The cost of intersectionality: Motherhood, mental health, and the state of the country

Abstract

The Coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) pandemic and society's overdue racial awakening (Worland, 2020) have created distinct needs for mothers, especially mothers of Color (MOC) in the United States (US) (Breman et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2021). Prior to the double pandemic (see Addo, 2020), expectations that mothers devote themselves entirely to their children may support increases in mental health symptomology within this population (Rahman et al., 2013). Based on systemic inequities that reside at the foundation of many institutions (e.g., healthcare, law, education) within the US, MOC experience increased worry, anxiety, stress, and fear during the double pandemic (Liu et al., 2021). In addition, MOC engage in mothering practices (e.g., racial socialization) that are unique to raising children who identify as Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) (Hughes & Chen et al., 1997). Based on these facts, the authors investigate the sociocultural forces that impact MOC's mental health during the context of the double pandemic through a review of existent literature on this topic. The authors’ analysis and incorporation of intersectionality theory and Black feminist thought uncovers the ways in which these forces may influence the experiences of MOC. Finally, the authors utilize an intersectional‐based policy analysis framework (Hankivsky et al., 2014) to provide recommendations for social policy, education and training, and directions for future research. These recommendations acknowledge the influence of power and privilege in the US while building upon the protective factors that support MOC.

Theorizing racialized disaster patriarchal capitalism in the age of COVID‐19: A framework for feminist policy change

“…Before the 1990s, disaster scholarship and disaster response work paid little attention to gender. Since then, feminist sociologists made tremendous contributions to the field of disaster studies, laying the theoretical and empirical foundations for our current understanding of the gendering of disasters, and the disproportionate impact on women and children globally (Chew & Ramdas, 2005;Enarson, 2006;Enarson et al, 2018;Enarson & Morrow, 1998;Jones-Deweever, 2011;Luft, 2016;Phillips & Morrow, 2008). In important ways, this body of feminist knowledge accurately informs, and would have predicted, the gendered patterns we are witnessing unfold as the global death toll from COVID-19 reaches nearly 6 million at the time of our writing.…”

How the COVID‐19 global pandemic further jeopardized women's health, mental well‐being, and safety: Intersectionality framework and social policy action

“…The authors point readers to a forthcoming special issue of this journal that collates scientific investigations from around the world that elucidate the gendered nature of household and childcare responsibilities and how these labors overlapped with career duties. The decreases in mental health wellness are even greater for mothers of color who simultaneously experience discrimination (Garland McKinney and Meinersmann, 2023). Garland McKinney and Meinersmann thoroughly explore the intersections of mandates of motherhood, racial injustice, and COVID-19 related pressures and include recommendations for social policy responses.…”

Mothers with justice‐involved sons: Socioeconomic impacts of COVID‐19 by neighborhood disorder in the United States

“…Much of the early empirical research on the COVID‐19 pandemic has been focused on factors related to rates of infection and death. More recently, empirical research has been published related to the disproportionate impacts of COVID‐19 and its inequalities associated with changes in employment and income, race and ethnicity, gender, parenting, and neighborhood characteristics (Ayoub et al., 2023; Dawson et al., 2022; Fulcher & Dinella, 2022; Garland McKinney et al., 2022; Geyton & Johnson, 2022; Jiwani et al., 2022; Rehbein et al., 2022; Versey, 2022). Additionally, research has more recently been published concentrating on uniquely vulnerable populations such as women, minorities, low socioeconomic households, and the justice‐involved community (Ayoub et al., 2022; Babbar et al., 2023; Dawson et al., 2022; Fulcher & Dinella, 2022; Garland McKinney et al., 2022; Geyton & Johnson, 2022; Heiman et al., 2022; Ibekwe‐Okafor et al., 2022; Jiwani et al., 2022; Lipp & Johnson, 2022; Rehbein et al., 2022; Versey, 2022).…”

“…More recently, empirical research has been published related to the disproportionate impacts of COVID‐19 and its inequalities associated with changes in employment and income, race and ethnicity, gender, parenting, and neighborhood characteristics (Ayoub et al., 2023; Dawson et al., 2022; Fulcher & Dinella, 2022; Garland McKinney et al., 2022; Geyton & Johnson, 2022; Jiwani et al., 2022; Rehbein et al., 2022; Versey, 2022). Additionally, research has more recently been published concentrating on uniquely vulnerable populations such as women, minorities, low socioeconomic households, and the justice‐involved community (Ayoub et al., 2022; Babbar et al., 2023; Dawson et al., 2022; Fulcher & Dinella, 2022; Garland McKinney et al., 2022; Geyton & Johnson, 2022; Heiman et al., 2022; Ibekwe‐Okafor et al., 2022; Jiwani et al., 2022; Lipp & Johnson, 2022; Rehbein et al., 2022; Versey, 2022). The present study aims to expand on the current body of literature and understand how neighborhood disorder exacerbates the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic, such as employment, housing, and access to basic necessities, particularly while taking into consideration populations especially vulnerable to socioeconomic impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic: mothers, particularly mothers with justice‐involved sons, women of color, and women of low socioeconomic status.…”