Still being ‘Mother’? Consumption and identity practices for women in later life

Abstract

Studies of mothering and consumption have primarily focussed on mothers to be and mothers of young children with little known about the intersection between consumption and mothering beyond the years of childhood dependence. This article argues that performances of mothering enacted through consumption do not end with children leaving home. Many women were consciously 'Still being mother', with consumption choices significant in the ways in which mothering identities were performed. The analysis of interviews from three studies of family life, living standards and consumption in older age identified three constructs of the 'good' mothering of adult children. Aspects of the 'provisioning mother' were evident in providing for children through gifts, material and financial support. Appropriate consumption practices by adult children demonstrated the 'role model mother' who has taught her children well. Mothers also framed themselves as 'independent mothers' who had sufficient social and financial resources to not burden children, hinting not only at their own 'controlled' consumption practices but also at future changes in mothering and consumption that might need to be managed as they aged. These mothering identities were not static and were exhibited differently across a range of living standards. 'Still being mother' mattered, but the resources available to women to shape these identities through consumption practices differed according to their material circumstances, expectations and familial relations, which had implications for their identity as independent mothers and children.

Motherhood in migration: schools as acculturation agents

“…But consumption may also generate ambivalence and challenge motherhood roles (Voice Group 2010a, 2010b, as certain consumption engagements represent "undesired selves" that mothers unwillingly assume (Banister and Hogg 2006). Vulnerabilities connected with motherhood are often lasting, as motherhood is a long-term experience that goes beyond the years of childhood dependence (Mansvelt, Breheny, and Stephens 2017) and subjects women to numerous transitional periods.…”

Cultural identity in the consumption of the National Football League by Brazilian fans

“…The same can be said regarding gay identity, since practices of consumption are used to naturalize and legitimize this way of life (KATES, 2002). However, such practices made by a socially stigmatized public tends to be repudiated by plots of consumers (MANSVELT, BREHENY and STEPHENS, 2015).…”

Identidade cultural no consumo de fãs brasileiros da National Football League

“…Hall (2017) understands that gender identities are not natural conceptions, but social constructs constituted by political, economic, and socio-cultural forces over time and spatially demarcated. Appropriation and re-signification of consumer practices can contribute to the feminine identity, insofar they propitiate resistance to structures of dominant social meanings (FUNG, 2002;MANSVELT, BREHENY and STEPHENS, 2015). The same can be said regarding gay identity, since practices of consumption are used to naturalize and legitimize this way of life (KATES, 2002).…”

“…While women seem to have a good acceptance among the male audience, the same does not happen with the gays, who comes to be harassed, in a prejudiced behavior that seems to look for preserve the hetero-masculine identity strongly associated with sports. Both cases of women expressing social relevance and notoriety through consumption practices (FUNG, 2002;MANSVELT, BREHENY and STEPHENS, 2015) and gays seeking for inclusion in typically heterosexual consumer niches (KATES, 2002), even when being stigmatized (MANSVELT, BREHENY and STEPHENS, 2015) reveal identities in a process of social constructing. These dynamics reveals tensions and conformities, highlighting the social construction of gender and the appropriation of the product as a symbolic element of this process.…”