Abject Mothers: Women Separated from Their Babies Lost to Adoption in Unbecoming Mothers:The Social production of Maternal Absence (ed Gustafson, D)
2013
Archive online, Personal collection
International
Academic Works, Other
This is a chapter in an international publication that situates the Australian experience in a broader context. Drawing on the author's doctoral research that explored the meaning of losing a baby to adoption, this work discusses how these mothers became abject to themselves and to their lost children. It examines the experiences of eleven mothers (including the author) who lost their babies to forced adoption through their personal narratives and written stories. Historical, legal, social and cultural influences are also discussed providing a framework for understanding forced adoptions and the resultant loss.
Dr Patricia Farrar
Other Researches
- Relinquishment and abjection: A semanalysis of the meaning of losing a baby to adoption. PhD Thesis
- Abject Mothers: Women Separated from Their Babies Lost to Adoption in Unbecoming Mothers:The Social production of Maternal Absence (ed Gustafson, D)