Rewriting the sexual contract

Abstract

In this chapter I map the contours of duality through the eyes of the revolving mothers. What does it look like to have ‘two selves’ – that is, an autonomous self and a mothering self – and how does being an ‘autonomous mother’ both sharpen and constrain this duality? Second, I show how this duality works in practice . We revisit themes raised in the previous chapter regarding maternal and paternal transformations with a view to examining the broader theme of how revolving mothers are rewriting the sexual contract. While accepting the veracity of prevailing accounts – and indeed of the impasse for most mothers associated with dual roles – in this chapter I explore how revolving mothers are resisting these norms. I examine this finding under three key headings: (1) doubled selves and doubled lives; (2) domestic divisions of labour and leisure revisited; and (3) rewriting the sexual contract: on the democratisation of intimacy.

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