Krótka historia macierzyństwa w uj ciu feministycznym (Brief History of Motherhood in Feminist Point of View)

Feminist thought of motherhood begins with First Wave, when thinkers were convinced of naturalistic point of view according to which women are predestined to be a mother (M. Wollstonecraft, J.S. Mill, H. Taylor). Women’s liberation was put down for a while by given them vote rights. The next wave of women’s liberation came back after II World War. Denaturalization of motherhood starts with Simone de Beauvoir’s Second Sex where she presents an analysis of mother stereotypes and social processes of promoting specific motherhood-mode, which works for the patriarchal culture. She does not treat motherhood and child rearing as something natural for every woman. Beauvoir’s critics set up a debate about the possibility ofnon-patriarchal motherhood where being a mother is independent from patriarchal order, as ground for woman’s identity. S. Macintyre postulates division off motherhood and marriage, which is opposite to traditional sociology paradigm. A. Rich creates a definition of motherhood institution so different from intimate experience ofmother, she gives mothers voice to speak about motherhood. N. Chodorow suggests non-patriarchal rule of double parenting”, which is to reduce differences between sexes. E. Badinter proves that maternal instinct does not exist (in biological way), but it is the social construct exploited by patriarchal system. Works of Beauvoir,Macintyre, Rich, Firestone, Chodorow, Badinter exemplify the slow process of denaturalization of motherhood in feminist thought.