Heffernan, Valerie and Wilgus, Gay
(2018)
Introduction: Imagining Motherhood in the
Twenty-First Century—Images, Representations,
Constructions.
Women: A Cultural Review, 29 (1).
pp. 1-18.
ISSN 0957-4042
Abstract
This special issue of Women: A Cultural Review explores the diversity of
maternal images proffered by various media formats, including cinema, literature and
visual art, in the twenty-first century. The editors begin their introduction with an
overview of recent research on maternal representation, then introduce the primary
thematic concerns that feature in the included articles. They look at how mothers whose
mothering experiences do not reflect conventional family models—particularly single
mothers, LGBQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer/questioning) mothers and migrant mothers
—have been either sidelined by or misrepresented in cultural and media depictions of
motherhood, and how these depictions have begun to evolve in recent years. They
additionally explore how the idealization of motherhood in mainstream culture casts
women who choose not to have children in a negative light. Ultimately, they point to how
the images, representations and constructions of motherhood analysed by the various
contributors both reflect and contribute to the shaping of contemporary cultural meanings
of motherhood.
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