The discursive construction of unmarried women’s identity
Published:
Oct 15, 2020
Keywords:
Discourse analysis Female identity Unmarried women
Abstract
Understanding the experience of women who are not married and live alone has recently become an important issue within feminist psychology, since a significant and growing number of women belong to this category. The aim of the study is to examine the discursive construction of unmarried women’s identity. The methodology followed a poststructuralist approach in discourse analysis and data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews with unmarried women, aged between 36 and 52 years. The analysis highlighted the three main
discourses the participants used in their accounts: (a) the discourse of independence, (b) the discourse of loneliness, and (c) the discourse of stigmatization. The paper discusses the consequences these discourses
have on the construction of the women’s personal identity, on the reproduction of the dominant ideology regarding unmarried women in Greece, as well as on women’s counseling.
Article Details
- How to Cite
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Κοτρώνη Ε., & Αθα Χ. (2020). The discursive construction of unmarried women’s identity. Psychology: The Journal of the Hellenic Psychological Society, 18(3), 363–380. https://doi.org/10.12681/psy_hps.23728
- Issue
- Vol. 18 No. 3 (2011)
- Section
- SPECIAL SECTION
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