The The structures that permeate being a mother and being a woman: a question of mental health and gender

Abstract

The main objective of the present study was to investigate the social pressure exerted on women from a socio-historical perspective, as well as to investigate the impacts on the process of subjectivation of women, as well as their mental health. Under this perspective, 25 women mothers were interviewed, of different ages and in different locations. Bardin's Discourse Analysis was also carried out with the aim of understanding which structures were present in the participants' speeches, therefore, it is concluded that becoming a woman and mother in our society is crossed by structures that go beyond the subject as an individual. However, social structures permeate the conditions in which the desire to perform motherhood directly interfere in its constitution. The main structures highlighted in this analysis are the strong presence of Religiosity, Love and Family Relationships and Subjectivation Devices.