A (in)completude na maternidade: as implicações dos ideais femininos no tornar-se mãe

Abstract

Maternal love has been discussed for over a hundred years and remains a controversial subject. The idealization of motherhood is a characteristic of Western society, where being a mother is associated with a duty and a blessing in a woman's life, with no room for the ambivalence inherent in a mother's relationship with her child. Over the years, women have gained access to endless possibilities in the professional and personal fields, which has a direct impact on their relationship with motherhood. Therefore, they need to deal with a new requirement, being “complete women”: mothers, good professionals and with desirable bodies. However, as well as denying ambivalence, women are also expected to deny lack as an instigator of desire. The idea of completeness is seductive, but it is an illusion and when faced with reality, it results in frustration. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the implications of the ideals of female completeness (beauty, career and motherhood) of becoming a mother and to discuss the importance of recognizing lack and ambivalence in order to deal with the suffering intrinsic to motherhood. To this end, a bibliographical survey was carried out on the subject, followed by a summary of the data and organization into chapters for discussion