Techniques of Identity Talk in Reentering Mothers’ Self-Narratives: (M)othering and Redemption Narratives

We examine how incarcerated women introduced themselves to a reentry program focused on reuniting them with their children. To communicate maternal worthiness, the women did not discuss their own past mothering but focused instead on their mothers’ mothering and on their future mothering. Our analysis uncovers two forms of identity talk women used to distance themselves from societal presumptions about their “bad” mothering: discussing shortcomings of their mothers in a process we call defensive (m)othering, and focusing on futures as good mothers through redemptive storytelling. These strategies reveal how women attempt to manage identities within structural, cultural, and situational constraints.