ABSTRACT
Qualitative study, based on Oral History, conducted with nineteen women, with the purpose of analyzing narratives of women without children in relation to motherhood and not motherhood. The analysis of the narratives points out that women have historically experienced changes in values and practices that have resulted in new conceptions regarding female identity, impacting the feminine ideal of the woman-mother, present in the social imaginary. Motherhood, which was socially constructed, takes on a new value in contemporary times and the decision to whether or not have a child results from the desire of every woman.
KEYWORDS
Maternal behavior; Women; Gender identity