Motherhood on the web. Online parenting communities as forums for deconstructing identity in motherhood

Abstract

This article explores the role of online parenting communities in the exercise of motherhood, within the general concept of “mothering”. To achieve this goal, an analysis of the discursive process of the members of the Breeding Circle of Love and Life was carried out, which consisted of the discussion of the messages generated in the online group and various concepts hood and the way in which new technologies influence and change the way mothers interact to­day. The analysis revealed that the online community plays a role in the way women deconstruct their identity and their place within motherhood. In the same way, it was established that so­ciety, through discourse, subjects women to a double bind communication that prevents a clear understanding of motherhood. The online community can offer opportunities to avoid or over­come this double bind. Finally, the study determined that there are women who are in a liminal state between the exercise of motherhood and their social recognition as mothers. The online community can allow women to end that status and join a new one that validates motherhood.