Cognitive Acrobatics in the Construction of Worker–mother Identity

Johnston, Deirdre D.; Swanson, Debra H.

doi:10.1007/s11199-007-9267-4

Cited by 114 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Following Johnston and Swanson (2007), we discuss mothering as an identity rather than a role (i.e. : "Who am I?…”

Section: Two Juggling Mothersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hays (1996) illustrates how the logic of intensive mothering is inherently at odds with the logic of the marketplace, and as a result women struggle to negotiate a position that fulfills the ideals/expectations of both "spheres." Indeed, Johnston and Swanson (2007) characterize what full-time employed mothers engage in to manage the tension between intensive mothering and worker identity as "cognitive acrobatics," noting that the mothers they studied often "ricocheted" back and forth between the two identities, similar to juggling ideologies between multiple motherhood identities (p. 456). Drago (2007) articulates a "motherhood norm" in the U.S.: a society-wide belief that women should be mothers, and perform unpaid family care and low-paid care for others in need.…”

Section: Two Juggling Mothersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, the scheduling of middle-class children also entails scheduling commitments to juggle for middleclass parents. Overall, economic, political and historical context plays an essential part in worker-mother identity construction (Hays, 1996;Johnston & Swanson, 2007).…”

Section: Two Juggling Mothersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Johnston and Swanson (2007) illustrate how most employed mothers in their study still maintain a "perpetual dichotomy" between employment and motherhood, and as a result engaged in "cognitive acrobatics" to manage the tension between identities (p. 456). They characterized working mothers as being in "a state of perpetual disequilibrium in which they are ricocheted back and forth" between identities (p. 456), and the women did not find this a satisfactory resolution to their identity tensions.…”

Section: Good Working Mothering In Action: Juggling (Identities) As Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Extending this, talking about "working fathers" as well as "working mothers" can help (re)define work-family issues as a social and economic issue rather than a women's issue. Furthermore, as Johnston and Swanson (2007) illustrate, one way that women can successfully reframe intensive mothering is by constructing the source of intensive nurturing to include fathers and caregivers. If we open the possibilities of work-family/life juggling to family systems that include fathers, this alleviates the pressure for women to be the sole jugglers and also allows fathers some of the benefits of parenting, including potentially deeper relationships with their children.…”

Section: The Good Working Mother Conceptualizes Fathers As "Secondarymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Good Working Mothers as Jugglers: A Critical Look at Two Work–Family Balance Films

Kirby

Riforgiate

Anderson

et al. 2016

Journal of Family Communication

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We examine the portrayals of two good working mothers in popular work-family balance films-Melanie in One Fine Day (1996) and Kate in I Don 't Know How She Does It (2011).Using a critical standpoint, we build on communication work-family/life scholarship to extend theoretical understanding of underlying ideological notions of the good working mother. In particular, we analyze Melanie and Kate's performances that reflect the underlying cultural ideologies of being an ideal worker, a true domestic woman, and an intensive mother. Further, we explicate how this juggling of identities portrays good working mothers as perpetually defensive. We go beyond the analysis of ideologies to lay out some of the consequences of the performance portrayals of the good working mother, in that she should (a) accept While the broadest definition of juggling is to "continuously toss into the air and catch (a number of objects) so as to keep at least one in the air while handling the others," the second most common definition is to "cope with by adroitly balancing, i.e. she works full time, juggling her career with raising children" (Oxford Dictionary, 2015). Indeed, "juggling" language is also used by work-life scholars; as one example, Golden (2001) notes how "multiple role-identities associated with work and family require juggling conflicting demands" (p. 233). Women in particular "juggle responsibilities" as they strive to be good workers and good mothers, also known as good working mothers 1 Turner & Norwood, 2013). Notably, there is no parallel term of a good working father; since discourses of work-family/life issues often reflect gendered role expectations of work and private responsibilities, the personification of "balance" seems more targeted at working mothers, reflecting how work-family/life conflicts are sometimes viewed WORKING MOTHERS AS JUGGLERS 4 as merely a "women's issue" in the workplace (Drago, 2007;Kirby & Buzzanell, 2014).We critically examine how mediated portrayals of the "juggling act" of the good working mother reflect the underlying cultural ideologies of being an ideal worker, a true domestic woman, and an intensive mother. Further, we explicate how this juggling of identities portrays good working mothers as perpetually defensive, laying out how these portrayals to teach women to (a) accept "punishments" from children, (b) conceptualize fathers as secondary parents, (c) solve problems on their own, and (d) choose family over work. Leading in to this critical examination, it important to describe our varied positionalities as people and scholars.Our working relationship began in a five-day work/life course led by the first author at the National Communication Association Institute for Faculty Development. We spent a week immersing ourselves in the work/life literature, watching these work/life films, and discussing ways to integrate this research into our teaching and indeed our lives. From this experience, the five of us decided to work together on a deeper analysis of the films we referenced i...

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“…Following Johnston and Swanson (2007), we discuss mothering as an identity rather than a role (i.e. : "Who am I?…”

Section: Two Juggling Mothersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Two Juggling Mothersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Two Juggling Mothersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Good Working Mothering In Action: Juggling (Identities) As Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Good Working Mother Conceptualizes Fathers As "Secondarymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Good Working Mothers as Jugglers: A Critical Look at Two Work–Family Balance Films

Kirby

Riforgiate

Anderson

et al. 2016

Journal of Family Communication

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Work–Life Balance

Kirby¹

2017

The International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication

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Communication studies research on work–life balance takes a constitutive approach that communication constitutes work–life enactments, and that work–life enactments differ based on economic systems, political landscapes, gender ideologies, cultural values and attitudes, history, and governmental support. This research spans from broad studies of societal constructs such as ideal workers and gendered norms, to organizational constructs such as work–life “cultures” and policies, to interpersonal studies of how individuals communicate about their working and personal lives with supervisors, coworkers, partners, and children, to examining individual negotiations of boundaries, routines, and identity related to (paid) work and personal life.

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Mothering, Intensive, in theUnitedStates

Walls

2016

Encyclopedia of Family Studies

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Sharon Hays was the first to describe intensive mothering ideology as a set of beliefs about appropriate caregiving and the responsibility of mothers. As part of an intensive mothering ideology, mothers are assumed to be primary caregivers who prioritize their children's needs and invest all of their energy and resources in the mothering role. Feminist scholarship expanding on the work of Hays has shown how mothers vary systematically in their endorsement of intensive mothering beliefs. Mothers' education seems to play a significant role in shaping their endorsement of intensive mothering beliefs. Related studies have examined aspects of intensive mothering beliefs such as attitudes toward maternal employment and child care. The personal and relational consequences for endorsing intensive mothering beliefs have not been examined empirically. Future research is needed to understand fathers' mothering beliefs and links between intensive mothering beliefs and mothers' intersecting background characteristics.

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Cognitive Acrobatics in the Construction of Worker–mother Identity

Cited by 114 publications

References 26 publications

Good Working Mothers as Jugglers: A Critical Look at Two Work–Family Balance Films

Good Working Mothers as Jugglers: A Critical Look at Two Work–Family Balance Films

Work–Life Balance

Mothering, Intensive, in theUnitedStates

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