Problematising older motherhood in Canada: ageism, ableism, and the risky maternal subject.

This article examines how older motherhood and older mothers are problematised and represented in key Canadian policy texts on 'delayed childbearing' and 'advanced maternal age'. Drawing on critical disability studies and feminist scholarship on motherhood, we identify three kinds of representations...

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Publicado en:Health, Risk & Society Vol. 24; no. 3/4; pp. 149 - 167
Autores principales: Scala, Francesca, Orsini, Michael
Formato: research Journal Article
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Apr-Jun2022
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        10.1080/13698575.2022.2057453
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        atl: Problematising older motherhood in Canada: ageism, ableism, and the risky maternal subject.
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          Scala, Francesca
          Orsini, Michael
        affil: Department of Political Science, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
      sug:
        subj:
          Motherhood In Old Age
          Mothers Psychosocial Factors
          Health Policy Canada
          Ageism
          Risk Assessment
          Human
          Canada
          Female
          Childbearing Age
          Maternal Age
          Thematic Analysis
          Aged
          Aged: 65+ years
          Female
      ab: This article examines how older motherhood and older mothers are problematised and represented in key Canadian policy texts on 'delayed childbearing' and 'advanced maternal age'. Drawing on critical disability studies and feminist scholarship on motherhood, we identify three kinds of representations of older mothers in these texts: as risk-producing subjects, as unnatural mothers, and as irresponsible reproductive citizens. We argue that dominant discourses of older motherhood are structured by both ageism and ableism, which undergird policy documents. These discourses frame older women as disabled by the 'burden' of late parenthood and cast them as risky subjects who might give birth to 'abnormal' offspring. Within this discursive terrain, older women are not only othered: they are held responsible for their infertility and for their reduced propensity to reproduce 'healthy,' non-disabled offspring.
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        research
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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