mère » pour la reproduction des bons citoyens. Les idées du mariage et de la famille sont ancrées dans la société japonaise, et cet ancrage a déterminé la division du travail du sexe et la discrimination contre les autres formes de la famille (célibataire, divorcé, enfants naturels, etc.). Dans notre époque, la société japonaise parait donner la supériorité à l'individu en couple conjugale afin de détourner toutes les difficultés découlant de l'individualisation, ou plus globalement, de la radicalisation de la modernité en détriment de la liberté et l'égalité de l'individu. Cette particularité du mariage japonais repose sur la distinction entre la relation amoureuse « qualifiée » (qui mène au mariage et finalement à la procréation) et la relation amoureuse « simple » (les autres relations) qui correspond à la démarcation de la sexualité matrimoniale et extra-conjugale. Le mariage comme « qualification finale » doit être destiné à la relation « qualifiée » avec quelqu'un spécial et définitivement à la sexualité maritale-procréative, et cette relation doit être distinguée de celles « simples » dès le début de la relation. Autrement dit, une fois que la relation est définie comme « qualifiée », il faut absolument atteindre au mariage. Nous proposons le concept d'« individualisation de la maternité » en qualifiant d'« auto-érotisme féminin »: si la maternité appartient à l'individu (la femme), il n'est plus nécessaire d'encadrer la procréation dans la relation amoureuse « qualifiée ». Ainsi la procréation se libère de cette norme sociale et de telles discriminations n'ont plus de sens dans la société japonaise. / In Japan, marriage is a partial importation of the European model in the Japanese tradition. During the epoch of Japanese modernization, family idealization was derived by the European model and was useful for raising woman's status, “A good wife and wise mother” for good citizens’ reproduction. The ideas of marriage and family had taken its root in the Japanese society and determined sexual division and the discrimination against other forms of family. (Singles, divorced persons, illegitimate children, etc.) In our time, the Japanese society seems to give superiority to the conjugal couple’s individual with the purpose of avoiding all of the difficulties that came from the individualization, or in general sense, the radicalization of modernity, by the sacrifice of individual liberty and equality. Japanese marriage's particularity is based on the distinction between “qualified” relationships (which arrive at the marriage and finally at procreation) and “simple” relationships (the other relationships) which correspond to the boundary between matrimonial sexuality and extra-conjugal sexuality. The marriage as “final qualification” is the natural evolution only for a “qualified” relationship with a special person, and finally for the marital-procreative sexuality. This “qualified” relationship has to be distinguished from the "simple" relationships from the beginning. In other word, once the relationship is defined as “qualified”, it should end up in a marriage. We suggest a concept of “Individualization of motherhood” by introducing the idea of “women’s auto-eroticism": if the motherhood is an attribute to individual (woman), it is not necessary to limit procreation into “qualified” relationship. Thus procreation is free from the social norm and such discriminations have no sense in the Japanese society.

This thesis is a comparative study of academic mothers in China and the UK. It takes as its point of departure the proposition that academic mothers can be successful in combining academic work and motherhood. Drawing on the sociological approach of separate spheres, it addresses issues concerning how motherhood is constructed by academic mothers in the two different countries and how academic mothers make commitments to both academic work and family responsibilities in different contexts. By comparing academic mothers' experiences of juggling work and family between different cohorts and different countries, the thesis examines the interrelated issues that academic mothers confront, such as competition and pressure in academic work, advantage of the flexibility of academic work, childcare facilities and social support in the two countries, the priorities between work and children, what is good mothering, etc. Academic mothers' own perceptions of their double roles as an academic as well as a mother suggest that these two worlds are closely related to each other in spite of dilemma and conflicts they have in combining the two. By manifesting academic mothers' achievements in and contributions to both the public and private spheres, the thesis concludes that mothers can be successful in an academic career.

