CONCLUSION
Motherhood discourse eschews individual experience when aligned with the dominant narratives of ideal motherhood, and disavows and erases motherhood narratives that run counter to the unconditionally loving and giving mother. It does so by not allowing a public space for dissent, as any expression of motherhood that does not align with the all-giving mother will invalidate the dissenting mother’s identity as mother. A mother that expresses anything other than complete love and devotion to the child, and to their office of motherhood, becomes regarded as unnatural or a “bad mother”. Public expression of motherhood in general leaves the mother open to judgment by media and society, in the form of epideictic speech, and uses shaming tactics to silence any expression but that of the cultural ideal of motherhood. Part of this discourse that I would like to explore is the public/private discourses at play here. The silencing of the individual experiences of motherhood is due to the relegation of women to the private sphere, the home, which isolates mothers from forming a community and support network, while simultaneously providing them no platform to engage with and participate in (re)signification/negotiation of the discourses of motherhood. Because the experience of motherhood is kept private, mothers cannot reconcile the contradictions within the experiences of motherhood with the ideals of motherhood. Finally, I could like to explore how digital spaces for mother like forums and mommy blogs are giving voice to and helping to bring into public discourse mothers and their authentic experience.