With teenage pregnancy stereotyped as a social problem in Australia, most dominant discourses do not consider the limited choices available to many young women experiencing ‘disadvantage’. As a consequence, becoming a mother at a young age can be perceived as an irrational and irresponsible choice. However, for many disadvantaged youth, becoming a parent young may not be a ‘failure of planning’, but instead a tacit response to the limited choices and opportunities available to them.
Through exploring relationships between class, stigma and gender, and the act of giving voice through documentary storytelling, this project seeks to explore the lived experience of three young mothers; Nunjul, Tammara and Rowrow.
The aim of this project is not to argue the oversimplified narratives of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ mothers. Instead, it is hoped that the project can serve as a platform to show the complexities of each woman’s lived experience, and challenge conventional views of young mothers through recognising the validity of their (often misunderstood and stigmatised) choices.
Nunjul, Tammara and Rowrow have all removed themselves from their environment in an attempt to provide a better life for their children. However, in all cases, with this removal has come social isolation (physical and psychological) and loss of community. This isolation was not a symptom of childbirth but a consequence, as they all attempted to fracture the cyclical nature of their individual disadvantages.
