Justifying and excusing young motherhood in Singapore

Abstract

Young motherhood is predominantly perceived as a social problem despite the declining rate of teen births in Singapore. This suggests that the problematic nature of young motherhood stems not entirely from statistics of teen births rate but also from young mothers’ resistance to the “normal” life trajectory of securing educational and career security before forming a family. This research thus explores the stigma faced by young mothers and how their stigmatizing experiences reveal the influence of social class and the workings of dominant modes of defining “good mothers” and the role of adolescents in society. Drawing on the perspectives of Goffman (1959, 1963) and Scott and Lyman (1968), this paper examines young mothers’ coping mechanisms – the way they justify and/or excuse their “deviant” behaviours and their negotiation of social norms to translate damaged identities into desirable ones.