Sabu, Sherin
Menopause and transformations in maternal identities: Beyond the ‘caring grandmother’ - Economic & Political Weekly - 61(26-27 Supple), Jun 27, Jul 4, 2026: p.8-14
Menopause is an important transition in a woman’s life, transforming maternal identity beyond reproductive and domestic functions. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in central Keralam, it explores how post-menopausal women recalibrate maternal care, authority, and kinship through sensory, affective, and moral practices. Using sensory anthropology, care theory, and feminist life-course scholarship, it conceptualises how post-menopausal women establish covert modes of maternal presence, including taste, smell, ritual, and silence, as forms of authority and intimacy. These recalibrations coexist with refusals, as some women retreat or detach from maternal labour. Tracing these everyday negotiations, the paper contributes to an expanded sociology of motherhood.- Reproduced
https://www.epw.in/journal/2026/26-27/review-gender-studies/menopause-and-transformations-maternal-identities.html
Menopause and transformations in maternal identities: Beyond the ‘caring grandmother’ - Economic & Political Weekly - 61(26-27 Supple), Jun 27, Jul 4, 2026: p.8-14
Menopause is an important transition in a woman’s life, transforming maternal identity beyond reproductive and domestic functions. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in central Keralam, it explores how post-menopausal women recalibrate maternal care, authority, and kinship through sensory, affective, and moral practices. Using sensory anthropology, care theory, and feminist life-course scholarship, it conceptualises how post-menopausal women establish covert modes of maternal presence, including taste, smell, ritual, and silence, as forms of authority and intimacy. These recalibrations coexist with refusals, as some women retreat or detach from maternal labour. Tracing these everyday negotiations, the paper contributes to an expanded sociology of motherhood.- Reproduced
https://www.epw.in/journal/2026/26-27/review-gender-studies/menopause-and-transformations-maternal-identities.html