Is Black Motherhood A Marker of Oppression or Empowerment? Hip-Hop and R&B Lessons about Mama

A qualitative content analysis was conducted on the lyrics of 59 songs (40 Hip Hop songs; 17 R&B songs; 2 songs that represented the Hip Hop and R&B genre) from 1961-2013 to identify the ways that Black male and Black female artists described motherhood. The songs were determined by Billboard Chart Research Services, and Black Feminist Theory provided the theoretical foundation on which the themes were identified. Qualitative analysis of the lyrics revealed Black motherhood in R&B and Hip Hop to be based on the following four typologies: (1) Motherhood as Source of Emotional Comfort and Support; (2) Motherhood as Source of Strength and Self-Confidence; (3) Motherhood as Superior to Fatherhood; (4) Motherhood as Teacher and Disciplinarian; and (5) Motherhood Instills Unconditional Endless Love. Supporting qualitative lyrics are provided to support each of the aforementioned themes

Is Black Motherhood A Marker of Oppression or Empowerment? Hip-Hop and R&B Lessons about Mama

A qualitative content analysis was conducted on the lyrics of 59 songs (40 Hip Hop songs; 17 R&B songs; 2 songs that represented the Hip Hop and R&B genre) from 1961-2013 to identify the ways that Black male and Black female artists described motherhood. The songs were determined by Billboard Chart Research Services, and Black Feminist Theory provided the theoretical foundation on which the themes were identified. Qualitative analysis of the lyrics revealed Black motherhood in R&B and Hip Hop to be based on the following four typologies: (1) Motherhood as Source of Emotional Comfort and Support; (2) Motherhood as Source of Strength and Self-Confidence; (3) Motherhood as Superior to Fatherhood; (4) Motherhood as Teacher and Disciplinarian; and (5) Motherhood Instills Unconditional Endless Love. Supporting qualitative lyrics are provided to support each of the aforementioned themes

Talking About Motherhood Matters: Articulation of Population Policies through National Day Rally Speeches in Singapore

Women’s reproductive rights have always been a site of contestation. The central question this paper seeks to answer is how motherhood is constructed through the repetition of population policies by government officials and how this articulation becomes the script through which motherhood is in turn performed. This paper examines the rhetorical construction of what it means to be a mother in Singapore through the analysis of National Day Rally Speeches. Two themes emerged from this analysis: (1) Motherhood is an expensive experience and, (2) Motherhood required lifestyle changes. By unwittingly painting motherhood as negative experiences, population policies in Singapore could not achieve its goals. Hence, the articulation of population policies should also be considered in order to give women a positive script to performance motherhood

Contemporary Women’s Adaptation to Motherhood: The First 3 to 6 Weeks Postpartum

A better understanding of the process of adaptation to motherhood should enhance nurses’ ability to prepare women for the transition to motherhood and to provide care following childbirth. Knowledge about women’s adaptation to motherhood was developed primarily from the 1960s to the 1990s. Cesarean birthing was a special focus of research throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, followed by functional status, and more recently, depression and stress associated with birth and postpartum. Adaptation to motherhood in the context of the early 21st century has received limited attention in nursing research, creating an assumption that the process of adaptation is universal and context-free rather than evolving within the life and societal context of women across generations. Although becoming and being a mother has been described as a normative transition rather than a stressor by some, knowledge development about adaptation to motherhood also has been constrained by the limited use of a unified perspective of transition as a process of adaptation. Therefore, the purposes of this exploratory study were to describe contemporary women’s physical, emotional, functional, and social adaptation to motherhood and to examine the relations of selected demographic and perinatal variables to adaptation to motherhood in the first 3 to 6 weeks of the postpartum

The Motherhood Wage Penalty: High-Earning Women Are Doing Better Than Before

In this data snapshot, author Rebecca Glauber discusses her research on the motherhood wage penalty. In her study, she asked whether the motherhood wage penalty has declined over the past few decades. A decrease began in the 1990s but was most pronounced for high-earning women and smallest for lower-earning women. Median-earners fell somewhere in between. Today, high-earning women, or those who make close to $100,000 per year, no longer pay a motherhood penalty. But low earners, or those struggling on$15,000 per year, do

