The subjective experience of the lesbian (m)other: An exploration of the construction of lesbian maternal identity.

This study explored the subjective experience of lesbian co- mothers as they constructed their maternal identity. A purposive sampling strategy of 7 lesbian co-mothers, ranging in age from 35 to 73 years, participated in audio taped interviews. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of data paid particular attention to how co-mothers negotiated constitutive binaries of mother/father in the process of socially constructing their role. The study found that co-mothers position themselves as the same and different, effectively refusing to participate in either/or binary oppositions of mother and father. The greatest opposition to their role often came from within their own family of origin. Through the day-to-day work of discursively creating their maternal identity, lesbian co-mothers are the front-runners of a new form of 21st century family.