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Matrix Of Tensions: A Model of Mothering

Matrix Of Tensions: A Model of Mothering Questions about how women integrate maternity into their sense of self have generated a quest for an heuristic model. We suggest that mothers struggle to balance themselves amid a set of polarities/tensions and that mothering can be situated within a phenomenological matrix of such tensions. We propose a model that includes the following developmental issues: loss of self/expansion of self; omnipotence/liability; life-destroying/life-promoting behavior; maternal isolation/maternal community; cognitive strategies/intuitive responses; maternal desexualization/ maternal sexualization. Investigation and understanding of how mothers cope with these tensions could yield insights into both universal and particular aspects of mothering.I held him so and rocked him. I cradled him. I closed my eyes and leaned on his dark head. But the sun in its course emerged from among the water towers of down-town office buildings and suddenly shone white and bright on me. Then through the short fat fingers of my son, interred forever, like a black and white barred king in Alcatraz, my heart lit up in stripes.— Grace Paley, The Little Disturbances of Man http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Psychology of Women Quarterly SAGE

Matrix Of Tensions: A Model of Mothering

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References (30)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© 1996 American College of Veterinary Pathologists
ISSN
0361-6843
eISSN
1471-6402
DOI
10.1111/j.1471-6402.1996.tb00304.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Questions about how women integrate maternity into their sense of self have generated a quest for an heuristic model. We suggest that mothers struggle to balance themselves amid a set of polarities/tensions and that mothering can be situated within a phenomenological matrix of such tensions. We propose a model that includes the following developmental issues: loss of self/expansion of self; omnipotence/liability; life-destroying/life-promoting behavior; maternal isolation/maternal community; cognitive strategies/intuitive responses; maternal desexualization/ maternal sexualization. Investigation and understanding of how mothers cope with these tensions could yield insights into both universal and particular aspects of mothering.I held him so and rocked him. I cradled him. I closed my eyes and leaned on his dark head. But the sun in its course emerged from among the water towers of down-town office buildings and suddenly shone white and bright on me. Then through the short fat fingers of my son, interred forever, like a black and white barred king in Alcatraz, my heart lit up in stripes.— Grace Paley, The Little Disturbances of Man

Journal

Psychology of Women Quarterly – SAGE

Published: Sep 1, 1996

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