Motherhood Project

The Maynooth University Motherhood Project is leading the way in examining cultural representations of motherhood and the way that mothers are depicted in popular culture, film, literature and the media. Maynooth University researchers are particularly interested in accounts that depart from the traditional, idealised images of motherhood that we are used to seeing and that can cause us to question our expectations of mothers and the maternal role. The lived experience of motherhood has changed dramatically over the past generation, in part due to societal trends and geopolitical factors, and this research group explores how discourses and ideologies of motherhood reflect these changes. Their research sheds light on the experiences of mothers who are marginalised, on maternal voices that have been silenced and the pressures on women to conform to normative ideas of motherhood.