A transição de estado civil de solteira para casada e a reafirmação da identidade feminina: um estudo sobre o papel da maternidade entre mulheres casadas no Bairro Maxaquene C, Maputo

Abstract

This work has as its theme “the transition from single to married marital status and the reaffirmation of women's identity: a study on the role of motherhood among married women in the Maxaquene C neighborhood, Maputo city. The study uses Blumer's (1980) theory of symbolic interactionism to explain how sociocultural norms shape the acceptance of married women's status in relation to their ability to procreate and Heilbron and Brandão's (1999) social construction of gender approach, which focuses on cultural aspects to understand bodily contacts that may have different meanings across cultures. The research objectives were to understand the impact of the transition in marital status on female identity, to explain how sociocultural norms affect women's individual aspirations, and to understand how reproductive capacity affects social acceptance. Twenty-five (25) participants were chosen, comprising 8 married women, 8 married men, 2 community leaders (block chiefs), 1 nurse, 2 single women, 2 divorced women, 2 divorced men, residents of the Maxaquene C neighborhood, Maputo. The method chosen for this research was ethnographic and qualitative, combining various data collection techniques such as informal and formal conversations, observation and direct observation, semi-structured interviews, and literature review. The data analysis revealed that, particularly in the Maxaquene C neighborhood, children born within the family are very important in marriage, because they reflect the success of the marriage and are understood as the fruit of the spouse's love, completing the marriage. Thus, it is concluded that social acceptance of a woman's reproductive capacity and identity changes according to her experience of motherhood. And the value given to this experience of motherhood is accompanied by changes in the status of women at each stage of their lives.(TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)