Representation of Women who Reject Motherhood in Mexican Romantic Comedies: Visibilization or invalidation of female agency?

Abstract

Representation of Women who Reject Motherhood in Mexican Romantic Comedies: Visibilization or invalidation of female agency?

In Mexico, women who decide on life trajectories that exclude motherhood are becoming more visible. Based on an interpretative textual analysis of a critical case sample of two Mexican movies that have as a central character a woman who does not want to become a mother, this article examines the dominant representations and narratives in these movies problematizing them in view of the increasing number of women who express their rejection of the role of mothers. The findings show that the rejection of motherhood is presented as a circumstance that, with the help of a man, can be overcome, which minimizes the agency of these women and perpetuates the romanticization of motherhood.