The Blog as an Instrument of Deconstructing the Mass Culture Stereotypes of Postmodern Motherhood. Two Case Studies
The Blog as an Instrument of Deconstructing the Mass Culture Stereotypes of Postmodern Motherhood. Two Case Studies

Summary/Abstract: The current study is based on two premises. The first premise relies on Constructivism according to which, as any aspect of reality, motherhood is socially and historically shaped. The second premise claims that the social construction of motherhood is performed by mass-culture through an intense process of stereotype assignment, a process that mass-media nurtures and promotes. The goal is to show that the online environment (new media) has the necessary resources to counteract the idealisation and mystification of motherhood which is visible in traditional mass-media, as well as other new media areas, such as virtual communities dedicated to mothers. For this purpose, two recently published blog-texts written by young mothers are analysed. It will be shown that the image of Postmodern radiant motherhood is deconstructed by foregrounding semantic structures in which the negative representations of the mother, the child, and their relationship are prevalent.

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