Hegemonic gender and Australian Women's mothering aspirations

This paper argues that hegemonic gender structures operate at individual, cultural and organisational levels to shape, reinforce and constrain Australian women's mothering aspirations. The authors provide a theoretical discussion of prominent models of gender, highlighting the similarities and differences. Hegemonic femininity and masculinity are explored in relation to the establishment and reinforcement of the gender order. Lastly, these theories are used to demonstrate how Australian women's mothering aspirations are influenced by hegemonic gender structures, rather than solely individual agency-level factors or material resources.