Girls interrupted : narrative constructions of identity among teenage mothers in the UK and France

This thesis is premised on the understanding that narratives are notmerely ways of telling others about ourselves, but are also a meansof shaping our identities. It was informed by narrative researchmethodology that conceptualizes identity as multiple and mutableand as being shaped by individual biography and experience overtime, as well as by social context. Therefore, taking a narrativeapproach and using the concept of family and local habitus as aconceptual tool, this study compares and contrasts how teenagemothers in the UK and France narratively construct their identitiesand the extent to which these are influenced by broaderEuroamerican meta-narratives, particularly in relation to motherhood,teenage motherhood, adolescence and femininities.The field work for this research project involved obtaining personaloral narratives from young mothers in the United Kingdom andFrance in order to constitute case studies. The resulting narrativesfrom each case study were analysed individually and were thencompared to reveal similarities and differences between the accounts.One of the key themes to emerge from the research was that theInfluence of the prevailing Euroamerican meta-narrative as regards tomotherhood seemed to be particularly significant to the ways inwhich the young women who took part in this study constructed theiridentities, especially in the extent to which their understanding ofmotherhood appeared to be linked to their understanding offemininity. Issues of agency and power in relation to meta-narrativesand how they operate in the thesis as well as the ways in which theyoung mothers take up and use power are addressed.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral (Level 8)

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Langtree, SK

Language dc:language

en

Identifier

oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1337540

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1337540