Abstract
This article explores the manner in which women who provided paid childcare in
Scotland were represented and collectively labelled with the pejorative term ‘babyfarmer’
across a forty-year period. It seeks to link the figure of the ‘baby-farmer’ to
a wider sphere of discourses and moral frameworks than previously attempted,
drawing parallels with other women engaged in processes of semi-public exchange.
In so doing the article suggests a more complex articulation of gendered and spatial
identity. In particular it asserts that the portrayal of these women was inextricably
linked to wider conceptions of the Scottish city and that these pre-existing notions
of urban space were integral to the representation of gender.
Scotland were represented and collectively labelled with the pejorative term ‘babyfarmer’
across a forty-year period. It seeks to link the figure of the ‘baby-farmer’ to
a wider sphere of discourses and moral frameworks than previously attempted,
drawing parallels with other women engaged in processes of semi-public exchange.
In so doing the article suggests a more complex articulation of gendered and spatial
identity. In particular it asserts that the portrayal of these women was inextricably
linked to wider conceptions of the Scottish city and that these pre-existing notions
of urban space were integral to the representation of gender.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 560-576 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Women's History Review |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 10 Mar 2014 |