La maternité se définit de manière intuitive par le fait de porter un enfant et de le mettre au monde. Notion universelle, la maternité semble empreinte d’évidence et de certitude et à ce titre n’a guère suscité d’interrogation jusqu’à une époque récente. Pourtant, cette évidence supposée caractériser la maternité n’est bien qu’une évidence relative, tant du point de vue de la science que du droit. En effet, la maternité biologique peut désormais être divisée entre maternité utérine et génétique, elle n’est donc plus certaine. Ensuite, la notion juridique de maternité ne procède pas d’un pur décalque de la biologie. Au contraire, s’il s’appuie sur le fait biologique de la maternité, le droit en adopte une interprétation singulière, laissant découvrir l’existence d’un véritable concept juridique de maternité. Le contexte de la maternité apparaît en outre aujourd’hui profondément bouleversé, si bien que cette notion semble se restructurer autour de la seule volonté et subir un brouillage de sa distinction avec la paternité. Ainsi bouleversée, la maternité peut-elle alors être repensée ? S’il est nécessaire de prendre en compte les facteurs de bouleversement de la maternité, sa spécificité tirée de l’accouchement ne semble guère devoir être remise en cause. Une telle affirmation n’exclut toutefois pas d’admettre une réception conditionnée des formes nouvelles de maternité / Motherhood is intuitively defined by carrying a child and giving birth. Universal concept, motherhood seems to be evident and sure, and as such, has hardly raised questions until recently. Yet, this obviousness supposed to characterize motherhood is only relative from the point of view of both science and law. Indeed, biological maternity can now be divided between uterine maternity and genetics, so it is no longer certain. Next, the legal notion of motherhood does not come from a pure decal of biology. On the contrary, if it is based on the biological fact of maternity, the law adopts a singular interpretation, revealing the existence of a real legal concept of motherhood. The context of motherhood also seems to be deeply upset, so that this notion seems to be restructured around intention, and its distinction with paternity is blurred. So upset, can maternity be rethought? Although it is necessary to take into account factors of change in motherhood, its specificity derived from childbirth does not seem to be denied. However, this affirmation does not exclude a conditioned admission of new forms of maternity

Thesis advisor: Gustavo Morello / This qualitative study aims to understand how Mormon religious practice and individual family upbringing shape faithful Mormon women’s goals for marriage and motherhood. The sacred canopy (Berger, 1967), which provides the theoretical context for this study, asserts that those who practice religion seek to act according to a religious worldview. This study examines the roles of personal faith, Church teachings, peer culture, and family upbringing in these women’s lives to determine how the sacred canopy is maintained. The analysis reveals how religious perspective has a slightly different role in the women’s lives than family upbringing, yet both work together to maintain the sacred canopy. This research is important for better understanding a demographic of a growing religious subpopulation and contextualizing their experiences. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology Honors Program. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Sociology.

O que quer uma mulher? Essa questão permaneceu enigmática na obra de Freud. Alguns psicanalistas apontaram a maternidade como uma das respostas para a insondável questão do ser... mulher. O campo privilegiado da discussão desta tese é a articulação entre a feminilidade e a maternidade, num percurso de investigação dos textos freudianos, das teorizações pós-freudianas e das formulações lacanianas. Consiste em um estudo teórico-clínico, motivado por questões surgidas na experiência psicanalítica com sujeitos femininos, diante dos impasses do ser mãe e do ser mulher. Freud entendeu a maternidade como caudatária da função fálica na menina, mas manteve em aberto a questão sobre o enigma da feminilidade. A querela do falo permaneceu com os pós-freudianos; que enfatizaram o papel da mãe, a partir do discurso sobre o amor materno. Lacan, ao postular um mais-além do pai, realizou a promoção da sexualidade da mulher, enfatizando o desejo da mulher na mãe. Para destacar a disjunção entre a mãe e a mulher, esse estudo realiza a análise da histeria no romance Memória de duas jovens esposas (Honoré de Balzac, 1955) e da paranóia, a partir do Emílio (Rousseau, 1762) e do caso Aimée (Jacques Lacan, 1932). Para concluir, salienta a divisão entre a mãe e a mulher, articulando-as às vertentes de desejo e gozo, próprios aos sujeitos femininos. / What does a woman want? This question has remained enigmatic in Freud´s work. Some psychoanalysts indicated maternity as one of the answers for the unsoundable question of being... a woman. The privileged discussion topic of this study is the articulation between femininity and maternity, in an investigation path of Freudian texts, of post-Freudian theories and Lacanian formulations. It consists of a clinical-theoretical study, motivated by questions originated in the psychoanalytical experience with female subjects, in face of the impasses of being a mother and a woman. Freud understood maternity as being submissive to the phallic function of a girl, but kept in open the question related to the enigma of femininity. The indictment of phallus remained with the post-Freudians who emphasized the role of the mother, from the discourse on maternal love. Lacan, when postulating on something else more than a father, promoted women´s sexuality, emphasizing the woman´s wish in the mother. To point out the disjunction between the woman and the mother, this study proposes an analysis of histery in the novel Memoirs of Two Young Wives (Honoré de Balzac, 1955) and of paranóia, from Émile (Rousseau, 1762) and also in Aimée´s case (Jacques Lacan, 1932). All in all, it stresses the division between the mother and the woman, articulating them to the slopes of desire and joy, totally related to female subjects.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate how Swedish journalism portrays surrogacy through printed press. I used critical discourse analysis according to Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model to explore the subject. In this study, fourteen articles where analysed. The analysis found four major discursive themes in the articles: the justifying discourse, the invisibility discourse, the hero discourse and the normalizing discourse. The study concludes that surrogacy is portrayed in a positive manner in Swedish printed press. Through the justifying discourse and the inivisibility discourse, in which the role of the surrogate is toned down, any moral implications of surrogacy are legitimatized. By describing the surrogate as a selfless and charitable person, she is constructed as a hero. By portraying surrogacy as something unproblematic, surrogacy arrangements are normalized. The study also found that the articles reproduce the idea of parenthood as something natural for women and that they constructed homosexual men as feminine to legitimize them as parents.

