Motherhood |
Motherhood—what does this word bring to your mind?
I can probably guess what first appears in most of our minds: the ideal image of a woman becoming a mother, taking care of her children, cleaning, teaching, raising them, and noticing every little detail of their lives. When the children go to school, she makes sure they complete their homework, keeps track of their classes, attends their functions, knows all their teachers, ensures they have good friends, and lets them grow while also worrying that they do not grow up too fast. With modern Gen Alpha children come new challenges: monitoring what they watch in their free time, limiting screen time, and constantly adapting to concerns that previous generations of parents never had to face. As these children become teenagers, mothers ride an emotional rollercoaster alongside them. They answer difficult questions, navigate hormonal changes, and provide the patience, reassurance, and support that adolescence demands.
Yet, when we talk about motherhood, if you have not noticed already, we only talk about women in relation to their children. We rarely talk about them as individuals, as women, or simply as human beings.
These are idealised notions of motherhood that women are expected to live up to in order to be considered the "perfect" mother.
The question is: why are women no longer seen as fully human once they adopt the title of mother?
Many studies have shown that motherhood is a complex identity that can evoke feelings of anxiety, pressure, loss, stress, and fear.........