The Construction of Motherhood: Tasks, Relational Connection, and Gender Equality*

• Author: Randi S. Cowdery,Carmen Knudson‐Martin
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2005.00321.x
• Published date: 01 July 2005
• Date: 01 July 2005

The Construction of Motherhood:

Tasks, Relational Connection,

and Gender Equality*

Randi S. Cowdery Carmen Knudson-Martin**

Abstract: This qualitative analysis of 50 couples explored how gender equality is related to the construction of

motherhood in their day-to-day interactions. Results identified two models of mothering: (a) mothering as a gen-

dered talent and (b) mothering as conscious collaboration. The first model perpetuated gender inequality through

a recursive task-relationship cycle between mothers and children. More equal couples consciously collaborated to

create a task-relationship spiral for fathers as well as mothers. Processes involved in each view of mothering were dis-

cussed relative to the distribution of parenting tasks. The findings suggest that families would benefit from educa-

tion and clinical approaches that address gender and power, encourage open discussion regarding how child care

choices are made, and develop new skills for both genders.

Key Words: couples, gender equality, marriage and family therapy, motherhood, mothering, parenting.

Mothering is linked with notions of femininity and

gender (Arendell, 2000). For this reason, changing

notions of gender and equality are necessarily linked

to the meaning and practice of motherhood. This

study examined how the experiences and meanings

of motherhood were constructed and maintained

within the context of ongoing interpersonal interac-

tions between mothers, fathers, and children. We

focused in particular on motherhood in the context

of marriages with varying levels of gender equality.

Motherhood in Context

Early studies on motherhood tended to focus pri-

marily on mothers as instrumental to the devel-

opment of their children (Gerson, Alpers, &

Richardson, 1984). More recent studies focused on

mothers’ experiences and examined motherhood as

a set of social interactions that arise within

a gendered set of relationships and social institutions

at a particular time and place (Arendell, 2000; Baber

& Allen, 1992; Glenn, 1994; Thompson & Walker,

1989). Mothering as a natural activity has been

deconstructed to reveal cultural ideologies that hold

it in place (Baber & Allen).

Chodorow (1978) and Ruddick (1980)challenged

the idea that women were born mothers. Chodorow

posited that because women do the child care, girls

remain connected to their mothers and develop an

orientation toward nurturing through attachment

and identification processes. Ruddick believed that

mothers take on a nurturing identity as a result of

the caregiving work they do, rather than as a result of

identificationvia attachment. As mothers interact with

their children, they create deep emotional bonds that

influence maternal and connected ways of thinking.

Though interest in the development of maternal

attachment and identity continues (e.g., Kretchmar

& Jacobvitz, 2002; Smith, 1999), these kinds of

*The authors thank Arsineh Aararat, Jennifer Barton, and Patty Hoerner for their assistance on this project.

**Randi S. Cowdery is a PhD candidate at the Department of Counseling and Family Sciences, Loma Linda University, Griggs Hall, Loma Linda, CA 92350 (RandiLand@

aol.com). Carmen Knudson-Martin is a Professor and Director of Doctoral Programes in the Department of Counseling and Family Sciences at Loma Linda University.

Family Relations, 54 (July 2005), 335–345. Blackwell Publishing. Printed in the USA.

Copyright 2005 by the National Council on Family Relations.