Abstract

SANTILLAN ESQUEDA, Martha. Maternity and Criminal Transgression in Mexico City, 1940-1950. Hist. mex. [online]. 2019, vol.68, n.3, pp.1121-1164. ISSN 2448-6531.  https://doi.org/10.24201/hm.v68i3.3812.

In the decades that followed the Mexican Revolution, the ideal of the loving, protecting mother was politicized, feeding the expansion of institutional and discursive efforts aimed at strengthening the mother-son pair. Authorities and specialists were concerned with ensuring the success of the maternal “mandate.” In practice, there were women who had no desire to become mothers, others who suffered from their inability to become mothers, as well as single mothers and mothers who worked long hours and were unable to spend sufficient time on raising their children. Many mothers were also violent towards their children, and, in extreme cases, there were those who found crime to be a solution to maternity-related conflicts.

Through an analysis of criminal conflict, this article aims to understand the varied ways in which Mexico City women from different social sectors experienced maternity, as well as the sociocultural context in which actions connected to procreation acquired meaning. The texts analyzed include criminal records on abortion, infanticide, child abandonment and kidnapping, as well as yellow journalism and contemporary articles by specialists.

Keywords : crime; maternities; feminine imaginaries; social history; early 20th century; gender.

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