Mother(Hood)ing

Abstract

Among the diverse human experiences, few are the focus of as much prescription as motherhood. There is no shortage of models, standards and rules to be followed by women who are newcomers to this universe, or even the most experienced. In this article, we try to discuss the dispute of meanings between the notions of motherhood as “feminine nature” or as “female experience”. Thus, it is sought to show the proper distinction between the notions of “motherhood” and “mothering” (O’Reilly, 2004), based on the Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (Lazar, 2007).