Doing Marginalized Motherhood: Identities and Practices among Incarcerated Women in Mexico

Abstract

This study examines the mothering practices and identities of incarcerated women in Mexico. Data gathered from repeated life-story interviews with 12 women, were analyzed to describe mothering practices in the different phases of incarcerated women’s’ lives. We argue that knowledge of the Latin American context is crucial to understand their experiences of motherhood. In a society based on familism and marianismo identities that suffers from a lack of welfare institutions, motherhood provided a way for socially and economically excluded women to escape destructive family environments and gain autonomy. Motherhood also provided a way to cope with the stigma of delinquency. Using the framework of Southern Criminology, we explore the importance of marginalized motherhood in this tradition. The results reveal the tragic paradox of motherhood for incarcerated women and the importance of studying marginalized mothering beyond the Global North.

Protecting Stories: How Symbolic Boundaries Reduce Victimization and Harmful Drug Use

“…Having said this, our experience from research with other groups of people who use drugs in very different contexts (e.g., Copes et al, 2008;Grundetjern & Sandberg, 2012;Sandberg et al, 2020) and the extensive literature on drug use and symbolic boundaries (for a review, see Copes, 2016) indicate that what we have identified here are relatively general ways for women to present and relate to functional drug use. Arguably, women who use heavily stigmatized drugs will despite geographical, cultural, racial, and other differences tend to embed their protective stories, symbolic boundaries, and perception of functional drug use in cultural narratives of motherhood and healthy moral, physical, and emotional health.…”

Women Providing and Men Free Riding: Work, Visits and Gender Roles in Mexican Prisons

“…Relationship to children was important in all interviews, more abstractly for men (Sandberg et al, forthcoming) and in more practical terms for women (Sandberg et al, 2020). Women also tended to speak more extensively about their children.…”

“…As seen above, the prison infrastructure and administrative apparatus tend to orient organizational structures in such a way that they preserve traditional gender roles (sport, maternity, etc). For marginalized Mexican women, raising a child is an interchangeable responsibility between women of the extended family, which continues even during incarceration (Sandberg et al, 2020). Men, on the other hand, seem to be able to disregard their financial responsibility when incarcerated, and instead hang on to their fatherhood through stories of their dreams to be emotionally supportive and caring fathers, especially after their release (Sandberg et al, forthcoming).…”

“…The main concern of many women prisoners is the fate of their children's, reporting that it is "the hardest part of doing time" (Kruttschnitt et al, 2000, p. 711), while men rarely report such feelings (but see Sandberg et al, 2020). Separation from children is painful for men too, but they are usually able to discharge their role as provider to the mother (if she is not imprisoned) or to her family, whereas this is more difficult for women who were singleparents before their incarceration (Datesman & Cales, 1983, p. 142).…”

Challenges to Reintegration: A Qualitative Intrinsic Case-Study of Convicted Female Sex Traffickers

“…Even while incarcerated, women’s relationships with their families of origin remain important to their identity (Leverentz, 2011). Motherhood is arguably one of the most stable social identities for women; consequently, coping with separation from family can negatively affect reintegration (Celinska & Siegel, 2010; Sandberg et al, 2020). Reclaiming relationships with children can be difficult for the formerly incarcerated due to financial hardship, social stigma, shame, and struggles with recovery from addiction (Celinska & Siegel, 2010; Cooper-Sadlo et al, 2018; Larsen, 2017; Nyamathi et al, 2016).…”