La maternidad en Pégame que me gusta de Lalo Barrubia: de la institución a la redefinición de los roles familiares

This article examines the representation of motherhood in Pégame que me gusta (2009) by Uruguayan author Lalo Barrubia, using Adrienne Rich’s distinction between “motherhood” and “mothering” as a theoretical framework. Through a close analysis of the novel’s female characters, the study explores the institutional construction of motherhood within a patriarchal and unequal sociocultural order. It highlights how maternal experience is marked by both physical and symbolic violence, internalized by both sexes. The paper contrasts this institutional model with the dissident maternal experience of the protagonist, Adriana, and further incorporates the role of fatherhood as a critical element in feminist reflections on care and responsibility. The study contributes to contemporary Latin American literary criticism by situating Barrubia’s work within the wider discourse on contested motherhood in 21st-century Hispanic literature.