An Intersectional Perspective of Mothers in the Southwest, U.S.: The Interwoven Experience of Black and Latina Working Mothers during COVID-19

The dissertation focused on mothering practices among cisgender Black and Latina women during the COVID-19 global pandemic. This research sought to understand their engagement with public (employment) and private (domestic) labor and the ways that COVID-19 amplified existing gender, race, and class disparities in American mothering practices within these communities. This exploration considered the unique positions that Black and Latina mothers shared through community mothering, resulting in shared survival tactics. Mothering practice formed a web of knowledge production that was shared through generational child rearing as a form of communal protection. The survival strategies and techniques, employed by Black and Latina mothers, relied heavily on community and “othermothering” practices. The research questions sought to reveal the ways that capitalism, patriarchy, and socio-cultural expectations created racialized and gendered conditions that manifested in the lives of Black and Latina mothers already experiencing a syndemic due to interrelated complex issues of social crises that disproportionately affected women of color. The research in this dissertation project found that all mothers in the study, no matter their race, class, or gender, experienced an increase of stress, productive, and reproductive labor. Additionally, the study uncovered that no matter their race, class or gender, mothers sought creative and innovative ways to educate their children, create structured environments, and engage in othermothering strategies in order to continue their paid employment and care for their children. The research found that socio-economic status played a small factor in the ways that mothers perceived their privilege; yet, mothers of working-class status also reported feeling “lucky,” “fortunate,” or “privileged” due to various factors such as positive outlooks, aspirational class, and support networks. This research underscored the ways that Black and Latina mothers successfully navigated a global pandemic, continued their paid labor and reproductive labor through acts of resistance, resilience, and thrivance.