Motherhood and Capitalism : Multiple and Simultaneous Relations of Inequality

Abstract

This essay examines the interface between motherhood and neoliberal capitalism from the perspective of critical social theory, exploring how this system shapes and is shaped by the practices and ideologies of motherhood in the Brazilian context. The paper analyses the dynamics of gender and race that intersect with caregiving work, often undervalued and unpaid, highlighting its structural implications for female and racial subordination. By emphasising the historical and cultural role of Black mothers in the formation of Brazilian society, the text investigates how their experiences and struggles carry emancipatory potential that challenges the oppressive logics of capitalism. It is argued that the internal contradictions of capitalism, intensified by neoliberalism, not only expose the crisis of caregiving work but also offer opportunities to imagine and construct emancipatory alternatives, through a radical restructuring of the relations between production and reproduction, aiming to overcome gender, class, and racial inequalities.