FEMINIST MOTHERING IN REFERENCE TO SHARON HAYS ARGUMENT

FEMINIST MOTHERING IN REFERENCE TO SHARON HAYS ARGUMENT

            There is a difference between mothering and feminist mothering. Motherhood is the institution full of tradition as compared to the current feminist mothering. Feminist mothering on the other hand mainly encompasses the benefit acquired by both the mother and the child when a given mother is able to live her life doing other things as well as practicing mothering. This essay talks about feminist mothering. This also includes the analysis of feminist mothering, opinions, discussion and explanations. Feminist mothering arises from feminism. Feminism is a political as well as an intellectual commitment that seeks the justice for the women as well as putting an end to prejudice in all the forms and ensuring equality. Concerning the matter of feminist mothering, Sharon Hays argues that  ” the ideological separation of public and private spheres” results in “the value of intimate and family life {standing} as an explicit rejection of the values of economic and political life”. This essay also discusses this statement. It discusses the validity of this statement and the opinions arising towards it.

Feminist mothering

In order to understand what feminist mothering is, understanding feminism, mothering and motherhood in the traditional setup is of paramount importance. Feminist mothering is an active and positive place in the world. It goes far beyond the motherhood critiques in trying to find a location as well as set up an investigation on the practices of the feminist mothers. These act as sites for empowering the women as well as the provision of social change in the field of women. Feminist mothering encompasses the mothering practices that seek to provide challenge as well as changing the formalities of any given normal motherhood that limit as well as oppress women. For several women, practicing of feminist mothering offers ways to disrupt the transmission of traditional and sexist values from one generation to the next. Feminist mothering is a type of motherhood that requires one’s conversance in matters of work, matters of raising children in right manners and other several issues. There are discussions, explanations as well as opinions that arise because of feminist mothering and its setting. Mothering therefore from a given feminist practice and perspective redefines the mother work as a political and social act. This is in huge contrasts to the traditional motherhood that constricts mothering to a given privatized care often undertaken in a domestic sphere. Feminist mothering always regards itself as very open as well as profoundly social and political. Talking of feminist mothering requires one, to talk about issues of traditional motherhood and mothering itself placed in comparison to feminist mothering in the world (Ott, 2011). Feminism is a body of literature as well as a political position for the advocacy of women mothers, the hearing of women’s rights as well as their well understanding and fair treatment in all aspects. In the discussion on feminist mothering, feminist scholars provide an examination on social institutions in terms of for example, the inequality found between women and men as well as by gender. Feminism is a flourishing issue as well as an interdisciplinary one within social and political sciences.

Motherhood refers to that patriarchal institution of the motherhood itself that is often male-defined as well as controlled. It is often traditional and everything from childbirth to rearing children is traditional. It is also oppressive to the women in several occasions because of the modernized and developing world. This therefore makes women feel like getting out of these traditional shelves of mothering.  Mothering encompasses the experiences of mothering often female-defined as well as centered to empower women potentially. Patriarchal motherhood reality is different from possibilities or the potentialities of feminist mothering. Feminist mothering is evidence of the empowered mothering. It brings someone’s motherhood very doable for feminism as well as on the other hand feminism possible for one to practice motherhood. The word motherhood is different from a feminist-maternal view. In patriarchal motherhood for example, the definition of good mothers surrounds married, stay-at home mums, middle class and white mothers. From a feminist perspective, a good mothers’ definition draws from all identities that are maternal and these include the poor, single, working, lesbian and older women. This shows the goodness of feminist mothering. The formation of a given feminist motherhood surrounds that of blended, step, single and same sex families. The families that are not formed basing on gender, sex or anything else. The patriarchal motherhood mainly characterizes on the bearing of children as a nonpolitical and a private undertaking. Feminist mothers normally foreground mother work in a political and social formation. This involves challenging the traditional practices mainly concerning gender socialization as well as performing the antisexist childbearing practices in order to raise daughters and sons who are both empathetic and empowered. Feminist mothers also commit to both their own children and to feminism and this falls under maternal activism (O’Reilly, 2010).

Sharon Hays argues that  ” the ideological separation of public and private spheres” results in “the value of intimate and family life {standing} as an explicit rejection of the values of economic and political life”. This statement refers to the differentiation of the public and private spheres ideologically. Sharon Hays argues out that this ideological differentiation of the public and private spheres of life leads to the value of an intimate and family life as a pathway towards the rejection of values of both the economic and the political life. I do not agree with her. Sharon Hays in a manner is supporting the patriarchal type of motherhood in opposition towards feminist mothering. In my opinion, feminist mothering that often surrounds both the political and economic set up is advisable in bringing up a child (O’Reilly, 2010). Bringing up a child under traditional setting does not augur well with the modernized setting of the world. Feminist mothers have qualities of being in the frontline on issues of race, gender and any other activism movements. They balance between their parenting skills and skills for working ensuring that enough time is available for both. This leads to public and political exposure of children on several issues that do not augur well with the cultural traditional setting of mothering as paraphrased by Sharon Hays. The traditional set up faces setbacks due to the up rise of feminist mothering emphasize on the need for political as well as public life in all matters. A given mother is able to live her life as well as practicing mothering properly as well (Ott, 2011).

