Sophie Brock

The aim of this thesis is to present, explore, and interpret the experiences of women who mother children with disabilities. The experiences of motherhood and mothering children with disabilities are seldom rendered visible in social research, and have rarely informed developments in social theory, motherhood studies, the sociology of personal life, or theories of the self. This research sought to address these issues and foreground the experiences of an under-represented group, through in-depth qualitative interviews and personal community mapping with 18 women who mother children with disabilities residing in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The approach to the study brought together the perspectives of two generally discrete fields of sociological inquiry: Motherhood Studies and the sociology of personal life. The research found that women who are mothers of children with disabilities live within social, cultural, political, and economic contexts which assume they have the capacity to ‘freely choose’ how they live their lives and form their relationships, while also expecting them to remain indefinitely self-sacrificing, primary carers for their children with disabilities. Thus, these women’s lives are framed by competing and highly problematic sets of assumptions and expectations that cannot be solely understood in terms of individualisation theory, which assumes an individual’s agency and freedom of choice in authoring their lives (Beck, 1992/1994). The concept of ‘hegemonic maternality’, an adaptation of Raewyn Connell’s (1995) theory of ‘hegemonic masculinity,’ emerged from the research as a useful framework in understanding and theorising the normative social, cultural, and structural forces that produce and regulate women’s experiences as mothers. It suggests that persistent unrealistic assumptions and expectations around motherhood and mothering translate as obligation and constraint in these women’s lives. Women who are mothers of children with disabilities must navigate and negotiate complex, contradictory, and pervasive assumptions and expectations of how to mother their children, as they conduct their relationships and seek to define their sense of self. The consequences of such endeavours are far-reaching: they expose these women’s consistent struggles to both contest and conform to normative concepts of motherhood. The findings also point to the affordances of theories of relationality (Jallinoja & Widmer, 2011; Emirbayer, 1997) in more fully explaining the topography of their lives. By positioning these women’s lives and experiences in the context of concepts and debates around motherhood, personal relationships, as well as the formation of the self and subjectivities, this research offers a number of original contributions to the knowledge base of the sociology of motherhood, of personal life; and of the self, and contributes to theoretical developments relating to maternal experience in contemporary Australian society. First, this thesis argues for the interdependence of two fields of sociological inquiry in order to forge new understandings within and between both. Second, the study contributes to each field through the development of the conceptual framework of hegemonic maternality. Third, it challenges individualisation theory by demonstrating its inappropriateness for women who are mothers of children with disabilities. Fourth, this research provides substantial evidence that will potentially influence social policy, public attitudes, and future research and scholarship.

The individualization thesis links the period of late modernity with increases in individual freedom of choice. This paper problematizes this assumption based on the results of in-depth qualitative interviews with 18 mothers of children with disabilities. This research finds that while participants do express a desire for individualism, their lived realities do not reflect the experience of freedom of choice that individualization theorists discuss. While this paper acknowledges that individualization theorists recognize some structural constraint in individuals' lives, it argues that individualization theory, as it is currently conceptualized and implemented in research, imposes an exclusionary framework for examining the experiences of mothers. The level of choice and freedom that mothers of children with disabilities are able to exercise is heavily constrained by factors such as lack of institutional support and imposition of ‘good mother’ theory ultimately rendering the current concept of individualization as peripheral in their lives.

Not only does having a child with a disability force women to change the fundamental practical concerns of everyday life; but it can also have a profound effect upon the way women see themselves as individuals. There is already a substantial body of research focussing on the concept of the "good mother" and intensive mothering ideology, that identifies particular expectations and assumptions that are socially and culturally imposed on women who become mothers. The nature of these expectations and assumptions often renders them impossible for individuals to meet, and this can, therefore, have significant impacts on an individual's life and sense of self.

I will outline the details of my research, the nature of completing research interested in disability, I’ll ask you to consider some of your own experiences or observations of stigma, reflect on the concepts of display, courtesy stigma, and also look at some of my participants’ responses to stigma.

It is still overwhelmingly the case that mothers are the primary carers of children, and this is even more the case for mothers of children with disabilities (Read 2000; Traustadottir 1991). The expectation that a mother should be a child’s primary carer is one that is embedded within our society through the pervasively disseminated concept of the ‘good mother’. The powerful nature of the ‘good mother’ concept, and intensive mothering ideology, can significantly impact a mother’s experience of employment, her personal life, and her sense of self as an individual.

Through data collected from in-depth interviews with 18 mothers of children with disabilities, this paper adds to the growing body of research investigating the consequences of ‘good mother’ theory on the lives of mothers. It does so through examining how this expectation that mothers should be the primary carers of children, impacts on the lived experiences of mothers who have children with disabilities.

