The effects of a successful father on his children was a cause of much psychological scrutiny in the twentieth century; what it's like to be a child of a successful mother is a relatively new question in western history, but one that is affecting increasing numbers of the current younger and upcoming generations.
Since the influence of the 1970s women's art movement and second wave feminism has filtered into the phenomena of strong mothers effectively working in multifarious fields, what impact does a successful, feminist-influenced, mother have on the individuation, or identity-formation, of her offspring, is an issue affecting current generations that is ripe for social, cultural and psychological consideration.
One of the major controversies of 1970s feminism was about whether gendered identity is biologically determined or socially constructed. So it is interesting to follow the development in thinking and art of leading feminist artists and theorists of the 1970s who asserted the belief that identity is socially constructed, and who have had and brought up children, and to consider the impacts on our beliefs on our children.
Of course how you define the term ‘success’ is the first step of such an analysis; on the surface one may think that a ‘feminist’ definition of success for a woman means one who is educated to tertiary level, professional and well regarded by peers in her field.
This definition would be superficial taken on its own, to be meaningful it needs to be understood in the context of the recent history of women’s struggle for liberation and equal opportunity in the academy, in the work-place and in the social domain of cultural production: arts and culture. It should not be forgotten that it is due to the political struggle of the international women’s movements, from the start of the 20th century, that all social advances for women are made; they were not given over by men in power. Even in the context of this struggle the real advances and interests of the women’s movements encompass far more than such an instrumental prescription.
One of the interventions and initiatives of feminism is to challenge the traditional western perception of ‘success’ as a concept in itself as a term that serves the interests of capital, or at least that is, when it is measured and judged by achievement of materialist goals in popular media discourses in consumer societies. It is one of third wave feminism’s imperatives to challenge and scrutinise this conception of success which is repeatedly revealed as redundant in each ‘bust’ cycle of capitalism; and to boldly and publicly recognise and lobby for other meanings of value and fulfillment in our lives.
This does not mean opting out of society and the work force, but as the 1970s women's art movement controversially put onto the agenda, it does mean raising consciousness of 'female' maternal values in the public domain of culture and in the workplace.
Copyright © Ruth Skilbeck, 2011
