Feasey, R (2015) Mothers on mothers: maternal readings of popular television. In: Consuming/Culture: Women and Girls in Print and Pixels, 5–6 June 2015, Oxford Brookes University, UK.
Abstract
Representations of motherhood and motherwork have the power and scope to foreground culturally accepted familial relations and provide ‘common sense’ understandings about appropriate, inappropriate, acceptable and other maternal behaviors for a contemporary audience. And although it is important that we examine those representations of motherhood and motherwork that dominate the contemporary media landscape, and consider the ways in which these depictions relate to the wider social, sexual, political and economic context, it is crucial that we understand the ways in which mothers from the television audience read such texts and relate them to their lived experiences. With this in mind, this research will draw on the findings of questionnaires and focus group discussions with expectant, new and experienced mothers in order to discover the ways in which these women find pleasure, empowerment, escapist fantasy, displeasure and frustration from popular depictions of mothers and consider the ways in which such responses inform their own maternal thoughts and practices. The ways in which these women talk about their relationships with mothers on screen can help inform our understandings of female camaraderie, women’s centered discourses and sisterhood in the contemporary period.
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | Bath School of Art, Film and Media |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Jun 2015 10:37 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Jan 2022 19:40 |
| URI / Page ID: | https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/6238 |
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