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Preferred term

matrophobia  

Definition

  • The term matrophobia, introduced by poet Lynn Sukenick, was further developed by feminist maternal theorist Adrienne Rich in her 1986 work Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution. Rich described matrophobia as occurring when women split themselves in a desire to purge themselves of their mothers' bondage, to become individuals free from the expectation of perfecting a full-time domestic housewife role:Matrophobia is the fear not of one's mother or of motherhood but of becoming one's mother. [Source: Encyclopedia of Motherhood; Matrophobia]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/matrophobia

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