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The Representation of Exhaustion and Excessive Demands in Motherhood a Comparison of ‘Mommyblogs’ and Parenting Magazines

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The Representation of Exhaustion and Excessive Demands in Motherhood a Comparison of ‘Mommyblogs’ and Parenting Magazines The Representation of Exhaustion and Excessive Demands in Motherhood A Comparison of ‘Mommyblogs’ and Parenting Magazines Diplomarbeit zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades einer Magistra der Philosophie an der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz vorgelegt von Mag. (FH) Angelika PRATL am Institut für Amerikanistik Begutachter: Ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.phil. Klaus Rieser Graz, 2021 Eidesstattliche Erklärung Ich erkläre eidesstattlich, dass ich die Arbeit selbständig angefertigt habe. Es wurden keine anderen als die angegebenen Hilfsmittel benutzt. Die aus fremden Quellen direkt oder indirekt übernommenen Formulierungen und Gedanken sind als solche kenntlich gemacht. Diese schriftliche Arbeit wurde keiner anderen Prüfungsstelle vorgelegt und auch nicht veröffentlicht. ________________________________________ MAG. (FH) ANGELIKA PRATL Graz, 30. Mai 2021 Declaration of Authorship I declare that I have authored this thesis independently. I have not used other than the declared sources. Sources were explicitly marked and cited either literally or by content. This thesis has not been previously handed in or published. ________________________________________ MAG. (FH) ANGELIKA PRATL Graz, 30th May 2021 I Danksagung Als vor vier Jahren mein Sohn geboren wurde, stellte sich meine ganze Welt auf den Kopf und nichts blieb, wie es war. Dies beeinflusste auch den Abschluss meines Studiums. Was ich mir als schnelles Fertigmachen vorgestellt hatte, entwickelte sich zu einer Herkulesaufgabe. Die Tatsache, dass ich diese Arbeit doch abschließen konnte, habe ich vor allem meiner Familie zu verdanken. An erster Stelle gilt deshalb mein Dank meinem Ehemann Martin und meinem Sohn Paul Ludwig. Paul nicht nur, weil er die Inspiration für dieses Thema war, sondern auch weil er nach zahllosen durchgearbeiteten Nächten, dann sein kleines Händchen in meine Hand legte, mir sein Näschen entgegenstreckte und damit doch alles wieder möglich machte. Meinem Mann danke ich für seine nicht enden wollende Unterstützung, nicht nur emotional, sondern auch fachlich. Vielen Dank, dass du auch den sechsten Korrekturlesedurchgang noch mitgemacht hast, mir Schwarztee an den Schreibtisch gebracht hast und mit mir wach geblieben bist, weil du wusstest, dass auch ich dann besser arbeiten kann. Vielen Dank, dass du mir mit Paul nicht „geholfen“ hast, sondern deine Vaterrolle als solche voll und ganz angenommen hast und mich in unserem Elterndasein so sehr unterstützt und bestärkt hast. Ein großes Dankeschön gilt auch meiner Mutter und Schwester, sowie meinen Schwiegereltern und allen Onkeln und Tanten von Paul, die immer wieder gerne als Kinderbetreuung eingesprungen sind und auch fachlich mit Rat und Tat zur Seite standen. Vielen Dank auch meinem Betreuer Mag. Dr. Rieser, für sein Interesse an meinem Thema für die guten Inputs und vor allem auch für seine Geduld mit mir. II Abstract It is often assumed that motherhood comes naturally to every woman and that mothers fulfil a specific role in our society. However, motherhood is a sociocultural concept that has been changing over time. In this thesis, different motherhood ideologies are analysed to understand the development of today’s concept of motherhood. Further, exhausting aspects of motherhood and demands on mothers, such as working in paid jobs while mothering, mental health, or the role of partners, are examined. The main part of the thesis is an in-depth analysis of the representation of motherhood in print magazines and on mommyblogs with a focus on exhaustion and excessive demands on mothers. For this, all articles in the parenting magazine Parents and all blog entries on the mommyblog Scary Mommy of the year 2018 are examined. Further, the images and advertisements used in Parents and on Scary Mommy are studied, since they, too, shape the expectations of mothers and can put them under more pressure. The results of the thesis indicate that there is a great difference in the representation of exhausting aspects of motherhood in print magazines and online blogs. While parenting magazines seem to focus on positive sides and rarely address excessive demands and overwhelming expectations, mommyblogs cover these issues much more frequently. In Parents, only 12.10 % of all articles mention exhaustion and excessive demands, while only 0.30 % focus on these issues in detail. Although the percentage of texts mentioning these aspects on Scary Mommy is similar with 11.70 %, 12.90 % of all blog entries focus on them, which is a significant difference compared to the magazine. These findings are similar regarding the depiction of motherhood in images and advertisements. In Parents, only 5.7 % of the images show negative emotions as compared to 19.48 % on Scary Mommy. This, too, underlines the assumption that different motherhood ideologies are represented in print magazines and on mommyblogs. III Table of Content 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 2. Motherhood and Ideology ...............................................................................................2 2.1. Historical Development of Motherhood Ideologies..................................................3 2.2. ‘Intensive Mothering’, ‘The New Momism’ and ‘Combative Mothering’ ................7 3. Excessive Demands of Motherhood .............................................................................. 10 3.1. The Conflict of Employment and Children ............................................................ 10 3.2. The Romanticization of Motherhood ..................................................................... 11 3.3. Additional workload after childbirth ...................................................................... 13 3.4. Effects of Excessive Demands and Parenting Stress on Women’s Mental Health .. 23 3.5. Support and Coping Strategies .............................................................................. 24 4. The Representation of Motherhood in Magazines ......................................................... 25 4.1. Historical Overview of the Representation of Motherhood in Magazines ............... 26 4.2. Representation of Motherhood in Magazines Nowadays ....................................... 30 5. The Representation of Motherhood in Blogs ................................................................. 32 5.1. Writing Style and Linguistic Features of Blogs ..................................................... 34 5.2. The Phenomenon of Mommy Blogging ................................................................. 35 6. Methodology ................................................................................................................ 38 7. Comparison of the Representation of Exhaustion and Excessive Demands in Motherhood in Parents and Scary Mommy ............................................................................................... 41 7.1. Quantitative Analysis of the Articles Addressing Exhaustion and Excessive Demands in Motherhood in Parents and Scary Mommy .................................................................... 42 7.2. Qualitative analysis of the articles addressing exhaustion and excessive demands in motherhood in Parents and Scary Mommy ........................................................................ 46 Mission Statements........................................................................................ 46 Cover ............................................................................................................ 47 Additional demands and workload ................................................................. 49 Solidarity and Support ................................................................................... 59 Mother Instinct and Expert Opinions ............................................................. 65 Anger, Fear, and Guilt ................................................................................... 66 Working Mothers .......................................................................................... 69 #momgoals and #peakmom – Expectations of Motherhood ........................... 72 Humorous Expressions .................................................................................. 78 Celebrity Profiles and Celebrity Opinions ...................................................... 80 IV Gender Equality and Workload ...................................................................... 89 Consumerism ................................................................................................ 92 Physical Effects, Appearance and Self-Care .................................................. 94 Home Organization, Recipes and Crafting ..................................................... 96 Confessions ................................................................................................... 98 7.3. Representation of Exhaustion and Excessive Demands in Motherhood in Images Used in Parents and Scary Mommy ................................................................................. 101 7.4. Representation of Exhaustion and Excessive Demands in Motherhood in Advertisements in Parents and Scary Mommy ................................................................ 111 8. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 114 9. Works Cited ...............................................................................................................
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