Negotiating Motherhood in Digital Spaces: The Fluid Representations of Gender in Latvian Social Media Groups

In the digital age, social media platforms have emerged as influential arenas for constructing and negotiating gender identities, particularly in the context of motherhood. This research focuses on the Facebook group Atsaucīgo māmiņu forums (Responsive Mummy Forum) in Latvia, exploring how motherhood is represented, performed, and challenged within this online space. The study reveals that, in Latvia, motherhood continues to be a central axis of women's identities, shaped not only by biological and cultural factors but also by the digital technology.

The Responsive Mummy Forum serves as both a space for the reproduction of traditional gender norms and a platform for contesting and deconstructing them. Here, motherhood is a fluid and contradictory construct, oscillating between normative discourses and alternative narratives that reflect the complexities of contemporary maternal identities. Through qualitative text analysis, semi-structured interviews, this study examines how digital media facilitates the formation of support networks, the performance of maternal identities, and the capitalization of motherhood in both commercial and non-commercial contexts.

This research also addresses how anonymity in these digital spaces allows the expression of non-normative thoughts about gender roles, challenging the pervasive ideology of intensive motherhood and offering alternative maternal experiences. Moreover, it sheds light on the role of digital media in amplifying the voices of marginalized groups, particularly women, within a society where traditional gender expectations remain strong.

By analyzing the interplay between media representations, audience engagement, and the creation of digital motherhood narratives, this study contributes to the broader understanding of how gender identities are constructed, reinforced, and contested in the digital age. It further explores how digital spaces both reflect and challenge societal norms surrounding gender, offering new perspectives on the mediation of gendered experiences in contemporary media.