THE DOUBLE CONSCIOUSNESS OF CHRISTIAN SINGLE MOTHERS: REPRODUCTION, RESISTANCE AND EMERGENT FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS IDEALS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This ethnographic study explores Singaporean Christian single mothers negotiation of the heteronormative family ideal, characterised by dual-parent households. Employing participant observation and semi-structured interviews, I focus on the perspectives of 5 Christian single mothers, corroborated with 6 adult children of such mothers. Utilising Double Consciousness (Du Bois, 1903), I argue that Christian single mothers internalise society s standards and often see themselves as inadequate parents. However, Double Consciousness does not give sufficient weight to the possibility of resisting and achieving agency through striving within those structures. Du Bois (1903) proposal of Complete Consciousness takes on an emancipatory approach, seeking to forge a true Black culture to shed the oppressor s lens. I utilise Equalisation Strategies (Lamont, 2007) to reveal my interlocutors alternative form of resistance. They adhere to the heteronormative system and employ its practices, what I term tools of the system , to write themselves into it and establish parity with dual parents in the notion of family. Theoretically, this thesis extends understanding of Double Consciousness by contextualising it to Singaporean Christian single mothers negative self-perception influenced by the heteronormative ideal. I likewise extend the discourse on resistance strategies proposed by Du Bois (1903) with Equalisation Strategies. My research contributes to the growing literature on single parents in Singapore by focusing on Christian single mothers, given the pervasiveness of the heteronormative ideal in their lives. I showcase the marginalising effects of the heteronormative ideal on the single parent community which compels an expansion of the notion of family in Singapore.