Neutral Claims - Gendered Meanings: Parenthood and Developmental Psychology in a Modern Welfare State

Abstract

Psychology, particularly developmental psychology, plays an important role in a modern welfare state. In this article three ‘cases’ within the frame of the Norwegian welfare state are analysed to produce a picture of psychological constructions of care and parenthood. The three cases are: (1) practices within the child welfare system; (2) debates about the cash benefit scheme; and (3) debates about joint physical custody. The argument in the article is that the crucial contribution of feminist psychology is that it deconstructs the ongoing debates on parenthood and childcare, speaks the experience of the actors who are continuously involved in caring for children into existence, and destabilizes naturalized and taken-for-granted understandings of children.