"¿Existe el amor maternal? Historia del amor maternal. Siglos XVII al XX" by Elisabeth Badinter

Abstract

The book Is there maternal love? discusses the conventional idea of maternal love as a behavior universally rooted in women that automatically activates when they become mothers. With this work, the French philosopher Elisabeth Badinter argues that maternal love is not an innate instinct that comes from a feminine nature but rather a historical and social behavior that varies according to times and customs, and challenges the prevailing discourse that happiness and personal fulfillment can only be achieved through motherhood, so to continue speaking today of maternal love is to continue to exert extraordinary pressure on women. There is love. Without adjectives. And love is care. For women and for men alike.