Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Still Swimming Against The Tide: Obstacles To Gender-Neutrality In Parenting Arrangements, Helen Lafferty

MALS Final Projects, 1995-2019

Parenting, in our society, is a highly gendered activity, with mothers overwhelmingly taking responsibility for the care of children. This responsibility is frequently associated with negative effects for women in terms of workplace opportunity, financial security, work load, and emotional wellbeing. The identity of "mother" is a positive one, and there is nothing inherently gendered about its features. The identity is, however, conflated with certain parental behaviors, such that "mother" identity and mothers' behaviors have a common underlying meaning; being a mother by definition, therefore, involves undertaking primary responsibility for childrearing. Gendered parenting arrangements are reinforced by interactions with every …