The Case of Naturalist Mothering in Turkey: How Neoliberal Femininity is Naturalizing Motherhood?

• In Event: 3523 - Family Section Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 min): Table 7: Parenting

Abstract

In this paper I aim to critically reexamine the boundaries of the debate on the historical construction of motherhood in the age of neoliberal governance. Through the case of the rising trend of “naturalist mothering” in Turkey, which exemplifies a paradoxical intersection of conservative neoliberal gender ideology and the so-called feminist ideals of choice and empowerment- I bring conventional distinctions in the field under question. Focusing on data from 18 in-depth interviews with upper-class naturalist mothers from Istanbul, Turkey, I identify four discursive mechanisms through which these mothers conceal the gendered aspects of their care practices and/or present them as individual choice. These findings also reveal that through the concept of “natural”, mothers actually “naturalize” the conservative neoliberal gender order. With the grounded perspective this case provides, I argue that as claiming an empowering agency becomes a complicated terrain in the age of neoliberal feminism, we need to complicate our thinking on motherhood accordingly. The recent discussions of neoliberal feminine subjectivity can assist in explaining this paradox of deepening the entrenchment of neoliberal-conservative governance while perceiving and depicting it as a resistant agency. The paper is divided into three sections, first reviewing the prominent scholarly discussions on motherhood, then introducing the most recent debates on the shifting grounds of feminine subjectivity in relation to neoliberal rationality, and finally proceeding with a discussion of findings from fieldwork in Istanbul to illustrate how the case of naturalist mothering under conservative neoliberal governance justifies the need for this suggested intervention.

Author

• Canan Tanir, Binghamton University