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Moms are survivors, because our kids are more ours': narratives of middle-class, white mothers in Cape Town
This paper focuses on how white, middle class South African mothers, living within a 60-kilometre radius of Cape Town's Central Business District, juggle their childcare and work responsibilities. Through use of multi-sited ethnography, I was able to enter the lives of ten white, middle-class South...
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Social Anthropology
2015
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| _version_ | 1867613162490036224 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Worthington, Deborah |
| author2 | Fuh, Divine |
| author_browse | Fuh, Divine Worthington, Deborah |
| author_facet | Fuh, Divine Worthington, Deborah |
| author_sort | Worthington, Deborah |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This paper focuses on how white, middle class South African mothers, living within a 60-kilometre radius of Cape Town's Central Business District, juggle their childcare and work responsibilities. Through use of multi-sited ethnography, I was able to enter the lives of ten white, middle-class South African mothers aged between early forties to early fifties. The data collected was obtained through participant observation, casual conversations and formal, semi-structured, one-on-one interviews. This minor thesis draws on a body of literature that focuses on the multiple paradoxes mothers' face, such as, the traditional gendered notions of what it means to be a "good" mother, the challenges of time, and coping strategies. This paper explores how the research participants reconstituted their lives after having children. Through an analysis of conversations and field observations this minor thesis demonstrates the everyday circumstances of living through and negotiating daily life as a middle class, white mother in Cape Town, South Africa. In this minor thesis, I aim to demonstrate how parenthood is filled with fears and numerous challenges. The findings make strong case for researching the lives of such women who often suffer in silence. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13929 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:31:45.395Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateRange | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | Social Anthropology |
| publisherStr | Social Anthropology |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13929 Moms are survivors, because our kids are more ours': narratives of middle-class, white mothers in Cape Town Worthington, Deborah Fuh, Divine Social Anthopology This paper focuses on how white, middle class South African mothers, living within a 60-kilometre radius of Cape Town's Central Business District, juggle their childcare and work responsibilities. Through use of multi-sited ethnography, I was able to enter the lives of ten white, middle-class South African mothers aged between early forties to early fifties. The data collected was obtained through participant observation, casual conversations and formal, semi-structured, one-on-one interviews. This minor thesis draws on a body of literature that focuses on the multiple paradoxes mothers' face, such as, the traditional gendered notions of what it means to be a "good" mother, the challenges of time, and coping strategies. This paper explores how the research participants reconstituted their lives after having children. Through an analysis of conversations and field observations this minor thesis demonstrates the everyday circumstances of living through and negotiating daily life as a middle class, white mother in Cape Town, South Africa. In this minor thesis, I aim to demonstrate how parenthood is filled with fears and numerous challenges. The findings make strong case for researching the lives of such women who often suffer in silence. 2015-09-15T10:08:10Z 2015-09-15T10:08:10Z 2013 Master Thesis Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13929 eng application/pdf Social Anthropology Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Social Anthopology Worthington, Deborah Moms are survivors, because our kids are more ours': narratives of middle-class, white mothers in Cape Town |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Moms are survivors, because our kids are more ours': narratives of middle-class, white mothers in Cape Town |
| title_full | Moms are survivors, because our kids are more ours': narratives of middle-class, white mothers in Cape Town |
| title_fullStr | Moms are survivors, because our kids are more ours': narratives of middle-class, white mothers in Cape Town |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moms are survivors, because our kids are more ours': narratives of middle-class, white mothers in Cape Town |
| title_short | Moms are survivors, because our kids are more ours': narratives of middle-class, white mothers in Cape Town |
| title_sort | moms are survivors because our kids are more ours narratives of middle class white mothers in cape town |
| topic | Social Anthopology |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13929 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT worthingtondeborah momsaresurvivorsbecauseourkidsaremoreoursnarrativesofmiddleclasswhitemothersincapetown |