Patriarchy? Paternalism? Motherhood Discourses in Trials of Crimes against Children

Abstract

This article analyzes two recent trials of women accused of killing their infants. The legal strategies that employ gender of the defendant as a resource for constructing narratives of the offense are explored. This is achieved through analysis of discourses of the transcripts of the defendants' trials. Two salient discourses, patriarchal and paternalist, are identified in the article. Patriarchal discourses are characterized by the equation of womanhood and motherhood and by the overtness of the ranking of men over women. The paternalist gender management expresses itself in deference to the professional discourses that define motherhood— medical, psychiatric, and administrative. The evidence presented suggests that maternal trials of crimes against children provide a conduit for discussion of the issues that matter—the place and importance of motherhood in contemporary society. What is taking place in these trials reflects cultural neurosis over the ambiguity with regard to the definitions of the foundational relationship of mother and child. The article suggests that the trials of mothers accused of harming their children are symbolic of the problems involved in the contemporary regulation of mothering.