Motherhoods and Contemporary Writing: Beyond Dissent

Since the 1970s, when Adrienne Rich and Jane Lazarre launched some of the first propositions in defense of motherhoods that strayed from a prescriptive and limiting “good motherhood” patterned by the heteropatriarchal norm, we have been searching for social and literary spaces that represent motherhood with more complexity. Thanks to the gains of feminist movements and a larger visibility of literary texts written by women, starting from the turn of the 21st century we have seen the production of a series of narratives about diverse motherhoods.

That “angel in the house” urged to be killed by Virginia Woolf, that self-sacrificing mother submissive to housework and care, is distorted and challenged: women who do not want to be mothers (Meruane), regretful mothers (Donath), black mothers (Evaristo), precarious mothers (Oliver), queer mothers (Trujillo), etc., step into the spotlight and have their say. We find ourselves in a historical moment in which diverse motherhoods occupy more space in literary and social fields, and we are observing an increase in the number of studies that approach the maternal realm from different angles, taking into account the multiple tones and perspectives that motherhood encompasses. Many of these books share a preference for self-writing (Albarrán Caselles), whether through memoir or autofiction, or texts pertaining to other genres in which first-person narrators recount experiences that have not previously been articulated.

This special issue of Frontería is intended as a space for bringing together different academic contributions that analyze literary works related to the universe of motherhood from different critical perspectives, as well as a place to promote debates on nonconforming motherhoods. Therefore, original articles (in Portuguese, Spanish or English) that pertain to the topics listed below and dialogue with contemporary works of literature will be considered for publication.

We also welcome reviews of theoretical studies and literary works that examine mother-child relationships. We will likewise consider translations of both theoretical and literary texts with proper copyright authorization. Translations of literary texts must include a brief presentation of the author, as well as an explanation about the suitability for this issue.

List of topics:

Desire of motherhood 

Miscarriage and abortion

Maternofophia

Mother-child complex relations

Corporeal process regarding motherhood

Forced maternities

Homoaffective motherhoods

Trans motherhoods 

Surrogacy

 

Important Dates:

Submission deadline: 2024 June 1st

Publication: 2024 July

For inquiries, please contact npedra@ufpr.br