'Am I Grateful Enough?': Emotions and Communication in the 'Deep Story' of New Mothers in Latvia
The ever-watchful eyes of society have created burdensome challenges for mothers in the 21st century, who are constantly trying to manage their emotions and daily life in accordance with the dominant discourse of what a 'good mother' should be like. The aim of the paper is to explore the &...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Czech |
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Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Sociology
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Gender a Výzkum |
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| Online Access: | https://genderonline.cz/en/artkey/gav-202302-0009_8216-am-i-grateful-enough-8217-emotions-and-communication-in-the-8216-deep-story-8217-of-new-mothers.php |
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| author | Elza Lāma Vita Zelče |
| author_facet | Elza Lāma Vita Zelče |
| author_sort | Elza Lāma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The ever-watchful eyes of society have created burdensome challenges for mothers in the 21st century, who are constantly trying to manage their emotions and daily life in accordance with the dominant discourse of what a 'good mother' should be like. The aim of the paper is to explore the 'deep story' of new mothers in Latvia, employing the theoretical framework of sociologist Arlie Hochschild and her concept of 'emotion work'. Data were gathered from ten phenomenological interviews with women with a child under the age of two. The results of the narrative analysis show that new mothers systematically apply the principles of 'emotion work' and communicate negative experiences only to selected confidants out of a fear of being condemned for not complying with the dominant narrative of motherhood. Although the 'deep story' of mothers is rather bleak, the key is open communication without judgement or patronising remarks. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-36886d6b1b85488d948653f56d9ea0bb |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2570-6578 2570-6586 |
| language | ces |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Sociology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Gender a Výzkum |
| spelling | doaj-art-36886d6b1b85488d948653f56d9ea0bb2025-07-02T06:11:25ZcesCzech Academy of Sciences, Institute of SociologyGender a Výzkum2570-65782570-65862024-01-0124223125410.13060/gav.2023.013gav-202302-0009'Am I Grateful Enough?': Emotions and Communication in the 'Deep Story' of New Mothers in LatviaElza Lāma0Vita Zelče1University of Latvia, Faculty of Social SciencesUniversity of Latvia, Faculty of Social SciencesThe ever-watchful eyes of society have created burdensome challenges for mothers in the 21st century, who are constantly trying to manage their emotions and daily life in accordance with the dominant discourse of what a 'good mother' should be like. The aim of the paper is to explore the 'deep story' of new mothers in Latvia, employing the theoretical framework of sociologist Arlie Hochschild and her concept of 'emotion work'. Data were gathered from ten phenomenological interviews with women with a child under the age of two. The results of the narrative analysis show that new mothers systematically apply the principles of 'emotion work' and communicate negative experiences only to selected confidants out of a fear of being condemned for not complying with the dominant narrative of motherhood. Although the 'deep story' of mothers is rather bleak, the key is open communication without judgement or patronising remarks.https://genderonline.cz/en/artkey/gav-202302-0009_8216-am-i-grateful-enough-8217-emotions-and-communication-in-the-8216-deep-story-8217-of-new-mothers.phpmotherhoodemotion workdeep story |
| spellingShingle | Elza Lāma Vita Zelče 'Am I Grateful Enough?': Emotions and Communication in the 'Deep Story' of New Mothers in Latvia Gender a Výzkum motherhood emotion work deep story |
| title | 'Am I Grateful Enough?': Emotions and Communication in the 'Deep Story' of New Mothers in Latvia |
| title_full | 'Am I Grateful Enough?': Emotions and Communication in the 'Deep Story' of New Mothers in Latvia |
| title_fullStr | 'Am I Grateful Enough?': Emotions and Communication in the 'Deep Story' of New Mothers in Latvia |
| title_full_unstemmed | 'Am I Grateful Enough?': Emotions and Communication in the 'Deep Story' of New Mothers in Latvia |
| title_short | 'Am I Grateful Enough?': Emotions and Communication in the 'Deep Story' of New Mothers in Latvia |
| title_sort | am i grateful enough emotions and communication in the deep story of new mothers in latvia |
| topic | motherhood emotion work deep story |
| url | https://genderonline.cz/en/artkey/gav-202302-0009_8216-am-i-grateful-enough-8217-emotions-and-communication-in-the-8216-deep-story-8217-of-new-mothers.php |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elzalama amigratefulenoughemotionsandcommunicationinthedeepstoryofnewmothersinlatvia AT vitazelce amigratefulenoughemotionsandcommunicationinthedeepstoryofnewmothersinlatvia |