Post by monica on Dec 14, 2015 18:05:06 GMT
Does the post Freudian emphasis on mothering effectively blame women for society’s mental health problems?
This is a bit of a tough one. At the time it may have been seen as blaming some mothers for children's mental health problems, but I don't think it can be said to be blaming women as by far a majority of children grew up to be (fairly) well-adjusted and stable adults. If it was a purely female thing, then one would expect the majority of children to turn out with problems. That said, since the mother was the primary caregiver of the time, and the one most involved with infants and younger children up to the age of adolescence, whereas the father's influence would have been more distant, it would be the easy thing to focus on the mother's role rather than the father (who may well have been the scary disciplinary, or the emotionally absent parent - both of which would have an effect).
This is a bit of a tough one. At the time it may have been seen as blaming some mothers for children's mental health problems, but I don't think it can be said to be blaming women as by far a majority of children grew up to be (fairly) well-adjusted and stable adults. If it was a purely female thing, then one would expect the majority of children to turn out with problems. That said, since the mother was the primary caregiver of the time, and the one most involved with infants and younger children up to the age of adolescence, whereas the father's influence would have been more distant, it would be the easy thing to focus on the mother's role rather than the father (who may well have been the scary disciplinary, or the emotionally absent parent - both of which would have an effect).