Grandmother kinship carers: negotiating conflicts in identity, blame, loss and love in the context of ‘mother blame’

Abstract

It is estimated that over half of all kinship carers in the UK are grandparents, the majority of whom are grandmothers. These grandmothers face a range of economic, social and emotional challenges arising from their roles in a society where women are expected to shoulder the burden of unpaid care within families. In this article, we draw on data from qualitative interviews with 24 grandmother kinship carers to understand the challenging emotional landscape that this role produces. In particular, we highlight how grandmother kinship carers are navigating contradictory dual roles as both ‘mothers’ and ‘grandmothers’ that become entangled within pervasive discourses of ‘mother blame’. We highlight how discourses of mother blame are mobilized and reinforced, not just within the broader structures and institutions of our society, but within individual families. When this happens, unequal gender norms and expectations around care and the family, as well as underlying structural inequalities, remain obscured.