Orphaned maternities: the idealization of caregivers and the mothers of Belo Horizonte

Abstract

The main responsibility for care is placed, amidst social expectations and institutional reinforcements, on women. In the case of child care, this responsibility is linked to motherhood. When women don’t meet such expectations, that can only be achieved by those with certain characteristics and in specific social circumstances, their motherhood is denied by the State. Considering that, this article aims to understand how white and classist ideals of motherhood infiltrate the “orphaned mothers’ case” of Belo Horizonte, in which babies are judicially taken away from their mainly poor and black families. Through this case study, under the lens of care, the result found is that the individual responsibilization allocated to women violates their rights and their children’s. The article has, as its conclusion, that the distribution of child care and the guarantee of social support for women and their families is needed to ensure the rights of all involved.