Motherhood Construction in Single Parent Adoptions: Mandates, Desires and Choices

Authors

  • Irene Salvo Agoglia Universidad Central de Chile

Abstract

This article presents some of the results of a qualitative research aimed to describe and analyze the narratives of women who adopted without a partner in Chile between the years 1999-2012. The paper aims to focus on the analysis of the continuities, ruptures and innovations in the meanings and practices of these women, regarding some mandates associated with the feminine gender. The main results are organized in three narrative axes linked to the construction of identity, the construction of motherhood and decision to adopt, showing the coexistence of different senses and practices, and the strategies and actions that they perform to manage their decisions and family lives. The notions of desire, autonomy, choice and agency are discussed and problematized with the aim of contributing to deepen the knowledge and understanding of some notions and processes associated with these and other motherhoods, and to guide reflective and unprejudiced professional actions that lead to rethink broader notions about motherhood and kinship, contributing to legitimize contemporary and emerging family patterns.

Keywords:

single parent adoptions, narratives, mandates, desires, choices