Narratives of motherhood

Smith, K and Lockwood, KA ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3818-1399 2021, 'Narratives of motherhood' , in: Family Practices in Migration , Routledge Studies in Development, Mobilities and Migration , Routledge, pp. 175-191.

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Abstract

Focusing on the subjective and relational nature of stories and storytelling, in this chapter the authors adopt a feminist narrative approach to understand the way in which mothering identities are constructed through storytelling in the context of asylum. They begin the chapter with an overview of available mothering narratives and the opportunities and challenges they pose for women seeking asylum. In this chapter, the authors consider the way in which mothers constructed and negotiated different narratives to tell their stories. Harder to tell and harder to listen to than narratives of reworking good mothering, narratives of incapacitated mothering are constrained by pain and chaos, but they also call on the listener to bear witness to the teller's distress. This chapter contributes to the ongoing dialogue among and between feminists researching the lives and stories of women, a dialogue that the people believe is important if the people are to expand the possibilities for all women to tell their stories.

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