Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
PhD Candidate in Cultural Governance, Shahid Beheshti School of Governance, Supreme National Defense University, Tehran, Iran
2
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Islamic Studies and Culture & Communication, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran
3
Assistant Professor, Institute for Civilizational and Social Studies, Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought, Qom, Iran
4
PhD Candidate in Culture and Communication, Shahid Avini Faculty of Art, Media, and Cyberspace, Imam Hussain Comprehensive University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
In today's era, with the expansion of modern ideologies and the feminist dimensions embedded within them, the concept of motherhood for women has undergone significant changes. The proliferation of media, particularly social networks, has greatly accelerated these transformations by providing platforms for audience networking and the creation of personalized content.
The objective of this research is to explore the various representations of motherhood on the virtual platform of Instagram and the portrayal of motherhood crafted by blogging mothers on this platform. To achieve this goal, purposeful sampling was employed (yielding 210 Instagram posts as the sample), along with observation as a tool for data collection and qualitative content analysis as the primary methodology.
Findings from the content analysis of user pages reveal two types of users based on motivation: selective mothers and hesitant mothers. Additionally, based on their reasons for defining the role of motherhood, users are classified into three categories: traditionalist mothers, cognitive mothers, and idealist mothers. Accordingly, the manner of engagement, the narrative style of daily life, and the sharing of photos and writings vary across these groups.
Key themes identified as shared and recurring across these content productions include the representation of maternal courage, motherhood persistence aligned with traditional patterns, the portrayal of the "supermom" (perfect/ideal mother), the display of maternal beauty and artistry, the depiction of maternal joy, the ideal mother archetype, and the simplicity of mothers’ everyday lives.
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