"I know I'm a good mum - no-one can tell me different": young mothers negotiating a stigmatized identity through time

TY - JOUR

T1 - "I know I'm a good mum - no-one can tell me different"

T2 - young mothers negotiating a stigmatized identity through time

AU - Wenham, Aniela Michelle

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - This article draws on qualitative longitudinal data obtained over a five-year period with young mothers. What makes the approach described in this article unique is how it views teenage pregnancy and motherhood as fluid and dynamic, moving away from the static snapshots that often depict young mothers as struggling (or ‘failing’) at one moment in time, to a more nuanced account that reflects their journeys into motherhood and the changes that occur through time. Three main themes are explored. First, emphasis is placed on the acute awareness of stigmatisation and how the women in the study consequently felt pressure to ‘prove’ that they were different or set apart from the stereotypical teenage mother. Second, factors that either neutralise or exacerbate the experience of stigma are explored. Finally, it is argued that greater attention should be paid to the process of stigmatisation through the notion of a ‘maternal career’. This framework allows for an appreciation of both the complexity of how lives unfold and of the many factors that can influence its direction.

AB - This article draws on qualitative longitudinal data obtained over a five-year period with young mothers. What makes the approach described in this article unique is how it views teenage pregnancy and motherhood as fluid and dynamic, moving away from the static snapshots that often depict young mothers as struggling (or ‘failing’) at one moment in time, to a more nuanced account that reflects their journeys into motherhood and the changes that occur through time. Three main themes are explored. First, emphasis is placed on the acute awareness of stigmatisation and how the women in the study consequently felt pressure to ‘prove’ that they were different or set apart from the stereotypical teenage mother. Second, factors that either neutralise or exacerbate the experience of stigma are explored. Finally, it is argued that greater attention should be paid to the process of stigmatisation through the notion of a ‘maternal career’. This framework allows for an appreciation of both the complexity of how lives unfold and of the many factors that can influence its direction.

KW - STIGMA

KW - teenage pregnancy

KW - teenage mothers

KW - young mothers

U2 - 10.1332/204674315X14193466354732

DO - 10.1332/204674315X14193466354732

M3 - Article

SN - 2046-7435

JO - Families, Relationships and Societies

JF - Families, Relationships and Societies

ER -