Stretching mothering
Gender, space and information communication technologies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64166/zd6wzc04תקציר
This research reports on interviews with 35 mothers in Hamilton, New Zealand, about their use of information communication technologies (ICTs) to develop and maintain emotional links with their children. It is informed by work on gender, communications, families, "stretched out communities" and transnationalism, which enabled me to think more deeply about this issue. Interviews revealed that the gendered spaces of mothering are now being stretched beyond the home. Cell phones, Skype (software application used to make voice and video calls), Facebook (social networking site) and email were among the most common ICTs mothers discussed as shaping their relationship with children, both those living at home and those who have left home. The research concludes, however, that this does not mean that the gendered discourses surrounding mothering are necessarily being radically reconfigured. Mothers continue to take a large share of the responsibility for running households and providing care for children.
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