Defining the Maternal Subject of the Law

The aim of Chapter 2 is to establish an inclusive definition of mothering that nonetheless recognises its gendered character. In this chapter it is argued that gender-neutral framings of mothering, such as “parenting” or “having dependent children” which have become dominant in policy are insufficient to consider the way mothering functions to structure the ongoing economic and political subjugation of women. The chapter reviews key insights on mothering from feminist scholarship, and then incorporates and synthesises these into a approach to understanding mothering through Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of the assemblage. Conceptualising mothering as an assemblage facilitates the recognition of the common social and political forces that are brought to bear across lives that are extremely different. Assemblage theory allows us to understand mothering as an event that occurs through the confluence of certain material artefacts and experiences with political/social forces. This understanding of mothering is therefore able to be attentive to the biopsychosocial experience of mothering in an inclusive way, without succumbing to biological essentialism or a disembodied, identity-only approach.