Optimism and its Bargains: Cultural Discourses of Motherhood and the Accounts of Mothers with Experiences of Anxiety and/or Depression
AIMS: This project is guided by two research aims. One is to contribute to gender studies and studies of family and motherhood by advancing our understanding of cultural discourses of motherhood and of mothers' experiences of them. This is achieved by integrating an analytical framework derived from the works of Lauren Berlant to theorise the ambivalence of maternal discourses and experiences. The other is to contribute to social theory by appraising the applicability of this Berlantian framework for social-scientific work. METHODS: This thesis has three empirical sections. First, I introduce a systematic review of studies about the representation of motherhood in media in any geographical location published after 31 December 2016 ($k=55$). Then, I present a thematic analysis of the new media presence of five brands targeted at UK mothers ($k=110$ YouTube videos, $k=4$ websites, $k=267$ packages, and $k=680$ Instagram posts). Finally, I offer a narrative analysis of interviews with mothers who have experiences of clinical anxiety and/or depression, focused on their expectations and lived experiences of motherhood ($n=15$). This sample was chosen with the goal of exploring some of the challenges of navigating the maternal role and its associated norms and identities. FINDINGS: First, my systematic review of existing literature highlights ambivalence in representations of motherhood, as traditional norms are concurrently challenged and sustained. It also identifies a gap in the literature for theories of that ambivalence. Second, and addressing this gap, my thematic analysis reveals that brand representations position motherhood as an object that can deliver the good life. They simultaneously offer validations and resources to retain optimism when motherhood’s lived experiences become too far removed from the fantasy of that good life. These two mechanisms, when combined, help absorb the difficulties of motherhood in a way that protects its promises of fulfilment. Third, my interview study with mothers who have experiences of anxiety and/or depression reveals the expectations they have invested in motherhood, and in how it relates to their sense of the good life. My study shows how feelings of anxiety and depression, and the strategies mothers deploy to navigate them, relate to such expectations. CONCLUSIONS: This work contributes to our understanding of motherhood and motherhood norms by proposing to understand both as spaces of bargaining where individuals and hegemonic institutions attempt to preserve mothers’ optimism that motherhood will deliver the good life they have fantasised—even in the face of overwhelming and difficult lived experiences. My thesis also extends the works of Lauren Berlant in three ways: it offers a proof of concept for their adaptation to empirical social-scientific work; it provides insights into how the particular affects of anxiety and depression may relate to attachments to life objects; and it further maps out strategies that individuals may use to navigate coming too close or not close enough to their fantasies of the good life.
affect, motherhood, mental health, cultural discourses, norms, Lauren Berlant, depression, anxiety, media, gender
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