Mothering or smothering? Pastoral power and discourses of protection in Scottish school-age-childcare

Abstract

Childcare has historically been constructed as ‘women’s work’, undertaken predominately by unpaid caregivers such as mothers (Huppatz, K. [2023. Gender, work and social theory: The critical consequences of the cultural turn. London: Bloomsbury Academic].). Caring responsibilities have been discursively constructed with perceived expectations of being the good mother (Paechter, C. [1998. Educating the other: Gender, power and schooling. London: Falmer Press].) and a pastoral charge to protect the child (Brydon, S. [2009. “Men at the heart of mothering: Finding mother in Finding Nemo.” Journal of Gender Studies 18 (2): 131–146].). In this paper, I consider how pastoral power constructed through discourses of protection is reflected in both policy and expectations of good mothering, informing safeguarding behaviours known as maternal gatekeeping (Doucet, A. [2006. Do men mother? Toronto: University of Toronto Press].; Gaunt, R. [2008. “Maternal gatekeeping: Antecedents and consequences.” Journal of Family Issues 29 (3): 373–395].). This interpretative paper is guided by theoretical principles of feminism and poststructuralism and employs a Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA) as a lens to analyse powers reflected in everyday behaviours. The findings arguably indicate how protective maternal behaviours drawn from private spaces unknowingly may create gendered barriers to the recruitment and retention of men within childcare professions, informed by childcaring expectations historically placed unequally on women (Evans, M. [2017. The persistence of gender inequality. Cambridge: Polity Press].).