Hybrid, cyborg, queer: What mommyblogs teach us about mothers and motherhood

Mothers have consistently relied upon one another for guidance and support as they navigate the difficult work of parenting. The complex identity formation of Western mothers in the 21st century, however, presents unique challenges as both intensive mothering and increased expectations of paid employment leave many mothers feeling overwhelmed and undersupported. Furthermore, mothering takes place within, in Adrienne Rich's words, "the institution of motherhood" (1976), which acts upon women's minds in much the way corsets and girdles act upon their bodies: by constraining any unruly lines, and erasing any shape which does not conform to the ideal.;Three theoretical foci guide this research. Mommyblogs can be seen as hybrid in their immense diversity as well as the rich depth of narrative of any one life told online. The mamasphere likewise highlights the intense relationality of mothering work, reminiscent of Haraway's cyborg (1985), blending multiple narratives into a variegated and symbiotic collective autobiography that focuses on confusion and liminality instead of singularity. Finally, the mamasphere exposes the extent to which both the breadth and depth of mommyblogs reveal a fracturing of the maternal subject. Drawing on queer theory, this incoherent maternal subjectivity stands in stark contrast to traditional discourses of motherhood.;By showing the limitations of a framework that draws, in both theory and policy, from liberal modernism in its respect for individual human rights, the hybrid, cyborg and queer mother we view online moves us toward a relational politic that is both flexible and responsive to the convoluted and interactive lives that mothers are truly living.;For many women, the increasingly established online community of mommyblogs known as the mamasphere has provided a source of camaraderie and support that acknowledges both the work of mothering, and the implications of undertaking this work in the context of the institution of patriarchal motherhood. This project undertakes a critical discourse analysis of more than two hundred mommyblogs, selected both randomly and through a deliberate focus on diversity and non-normative maternal experiences. In examining these mommyblogs, mothering is exposed as an ambiguous and ambivalent enterprise.