Deconstructions of the feminine: reading posts of mothers with autistic children on Facebook

Abstract

The blue mother label is used as a tribute to women who care for children with autistic disorder. However, at the same time that it positions the woman in the
role of caregiver, the label also designates the place of self‘denial and sacrifice for the dedication to ex emplary motherhood. Fixed in the role of perfect mother, women are still classified as recognizable and socially acceptable subjects by correspondence to the moral values anchored in the family care. This text presents part of the research on the enunciative and communicational practices by mothers of autistic children on Facebook between January and July 2017. The analysis, based on virtual ethnography, observes how women elaborate their talk aimed at the promotion of autonomy and self‘affirmation in order to break with the feminine identity fixed in the perfect maternity, incompatible with daily experience.