“It was hard work, and it is still hard work”: towards a fluid typology of Black (imprisoned) motherwork

Thomas, Monica 2025. “It was hard work, and it is still hard work”: towards a fluid typology of Black (imprisoned) motherwork. Ethnic and Racial Studies 10.1080/01419870.2025.2574392

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Abstract

Although there has been a growing body of matricentric penological scholarship in Britain, there remains a lack of theoretical consideration of the intersections between processes of racialization and motherhood in such contexts. This article addresses this oversight by utilizing the Black feminist concept of motherwork to situate the Black mothering practices that come to be mobilized in response to maternal imprisonment in England. Informed by an analysis of in-depth interviews with Black mothers, a fluid typology of Black (imprisoned) motherwork is subsequently presented. This reflects the multiple, overlapping, albeit distinctive strategies of care employed by the mothers before, during and after confinement, that being: “preparatory”, “connective”, “protective”, “(re)building” and “activist” motherwork. Together, these types of motherwork provide a new conceptual framework for recognizing Black mothering as a purposive tool for survival and resistance, whilst problematizing the racialised-reproductive oppressions found to both necessitate and constrain such work in carceral Britain.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Start Date: 2025-11-05
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis Group
ISSN:	0141-9870
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 November 2025
Date of Acceptance:	7 October 2025
Last Modified:	19 Nov 2025 11:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182513

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