Motherhood experiences: Tensions, struggles and recontiliations

In this study, In this study, the viewpoints and experiences of 32 women from diverse backgrounds have been studied to develop a perspective on the place of motherhood in the construction of femininity. Emotional investments made in motherhood and idealised values associated with this identity, the ordinary activities of daily life and routine "maternity chores" were evaluated descriptively. Based on the values, habits, beliefs, feelings and prejudices that are harboured within the motherhood experience, it is aimed to contact that is social and cultural. The roles and responsibilities encompassed by the mother identity, which generates radical changes on female subjectivity, are steadily increasing. As the gap between idealised and experienced motherhood widens, being a mother becomes wearisome and oppressive, triggering feelings of inadequacy, anxiety and guilt. Furthermore, the societal dimension of motherhood, along with the "approved" motherhood discourse, can be perceived as a source of pressure for women when they assess their own experiences of motherhood. The biopolitics of power, neoliberal market values, individualistic and competitive social structure, conservative tendencies have been the main components of the the "approved" motherhood discourse. The emotions evoked by the adjectives such as compassion, selflessness and self-sacrifice that stick to mother identity, and the cultural and political dynamics that influence these emotions are the key issues in this study. Furthermore, this study attempts to find answers to the questions of whether different perspectives, ethical-political positions can be produced from the experience of motherhood and how the gap between the ideal motherhood and what is experienced in reality can be described.