Este estudo descreve as histórias de dez jovens, que vivenciaram a maternidade na faixa etária de 10-14 anos de idade, no município de Mairiporã, SP, no período de agosto de 2004 a agosto de 2005. Tendo como objetivo “(re) conhecer o significado da maternidade para jovens que vivenciaram a experiência, a partir do processo de compreensão de suas histórias de vida”, e refletir sobre as condições de vulnerabilidade, procedemos a um estudo de análise qualitativa, utilizando como procedimentos metodológicos a técnica de história oral, para coleta de dados e, para a análise do material, a técnica de análise de conteúdo. As entrevistas, gravadas e transcritas integralmente e posteriormente recortadas para análise, foram realizadas com jovens, identificadas a partir de declarações de nascidos vivos, obtidos junto ao Cartório de Registro Civil de Mairiporã. Os achados foram analisados, contemplando dois momentos: antes do nascimento do bebê e após o nascimento do bebê, adotando categorias temáticas específicas. A primeira parte aborda a vivencia da infância, a família e o relacionamento familiar, o ficar mocinha, o namoro, a gravidez, as reações à gravidez, o pré-natal e o parto. A segunda parte refere-se a vivencia da jovem após o nascimento do bebê, os cuidados com o bebê, o relacionamento com o parceiro, o relacionamento mãe-filho, as dificuldades, o significado da maternidade, os sonhos, mensagem para adolescentes e para pais. As histórias detalham como se deu o desenrolar de suas vidas dentro do seu contexto histórico e social, contemplando o processo de desenvolvimento desde a infância, a passagem pela adolescência, com as características próprias, quando engravidou até o momento presente no papel de mãe. O significado da maternidade para as jovens foi evidenciado por quatro eixos centrais: felicidade por ser mãe, senso de responsabilidade, sentimento de arrependimento e perdas e mudanças em suas vidas. Os sonhos se expressaram em vontade de estudar, trabalhar, ter uma casa e independência dos pais. As mensagens dirigidas a adolescentes foram para que se previnam para não engravidar, usando preservativo, tomando pílula, que tenham juízo e não percam a juventude; e, a pais, que conversem mais com os filhos e não sejam violentos, autoritários ou omissos, e que as mães orientem mais seus filhos. / This study describes the stories of ten young girls aged 10-14 years who experienced motherhood in the city of Mairiporã, São Paulo, during the period between August 2004 and August 2005. Once the objective was to “know the meaning of maternity of young girls who have lived this experience by considering the understanding process of their life stories”, and to reflect on vulnerability conditions, and a qualitative study was carried out by adopting oral history technique for data collection and content analysis technique for data analysis. The interviews were recorded, fully transcribed and prepared for analysis. They were conducted with young girls, identified by birth certificates from a registry office in Mairiporã. The findings were analyzed according to two distinguished periods: before and after the baby’s birth. The first one describes childhood experience, family relationship, first period, dating, pregnancy, prenatal care and delivery. The second one refers to baby care, partner relationship, mother-child relationship, difficulties, the meaning of maternity, dreams and advice for adolescents and parents. The stories detail their lives within their historical and social contexts from childhood to adolescence, including its peculiarities, and from pregnancy to the present role of mother. Four thematic categories signifying maternity were revealed: happiness for being a mother, sense of responsibility, feelings of regret and loss and changes in their lives. Wishes were expressed by the willingness to study, work, have their own home and be independent from parents. The messages addressed to adolescents draw attention to prevention: condom use, use of contraceptive pills, being reasonable and not loosing their youth. The messages addressed to parents include more dialogue with children and absence of violence, authoritarianism and negligence. Also, mothers are expected to give their children a stronger sense of direction.

