Event Title

Mommy Motives: On the Intersections of Motherhood and Sexual and Reproductive Education

Presenter Information

Shannon Weiss, Minnesota State University Mankato
Quentina Dunbar, Minnesota State University MankatoFollow

Location

CSU 201

Start Date

18-4-2016 1:05 PM

End Date

18-4-2016 2:05 PM

Student's Major

Gender and Women's Studies

Student's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Mentor's Name

Ana Perez

Mentor's Department

Gender and Women's Studies

Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Description

Sexual and reproductive education is essential to obtaining the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about sex, sexuality and motherhood. Informed by post structural, postmodern and feminist standpoint theories, which deal with the significance and importance of individual lived experiences over generalized narratives, we examined the intersections of sexual and reproductive education and consequential ideas about motherhood. Our research consists of qualitative methods. We held focus groups drawing participants from students at Minnesota State University, Mankato. This subgroup was selected because they are most likely to have recently undergone some form of sexual and reproductive education in secondary school. The data concludes there is a disconnect between sexual and reproductive education and motherhood studies. The knowledge gap presented results in a very narrow idea of who may constitute as a “suitable” mother. We have included a proposed k-12 comprehensive sexual and reproductive curriculum as an answer to the current education disparities. Further study on this is essential to the critical evaluation of how well we are preparing future mothers and the constructs of expectations they are expected to meet.