Forbidden option or planned decision? Physically disabled women’s narratives on the choice of motherhood

ABSTRACT

This narrative study explores personal narratives by disabled women on their choice to become a mother. Eleven Finnish physically disabled mothers were interviewed. The interview data were analysed using Greimas’ actant model. The women produced three types of narratives about their journeys to motherhood: compensation, forbidden option and planned choice. In these narratives, the disabled women struggled with the disabling, oversimplifying and suppressive cultural master narratives of ‘good’ motherhood. Through the narratives, the women distanced themselves from these dominant cultural narratives and constructed strong agency for themselves as mothers.

KEYWORDS:

• Choice
• motherhood
• disability
• narrative research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Anita Lappeteläinen is a special needs teacher at Jyväskylä Lyseo Upper Secondary School and doctoral student at the faculty of Education (special education) at the University of Jyvaskyla. This article is a part of her doctoral thesis which concerns disabled women's narratives on motherhood.

Eija Sevón is a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Education at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her research interests are focused on transition to motherhood, daily family life and family relationships from the perspectives of different family members, and in particular, from the perspective of young children. The other area of interest is in care and work reconciliation, well-being and parenting from gender and equality perspectives.

Tanja Vehkakoski is a senior lecturer (docent) in the Department of Education at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her research interests are focused on disability studies, classroom interaction and professional discourse.