Deviant (M)others: The Construction of Teenage Motherhood in Contemporary Discourse

Abstract

Paradoxically, the focus on teen motherhood as an object of concern in the West has coincided with declining rates of teen birth. This suggests that the view of teenage motherhood as problematic is underpinned by changing social and political imperatives regarding the role of women in these countries. This article examines the literature surrounding teenage motherhood from the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand, and explores the way in which normative perceptions of motherhood have shifted over the past few decades to position teenage mothers as stigmatised and marginalised. Two specific discourses -those of welfare dependency and social exclusion -are highlighted, and their mediation through scientific discourses examined. The increasing trend to evidence-based policy development has masked the ideological basis of much policy in this area and highlights the importance of critical evaluation of the discourses surrounding teenage motherhood. A critical examination of the literature suggests that teenage mothers are vilified, not because the evidence of poor outcomes for teen mothers and their children is particularly compelling, but because these young women resist the typical life trajectory of their middle-class peers which conforms to the current governmental objectives of economic growth through higher education and increased female workforce participation.

Exploring Adolescence and Parenthood: A Transitional Life Stage and Abrupt Life Change

“…This transition reflects a critical life change that overlaps with their development stage of adolescence [1][2][3][4][5]. This overlap reflects a suite of inherent challenges for this parent linked with developmental issues such as identity, independence, cognitive and sexual development [1,2,16,29,42,43].…”

“…For the adolescent parent the opportunity to freely develop their sense of personal self linked with opportunity for experimentation is compromised by the associated roles and responsibility of becoming a parent [42,43]. In particular the strive toward autonomy reflecting a move away from parental control and spending more time with peers is compromised linked with parental responsibility and a reliance on familial support [1][2][3][4][5]. This increased responsibility reflects an innate constraint on the adolescent parents' opportunity to strive toward independence as they now rely on the supports of others particularly in the family context with regards to child rearing, economic support and accommodation [29,31,32,43,45,46].…”

“…The development of this particular cognitive capacity incorporates a key aspect of being a parent acknowledging the needs of the child as well as their own needs [42]. It demands of the adolescent parent the capacities to see beyond their own self and to plan for the future of both themselves and their child [1][2][3][4][5]42].…”

“…Cognitive capacity linked with moving from concrete to abstract thinking can create particular challenges for the younger adolescent linked with future planning and understanding the unique needs of their child [1][2][3][4][5]42]. In the younger adolescent the ability to separate the unique needs of their child from that of their own can result in difficulty anticipating child behaviours and consequences of behaviour.…”

“…Adolescence regarded as a transitional life stage period represents for the teenage parent an abrupt life stage change. Transitional challenges represent a key aspect of teenage parenthood linked with overlap between adolescent development and transitions to parenthood [1][2][3][4][5]. Becoming a teenage parent propels the adolescent into enacting a similar role to that of the emergent adult in making life choices that secure social resources and future positions for both their child and themselves [6].…”