The Good‐Mother Stereotype: Stay at Home (or Wish That You Did!)

Gorman, Kristin A.; Fritzsche, Barbara A.

doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb02069.x

Cited by 53 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The increased employability of women who have experienced multiple periods of unemployment is consistent with a perception that those female applicants may have done so voluntarily to manage responsibilities of work and family (Gorman & Fritzsche, 2002;Wayne & Cordeiro, 2003), and now are ready to reenter the workforce on a continuous basis. In parallel, gender-role theory suggests that individuals may suffer penalties when their behaviors are inconsistent with expected gender roles (Lovell et al, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

The Name Game: Employability Evaluations of Prototypical Applicants with Stereotypical Feminine and Masculine First Names

et al. 2005

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This study was designed to examine professional human resource managers' recommendations and inferences about prototypical applicants who had identical qualifications, in which the presence of periods of unemployment and name (feminine, masculine) of applicants were manipulated. Results indicate that although overall income for female applicants was less than male applicants in some conditions, male applicants were penalized and evaluated more harshly than female applicants when they had experienced periods of unemployment. Specifically, male applicants with employment gaps were seen as less committed and as less hirable than their female counterparts. Overall, male applicants were less likely to be recommended for an interview, and, when they experienced multiple gaps, they were less likely to be recommended for further consideration.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

The Name Game: Employability Evaluations of Prototypical Applicants with Stereotypical Feminine and Masculine First Names

et al. 2005

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“…'Good' motherhood is conceptualised as full-time, intensive, and child-centred (Hays, 1996), and sex-role stereotype studies continue to show that perceptions of 'good' mothers are commensurate with full-time stay-at-home mothers, rather than those in employment (e.g. Gorman & Fritzsche, 2002). Maher and Saugeres (2007) found that women without children held an idealized view of full-time, intensive motherhood (Hays, 1996) which they saw as incompatible with employment and other aspects of their identities and life plans, indicating that discourses of 'good', full-time motherhood may shape women's decisions around childbearing.…”

Section: Older Motherhood -An Uncomplicated Choice?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“For some people it isn’t a choice, it’s just how it happens”: Accounts of “delayed” motherhood among middle-class women in the UK

Budds

Locke

Burr

2016

Feminism & Psychology

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Citation: Budds K, Locke A and Burr V (2016) "For some people it isn't a choice, it's just how it happens": Accounts of 'delayed' motherhood among middle-class women in the UK. Feminism and Psychology. 26(2): 170-187. Copyright statement: © 2016The Authors. Full-text reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.Article "For some people it isn't a choice, it's just how it happens": Accounts of 'delayed' motherhood among middle-class women in the UK. Kirsty BuddsSchool of Psychology, Keele University, UK Abigail LockeFaculty of Social Sciences, University of Bradford, UK Vivien Burr School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, UK AbstractOver the past few decades the number of women having their first babies over the age of 35 in the United Kingdom (UK) has increased. Women's timing of motherhood is invariably bound up with a discourse of 'choice' and in this paper we consider the role choice plays in the timing of motherhood among women who have been defined as 'older' mothers. This article is based on data from 11 semi-structured interviews that explored the transition to motherhood among 'older' middle-class mothers. The interviews were analysed using critical discursive psychology. The women drew upon two dominant repertoires when making sense of their timing of motherhood. Within the first repertoire, 'older motherhood as circumstance', older motherhood was presented as the outcome of life circumstances beyond their control, with a lack of the 'right' circumstances facilitating 'delayed' motherhood. Within the second repertoire, 'older motherhood as readiness', women constructed themselves as (now) prepared for motherhood. 'Readiness' was bound up with notions of self-fulfillment, yet also assessments of their ability to be 'good' mothers. We conclude that, far from a straightforward choice, the timing of motherhood is shaped by cultural definitions of the 'right' circumstances for parenthood, but also cultural definitions of 'good' motherhood, which may define when women are 'ready'.

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“…Moreover, in keeping with a postfeminist era, intensive mothering foregrounds conservative femininities; it 'redefines women, first and foremost, through their relationships to children' (Douglas and Michaels, 2004, p.162). Women who wish to occupy the position of the 'good mother' should stay at home (Gorman and Fritzsche, 2002), the alternative is said to leave women with feelings of guilt for spending time away from children, and without the necessary energy to compete with men for high status and highly paid jobs (Hays, 1996). In short intensive mothering ideology is one means of maintaining women's subordinate position in relation to men (Hays, 1996).…”

Section: Intensive Motherhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parenting agendas: An empirical study of intensive mothering and infant cognitive development

Budds

Hogg

Banister

et al. 2016

The Sociological Review

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Abstract:Intensive parenting debates reflect the critical importance of a child's early years, and parents' roles in determining later developmental outcomes. Mothers are usually assigned primary responsibility for facilitating their infants' cognitive development through adequate and appropriate sensory stimulation. Drawing on Foucault's technologies of the self we explore how new mothers shape their mothering practices in order to provide appropriately stimulating interactions. Using findings from 64 interviews (31 women were interviewed twice, 2 women were interviewed only once) we identify three main positions whereby mothers function in relation to their infants' development; mother as committed facilitator, creative provider and careful/caring monitor. We consider the perceived normative nature of these positions and the impact they can have on middle-class women's subjectivities as new mothers. Our study of parental agendas and infant cognitive development suggests that a continued focus on the mother's role within early infant development reflects and upholds ideologies of child-centred, intensive mothering, which risks precluding 'alternative' maternal subjectivities and promotes conservative feminine identities.

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The Good‐Mother Stereotype: Stay at Home (or Wish That You Did!)

Cited by 53 publications

References 20 publications

The Name Game: Employability Evaluations of Prototypical Applicants with Stereotypical Feminine and Masculine First Names

The Name Game: Employability Evaluations of Prototypical Applicants with Stereotypical Feminine and Masculine First Names

“For some people it isn’t a choice, it’s just how it happens”: Accounts of “delayed” motherhood among middle-class women in the UK

Parenting agendas: An empirical study of intensive mothering and infant cognitive development

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