SOSC 1000 Lecture 12: Motherhood and Mothering

• School: York University
• Department: Social Science
• Course: SOSC 1000
• Professor: Terry Conlin

Document Summary

Motherhood is both the private reality that women experience as mothers and the social institution of motherhood that limits women to their nurturing roles. The process was motherhood is very expensive. Mothering is the experience of raising children. Motherhood is the institution that tells women how to mother, institution oppresses women. The role that the mother is supposed to play is invented and not a natural occurrence. It is more of a reality that creation. Definition of a good mother: white, middle-class, sexless, fit, able bodied. The image is culturally invented, not natural, not inevitable. Rich and hays argue about mothering and motherhood. Rich rejects the belief that the experience of motherhood is universally positive and is creating rules of behavior. She presents a significant challenge to the romanticized notion of maternal bliss. Looking back she says that (cid:862) the good a(cid:374)d (cid:271)ad (cid:373)o(cid:373)e(cid:374)ts a(cid:396)e i(cid:374)sepa(cid:396)a(cid:271)le to (cid:373)e(cid:863) page (cid:1004)3.