This thesis consists of five chapters including a traditional introduction and four chapters, which investigate cultural interpretations of motherhood within the genre of memoir and personal essay. In the introduction, I discuss my research as it relates to the larger collection and detail how this work is different from other works within the "mother memoir" genre. Chapters II thru V, then, are all essays which begin to explore the major themes of cultural motherhood: ambivalence, loss, legitimacy, morality, and sin. These chapters, especially chapter II, identify and detail the traits of true motherhood as patience, compassion, sacrifice, and strength. Chapter V, as the culminating chapter, places me, as writer, in a different position--as a reader--and I begin to understand my history as a parent and as a writer through these texts. Using literature as an area of personal research and recovery, I reconstruct my past as a child and a parent and begin to understand what it means to be a mother--or at least, to better understand the expectations of those who surround me.

My experiences as a mother have been enhanced by spirituality and my spirituality has been transformed through the practice of mothering. I will argue that part of the transformation available in mothering is that one can go from thinking of oneself as an individual with free will, self autonomy, and independence to believing maybe we are all more connected and dependent upon each other than we thought. I intend to explore my personal spiritual journey from an academic perspective in order to gain and share knowledge. Intense emotional experiences such as childbirth, learning how to take care of a person who can not clearly communicate her or his desires, and learning to put the needs of someone else before your own, have the potential for both extreme pain and joy and the mother is forced to decide how to move forward. If mothers start to feel connected to their children, it can become easier to feel connected to other mothers, children, and humanity in general. This change which can occur within a mother can be a part of the spiritual awakening. American society, in general, would benefit from the recognition of the spiritual side of mothering and the awareness of the potential for a transformation in consciousness. My thesis topic is the spirituality of motherhood. More specifically, I explore how the practice of caring for children can transform the caregiver's sense of spirituality which is the relationship between your self and the world. This thesis is based on a feminist literary review of texts about spirituality and motherhood and also uses my personal experiences as a mother to illustrate how mothering can be a spiritual awakening and opportunity for spiritual growth. It is feminist in nature because I am attempting to illuminate and privilege the knowledges and experiences of mothers. I want to celebrate female parenting and also recognize the difficulties imposed by our sexist society. Motherhood does not always have to be exploitive or repressive and spirituality is one way to transcend these challenges.

With an influx of women entering the incarcerated population comes an increase in the number of children who have a mother serving time. As these mothers are released from prison or jail they immediately enter into the parole or probation system. This research focuses on the experiences of these women within state supervision, but also on what it means to be a mother. Through thematic analysis of 8 in-depth interviews with women who are currently on or were recently released from probation or parole, this study explores how women manage the combined identity of "mother under state supervision." There are many instances of direct conflict that result from the combined identity of "mother under state supervision." In order to deal with this conflict and manage their combined identity, the women use a multitude of tools. This analysis focuses on three of those tools: social support, managing openness, and redefining ways to be good moms. What has emerged from this analysis is the complex nature of navigating the combined identity of "mother under state supervision" and the tools that this particular group of women have used to do so.

No description available.

This hermeneutic study explores the experience of well-being of eight new mothers who live in the Blue Mountains of N.S.W. The experiences were analysed to illuminate definitions, meanings and practices which create their well being. This study transcends existing notions of health and motherhood. The author argues that mothers resist the social expectations created by the 'ideology of motherhood' by; defining their well-being, redefining and resisting the notion of being the 'good mother' by creating practices to achieve their well-being. Social support is integral to this. The study is grounded in hermeneutics incorporating the Heideggerian ideas of being-in-the-world, co-constitution and the hermeneutic circle and also the Gadamerian idea of fusion of horizons. A post-structuralist feminist perspective is adopted, incorporating Foucault's ideas on power, knowledge, truth and resistance. Eight definitions of these new mothers' well-being are presented. Implications for nursing practice, education and research are discussed / Master of Nursing (Hons)

This study, developed within a feminist social constructionist framework, examines the discourses which construct women's roles as mother and worker. It argues that government policy influences women's lives, not just materially through legislation, but ideologically through the promotion of certain discourses, which enable and constrain women's choices. In order to explore the interface between policy and experience, critical discourse analysis was used to examine two texts: the Action Plan for New Zealand Women (Ministry of Women's Affairs, 2004a), a government policy document, and the talk of two groups of first time mothers. This methodology focuses on the power of language to constitute reality and examines which institutions and ideologies are supported by discursive constructions.Although freedom to choose a life path is part of the policy's vision for New Zealand women, paid work is consistently privileged over caring roles. Motherhood is all but invisible and is constructed as an inevitable and undesirable demand, while paid work is constructed as essential to individual well-being and a duty of citizenship. An economic rationalist discourse positions women as workers first and foremost with a responsibility to financially provide for themselves and their children. Despite drawing on feminist discourses to warrant its vision, the policy is driven by capitalist goals of increased productivity and economic growth rather than the needs of women.The women deployed an intensive mother discourse which privileged their maternal role and positioned babies as needing parental care, and mothers as the natural providers of that care. However, they also felt the pressure of the successful woman and economic rationalist discourses in which paid work is essential and motherhood is devalued. The tension between these discourses manifested as guilt and conflict, managed in part through the emergence of newer constructions of independent mother and child. In making their decision about re-entering the paid workforce, in most instances the traditional paternal role as primary breadwinner was unchallenged, while the maternal role was expanded to incorporate not just primary caregiver, but also worker. The thesis finishes by considering the social consequences of these discursive constructions and argues that current discourses do not serve women, children, or men well. What is needed is a more complete breakdown of the public/private divide: a society which values care and work, both as responsibilities and rewards of citizenship, and which will therefore allow both women and men to construct more balanced lives and identities.

