Dialectics of maternity. Contributions to the study of gender inequalities in border territories

Abstract

The article retrieves the narratives of Peruvian women in Arica (Chile) discussing the contradictions that structure for them a dialectical experience of motherhood. We will begin by synthesizing theoretical debates on the relationship between gender violence, patriarchy and gender inequalities in border areas. Then, we will discuss how pregnancy means for Peruvian women, doubly, a liberation and a chain, conditioning forms of self-awareness, while exposing them to violence. We will thus analyze the dialectic between rupture and permanence of male figures and the female overload linked to the reproduction of the family nucleus. We will also recover the relations between the Peruvian migrants and the mothers of their Chilean partners, expressing the contradictions and relational conflicts that emerge in the encounter of heterogeneous conceptions of motherhood. Finally, we offer an analytical synthesis, pointing out new research questions.