(How Much) Does a Mother Know? Maternal Accountability and Foodwork in Neoliberal Society

With prof. Sebastiano Benasso; chair: Gabriele Proglio; discussant: Maddalena Borsato

In recent years, there has been an intensification of mother blaming directed toward mothers of children who are overweight, as well as those who raise their children on vegan or vegetarian diets. The notion of mother blaming refers to the cultural process through which mothers are stigmatised for their children’s perceived failures or deviant behaviours, within the broader processes of genderisation of care work. In neoliberal societies, the authority of expert knowledge – particularly nutritional science – positions mothers as primarily responsible for regulating and safeguarding their children’s bodies, establishing standards for food and health. The attribution of blame for deviations from these norms extends beyond the private and subjective domains, framing maternal responsibility as a “civic duty” and linking it to the ideal of the “good citizen.” Adopting a media analysis perspective, in this conference the representations and discursive strategies that underpin mother blaming in relation to foodwork will be critically examined.

The conference will be held in the AULA MIROGLIO at 5,15 pm.

Sebastiano Benasso is an associate professor of General Sociology at the University of Genoa. His work focuses mainly on Youth Studies and the cultural meanings of food. He is the coordinator of the Visual Sociology Laboratory at the University of Genoa.