Mother of a person: neoliberalism and narratives of parenting children with disabilities

Abstract

Studying narratives is a tool for examining an individual’s construction of self. Personal narratives engage with cultural and institutional narratives. In this article, the author examines the personal narratives of caregiving from mothers with children with disabilities. Through interviews with 17 women, it is evident that personal narratives are a space where mothers engage cultural narratives of motherhood, disability and neoliberalism, along with institutional narratives of good motherhood. Within neoliberal ideology, there is an emphasis on self-sufficiency, independence and personal responsibility. Findings indicate that mothers can both resist and reframe notions of self-sufficiency and independence embedded in the neoliberal cultural narratives. Narratives of mothers of children with disabilities highlight how parenting cannot be accomplished in isolation and can be imagined as a collective and communal project.