Keywords
Motherhood; Incarceration; Reproduction; Maternal Punishment and Violence; Feminist Speculative Fiction
Abstract
“(Re)Making Motherhood: The Politics of Feminist Speculative Fiction” addresses the role of women’s reproductive bodies in shaping the institution of motherhood through an analysis of contemporary speculative fiction. I demonstrate that speculative fiction, specifically the sub genre of dystopian societies, provides insight into how women’s maternal bodies are manipulated by socio-legal policies and religion to confine them to the institution of motherhood. The institution of motherhood is defined as a set of ideals established by traditions, history, and socio-legal norms that view women’s ability to have children or lack thereof as justification for their incarceration. I employ two definitions of motherhood throughout my thesis: biological motherhood, which refers to a woman’s reproductive capacity, and social motherhood, which refers to the physical act of mothering. Through an analysis of three contemporary speculative fiction novels published in the late 20th and early 21st century, “(Re)Making Motherhood: The Politics of Feminist Speculative Fiction,” examines the impact of “The Carceral Womb,” a term I have coined, on women’s incarceration as mothers. I draw on the regressive politics present in the dystopias, and how the socio-legal policies impact women’s ability to mother by placing a reproductive obligation on their bodies without considering external factors. Finally, I contend with the difference between motherhood and mothering, drawing on examples where mothering is a form of liberation from the institution of motherhood and where it is equally as confining as motherhood itself. I argue that the authors demonstrate how women’s biological capacity to bear children is used as justification for confining them in the institution of motherhood, which operates as a form of control, and in some cases, punishment.
Thesis Completion Year
2025
Thesis Completion Semester
Fall
Thesis Chair
Aman, Jane
College
College of Arts and Humanities
Department
Department of English
Thesis Discipline
English
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
STARS Citation
Ott, Hailey, "(Re)Making Motherhood: The Politics of Feminist Speculative Fiction" (2025). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 452.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/452
Rights Statement
