Motherhood and mothering in dispute. Hegemonic motherhood, other mothering and non-motherhood

Abstract

This article proposes rethinking “hegemonic motherhood” in modern societies working from questions raised by the emergence of culturally neglected, politically unprotected experiences such as “non-motherhood” or “other ways of mothering”. To do so, it sets out an analysis of the different interpretations that put motherhood in the centre of the feminist debate and emphasises the presence of those traditionally peripheral figures. As a result, it firstly outlines a genealogy of “hegemonic motherhood” in Western societies through the intellectual output of classic feminist authors. Secondly, from different anthropological approaches, it presents the “other ways of mothering” category as experiences that create new forms of kinship and family models thereby questioning the ideal of biological motherhood and the nuclear family. In this respect, it highlights the need to disentangle motherhood from the apparently inextricable link between genetic matter, the gestant body, parentage and upbringing. Thirdly, it looks at the category of “non-motherhoods”, drawing on interdisciplinary focus points that emphasise the existence of contra-hegemonic experiences where different forms of resilience, transgression or rebellion are expressed, meaning different forms of claiming reproductive autonomy, time to oneself and creativity. So then, through a new approach to motherhood as a complex category, not exclusively bound to the biological experience or merely as a social mandate, this article attempts to contribute to the “reproductive diversity” debate, highlighting women’s right to choose, free from pressure or prejudice.