Open AccessThe Mother Menagerie
Author(s) -
Merlinda Weinberg
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
critical social work
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1543-9372
DOI - 10.22329/csw.v6i1.5724
Subject(s) - menagerie , empathy , hierarchy , morality , psychology , social psychology , discipline , power (physics) , developmental psychology , sociology , social science , political science , law , ecology , physics , quantum mechanics , biology
In a qualitative study, social workers compared young single mothers to animals. I believe the metaphors illustrated some of the paradoxes and tensions in the helping relationship. The analogies served to deal with workers’ ambivalences about aspects of power inherent in their positioning as agents of disciplinary practices. Despite evidence of empathy, the animal metaphors also exposed worker disapproval and emotional distance. The clients were viewed as out-of-control, with poor judgment, difficult to engage, and unable to protect themselves or their children. By these comparisons, the differences between workers and clients were polarized, reinforcing an existing hierarchy of morality, normalcy, and worth.