| Abstrakt: |
The purpose of this project was to analyze modern motherhood and how the concept "New Momism" is perpetuated among contemporary mothers. New Momism was first coined by Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels in 2004, and it refers to cultural ideal that "women remain the best primary caretakers of children, and that to be a remotely decent mother, a woman has to devote her entire physical, psychological, emotional, and intellectual being, 24/7, to her children" (p. 4). The basic idea is that women are oppressed by this intangible "pressure of perfection." However, Douglas and Michaels argue that the ideals of New Momism began influencing mothers in the 1980s and 1990s, through media outlets such as newsmagazines, television news coverage of "bad moms," the socially constructed "Mommy Wars," and the ideals that celebrity moms uphold. The purpose of this project was to examine whether or not the New Momism of the 1990s exists today in the everyday lives of women. We suggest that the proponents of New Momism have only become more salient over time, and that modern mothers are practicing New Momism via Michel Foucault's (1975) third stage of punishment: post-structuralist surveillance.. We measured New Momism among modern mothers, and report the prevalence of such behavior among moms in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Results show that younger mothers are significantly more likely to practice New Momism and surveillance of themselves and other moms. Implications for moms' well-being are discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
