How Media Shapes Our Understanding of Motherhood

In this return of Field Notes, Miranda Brady explores the complexities of motherhood and its representation in media in her book Mother Trouble.

Can you offer a “lay” description of your research topic?

My research sits at the intersections of Communication and Media Studies and Motherhood Studies. I recently published a book with UTP Press called, Mother Trouble: Mediations of White Maternal Angst After Second Wave Feminism. The book explores some of the struggles that mothers have faced over the past 50 or 60 years since second wave feminism, including a heavy work burden when we account for their paid and unpaid labour.

While most mothers face huge challenges with few supports, the book demonstrates that the struggles that we see most often in popular culture are those of white mothers, from television shows and films to social media. Racialized and immigrant mothers and care workers are much less visible. Through an exploration of motherhood in popular films, televisions shows, and internet memes, Mother Trouble encourages a broader understanding of care work in our popular imaginary and asks us to take more seriously the work that mothers do.

What piqued your interest in this topic?

Communication and Media Studies is my field of research, and I am also a mother. Having kids is really what piqued my interest in media and motherhood. Even though I am very privileged as a white, middle-class mother, I still struggle a lot, especially in finding supports for my disabled child. I began to wonder how people in less privileged and visible positions manage such challenges.

What question were you hoping to answer in your research?

How do the actual experiences of motherhood and maternal struggle compare with the popular media depictions that surround us? In general, my research thinks about the issues and people who are invisible in our everyday social and cultural institutions, whether that be popular entertainment or bureaucracies.

What is something people would be surprised to learn?

I think mothers would not be surprised by data that documents the various forms of labour that they perform. I think most mothers know intuitively that they are working quite hard, and that this work is not recognized or validated enough. What I think more priveleged mothers would be surprised by is the very diverse experiences and struggles that racialized and migrant mothers face.

What’s the biggest misconception about your research area?

I think the biggest misconception is that motherhood and feminism are incompatible. Mothers and their diverse experiences should be at the forefront of feminist conversations about gender equity.

Any new projects that you’re excited about?

I am excited by my new book project on a cultural fascination with selfish motherhood. The book explores the widespread phenomenon whereby mothers are blamed for social problems that are both close to home and widespread.

What challenges have you encountered in your research, and how have you addressed them?

The biggest challenge I face in my research is finding time to write. I’ve managed to work on topics related my own interests and life experiences, and that makes the writing a little easier.

What’s a key finding from your research that you think everyone should know?

I think everyone should know how hard mothers work and how many struggles they face. I think everyone should know that some mothers experience more systemic struggles than others (eg. migrant, disabled, and racialized mothers) and that their experiences are sometimes invisible in popular culture.

 Do students contribute to your research and how?

Students play an important role in my research. I always learn a lot from my students, and they never fail to generate great ideas and examples. I have worked with both graduate and undergraduate students, who have written on communication, media, and motherhood. I have also collaborated with students on research and published articles. One recent example is Cydney Banton, a B.CoMS student who wrote her 4^th year Honours Research Essay on affiliate-linking momfluencers. I collaborated with Cydney to publish an article coming out of the research that she conducted, which also relates closely to my work.

What’s your favourite class to teach? I love all my classes. One that stands out to me is my third-year class, COMS 3109: Communication, Culture, and Identity.  We consider how identity is constructed in communication and media as related to a variety of topics from identity politics to national identity, motherhood, and disability.

Author of Mother Trouble: Mediations of White Maternal Angst after Second Wave Feminism.
See Professor Brady at Author Meets Readers on January 30