“An inner core feeling”?: Nationalism, Western capitalism, and Bengali women's class-based mothering ideologies

Objective

We analyze motherhood identities among middle- and working-class women in urban Bengal.

Background

Westernized societies encourage women to pursue careers and childrearing. Researchers examine this tension in diverse Western contexts and the Indian middle class. We add to existing work by comparing Indian women's motherhood ideologies across social class.

Methods

We use in-depth qualitative interviews with mothers in structured (i.e., middle-class) and unstructured (i.e., working-class) economic sectors.

Results

Economically privileged mothers diminished the importance of paid work and emphasized Western mothering strategies. Mothers in unstructured sectors drew on nation-building rhetoric to construct socially valued mothering identities.

Conclusions

Mainstream mothering approaches (i.e., popular images of childrearing by upper-class women) benefit patriarchal capitalist social structures by encouraging women to work for pay and take primary responsibility for home and family. Mothers' social class and status positions in historical and societal context(s) influence the tools (i.e., forms of capital) they have available to parent their children and construct valued mothering identities.

Implications

Strategies marginalized mothers use to construct mothering identities when faced with dominant exclusionary narratives of a “good mother” can be understood and used strategically. Embracing ideologies that allow women to maintain integrity in the face of stigmatization has transformative potential for policymaking and service provision.