Matka Polka w defensywie? Przemiany mitu i jego wpływ na macierzyństwo polskich kobiet
The demise of the myth of the Polish mother? The myth’s evolution and its impact on the situation of women in the Polish society

Summary/Abstract: The subject of this presentation is the at empt to define and to present the origins, socio-cul- tural content and the evolution of Polish Mother myth, present in the polish national conscio- usness. The author tries to show how this myth was born, what functions he fulfi lled and what forms he received in the changing historical and social reality, from the moment of loss of indepen- dence, through a period of real socialism, until the present day. The impact of this myth in the li- ves of real women and their motherhood was taken into consideration. Then, the author compa- ring the results of the latest polish sociological researches on the family and its transformation, and transformation of value systems together with theories about the specifics of life in the period of postmodernity, wonders whether it’s time to bring the myth of the Polish Mother down, becau- se it does not fit the conditions of today’s world, which is characterized, above all, by the apotheosis of individuality, self-realization and freedom, or perhaps in polish society there is still strong traditionalism in thinking about motherhood, and the myth of the Polish Mother is still alive?

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