Maria Madalena d’Avelar

Self-sacrificing mothers or empowered sexual subjects? Tensions between motherhood and sexuality in the construction of mothers’ erotic experiences and identities

Western representations of motherhood have historically existed in tension with those of female sexuality, as exemplified by the 'madonna-whore' dichotomy. This paper's goal was to understand the cultural tension between discourses of female sexuality and motherhood and attempt t...