This dissertation examines how breastfeeding mothers develop distinct geographies due to the stigma, symbolic and structural violence they encounter while breastfeeding if different spaces. I utilize multiple in-depth semi-structured interviews, participant observation and photo elicitation to develop portraits of four urban mothers. My findings highlight the complexity of motherhood and demonstrate how distinct socio-spatial power dynamics situate and contextualize the experiences of breastfeeding mothers. I find that breastfeeding behaviors are influenced and maintained by broader social inequalities related to their social positions. Mothers seem caught in a paradoxical position, in which they must constantly discipline their bodies to maintain modesty while simultaneously ensuring their continued success breastfeeding. These issues are compounded by a mother's intersecting identities and their own social and cultural contexts.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1707255 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Veselka-Bush, Alexandra V. |
| Contributors | Sobering, Katherine, Nelson, Andrew (Lecturer of anthropology), Rodeheaver, Daniel Gilbert, 1954- |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | vi, 256 pages : illustrations, Text |
| Rights | Public, Veselka-Bush, Alexandra V., Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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