Title: Western Motherhood Studies in the Postmodern Context

Abstract: Western motherhood studies have promoted active discussions since the 1970s, becoming an independent discipline in the 21st century. Western motherhood, with postmodern philosophy as its foundation, focuses on analyzing various topics to empower women / mothers. Based on the development of motherhood studies, this paper explores key aspects of motherhood, including the subjectivity of women / mothers, institutionalized motherhood, motherhood as experience, and the ethics of motherhood to demonstrate its theoretical and practical values. However, as one developing theory, motherhood studies also expose its own problems, such as essentialism and standardization, among others. Thus, a dialectical attitude is needed when dismantling institutionalized motherhood; this approach is intended to study mothers from different cultures and social classes, and re-examine the empowerment of motherhood. In addition, ethical values should be considered when stressing new and expanded views of motherhood.

Keywords: motherhood, postmodern, subjectivity, institutionalized motherhood, ethical criticism

Author: Yanhua Mao, Associate Professor, School of Foreign Language Studies, Zhejiang Wanli University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.