Biopolitics, birth control, and the body as a space of resistance for feminist women challenging the patriarchal mandate of motherhood

Abstract

Feminism serves to legitimize other forms of being a woman, especially when the 
mandate of motherhood as an inevitable destiny is questioned. Concepts such as 
body-territory are crucial in the struggle for bodily autonomy, which views women´´ s bodies and their capacity for pregnancy as a resource available for state 
use through birth policies. The objective of this research is to explore feminism´s 
influence in challenging the mandate of motherhood. To achieve this, the 
biographical-narrative method was used with life stories of Mexican feminist 
women. The results reveal that feminism does not promote the rejection of 
motherhood; rather, it fosters the development of critical thinking, leading to 
questioning and rejecting social mandates that perpetuate female essentialism. 
Faced with a lack of institutionalization of caregiving work and economic 
uncertainty, some women choose to postpone motherhood or simply not have 
children instead of sacrificing their professional and personal development.