Academic Mothers Building Online Communities: It Takes a Village

Description

This volume focuses on the diverse ways in which mothers working within academia seek to find others with similar experiences to build virtual communities. Although the faculty and student populations of universities have diversified, mothers in academia are disproportionately overrepresented in precarious faculty and staff positions and continue to experience myriad institutional and interpersonal barriers, such as gender wage gaps that are exacerbated by stop-the-clock tenure policies, inadequate parental leave policies, expensive or scarce local childcare options, and social biases. The book gives space to the many ways women create and challenge their own versions of motherhood through a digital “village,” examining how academic mothers use virtual communities to seek and enact different kinds of support. Preface Part 1: Identity and Marginalization Part 2: Connection and Support Part 3: Pandemic Parenting A Thank You to All Academic Mothers* and Our Reviewers Acknowledgments Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables It Takes a Village: Academic Mothers Building Online Communities Introduction Context for AcaMamas: Who, When, and Why Virtual Villages: Building Relationships Online What Do We Mean by Virtual Villages? Positive Impacts of Virtual Villages Challenges with Virtual Spaces Supportive Online Communities as Sites for Scholarly Collaborations Conclusion References Part I: Identity and Marginalization How Finding Identity with an Online Community Led to Advocacy (Un)Supported: Challenges and Opportunities Experienced by Academic Mothers of Color in Online Communities Literature Review Seeking and Exchanging Online Support An Intersectional Approach Research Questions Method Participants Procedures Positionality, Coding, and Trustworthiness Findings Key Challenges Recommendations for Moderators and Members Discussion Key Findings and Implications Conclusion References Barefoot Strangers: Multinational Digital Epistemologies of Academic Moms, Mamás, Mamy, Umahat Positionality: Our Collective “We” Boxed in the Fem-Hyphen Research Design and Procedure: A Poly-ethnography of Our Digital Selves Digital Setting Digital Dialogues Results: Consume-Create-Social Outcomes from Digital Connections Facing the Disruption: Challenges of Working from Home Reflecting as Academic Scholars with Mom Guilt Academic Productivity During COVID-19 The Role of Pandemic Digital Spaces Cooperative Learning Processes Empowered Through Shared Digital Safe Spaces From Professional Academic Collaboration to Intercontinental Friendships Conclusions: New Normal to New Paradigms References Creating an Online Community of Support: Mothers of Children with Disabilities Working in the Academy Benefits Challenges/Opportunities References Who Is There When Everything Changes?: The Anchoring Effect of Online Maternal Support Groups During Periods of Liminal Professional Identity Introduction Literature Review Identity and Role Transitions Internet Support Groups Context and Methods Methods About the Group About the Authors (Emily, Caitlin, Traci, and Elisheva) Data and Findings Emily’s Story Elisheva’s Story Caitlin’s Story Traci’s Story Discussion Conclusion References How Academic Mothers Experience Face Threatening Acts and Reinforcing Facework on Instagram Mothers in the Academy Academic Motherhood in Online Communities Instagram Hashtags Politeness Theory Method Positionality Statement Findings Discussion Limitations Conclusion and Application References #GradStudentMom Finds Community Online References Being Alone Together: The Affordances and Constraints of Social Media Groups for Single Moms Introduction Social Media Groups for Single Moms in Academia: Affordances and Limitations Single Mom’s Experiences in a Digital Village Group Cohesion Offering Support Requesting Support The Limitations of a Digital Village Conclusion References Part II: Connection and Support Dealing with Death in Academia, or when 11,000 Mamas* Had my Back The Face(book) of Academic Motherhood: Online Communities Respond to the Traumatic and the Mundane Coup Mothers Love in the Time of Laundry A Coda: Making Sense of Art Laura’s Response to “Coup Mothers” Agata’s Response to “Love in the Time of Laundry” Art and Social Science Loose Connections Privilege in Mothering and Digital Communities Digital Communities Healing Intergenerational Patterns Art, Scholarship, and Motherhood References Hell Hath No Fury Like a Scorned Woman’s Friend: Reflected Anger in Academic Mother* Online Groups Existing Models of Social Support and Supportive Communication Social Support Versus Supportive Communication Reflected Anger Empathic Anger Communal Coping Co-rumination Academic Mothers’ Groups as a Unique Context for Reflected Anger Social Support in Online Spaces The “AcaMama” Space Reflected Anger and Acamamas* Contextualizing Reflected Anger for Acamamas* Limitations Conclusion References Online Groups as Source for Communication about the Taboo: Sexual Implications for Academic Mothers* The Impact of Motherhood on Sexuality The Impact of Academic Work on Women’s Sexuality Mothers Need Social Support Online Sources of Support and Information for Mothers Group Composition My Experiences Navigating Motherhood and Sexuality How Can Online Groups Offer Support Related to Sexuality? Advice and Celebration of Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy Normalization of Reduced Sexual Desire and Sexual Frequency Addressing Painful Sex Conclusion References Social Support Theory: Physical Isolation and Academia with Children Methods Study Participants Participants Participant Recruitment Recruitment Process Participant Selection Data Collection Recording and Data Transformation Analysis Methodological Integrity Results Participation in Online Communities: Providing and Receiving Support Emotional Support Informational Support Tangible Support Online Communities Mitigate In-Person Social Support Network Gaps Social Support and the Pandemic Social Support Theory and Geographically Isolated, Academic Mothers Discussion and Conclusion Appendix 1 References Part III: Pandemic Parenting Building Welcoming Spaces on Social Media: Motherhood in Academia During a Pandemic and Beyond Twitter as the Gate to Friendship References Drafting while Drifting: Developing a Digital Village of Support and Advocacy During the COVID-19 Pandemic Beginning Our Digital Advocacy: Recommendations for Supporting Caregivers Our Stories Tanya’s Story: While Having Contractions… Sara’s Story: The Long Momless Stretch Diane’s Story: I Keep Walking Untenable and Unbearable Tanya’s Story Continued: Postpartum Haze Not Going to Make It Stuck in a Loop Diane’s Story Continued: The Run-Around 12/2020 Tanya’s Story Continued: Constant Closures: Fall 2021 A Week before Classes Start Week 3 Weeks 4 and 5 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Sara’s Story Continued: Danger Room 4/2/20 4/6/20 9/3/21 Limited Pathways Sara’s Story Continued: Journal Entry 10/6/21 Diane’s Story Continued: A Rambling 10/1/2020 Picking Up Pieces References Building a Virtual Village: Academic Mothers’* Online Social Networking During COVID-19 Theoretical Framework Methodology and Analysis Findings Structural Social Capital: Establishing Accepted Ways of Interacting Establishing Posting Norms Establishing Community Protection: Building a “Safe Space” Cognitive Social Capital: Shared Values Creating Space for Authenticity Creating a Learning Environment Relational Social Capital: A Transformative Community Fostering Trust and Reciprocity Discussion Theoretical Implications Future Research Conclusion References The First Rule about Writing Group: How a Virtual Writing Group Changed My Trajectory Without Saying a Word “Comedy and Tragedy,” or How We Used Our Group Chat to Fill the Pandemic Care Gap Introduction Our Conversations Spring 2020 Summer 2020 Fall 2020 Spring 2021 Conclusion References Kids at the Door: An Autoethnography of Our Shared Research Identity as Academic Mothers in Virtual Collaboration Introduction Our Group Framework: Partners and Parents Kristina Sara Olga Dee Dee Pandemic Impact on Our Virtual Lives Virtual Collaboration Conclusion References Index