The Halifax Motherhood Collective invites you to join us for our Second Annual Re-image Motherhood Event: State Control of Motherhood.

Mothering is essential to our society and yet it is undervalued and trivialized. This is no accident. The devaluing of motherhood is part and parcel of the state’s attempts to exploit women for its own ends. From control over reproductive technologies and access to abortion to policies and funding decisions that regulate and limit our choices at every stage, all mothers are subject to state scrutiny and repression when they ‘fail’ to meet the standards of “idealized motherhood.”

With the help of our invited speakers Annie Clair, Larissa Holman, and Tanya Wasacase, we will explore the ways in which idealized motherhood is constructed, directed and enforced by the state. What results when state policies are guided not by the inherent value of women and children in our society, but rather by a colonialist, racist, capitalist and patriarchal ideology? What are the mechanisms engaged by the state to accomplish their goal of controlling our reproductive labour, and how can we resist them?

This is a child-friendly event – children are welcomed to join us. A limited number of childminders will be available to supervise children on-site.

For more information, please contact us at: halifaxmotherhoodcollective@gmail.com