Formerly Incarcerated Black Mothers Matter Too: resisting Social Constructions of Motherhood

Mass incarceration as a system of racialized and gendered social control has disproportionately impacted Black women, many of whom are mothers. Contrary to dominant social constructions of motherhood, these women employ their own strategies of mothering unique to their lived experiences. This study...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mitchell, Michael B. (Author)
Contributors: Davis, Jaya B.
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2019
In: The prison journal
Year: 2019, Volume: 99, Issue: 4, Pages: 420-436
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
Volltext (Resolving-System)
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
Black feminist theory
Black women
Formerly incarcerated
Motherhood
Description
Summary:Mass incarceration as a system of racialized and gendered social control has disproportionately impacted Black women, many of whom are mothers. Contrary to dominant social constructions of motherhood, these women employ their own strategies of mothering unique to their lived experiences. This study relies on interview data to understand Black women’s motherhood experiences post-incarceration. Drawing from five semistructured interviews of Black mothers across a large urban area in Texas, we argue for more critical, qualitative research of formerly incarcerated Black women, grounded in Black feminist theory (BFT).
ISSN:1552-7522
DOI:10.1177/0032885519852079