Feminist analysis of a mothers’ close to five years of care for a child for example suffering from multiple chronic conditions provides suggestions of unique interventions that arise from feminist mothers and just normal mothers.  Feminist mothers will provide good care for this type of a child whereas for any typical mother, there is less care given due to lack of intellectual exposure. This case also grounds for the wider consideration of the utilities of feminist analyses for the practice as well as their similarity accompanied by the basic values of occupational therapy. Motherhood might as well be an issue of feminism containing several problems. Feminists challenge ideologies that women function within a nuclear family that is traditional in view of cross-cultural and historical variety of the family structures. This is the notion that encompasses people’s minds when they hear of the word mothering. In feminist agendas, about three strategies create an address towards motherhood, the demand for recognition of the work value involved in caring for others, addition of men to caregivers’ rank and finally the rejection of the responsibility of women for the unpaid care. These three main factors create a major address towards motherhood. In spite of contributions towards feminists theorizing as well as researching on mothering and motherhood, few scholars pay attention to analyzing potential mothering of feminists as a women’s strength site. This also includes the resistance towards patriarchy as well as the location of the revolutionary activism (May, 2011).

One of the reasons as to why I disagree with Sharon Hays statement is because feminism classifies feminist mothering as that of strong women and that these women have many rights as women as well as they can provide support for each other. Feminists also argue on the importance of intertwining between the public and the private spheres of life in mothering. Feminist mothers have therefore had the ability to develop ways that are critical towards the societal structures, cultures as well as myths and expectations of motherhood (Held & Meyers, 2008). Feminist mothering is the basic resistance to the expectations of womanhood and motherhood combined in the eyes of people. Feminist mothering does not augur with the profile of good mothers as known by many people because it is set in the political and social life. Therefore, it provides challenges. One of feminist mothering theories starts with recognizing that both children and mothers gain highly when a mother lives her own life and practices her mothering from positions of authenticity, autonomy, agency and authority. Feminist mothering hence affords a woman a given intelligent life, an identity outside as well as beyond motherhood and fruitful benefits. At this point also, the woman’s sexuality, race, age or marital statuses do not in any case provide determination over her capacity to mother children. There is also the establishment of maternal power and adding of value to mothering. This discussion shows the advantages that come with feminist mothering. Redefining the work of a mother as a political and social act, giving a woman a powerful identity outside only motherhood and even the practice of authenticity, autonomy, agency and authority encompass a feminist mother (Middleton, 2016).

Sharon Hays argues that intimate and family life is unachievable when there is no separation of the public and private spheres of life. I totally disagree with this statement. The features of feminist mothering contain four themes, which are family unity, childhood, activism as well as rearing of children. Family mainly talks about the importance of maintaining a knit family before anything else. What is central to each theme is the redefinition of motherhood from a given perspective of feminists that enable people to view feminist mothering as the type of mothering that puts family unity and upbringing of children first before other things. This is because this redefinition often enables the discussions, explanations and opinions generated on feminist mothering. All these discussions show how feminist mothering values family unity, the rearing of children and childbearing. As much as activism is part of feminist mothers’ family ties come first (O’Reilly, 2008).

On motherhood, the explanations and discussions on feminist mothering require that people build more strong networks between parents and themselves to reeducate communities as well as raising children properly. With modernization in place, mothers’ images have experienced change. White mothers are often seen as the self-sacrificing and angelic whereas the black women as reckless breeders as well as welfare mothers. The era of civil rights however led to a revisionist research that led to the rejection of the ethnocentric, narrow as well as the class-biased notions concerning the families that raise their sons and daughters under either white or black conditions. Championing for the rights of white and black women by the feminist mothers has led to the watering down of such ethnocentric views. In my opinion however, for the women to be empowered the main function is for them to function primarily as feminist mothers. In order to completely, and fully liberate the children from the traditional methods of childbearing, the mothers first need to liberate themselves from the traditional motherhood. This is by embracing feminist mothering. This is also because feminist mothering comes with a higher advantage of being in power, having authority and authenticity and in the same time being able to raise children in a good manner (O’Reilly, 2010).

