Biopower, Biotechnologies, and the Biopolitics of Mothering: A Sociological Exploration of Maternal Subjectivities within UK Dwarfism Communities

Abstract

This thesis explores the subjective experiences of mothers who have children with dwarfism, drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with 34 mothers in the United Kingdom (UK). The study includes 19 average-statured mothers and 15 mothers with dwarfism, all of whom are members of various dwarfism communities. Situated within the context of emerging biotechnological advances in growth treatments for children with achondroplasia, the research reveals how mothers within dwarfism communities negotiate (often competing) discourses on motherhood, dwarfism, and disability. The findings highlight how these processes fundamentally shape maternal subjectivities. The study’s key contribution lies in exploring how mothers manage their identities in response to emerging biotechnological growth therapies for dwarfism; specifically, through examining the ways that they engage with the biopolitical dimensions of these treatments. The research exemplifies how biopower – particularly the experiences of judgement, social policing, and intense scrutiny – manifests through the prospect of maternal healthcare decisions. This thesis offers the first UK-based study to situate maternal subjectivities within the milieu of emerging biotechnological therapies in dwarfism healthcare. The research contributes new sociological insights by foregrounding the centrality of power in the complex and nuanced interplay of identity, stigma, and disability; demonstrating the ways that these dynamics intricately shape maternal subjectivities within dwarfism communities.