From Criticism to Collaboration: Politics of Naturalist Mothering in Turkey

Abstract

Abstract Naturalist mothering has become a remarkably influential trend in the last decade, transforming the popular discourse of good motherhood in Turkey, especially among urban, highly educated, middle-class, and mostly upper-middle-class mothers. In this article, I examine the perception and presentation of naturalist mothering as a safe and ideal method of protection from health and environment risks by these affluent mothers. Foregrounding their narratives in the ongoing context of neoliberal conservatization in Turkey, and by bringing together debates on the social determinants of risk, neoliberal governmentality, and feminist political ecology, I argue that invoking naturalism as a safe alternative to perceived environmental threats reinforces the assignment of care labor to women. Despite originating in discontent and critique of the policies and regulations of the current conservative neoliberal government, the propagation of naturalist methods as a safer ideal in fact perpetuates gender inequalities already in play.