”Varför ska jag gå runt och vänta?” En normkritisk intervjustudie med frivilligt ensamstående mammor

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how single mothers by choice motivate their family form and experience norms surrounding family and motherhood. In interviews with six women who became mothers through assisted reproduction technology we analyze motives and reasons behind their choice of family form and how they experience motherhood. In our analysis, we explore how heteronormativity and the concept of twoness constitute the nuclear family project and define relational practices. By using the poststructuralist term ​agency, ​we interpret these six women as creators in their own lives by having children on their own in a non-traditional way. Our conclusion is that even though heteronormativity and discourses regarding motherhood, family life and femininity are affecting the women, they resist and challenge these norms by creating an alternative position for themselves and their families.