Chapter

Nurse-in

Abstract

Western thought splits women's identity into “mother” or “other” – the perception that women cannot be both. Re-thinking mothering from the perspective of “performativity” recognizes the relationality between mother and other. Mothering and family life are frequently not recognized as relevant to the workplace. Therefore, visual art makes my/breastfeeding/academic/working mother's reality known. Motherhood is a practice that is always incomplete, indeterminable, and vulnerable. A relational understanding of m/othering opens up the possibility of an ethical form of exchange between self and other. Thus, it is not simply a matter of making oneself visible as a mother in the academe but about changing the way that mothering has been understood, conceived of, and practiced. This re-conceptualization of m/othering refuses to be split, while also remaining ambivalent.

Authors

Springgay S

Book title

Arts-Based Research in Education

Pagination

pp. 341-344

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Publication Date

November 28, 2025

DOI

10.4324/9781003412892-34
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