The ‘Voices of Motherhood’ project, funded by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, investigates the history of maternal activism in the United Kingdom since 1914.
‘Voices of Motherhood’ seeks to understand how experiences of motherhood made women more politicised (politically aware or active) across the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. The project focuses on the experiences of ordinary women, who were not typically politicised prior to becoming mothers, allowing us to understand how, where, when, and why the deeply personal experiences of motherhood and childrearing led these women to take a more active role in politics and public life.
We want to discover, how a ‘maternal activism’ has developed, changed and evolved across the period, and how this was shaped by consistent factors and changes to the legal, societal, cultural and economic position of women at the time. The project will explore the ways by which women have used motherhood to justify and promote their claims to authority and power, and it will also consider how, at different times, motherhood has been used to restrict and constrain women’s ability to engage in politics and public life.
‘Voices of Motherhood’ will explore different aspects of motherhood across three core themes:
- Fertility and pregnancy (including infertility and the choice not to have children)
- Birth and postnatal
- Early childhood (1 to 5 years)
By examining issues, campaigns and practices within these themes across the chosen time period, this project seeks to understand how women have become politicised in the past, and what this might tell us about the politics across the spectrum of motherhood today.
To get involved with the project please email our research team on: voicesofmotherhood@worc.ac.uk