Tricky Subjects: A Feminist Relational Discourse Analysis of UK Mothers’ Sharing of Difficulties on Social Media

Research has established the role of social support in mitigating negative outcomes for women encountering mothering-related difficulties. As a gendered practice, supporting others is closely tied to social obligations for women. These obligations are complicated by one's own needs, particularly in challenging times. Using Feminist Relational Discourse Analysis, we explore mother's voiced accounts of writing or seeing posts about mothering difficulties on social media during the Covid-19 pandemic in England. A total of 35 interviews were conducted across the first and third lockdown. Participants were White British, heterosexual mothers of young children (aged 4–11 years). All but two were in relationships and all self-identified as middle-class. We explored contributing/viewing posts of difficulty through the construction of I-poems. We identified two overarching discourses: (1) Empathetic Solidarity and (2) Distressed Distancing. Findings showed that posting about mothering difficulties is complex where the needs of self and others sit in considerable tension. The prioritization of mothers’ voices in this study makes visible how asking/being asked for support on social media is nested within competing social obligations around feminine caring, mothering and normative expectations for online sharing. This is particularly relevant in current climates of austerity and crisis in which institutional social support for mothers is compromised.