Introdução Historicamente, em razão da reprodução ocorrer nos corpos das mulheres, elas ficaram restritas à esfera doméstica. Apesar das mudanças ocorridas, especialmente em razão da entrada maciça de mulheres no mercado de trabalho, a dimensão social da reprodução, ou seja, o trabalho do cuidado, é ainda hoje realizado majoritariamente por elas, fazendo com que sejam discriminadas tendo, assim, restrito o exercício de seus direitos humanos. Objetivo O objetivo principal deste estudo foi verificar a pertinência de se propor o reconhecimento de uma nova categoria de direitos para mulheres que são mães, que quando garantidos, oferecem o suporte social necessário para o exercício da maternidade. Método - Trata-se de estudo empírico de natureza qualitativa, realizado com jovens mães acolhidas juntamente com seus filhos em uma instituição privada, sem fins lucrativos, cuja missão é resgatar a cidadania e desenvolver a auto-estima de jovens mães em situação de vulnerabilidade. Após a aprovação pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa, foi feita uma observação etnográfica da instituição. Posteriormente, foram realizadas oito entrevistas semi-estruturadas com as jovens mães residentes e analisados documentos institucionais. Os dados foram analisados a partir da construção de categorias a priori bem como a posteriori e interpretados à luz do referencial teórico adotado. Resultados - A análise documental do Direito descreve os direitos humanos das mulheres previstos na normativa nacional e internacional, bem como as teorias críticas feministas do Direito. Os resultados da pesquisa empírica, por sua vez, indicam que a instituição, apesar de algumas limitações, é capaz de, por um lado, oferecer às jovens mães o suporte social necessário ao exercício da maternidade e, de outro, romper o ciclo vicioso de miséria, vulnerabilidade e violência a que as jovens estavam submetidas antes do acolhimento. Conclusões A análise dos resultados permite que se proponha uma nova categoria de direitos humanos denominada direitos maternos que são compostos pelos direitos reprodutivos, direito à habitação, direito ao trabalho e à renda, e por fim, direitos sexuais que, em articulação, asseguram o exercício da maternidade de forma digna, promovendo assim a igualdade de gênero e não-discriminação das mulheres / Introduction Historically, the fact that reproduction occurs in the body of women justified their restriction in the domestic sphere. Despite the changes in recent decades, especially due to the massive entry of women into the labor market, they are still responsible for the work of care, which is the social dimension of reproduction. They are, for that reason, discriminated and have the exercise of their human rights limited. Objectives - The main objective of this study was to assess the pertinence of proposing the recognition of a new category of rights for women who are mothers, able to provide the social support necessary for motherhood. Methods - This is a qualitative empirical study, conducted with young mothers with their children, who live in a private, nonprofit institution, whose mission is to recover the citizenship and to rebuild the selfesteem of young mothers living in extremely vulnerable situations. After the approval of the research project by the Commission for Ethical Research, an ethnographic observation was conducted in the institution. Eight semi-structured interviews were done with the young women and institutional documents were verified. Data were analyzed in view of a set of a priori and a posteriori categories, which were interpreted in the light of the theoretical framework adopted. Results The documental analysis of the Law describe the human rights of women established in national and international regulations, as well as feminist critical theories of law. The results of the empirical research, by its turn, indicate that the institution, despite some limitations, offers the necessary social support for motherhood and is capable of breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, vulnerability and violence that young women experienced in their lives. Conclusions - The analysis of results allows the proposition of a new category of human rights, hereby called \'maternal rights\', which are composed of reproductive rights, housing rights, right to work and to income and, finally, sexual rights. Together, once guaranteed, they can ensure that the experience of motherhood will be lived with dignity, thereby promoting gender equality and non-discrimination against women