The present research also indicates (at least) a perception that maternal work and the labour of care-giving continues to be de-valued – consistent with analyses from Ruddick (1989), and Kittay, Jennings and Wasunna (2005).

This conference will explore, examine, critique, theorise and respond to key issues related to how mothers negotiate competing demands in the twenty first century. The conference is grounded in feminist theory – particularly Adrienne Rich’s account of Motherhood as Patriarchal Institution and Mothering as Practice – and will explore the ways through which cultural understandings and social practices continue to impact mothers’ lives. The competing demands that mothers negotiate include but are not limited to paid work and professional pursuits, unpaid work (including care- work), creative activities, sporting commitments, online endeavours, volunteerism, religious involvement, and personal relationships. Specific attention will be paid to the current trend of outsourcing mothering to paid-carers and/ or grandparents. How women negotiate such competing demands alongside their mothering roles, and the impacts of such negotiations on a mother’s sense of self will also be explored. Submissions are welcome from, but not limited to, scholars, students, activists, community workers, bloggers, mothers, and others who research, work or are interested in this area of scholarly and social activism.

This paper will draw together two areas of study: ‘motherhood studies’, and the ‘sociology of personal life’ (formerly known as ‘family studies’), in order to pose important new questions about the role of ‘mother’ when raising a child with a disability. Research in the area of ‘personal life’ has recognized that despite an increase in individual freedoms, families and family relationships are not simply biologically determined, but are also constructed through various family practices and expressions of individual choice. However, there still exist circumstances where an individual cannot necessarily walk away from difficult, unsatisfactory, or draining relationships to exercise their agency and individualism. This paper is framed by emergent literature in the area of ‘personal life’, and draws on current research that investigates how women experience the role of ‘mother’ when they have a child with a disability, and how they manage their kinship relations and ties. I will present preliminary key findings from my research into the impact of mothering a child with a disability on a woman’s sense of identity, familial relations, and friendships. In doing so, this paper will explicate a new and important context for exploring the comparative significance of individual choice and commitment in defining families today, and the meaning of the ‘mother’ role.

Does motherhood have a history? Motherhood is an institution that masks itself as a natural condition of women. Mothers are expected to act in accordance with particular normative practices, and their behaviour is regulated in both explicit and subtle ways. One of the aims of this paper is to explain the ways in which motherhood is indeed an ‘institution’ rather than just a biological imperative or practice. It will do so through mapping out the history of motherhood from late modernity to today. The task of tracing this history of motherhood itself raises obstacles. The history of private life has remained somewhat marginalized because of both male-dominated assumptions about history, as well as some feminist ambivalence about motherhood. However, this paper will examine these challenges while contextualizing the role of ‘mother’ in contemporary society.

WHILE feminist movements have traditionally transformed the experiences and lives of women, mainstream feminist movements have failed to recognise the specific needs and experiences of mothers. The issues to which feminist movements attend to inevitably have implications for motherhood as a category and a lived experience, and political and social shifts that feminism has facilitated have impacts on all women– whether they are mothers or not. Despite what has been achieved in raising awareness of motherhood as an experience and ideology, motherhood still remains the unfinished business of feminism...

How To Expect What You’re Not Expecting: Stories of Pregnancy, Parenthood and Loss, is a collection of nineteen narrative essays that tell stories about hope, sorrow, grief, acceptance and resilience. The collection is arranged into four sections which cohere around the central themes of the book: ‘what you have is what happened’; ‘the wounded past cannot deny the beautiful future’; ‘the desire to understand’; and ‘the possibility to love’.

This conference will explore, examine, critique, theorise and respond to key issues related to how mothers negotiate professional endeavours (paid or otherwise) and life balances in the twenty first century. As a conference grounded in feminist theory (particularly Adrienne Rich's account of Motherhood as Patriarchal Institution and Mothering as Practice), the discriminatory attitudes towards, and practices experienced by, mothers will be addressed. The competing issues and demands related to professional endeavours (including but not limited to, paid work, paid/ unpaid sporting, creative, online or community endeavours) relationships and spiritual wellbeing will be specifically explored along with the current trend in outsourcing mothering to paid-carers and/ or grandparents, and the impacts of such on a mother's sense of self. Submissions are welcome from, but not limited to, scholars, students, activists, community workers, bloggers, mothers, and others who research, work or are interested in this area of scholarly and social activism. If you are interested in being considered as a presenter, Please send a 200-word abstract and a 50-word bio by Friday the 4 th of March 2016 to amirci2016@gmail.com