ABSTRACT
The concluding chapter of this book outlines the contributions it makes to the study of gender and parenthood across the social sciences, as well as to both discourse studies generally and digital discourse studies in particular. It focuses on key findings about discourses of gender and parenthood and how such discourses are taken up, negotiated and resisted through digital interaction. It draws together the insights that are presented throughout this book to suggest that Mumsnet Talk is a space in which ordinary people have the opportunity to negotiate and discuss wider social constructions of gender, parenting and motherhood. Thus, it may be a key initiator of resistance, change and transformation in people’s parenting practices and self-identifications. However, such claims come with the caveat that digital contexts like Mumsnet Talk do not allow individuals to entirely escape the language through which discourses operate – language that can empower but also restrict the ways in which we can position ourselves in the social world. Finally, this chapter turns to broader questions about the value of studying language, gender and parenthood in digital contexts, and suggests some fruitful areas for future research.
