Making Sense of Motherhood
Making Sense of Motherhood
A Narrative Approach
Becoming a mother changes lives in many ways, and this book explores how women try to make sense of, and narrate their experiences of, first-time motherhood in industrialized society. It charts the social, cultural and moral contours of contemporary motherhood and engages with sociological and feminist debates on how selves are constituted, maintained and narrated.
- Pays close attention to women's own accounts over time of their experiences of transition to motherhood, using a narrative approach
- Contributes to debates on reflexivity and gender - and the obdurate myths of motherhood
- Shows how cultural scripts shape expectations and experience in the West and the developing world, in relation to mothering and motherhood
Product details
March 2005Paperback
9780521543644
188 pages
228 × 152 × 16 mm
0.296kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1. The storied human life: a narrative approach
- 2. Making sense of motherhood: cultural scripts
- 3. Setting the Western context: mothering in late-modern society
- 4. Anticipating motherhood: the antenatal period
- 5. Making sense of early mothering experiences
- 6. A return to normal: becoming the expert
- 7. Conclusions and reflections: making sense of motherhood
- References
- Index.
