THE PERCEPTION AND DEFINITIONS OF STEP-MOTHERHOOD: PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND CULTURAL MEMORY

Abstract

Different roles and problems related within different step-family roles exist in this structure. In step-motherhood types, the concept of the principal role and problems centralized in it, comes to the fore as step-motherhood. Scientific studies carried out on stepmothers make it possible to collect data regarding issue-related problems and their possible solutions. On the other hand, the insufficiency of studies conducted on women who live the stepmother experience point out a significant deficiency regarding the existing problems and their possible solutions. This study focused on how the step-motherhood perception and definitions affect the women who live stepmother experience. In addition, the study problematizes whether this perception and definitions are affected by the stepmother construction in the fairy tales as one of the significant tools of cultural memory. To examine this research problem, in-depth interviews were done with six women who lived a stepmother experience; the data obtained were addressed with a discourse analysis. In the present research, stepmother-related definitions of the women who live a stepmother experience emerged in the emotional relationship with their corresponding stepmothers. Women who experienced an emotionally satisfactory experience with their corresponding stepmothers defined the term of step-motherhood with positive statements. Women who were exposed to bad behaviors and could not made love-based contacts with their corresponding stepmothers defined the term with negative statements. Women who had a negative stepmother experience felt that the “bad stepmother” typology drawn from fairy tales might reflect the existing reality. Women who had positive stepmother experiences argued that the cultural heritage would not be very effective in constructing the roles of step-motherhood, but rather a behavior pattern are based on human experience. Focused on stepmother experiences, this micro-study asserted there are multiple issue-related questions and problems that should be solved.