Transmission and Change in South African Motherhood
Black Mothers in Three-Generational Cape Town Families
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5117554 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elena Moore (0000-0002-0744-9826, University of Cape Town, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 151-170 |
| Publication date | 2013-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Southern African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0305-7070 • E-ISSN: 1465-3893 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03057070.2013.764713 |
| OpenAlex | W2088892988 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 21 |
This article explores changes in the conceptualisation of motherhood, drawing upon life history interviews with six families over three generations in Cape Town. I examine the practice of mothering, how women of each generation talked about motherhood and how maternal identity is transmitted over time and across generations. In particular, I investigate the ways in which marriage and motherhood have uncoupled within a changing socio-historical context. Findings from a South Africa-wide attitudinal survey and a case study demonstrate how structural and cultural changes have influenced the model of ‘good mothering’ in the youngest generation: Notions of motherhood have changed from solely cultivating a ‘good provider and caring role’ toward a growing emphasis on achieving personal goals and working on ‘the project of the self’. Meanwhile the absence of men as participatory caregivers remains a continuous theme across generations. This research contributes fresh insights to the discussion of motherhood in South Africa while drawing on some of the broader contextualisation and generational models adopted in previous studies
Cape · Citizen journalism · Geography · Political science · Sociology · Family Support in Illness · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Work-Family Balance Challenges
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Gender, Motherhood, and Parenting in Africa
Gender, Motherhood, and Parenting in Africa
South African single mothers’ experiences of raising a child with a disability
Lone Motherhood in South Africa
Financing Social Reproduction
‘Only a Housewife?’ Subjective Well-Being and Homemaking in South Africa
“She is a Mother, but still Childish”. Exploring Adult Caregivers’ Perspectives on Adolescent Parenting
Infertility in 1 Samuel 1
Expressions from Zulu proverbs on the uniqueness of motherhood in mitigating the adverse effects of orphanhood
Precarity of Subsistence
Contradictions in Young Black Men’s Attitudes and Practices
A Southern encounter
Who Cares? Gender Differences in Social Reproduction and Well‐Being in South Africa
Living single
Race Differences in the Loneliness of Older Adults
Mothering in socioeconomically marginalised communities in South Africa
Perspectives on being mothered and on negotiating the transition to motherhood
The Bond of Education
Changing Motherhood in the South African Middle-Class Context
South Africa's hybrid care regime
| Unique citing works | 21 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,62 |
| Citation span | 2013 - 2026 (14) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 20 |