Reading the Phenomenon of Motherhood Through Feminist Approaches

By using the division of labour in domestic roles in societies where patriarchal values prevail, women are engaged in childcare and housework and are mostly associated with the private sphere compared to the public sphere. Motherhood is one of the most important duties and responsibilities of women among gender roles. Motherhood, being the most prominent role in the formation of women's identity in different periods and countries, makes it important to analyse the issue from a social perspective. In fact, motherhood does not only involve a biological, bodily transformation but also corresponds to a multifaceted phenomenon that also encompasses a social, cultural, and political context. In the history of feminist thought, there are various theories that make different explanations about the position of women in society, and in this literature, motherhood constitutes a mechanism of control and oppression for women according to some approaches; for some theorists, it fulfils a multifaceted function that liberates women. In this study, the changes in the meaning attributed to motherhood and motherhood in the women's movement in the historical process have been examined, and the views of thinkers on the subject are included. The aim of the study is to conduct a discussion on how the phenomenon of motherhood is handled in different feminist discourses. Firstly, a theoretical framework has been drawn based on feminist approaches to the concept of motherhood, and an attempt has been made to reveal how the meanings attributed to motherhood are grounded in different approaches. In this respect, the study provides a theoretical basis for current debates by comparatively addressing the historical and institutional development of the phenomenon of motherhood in feminist literature.