Mother-Daughter Relationships: A Feminist Overview

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Al-Mosaed, Nora F. "Mother-Daughter Relationships: A Feminist Overview." Journal of the Social Sciences 31.3 (2003): 707-729. Sociological Abstracts. Print. Nora Al-Mosaed’s “Mother-Daughter Relationships: A Feminist Overview” argues that sexism and unequal treatment towards women in a patriarchal society negatively impacts the behavior and relationship between mothers and daughters. Al-Mosaed describes a study conducted where 173 female college students were questioned about their relationships with their mothers; of the most notable information collected, married daughters reported having a better relationship with their mothers while divorced daughters cited a much more negative relationship with their mothers, and all daughters reported being devalued when compared to their brothers. It is important to note that the women who participated in this study were daughters of Saudi families, which may suggest the effects of the patriarchal society on the mother-daughter relationship. Al-Mosaed’s article was interestingly refreshing because of its focus on daughters in Saudi families; the author’s research is highly relevant to my chosen topic in that it examines what strengthens and deteriorates the relationship between mother and daughter (in the case of this study, it was suggested that the deterioration stemmed from the overwhelmingly patriarchal society in which they lived) and takes into perspective a culture not often represented in literature about communities of women. Boyd, Carol J. "Mothers and Daughters: A Discussion of Theory and Research." Journal of Marriage and Family 51.2 (1989): 291-301. JSTOR. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. In “Mothers and Daughters: A Discussion of Theory and Research”, Carol Boyd... ... middle of paper ... ...es each item with the historical happenings of each time period, with a particular interest in the feminist spectrum. Included topics of study are ‘mother blame,’ domestic expectations, maternal sacrifice, ‘feminine containment’, and more (Walters). Suzanna Walters wrote insightfully and intelligently about the various condemning ways that mothers and daughters have been viewed in popular media for more than sixty years. I found this text to be extremely helpful in that I gained knowledge in the many ways that society’s sexism was/is portrayed in various popular media outlets; the pressure laid on mothers and daughters was/is excruciating and, as displayed in many of the films, resulted in general unhappiness for women. I believe this text will prove to be extremely helpful in evaluating mother/daughter relationships as related in history and in the media.

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