The concept of maternal love was absent among Europeans before the eighteenth century. Children were often perceived in terms of economic use, and mothers were not expected to care for their children, love them equally, or mourn their deaths. Upper-class European women deemed breastfeeding disgusting and immodest; wet nurses were often employed so mothers could enjoy their social and intellectual pursuits.
A shift in Europeans’ ideas about motherhood and childhood commenced during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Whereas children of the Middle Ages were perceived as evil and animal-like, now they were seen as innocent and special. “Childhood” became a valuable time period in children’s lives, and motherhood became a highly important role for women. In greater numbers, mothers breastfed their own children.
A shift in Europeans’ ideas about motherhood and childhood commenced during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Whereas children of the Middle Ages were perceived as evil and animal-like, now they were seen as innocent and special. “Childhood” became a valuable time period in children’s lives, and motherhood became a highly important role for women. In greater numbers, mothers breastfed their own children.
The Modern U.S. Institution of Motherhood
Three factors produced new views of motherhood and shaped its modern institution in the United States: the Industrial Revolution, the American Revolution, and Protestant evangelism. The Industrial Revolution propelled separate economic/domestic spheres for white men and women of the upper class, thereby associating women with family and the home. With the influences of the American Revolution and Protestant evangelism, mothers became responsible for the moral education, behavior, and well-being of their children.
The Victorian Cult of True Womanhood in the nineteenth century also emerged out of the three factors shaping the modern institution of motherhood. The Cult of True Womanhood gave white, middle-class mothers the status of “moral superiors” with greater control of their households, while it also placed them under strict behavioral censorship by society.
In the nineteenth century, women of color and white working-class women were denied the label of “true” and “good” mothers. The separate economic/domestic spheres did not apply to them, as they had to work to support themselves and their families. Women of color were unable to become full-time mothers and were expected to work outside the home as cheap labor sources.
Scientific Motherhood
In the late nineteenth century, the categorizing of mothering by race and class grew more complex as “scientific motherhood” and evolutionary theory emerged. Doctors and psychologists studied childhood and dictated mothers to stay home and educate their children. In light of the reality that only white, middle-class women had the freedom to remain home, women of color were considered “scientifically” inferior mothers and excluded from the ideologies surrounding “good” mothering.
Twentieth Century Institution of Motherhood
During the 1930s, child rearing shifted its organization around the good of the nation and family to a focus entirely on the child. Child-rearing experts who claimed a child’s mental and psychological development was the responsibility of the mother largely shaped the institution of twentieth century motherhood. Motherhood was culturally constructed as a privatized ideal, a mother’s exclusive duty.
In the twentieth century, more white women entered the labor force. The changing roles of women led child-rearing experts to issue warnings about “bad” mothers—the selfish, career-driven women. Mother bashing of women of color and working white women intensified in a backlash against working mothers. Later in the century, reproductive laws and policies such as legalized abortion, access to contraception, and forced sterilizations of minority women, impacted the shape of the institution of motherhood.
Today, the changing institution of motherhood continues to shape women’s diverse experiences of motherhood.
Three factors produced new views of motherhood and shaped its modern institution in the United States: the Industrial Revolution, the American Revolution, and Protestant evangelism. The Industrial Revolution propelled separate economic/domestic spheres for white men and women of the upper class, thereby associating women with family and the home. With the influences of the American Revolution and Protestant evangelism, mothers became responsible for the moral education, behavior, and well-being of their children.
The Victorian Cult of True Womanhood in the nineteenth century also emerged out of the three factors shaping the modern institution of motherhood. The Cult of True Womanhood gave white, middle-class mothers the status of “moral superiors” with greater control of their households, while it also placed them under strict behavioral censorship by society.
In the nineteenth century, women of color and white working-class women were denied the label of “true” and “good” mothers. The separate economic/domestic spheres did not apply to them, as they had to work to support themselves and their families. Women of color were unable to become full-time mothers and were expected to work outside the home as cheap labor sources.
Scientific Motherhood
In the late nineteenth century, the categorizing of mothering by race and class grew more complex as “scientific motherhood” and evolutionary theory emerged. Doctors and psychologists studied childhood and dictated mothers to stay home and educate their children. In light of the reality that only white, middle-class women had the freedom to remain home, women of color were considered “scientifically” inferior mothers and excluded from the ideologies surrounding “good” mothering.
Twentieth Century Institution of Motherhood
During the 1930s, child rearing shifted its organization around the good of the nation and family to a focus entirely on the child. Child-rearing experts who claimed a child’s mental and psychological development was the responsibility of the mother largely shaped the institution of twentieth century motherhood. Motherhood was culturally constructed as a privatized ideal, a mother’s exclusive duty.
In the twentieth century, more white women entered the labor force. The changing roles of women led child-rearing experts to issue warnings about “bad” mothers—the selfish, career-driven women. Mother bashing of women of color and working white women intensified in a backlash against working mothers. Later in the century, reproductive laws and policies such as legalized abortion, access to contraception, and forced sterilizations of minority women, impacted the shape of the institution of motherhood.
Today, the changing institution of motherhood continues to shape women’s diverse experiences of motherhood.