Não há quem escolhe ter uma vida amarga: um estudo sobre a construção da identidade social das mães solteiras a partir da vida quotidiana em Maputo, 2021

Abstract

This work was realized with the objective of understanding the process of the single mothers identity’s construction from the everyday life. The discussed problematical is linked to the study of the subjective experiences of single parent, a topic that was not discussed with depth in the sociological discussion that the consulted articles presented. The phenomenological theory of Alfred Schutz was the advisor used to approach the question of the subjective experiences related to the single mothers. The research was realized based on qualitative method, where were used the interview and life’s history for the data collection.The sample was defined by saturation, and covered 7 single mothers, residents in Maputo City and Province. The collected data showed that being a single mother is a constant fight for social acceptance and for economic stability to care the child and herself. When analyzing the experiences of single mothers in everyday life, it is clear that they are a target of constant social control and they occupy a discredited social layer, the reason why they fight to change that situation. The everyday life offers different social situations and is in this space that women define in continued and fluid form, their social identity, according to the attitude that they consider appropriated for each situation