Resistance work
Our remaining extracts further explore the sharp edges of motherhood by considering some of the very few occasions in our data where speakers either seek to challenge some aspect of normative motherhood, or who seemingly present a threat to it in the eyes of their interlocutors.
In extract 10, the host is Holly, and the speakers are Ally who has been categorised as a Mother-cum-Expert , and Holly (here Hol.) who is categorised as intentionally childless .Extract 10 1 Ally: but (.) you’ve cho sen (.) NOT to have children
2 Hol.: yeah
3 Ally: and i respect that decision .hh bu t i think you
4 will regre::t that far- further down the track .hh
5 [>what happens< if you
6 Hol.: [we::ll (.) i (.) def initely won’t but-
7 Ally: mEET somebody- well >i’m just saying< what happens
8 if you DO meet somebody↑ who des perately wants to
9 have a child=
In this debate, which ostensibly concerns whether being a mother equates to being a better boss, Ally presents a pervasive societal assumption that a woman will later regret the decision not to have children. Ally emphasises that her interlocutor has “chosen” this path (line 1), marking Holly out as an intentionally childless, which Holly accepts (line 2). Ally offers the clichéd assertion that she “respects” Holly’s decision, but her argument appears incongruous with such respect. From her Mother-cum-Expert position, Ally projects category-earned wisdom, built upon ”implicit moral judgements, claims and obligations” (Heritage and Lindström, 1998, p. 398), that Holly will “regret” her choice (line 4). Holly interrupts and attempts to reject Ally’s argument (line 6), stating “i (.) def initely won’t”, but Ally does not cede, and instead continues to assert her position. Ally’s question “what happens< if you mEET somebody” (lines 5, 7-8) assumptively appeals to the heteronormative SRP of Mother-Father, invoking the common-sense obligation, bound with expectations of heterosexuality and monogamy, that ‘meeting somebody’ is a step towards the ultimate goal of motherhood. The debate between Holly and Ally continues in extract 11.