Troubling Motherhood: Maternality in Global Politics (Oxford Studies in Gender and International Relations)

In global politics, women's bodies are policed, objectified, surveilled, and feared, with particular attention paid to both their met or unmet procreative potential. While the significance of motherhood varies across cultures, it is, as this book argues, connected not just to gender and sexuality, but also to religion and nationality. Reproduction is central to the flourishing of any nation or culture, and therefore motherhood is a major signifier of women's relationship to the state. This is so much the case that states enact laws about which women can bear children and have supported sterilization efforts in cases where women are not deemed appropriate bearers of the nation. States also legislate reproductive technologies, adoption, and government support for parenting. By considering representations and narratives of maternity, this volume shows how practices of global politics shape and are shaped by the gendered norms and institutions that underpin motherhood. Motherhood matters in global politics. Yet, the diverse ways in which performances and practices of motherhood are constituted by and are constitutive of other dimensions of political life are frequently obscured, or assumed to be of little interest to scholars, policymakers, and practitioners. Featuring innovative and diverse chapters on the politics of motherhood as an institution, this collection shows that maternality is troubled, complicated, and heterogeneous in global politics. Thus, performances and practices of motherhood warrant closer and more sustained scrutiny. This book builds on work by feminist international relations scholars, extending into disruptive spaces of queer theory, literary critique, and post-colonial studies. The chapters in this book consider the meaning of motherhood, particularly during times of war versus peace; the connections between motherhood and nationhood (and reproduction of the state); and care work and maternal labor, particularly as performed by transnational workers. Ultimately, this book demonstrates the complex interconnections between the individual, the state, and the global through the lens of maternality. "In global politics, women's bodies are policed, objectified, surveilled, and feared, with particular attention paid to both their met or unmet procreative potential. While the significance of motherhood varies across cultures, it is, as this book argues, connected not just to gender and sexuality, but also to religion and nationality. Reproduction is central to the flourishing of any nation or culture, and therefore motherhood is a major signifier of women's relationship to the state. This is so much the case that states enact laws about which women can bear children and have supported sterilization efforts in cases where women are not deemed appropriate bearers of the nation. States also legislate reproductive technologies, adoption, and government support for parenting. By considering representations and narratives of maternity, this volume shows how practices of global politics shape and are shaped by the gendered norms and institutions that underpin motherhood. Motherhood matters in global politics. Yet, the diverse ways in which performances and practices of motherhood are constituted by and are constitutive of other dimensions of political life are frequently obscured, or assumed to be of little interest to scholars, policymakers, and practitioners. Featuring innovative and diverse chapters on the politics of motherhood as an institution, this collection shows that maternality is troubled, complicated, and heterogeneous in global politics. Thus, performances and practices of motherhood warrant closer and more sustained scrutiny. This book builds on work by feminist international relations scholars, extending into disruptive spaces of queer theory, literary critique, and post-colonial studies." -- Publisher's website "In global politics, women's bodies are policed, objectified, surveilled, and feared, with particular attention paid to both their met or unmet procreative potential. By illuminating and interrogating representations and narratives of maternity, this volume shows how practices of global politics shape and are shaped by the gendered norms and institutions that underpin motherhood. The guiding theoretical idea in this volume is that motherhood matters in global politics. However - as with so many political phenomena coded 'female' in the binary cognitive architectures of the West - the diverse ways in which performances and practices of motherhood are constituted by and are constitutive of other dimensions of political life they are frequently obscured or assumed to be of little interest to scholars, policy makers, and practitioners. Featuring innovative and diverse interrogations of the politics of motherhood as an institution, this collection shows that maternality is troubled, complicated, and heterogeneous in global politics and thus performances and practices of motherhood warrant closer and more sustained scrutiny"-- Provided by publisher While the significance of motherhood varies across cultures, it is connected to religion, nationality, gender, and sexuality. Reproduction is central to the perceived floroushing of any nation or culture, and thus motherhood is a major signifier of the connections between women and the state. States enact laws limiting who can bear children, initiating and supporting mass sterilization efforts, legislate access to assisted reproductive technologies, adoption, and government support for parenting. The guiding theoretical idea in this volume is that motherhood matters in global politics. By illuminating and interrogating representations and narratives of maternity, this volume shows how practices of global politics shape and are shaped by the gendered norms and institutions that underpin motherhood. Featuring innovative and intersectional interrogations of the politics of motherhood as an institution, this collection shows that maternality is troubled, complicated, and heterogeneous in global politics cover 1 Series 3 Troubling Motherhood 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Author Biographies 12 Foreword 18 1.The Global Politics of Maternality 24 SECTION I 38 2.A Mother’s Violence in Global Politics 40 3.Protestant Paramilitary Mothering 59 4.Extending Acts of Motherhood 74 5.Logics of Protection and the Discursive Construction of Refugee Fathers 90 SECTION II 108 6.Bearing Peace and War 110 7.Ideal Citizens and Family Values 126 8.Mother Knows Best? 145 9.Queering Reproductive Aid 162 10.Troubling Conceptions of Motherhood 179 SECTION III 200 11.Feminist Politics Still Needs Motherhood 202 12.Privatized Bodies in Public Locations 218 13.Raising Children in Strangeness 237 14.Celebrity Global Motherhood 256 15.Earthborn 275 16.Speaking from the Margins of Motherhood 296 Index 314 By considering representations and narratives of maternity, this volume shows how practices of global politics shape and are shaped by the gendered norms and institutions that underpin motherhood. The chapters in this text consider the meaning of motherhood, particularly during times of war versus peace; the connections between motherhood and nationhood (and reproduction of the state); and care work and maternal labor, particularly as performed by transnational workers. Ultimately, this work demonstrates the complex interconnections between the individual, the state, and the global through the lens of maternality