Invisible Mothers

Hat tip to Elizabeth at Almost Got It for posting a link to Invisible Mothers on her blog.  I'm working on a paper and this is relevant!

Warning - this is not a light read!  It's the result of an academic study conducted by Sociologists who completed a "content analysis" of motherhood myths and ideologies in popular magazines.  Here's a teaser:

Feminist scholars have explored how current motherhood ideologies ... project White, middle class mothers" experiences as universal and ideal (Collins, 1994). ...Although the conventional motherhood ideology maintains that mothers should not work outside the home, economically or financially privileged mothers continue to hire working-class women, and Women of Color, who are often mothers themselves, to perform the more arduous childcare work (BlairLoy, 2001; Chang, 1994). Thus, the construction of motherhood, particularly in the form of dominant ideologies, may have little correspondence to the lived social realities of mothers.

I'm currently working on a research project called "The Changing Landscape of American Women" where we are conducting focus groups with three populations of women: Farm and ranch women, Latina Immigrants, and women with "professional" careers.  Our site is working with the latter group.  All of the participants have at least one child living at home and work at least 30 hours per week.  Analysis of the data is ongoing, but one key theme is clear - these are not women who are looking to "opt out."  They acknowledge sometimes feeling "invisible" in places like churches and schools; but overall they are embracing the contradictions of work and family, and they aren't concerned with what the traditional media says about them.  It's been inspiring to listen to them!

Check out the entire article here and please be so bold as to leave a comment:  Tell about your experiences as an employed mother, your plans to become an employed mother, or just your observations of the phenomenon!

Comments

[Eric Pennington]

Timely post-at least for my thinking.

As a man who has assumed much of the care for our two children (8 & 6), I have a unique perspective. I assumed this role when I started my consulting business. Since I was a start-up, my wife resumed her career and I took over things like cooking, cleaning and getting the kids to school. Obviously, there are times where our roles switch back and forth. But we agreed that I would take on the lion's share.

My biggest awakening came in the form of remembering how I took my wife for granted all the years I was a corporate executive (code for slave). This came to me when I found myself looking for my family to notice, if not verbally appreciate, the job I was doing as a caregiver.

It occurred to me that in all the time I was pursuing my career, I rarely considered the tough and unsung job my wife was doing. I just thought it was her job. With regret, I now understand in ways I never could have if it were not for the change in our circumstances.

Unfortunately, there is a great danger for many men in taking their wives for granted. I almost think employers should make it manadatory for men to walk a mile in the shoes of a working or non-working mother (sorry for the terminology). It would breed a level of humility that would benefit the organization.

[Richard Garcia]

If you will have the option to work from home, you will save a lot of time, money, effort, and other resources. You do not need to commute to work. You can spend quality time with your family. Most importantly, you will have the flexibility and freedom to work at your own pace. The earnings can be much higher than what you would normally earn from a regular job. To learn more about home-based jobs, please visit our site: http://www.ultimate-internet-marketing.com

[nicola]

Thank you very much, that is a very nice post!

http://www.5misa.com/actualite-gratuit/sports/mondial-2010-afrique-du-sud