The women–nature connection as a key element in the social construction of Western contemporary motherhood

This chapter demonstrates that the Western construction of motherhood is underpinned by a strong emphasis on the connection between women and nature. A significant characteristic of this connection is the dissolution of nature’s ambivalence (nature is always normal and moral) and the subsequent dissolution of motherhood’s ambivalence (having/wishing/raising a baby is always good). Envisioning nature in a positive light entails not only a naturalist, but also an idealized construction of motherhood. Along with theoretical elaboration, this chapter details two specific occurrences of the contemporary women-–nature connection: in recent photographs which portray breastfeeding mothers and in a campaign against C-sections.