Virgin Territories and Motherlands: Colonial and Nationalist Representations of Africa and Ireland

‘Oh motherland I pledge to thee …’: a study into nationalism, gender and the representation of an imagined family within national anthems

“…This combination resembles the idea of a ‘national feminine’ noted by feminist scholars. The country itself is described as a female beauty, similar to the presentation of women as sexualised embodiments of the nation as observed by Innes (). Moreover, our findings emphasise that metaphoric family language goes some way in revealing imagery of ‘sacrifice’ stressed by Johnson et al.…”

“…One added perspective that includes the more abstract function of women in nationalist discourse is the national feminine . Innes () provides the examples of African and Irish women as embodiments of their respective ‘homelands’ and of nations represented as women, such as Britannia, the Finnish Maiden or Germania. These female personifications convey gendered, even sexualised, narratives of nationhood and conflict (Nagel ): within the context of Anglo‐Irish struggles, Ireland has been portrayed as weak ‘Hibernia’ in dire need of protection from John Bull (Innes : 5).…”

“…Innes () provides the examples of African and Irish women as embodiments of their respective ‘homelands’ and of nations represented as women, such as Britannia, the Finnish Maiden or Germania. These female personifications convey gendered, even sexualised, narratives of nationhood and conflict (Nagel ): within the context of Anglo‐Irish struggles, Ireland has been portrayed as weak ‘Hibernia’ in dire need of protection from John Bull (Innes : 5). In addition, Yuval‐Davis and Anthias (; see also Yuval‐Davis ) have argued that women are symbolic signifiers of national difference; it is women who are held responsible for the cultural and ethnic reproduction of nationhood through giving birth to children and raising them as proper nationals.…”

“…Even Germania and the French Marianne have been portrayed as motherly figures, despite their otherwise martial depictions (Brandt ; Mosse ). Representations of motherhood have been particularly illustrative of national conflict: Ireland's image of ‘Mother Ireland’ raped by the British Empire countered Great Britain's portrayal of a young, vulnerable girl as the feeble ‘Hibernia’ (Ashe ; Magennis ); with the reinstatement of Home Rule, the latter was transformed into a more robust mother figure caring for her ‘unruly lads’ (Innes : 9). In the case of Northern Ireland, however, this image then turned into a ‘grotesque mother’ devouring her ‘sons’ by sending them to battle (Magennis ).…”