The overall aim of the feminist mothering is to redefine the patriarchal motherhood as well as to make motherhood more empowering and less oppressive. Feminist mothering also looks towards affirming and confirming power for and to the mothers. Feminist mothering over the ages has contestations. Its expression is often in negotiation and contestation with patriarchal motherhood institution that it often resists. As feminist mothering creates new and formalized non patriarchal families, there are challenges facing traditional gender and socialization issues. This is mainly because some people see an importance for the separation of political and social spheres. This is for example in Sharon Hays’ quoting whereby she emphasizes on this separation. The establishment of feminist mothering has advantages. Its creation analyzes gender; champions for mother work as well as the other equities in the world and at home. Women become empowered because of the ability to both work and practice mothering. Women also face the need to live their lives in full resistance to patriarchy. This defines the feminist mothering as a stronghold against patriarchy, which, emphasizes on stay-at-home mothers. Feminist mothering therefore shelters people especially mothers from patriarchy therefore undermining it and transforming the larger patriarchal culture in which people live in (May, 2011).

Another aspect of feminist mothering that requires discussion is the aspect of feminist parenting. It practices gender negotiation as well as teaching it. The parenting is as a means towards establishing a sex or gender equality. In feminist mothering and parenting of children, mothering signals do not carry any specific duties, roles or any inherent notion that most females by virtue of their sexuality possess the ability to mother well. The parenting of children under feminist mothering enables also the empowering of the children as well (Fisher & Tronto, 2010). Feminist mothering helps the children in understanding the privileges they own. Feminine perspectives put emphasis on the inclusion of the women’s experiences as well as the focus on care or the traditional views considered as feminine virtues.  These include compassion and nurturance. Despite facing critic statements from some researchers and scholars, feminist mothering is on the rise (O’Reilly, 2008). Unlike Sharon Hays’ statement where she emphasizes that a united family life requires rejection of political and economic life, research papers have shown that feminist mothering despite its economic coverage leads to good upbringing of children despite their public upbringing. Traditional bringing up of children in a manner shuns children from being able to seek their goals and desires. The development of feminist mothering is in response to many mothers’ dissatisfaction as well as dislike for traditional form of motherhood. This is what led to its creation as evidenced by various researches and development. A feminist mother, mothers under the influence of feminism, it is informed, politic and philosophical (Ott, 2011).

There has been a great struggle to move the mainstream feminism in order to recognize issues such as poverty and immigration. Feminist mothering lead to the rethinking of how people participate in communities we mothers who have children. Mothers must be in the front line protesting against immigration raids that provide separation of children from their mothers. Feminism faces imposing social structure built towards the reinforcement of ties in between women, gender, race, mothering and economic status. Feminist mothers struggle with raising their children in a racialized and gendered world. The world often buttressed by the religious beliefs as well as practices. There is need for people to be conversant with the subject of feminist mothering as a 21^st century development that has spread in many continents (May, 2011).

Conclusion

The development of feminist mothering is mainly because of responses created due to the dissatisfaction of mothers in the traditional setup. This response over the years has created feminist mothering that empowers women both socially and politically. A feminist mother, mother is often politic, empowered, empathetic, informed and excellent in child rearing. Feminist mothering has several discussions that surround its’ validity and existence in the world. This also includes explanations and opinions that come with it. The argument however, by Sharon Hays, that it has led to a division and has upset the united family ties is wrong. Feminist mothering seeks to create a woman who can multitask between raising of children and working at the same time. This type of mothering as evidenced above seeks to empower and create intelligent mothers. This mothering therefore acts as tower for empowering the women as well as the provision of social change in the field of women. There is need to empower women who have children through feminist mothering. Feminist mothering encompasses the mothering practices that seek to provide challenge as well as changing the norms of the patriarchal motherhood that limit as well as oppress women. This therefore shows the need to uphold it. Feminist mothering is rising in several countries including the USA and Canada and researchers have confirmed its spread to other countries.

References

Rich, A. (2008). Of woman born: Motherhood as experience and institution. WW Norton &          Company.

Hays, S. (2007). Why can’t a mother be more like a businessman?. Maternal theory: Essential       readings, 408-430.

May, T. (2011). Social research. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Ott, K. M. (2011). Feminist mothering of sons: Ethical practices for everyone. Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 27(2), 143-147.

O’Reilly, J. (2008). Can a basic income lead to a more gender equal society?. Basic Income           Studies, 3(3).

Middleton, A. (2016). Mothering under duress: Examining the inclusiveness of feminist    mothering theory. Journal of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community    Involvement, 8(1).

Fisher, B., & Tronto, J. (2010). Toward a feminist theory of caring. Circles of care: Work and       identity in women’s lives, 35-62.

Held, V., Kittay, E., & Meyers, D. (2008). Feminism and moral theory. Bioethics: An        introduction to the history, methods, and practice, 166-171.