Motherhood and the Construction of Feminist Identities: Variations in a Women's Movement Organization

This paper examines the relationship between feminism and motherhood as it plays out in the construction of feminist identities. Through a qualitative analysis of two grassroots chapters of the National Organization for Women (NOW), I examine how members’understandings and experiences with motherhood and their community context and organizational environment shape the construction of shared feminist identities. Central to this study is the conception of motherhood as a historically constructed ideology that provides a gendered model of behavior for women. In the organizations studied, I find that motherhood is interpreted two ways: as a social status with political ramifications and as the act of caring and taking responsibility for relationships. These interpretations are incorporated into “frames” extended to potential recruits and shape the group's actions. As a result these two ideologically similar liberal feminist organizations construct distinct feminist identities.