I Am Roha’s Emaye: A Critical Autoethnography of Mothering in Liminal Spaces
In this critical autoethnographic study, we examine how one woman, Roha’s <i>emaye</i> (Amharic for mother), developed necessary racialized subjectivities as mother of a child who codes as Black in contemporary U.S. society. While substantial research outlines how mothers of color must p...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-03-01
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| Series: | Genealogy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/4/2/35 |
| _version_ | 1797417354601168896 |
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| author | Kara Roop Miheretu Allison Sterling Henward |
| author_facet | Kara Roop Miheretu Allison Sterling Henward |
| author_sort | Kara Roop Miheretu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this critical autoethnographic study, we examine how one woman, Roha’s <i>emaye</i> (Amharic for mother), developed necessary racialized subjectivities as mother of a child who codes as Black in contemporary U.S. society. While substantial research outlines how mothers of color must prepare children to live in a racist world; typically, this perspective focuses on the child. Often, it excludes how mothers—both Black and White—must ‘do’ identity work to make sense of this. Although race is a social and cultural construct, when women cross the color line to partner and have children, the challenges they face both as part of a couple and mother are real. Data are drawn from journals and memories, blending self-observation and reflexive investigation as fieldwork to intentionally comment on and critique cultural practices surrounding mothering and subjectivity. Data were analyzed using Foucauldian concepts of <i>Genealogy, Power, and Subjectification</i>. Findings indicate that this mother was constructed, regulated, normalized, and categorized and found to occupy multiple liminal spaces. This paper argues that tracing how particular subjectivities are given power and regulated in specific contexts of mothering contributes nuanced understandings of how race comes to matter, for whom, and when. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:17:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-35ce9dc960894eb582d02c4215a1c513 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-5778 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:17:36Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Genealogy |
| spelling | doaj.art-35ce9dc960894eb582d02c4215a1c5132023-12-03T11:50:41ZengMDPI AGGenealogy2313-57782020-03-01423510.3390/genealogy4020035I Am Roha’s Emaye: A Critical Autoethnography of Mothering in Liminal SpacesKara Roop Miheretu0Allison Sterling Henward1Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Penn State University, State College, PA 16801, USADepartment of Curriculum and Instruction, Penn State University, State College, PA 16801, USAIn this critical autoethnographic study, we examine how one woman, Roha’s <i>emaye</i> (Amharic for mother), developed necessary racialized subjectivities as mother of a child who codes as Black in contemporary U.S. society. While substantial research outlines how mothers of color must prepare children to live in a racist world; typically, this perspective focuses on the child. Often, it excludes how mothers—both Black and White—must ‘do’ identity work to make sense of this. Although race is a social and cultural construct, when women cross the color line to partner and have children, the challenges they face both as part of a couple and mother are real. Data are drawn from journals and memories, blending self-observation and reflexive investigation as fieldwork to intentionally comment on and critique cultural practices surrounding mothering and subjectivity. Data were analyzed using Foucauldian concepts of <i>Genealogy, Power, and Subjectification</i>. Findings indicate that this mother was constructed, regulated, normalized, and categorized and found to occupy multiple liminal spaces. This paper argues that tracing how particular subjectivities are given power and regulated in specific contexts of mothering contributes nuanced understandings of how race comes to matter, for whom, and when.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/4/2/35motheringsubjectivityracemultiracial familiesFoucault |
| spellingShingle | Kara Roop Miheretu Allison Sterling Henward I Am Roha’s Emaye: A Critical Autoethnography of Mothering in Liminal Spaces Genealogy mothering subjectivity race multiracial families Foucault |
| title | I Am Roha’s Emaye: A Critical Autoethnography of Mothering in Liminal Spaces |
| title_full | I Am Roha’s Emaye: A Critical Autoethnography of Mothering in Liminal Spaces |
| title_fullStr | I Am Roha’s Emaye: A Critical Autoethnography of Mothering in Liminal Spaces |
| title_full_unstemmed | I Am Roha’s Emaye: A Critical Autoethnography of Mothering in Liminal Spaces |
| title_short | I Am Roha’s Emaye: A Critical Autoethnography of Mothering in Liminal Spaces |
| title_sort | i am roha s emaye a critical autoethnography of mothering in liminal spaces |
| topic | mothering subjectivity race multiracial families Foucault |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/4/2/35 |
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