ABSTRACT

In this article, we focus on how motherhood is represented in print media interviews with mothers over two distinct decades, 1970–1979 and 2010–2019, in Iceland. We used an affective-discursive framework to analyse 67 and 207 media interviews published in the two periods, respectively. In the former period, we found that mothers challenged prevalent feeling rules that encouraged them to put the family before their own needs. They used the interviews to advocate for their individual subjectivity and right to choose to be both mothers and earners. The societal changes were considered instrumental for women’s ability to make choices. In the latter period, discussions about motherhood as a barrier to women’s participation in the workforce were minimal. Mothers embraced the Nordic earner–carer model and even-handedly discussed their careers and motherhood. Motherhood was framed as a joyful enterprise and an individual choice that marked the pathway to women’s personal and emotional fulfilment. We conclude that discursive-affective constructions of motherhood imply neoliberal models of subjectivity that draw attention away from structural inequalities. In both periods, the public construction of motherhood revolved around the experiences of privileged, white, middle-class and heterosexual women, with limited attention to the experiences of marginalized mothers.

摘要

在本文中，我们重点关注在 1970-1979 年和 2010-2019 年这两个不同的十年里，冰岛的平面媒体采访母亲是如何表现母性的。我们使用情感话语框架分析了两个时期分别发表的 67 篇和 207 篇媒体采访。在前一个时期，我们发现母亲们挑战了普遍的情感规则，这些规则鼓励她们把家庭放在自己的需要之上。她们利用采访来倡导她们的个人主观性和选择既是母亲又是赚钱者的权利。社会变革被认为有助于提高女性做出选择的能力。在后期，关于母性作为女性参与劳动力的障碍的讨论很少。母亲们接受了北欧的挣钱-照顾者模式，并公正地讨论了她们的职业和母亲身份。做母亲被认为是一项快乐的事业和一种个人选择，标志着女性实现个人和情感实现的途径。我们的结论是，母性的话语情感结构暗示了新自由主义的主体性模型，将注意力从结构性不平等上移开。在这两个时期，母性的公共建构都围绕着特权阶层、白人、中产阶级和异性恋女性的经历展开，对边缘化母亲的经历关注有限。我们得出结论，母性的话语情感结构暗示了新自由主义的主体性模型，将注意力从结构性不平等上移开。在这两个时期，母性的公共建构都围绕着特权阶层、白人、中产阶级和异性恋女性的经历展开，对边缘化母亲的经历关注有限。我们得出结论，母性的话语情感结构暗示了新自由主义的主体性模型，将注意力从结构性不平等上移开。在这两个时期，母性的公共建构都围绕着特权阶层、白人、中产阶级和异性恋女性的经历展开，对边缘化母亲的经历关注有限。