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Gender & Society, Vol. 15, No. 3, 407-428 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/089124301015003005

MOTHERHOOD AS IDEA AND PRACTICE

A Discursive Understanding of Employed Mothers in Sweden

YLVA ELVIN-NOWAK

Stockholm University

HELÉNE THOMSSON

Stockholm University

This article discusses the meanings that motherhood has in the everyday life of women in Sweden and how they practice their mothering. The empirical foundation is qualitative interviews conducted with mothers who live in Sweden. Social constructionist and discursive psychology inspired the article, and according to the analysis three discursive positions were identified. The first position deals with the child-mother relationship and indicates that the child's psychological well-being is dependent on the mother's accessibility. The second discursive position deals with the child-mother-woman relationship. Within this framework, motherhood involves finding contentment in life beyond the child, to be able to convey that well-being to the child. The third discursive position focuses on the mother as a working woman rather than a mother. These three discursive positions are discussed in relation to a pronounced discourse within Swedish society, which centers on an intense politically induced struggle for gender equality.


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