Motherhood credentialing
In our data, motherhood identity is often treated as the basis for a speakers’ contribution, and experience as a mother, is routinely deemed to provide sufficient topic-relevant expertise (see Fitzgerald and Housely, 2002) to be heard on a whole host of matters. As mothers engage in these debates, they undertake manoeuvres which qualify, and indeed, quantify their credentials as experts. In the following extracts, we examine one such manoeuvre which features prominently in our data. We refer to it as the ‘how many-how old’ manoeuvre.