Australia has a lower teenage fertility rate than other industrialised English-speaking countries. However, with over 11,000 births and 12,000 abortions to teenagers each year, the resolution of teenage pregnancy is an issue faced by many young Australian women. ¶ This research seeks to explore the factors that discriminate between those who terminate and those who continue a teenage pregnancy. To achieve this aim a survey was conducted on young ever-pregnant women throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. The survey sought information on young women’s characteristics on three different levels: individual; institutional; and societal or cultural. ¶ The findings suggest that, at each of the three levels proposed, there are factors that discriminate between young women who choose abortion and those who choose motherhood. At the individual level, attitudes to abortion and career aspirations were found to affect pregnancy resolution. At the institutional level factors relating to education, family, relationships and religion were found to discriminate between the two groups. Finally, at the cultural level, ethnicity and area of residence were found to be associated with pregnancy resolution, in addition to modifying the effect of characteristics at other levels.

Single motherhood has been socially constructed as a deviant identity category. Up against the master societal framework of hegemonic heterosexuality, single mothers, as a social group, have been systematically discriminated against and subjected to moral regulation. The single mother has consistently been depicted as either criminal or victim, and she has almost always been cast as an individual actor whose lot is explained in individualized, apolitical terms. The current rhetoric of choice feeds the idea that single mothers in need deserve their hardships because they have freely and singularly chosen their sexual and reproductive behaviors and circumstances. In light of the historically constructed identity position of the single mother, it is evident that a more sociologically sensitive analysis of single motherhood has been culturally suppressed. Feminism has long been adamant about the significance of the role that reproduction plays in gender inequality. Queer Theory, with its critique of the sexualization of social life, is amenable to such a perspective and is employed here to illuminate how familial, sexual, and/or reproductive realities rigidify into overarching identity categories that shape and restrict rights and freedoms. / N/A

<p>"Sentimental Manipulations: Duty and Desire in the Novels of Sophie Cottin" examines four novels by Sophie Cottin, from 1798 until 1806. A forgotten but once-popular novelist, Cottin used the theme of motherhood to develop the relationship between women and desire and duty. These novels use the sentimental novel in different ways that challenge the limits of genre and confront social perceptions of motherhood. The generic transitions reveal subversive representations of women's sexuality and choice. The author's rewriting of motherhood and genre thus plays a crucial role in understanding the complex and developing notion of the sentimental novel in a period of transition after the Revolution. The eighteenth century gave rise to more structured gender divisions in society that provided little space for women's freedom outside of the patriarchal dictates of the family and motherhood. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's 1761 publication of <italic> Julie; ou la Nouvelle Héloïse</italic> and his 1762 publication of <italic> Emile; ou de l'éducation</italic> are thought to have defined social roles for women in relation to their reproductive abilities. The novel, as a site of social production, was understood to have influential moral implications and was used to confront and maintain socially accepted behavior. Mother-child depictions in literature, therefore, reveal socially acceptable behavior for women. My first chapter examines the development of motherhood as a form of social duty imposed on women. I explore the Rousseauian themes in Cottin's first sentimental epistolary novel, <italic> Claire d'Albe</italic>, published in 1978. The representation of adultery reveals the complex relationship between women's duty, virtue, and sexuality. In my second chapter, I analyze how Cottin manipulates the epistolary sentimental genre in <italic> Amélie Mansfield</italic>, published in 1802. Cottin creates narrative spaces that privilege women's expression and redefine women's choice through a violent and controversial depiction of the protagonist's suicide. I explore the social implications of the removal of the suicide scene from all publications of the novel after 1805. My third chapter examines the incorporation of elements of the travel narrative into the sentimental genre in <italic> Malvina </italic>, published in 1800, and <italic>Elisabeth; ou les exilés de Sibérie</italic>, published in 1805. Through the description of travel, I explore Cottin's representations of duty and women's education at two distinct moments in her publishing career.</p> / Dissertation

Background: In Sri Lanka, motherhood within marriage is highly valued. Sex out of wedlock is socially unacceptable and can create serious public health problems such as illegal abortions, suicide and infanticide, and single motherhood as a result of premarital sex is considered shameful. The way unmarried women facing single motherhood reflect on and make use of their agency in their social environments characterised by limited social and financial support has consequences for the health and well-being of both themselves and their children. The aim of this study was to explore and describe how unmarried women facing single motherhood in Sri Lanka handle their situation. Methods: This qualitative study comprised semi-structured interviews with 28 unmarried pregnant women or single mothers. The data were analysed by qualitative content analysis and the results related to the conceptual framework of social navigation. Results: The women facing single motherhood expressed awareness of having trespassed norms of sexuality through self-blame, victimhood and obedience, and by considering or attempting suicide. They demonstrated willingness to take responsibility for becoming pregnant before marriage by giving the child up for adoption, bringing up the child themselves, claiming a father for their child, refraining from marriage in the future, permanently leave their home environment, and taking up employment. Throughout the interviews, the women expressed fear of shame, and striving for familial and societal acceptance and financial survival. Conclusions: A social environment highly condemning of unmarried motherhood hindered these women from making strategic choices on how to handle their situation. However, to achieve acceptance and survival, the women tactically navigated norms of femininity, strong family dependence, a limited work market, and different sources of support. Limited access to resources restricted the women's sexual and reproductive health and rights, including their ability to make acceptable and healthy choices for themselves and their children.