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they are experiencing (and internalizing), and no one to offer a different view. A
feminist analysis allows mothers to see and name these powerful forces, to stop
blaming themselves, and to begin to see themselves and their world differently.
Feminist theory also critiques the highly gendered construction of social and economic
structures – such as public policy, government programs, and the workplace – and
highlights the relevance of inequitable social structures to the everyday lives of women
and families.
I believe that a structural-feminist analysis is central to understanding the
experiences and challenges of parents of infants in western, Anglo-Saxon capitalist
countries. It can allow staff and volunteers to survive the work without burning out, as
it shifts the blame for overwhelming social and personal problems away from service
users and providers, and instead on to inequitable social structures and the dominant
ideologies that support them. Structural-feminist theory can help us to make sense of
these situations: to name and understand their root causes, and to identify that, if
governments were to make different policy decisions, we could have better ways of
supporting parents (and mothers in particular) and their young children. Perhaps most
importantly, structural-feminist theory allows us to help service users to shift
responsibility for these situations away from individuals, to society at large.
4.3 RELATIONAL-CULTURAL THEORY: THE MOTHER-HOME VISITOR RELATIONSHIP
Relational-Cultural Theory 8 identifies five essential components of healthy
relationships: connectedness, empathy, mutuality, reciprocity, and authenticity (Jordan
et al., 1991). Miller and Stiver (1997) described relationships that have these five
elements as “growth-fostering relationships” (p. 16). They argued that growth-fostering
relationships play a key role in women’s lives and our ability to thrive; indeed, when
relationships are not growth-fostering, we experience a disconnection that interferes
with our sense of well-being and efficacy: “If we have found it disconnecting and
8 See page 15 for an historical footnote regarding the term “Relational-Cultural Theory.”
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