Representations and Discourses of Black Motherhood in Hip Hop and R&B over Time

This study will examine how representations and discourses regarding Black motherhood have changed in the Hip Hop and R&B genres over time. Specifically, this scholarly work will contextualize the lyrics of 79 songs (57 Hip Hop songs; 18 R&B songs; 2 songs represented the Hip Hop and R&B genre; 2 songs represented artists who produce music in 5 or 6 genres) from 1961-2015 to identify the ways that Black male and Black female artists described motherhood. Through the use of Black Feminist Theory, and by placing the production of these songs within a sociohistorical context, we provide an in-depth qualitative examination of song lyrics related to Black motherhood. Results gave evidence that representations and discourse of motherhood have been largely shaped by patriarchy as well as cultural, political, and racial politics whose primary aim was to decrease the amount of public support for poor, single Black mothers. In spite of the pathological framing of Black mothers, most notably through the welfare queen and baby mama stereotypes, a substantial number of Hip Hop and R&B artists have provided a strong counter narrative to Black motherhood by highlighting their positive qualities, acknowledging their individual and collective struggle, and demanding that these women be respected

Deviant (M)others: The construction of teenage motherhood in contemporary discourse

Paradoxically, the focus on teen motherhood as an object of concern in the West has coincided with declining rates of teen birth. This suggests that the view of teenage motherhood as problematic is underpinned by changing social and political imperatives regarding the role of, women in these countries. This article examines the literature surrounding teenage motherhood from the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand, and explores the way in which normative perceptions of motherhood have shifted over the past few decades to position teenage mothers as stigmatised and marginalised. Two specific discourses - those of welfare dependency and social exclusion - are highlighted, and their mediation through scientific discourses examined. The increasing trend to evidence-based policy development has masked the ideological basis of much policy in this area and highlights the importance of critical valuation of the discourses surrounding teenage motherhood. A critical examination of the literature suggests that teenage mothers are vilified, not because the evidence of poor outcomes for teen mothers and their children is particularly compelling, but because these young women resist the typical life trajectory of their middle-class peers which conforms to the current governmental objectives of economic growth through higher education and increased female workforce participation

Negotiating Motherhood: the Difficulties and Challenges of Rural First-Time Mothers in Parung, West Java

A hermeneutic phenomenological study was carried out to explore the difficulties and challenges of being a first-time mother in a rural area in Indonesia. The purposes of the present study were to provide health care providers with a greater understanding of the difficulties and the challenges of early motherhood. The thirteen Indonesian women who participated in this study described their experiences of first-time motherhood during early motherhood. Data were collected through semi structured conversational interviews. Three majors difficulties and challenges were identified: (1) being a new mother is not easy (2) a new mother is not as free as she was before and (3) trying to be a good mother. These challenges have offered insight, information and understanding into the experiences of Indonesian women with early motherhood. Also, this study will give a richer and deeper understanding of the needs of women during this period and about their feelings on the mothering role, which is useful for health care providers and others, who are concerned about this issue.&nbsp

Motherhood Wage Penalty

Women in the United States have made monumental strides in recent decades to increase their participation in both higher education and the workforce. As it currently stands, young women are beginning to acquire bachelor’s degrees and professional degrees at higher rates than men and are entering the labor force at record numbers. Aside from these vast societal shifts, a staggering problem remains as the gender gap in pay fails to effectively close. The persistence of the wage gap can be primarily attributed to one significant factor: having children. The motherhood wage penalty occurs when women experience a drop in earnings and workplace opportunities following the birth of their children. Although many factors contribute to this problem, the predominant cause lies in the disproportionate child-rearing responsibilities women inherit and the subsequent career sacrifices they make. Addressing this problem will require a reform of current policy and a move towards a parental leave system that encourages increased participation among fathers. This paper will examine the extent of the problem, identify its underlying cause, explore the deficiencies of current policy, and conclude with a policy recommendation