Abstract
We argue that a woman’s decision to breast-feed or not is overdetermined by two discursive complexes we label “the romance of the natural mother” and “the science of breast-feeding.” These complexes incorporate socio-historical articulations of motherhood, female sexuality, medicine, science, and advertising. Taken together, they dictate the performative possibilities of “normal” and “moral” breast-feeding. In problematizing normal, moral articulations, we offer alternative possibilities for conceiving and performing breast-feeding.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 217-232 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Text and Performance Quarterly |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1998 |
Keywords
- Breast-feeding
- Female sexuality
- Natural motherhood
- Science
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Communication
- Visual Arts and Performing Arts
- Literature and Literary Theory