Titre du document / Document title

Von der seriellen Kollektivität zur Gruppe. Mutterschaft als Basis von kollektiver Identität und kollektivem Handeln = From seriality to social group. Motherhood as basis of collective identity and collective actionDe la série au groupe social. La maternité en tant que base de l'identité et de l'action collective

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

NADAI E. ⁽¹⁾ ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

⁽¹⁾ Institut für Soziologie, Universität Bern, Unitobler, Lerchenweg 36, 3000 Bern, SUISSE

Résumé / Abstract

The controversy about generalized conceptions of gender that disregard differences between women confronted feminist theory with the problem of finding a new way of thinking about women as a social collective. Iris Marion Young suggests to understand women as serial collectivity based on the common experience of structural constraints. This notion of women as seriality neither assumes common attributes nor a common identity of all women. It is an empirical question whether and how seriality becomes the basis of a collective gendered identity or collective action. This paper examines the formation of a group of women working in a mother's center. The symbolic boundary object motherhood which is vague enough to allow a multitude of interpretations serves as a focus for a collective identity. In addition, the creation of a community of mothers is furthered through cooperation in the production of collective goods such as the center's paid job for mothers or the political struggle for social recognition of mothers. However, this community of mothers is a temporary collective that attracts only a small part of the series of all mothers (mainly young housewifes with preschool children). Due to institutionalization as an organization the collective can survive the ongoing dissolution of the group and attract new members and thus remain a focus for collective action of mothers as mothers

Revue / Journal Title

Soziale Welt   ISSN 0038-6073 

Source / Source

1999, vol. 50, n^o3, [Note(s): 218, 315-329 [16 p.]] (1 p.1/4)

Langue / Language

Allemand

Editeur / Publisher

NOMOS, Baden-Baden, ALLEMAGNE  (1949) (Revue)

Mots-clés anglais / English Keywords

Woman ; Collective Action ; Woman's condition ; Institutions ; Collective Identity ; Motherhood ; Feminism ; Switzerland ;

Mots-clés français / French Keywords

Femme ; Action collective ; Condition féminine ; Institution ; Identité collective ; Maternité ; Féminisme ; Suisse ;

Localisation / Location

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 24817, 35400008028236.0060