Vietnamese feminists' views on motherhood

Figure 1 illustrates the views of our survey participants on the concept “motherhood”. We employed the assumption that feminist theories, when introduced into Vietnam, will be adjusted to suit the culture. The result shows that there is currently no dominant view of motherhood. Vietnamese feminists tend to view motherhood as a personal matter and always have two sides. This view is distinct from the depersonalization of women's issues by some feminists around the world. We believe that there has been acquisition and adjustment of feminist theory to suit the Vietnamese context. Specifically, issues like maternity benefits and abortion rights in Vietnam have not been widely discussed in feminist waves as they have been in the radical feminist movement in the United States and other countries. Therefore, Vietnamese feminists do not have an urgent need to publicize issues of motherhood to gain more legal considerations.

The participants’ views on motherhood can be divided into four main responses:

• Motherhood has positive effects on women's lives;

• Motherhood has negative effects on women's lives;

• Motherhood is a personal choice; how people view its effect is up to their personal experience;

• Motherhood can have both positive and negative effects on women's lives.

First, the positive effects mentioned by survey respondents are mainly: the expansion of their emotional capacity, the development of life skills, and the unique experience that is motherhood.

• A female respondent, born in 1991, with no children, said: "I think every change that is radical or has a long-term impact is positive. Although the positive effect may not be noticeable at first, I think learning, adapting, dealing with new situations will train and give me different and valuable experiences. Being a mother is a challenge, and like all challenges, it helps me understand myself better."

• A mother, born in 1987, said: "Motherhood is a personal choice. For me personally, even though being a mother makes me busier, more tired, more responsible, no time for myself, and it slows down my schooling and career, taking care of a child is a joy every day. It makes me feel happy and motivated to become better, to learn more, to be more confident in my growth journey."

Notably, all those who had had children shared that they had a positive experience becoming mothers. Three out of five mothers who responded to the survey said they felt overwhelmingly happy, and two out of five mothers mentioned the "special bond" between them and their children.

• A mother, born in 1982, said: "Women have the skills, ability and the special connection with their kids. They know what's best for their children."

• A mother, born in 1996, said: "Raising and taking care of children makes me happy; no matter how hard it is, children are the most precious thing. I can give up anything, but I will never give up my child."

As for the negative effects, survey respondents expressed that their fear or discomfort with Motherhood does not come from the mother's experience of giving birth and raising children, but from society, including economic disadvantage, gendered expectations in the motherhood experience, and social pressure.

• A female respondent, born in 1987, with no children, said: "Women have to make many sacrifices [during motherhood] while there's not enough social, legal, and cultural support."

• A female respondent, born in 2001, with no children, said: "'Motherhood' comes with the expectations of unpaid labor (childcare), which easily leads to economic dependence, lost opportunities for self-development and contributing to society."

All of the participants who thought that "motherhood" would bring negative effects were childless, and their observations and knowledge of the motherhood experience in society led them to draw this conclusion.

As for the idea that "motherhood" should be viewed in terms of personal choice, both mothers and non-mothers agree that having the ability to bear children does not mean having children is required of women. They believe that the motherhood experience can be improved if women have complete autonomy over their decisions to have children. They recognize the toll that Motherhood can have on a woman's physiology, socio-economic status, and mental health, and therefore, advocate for personal choice. A woman who chooses to have children, rather than being pressured into the decision, will be happier.

• A mother, born in 1985, said: "Motherhood requires many sacrifices; society should let women decide and support them in their decisions."

• A female respondent, born in 1991, with no children, said: "Whether to become a mother is a decision that requires the consent and willingness of each woman, instead of imposing unnecessary pressure for women to fulfill their "sacred duty" to become mothers. This view will backfire, and both the mother and her child will be negatively affected."

Those who see "motherhood" as having both positive and negative effects on women share many of the opinions mentioned above. They believe that Motherhood can give unique experiences to women, but they will have to make many sacrifices in their health and careers compared to men.

• A female respondent, born in 2001, with no children, said: "It's a positive experience in that you can learn more positive traits just from giving birth and nurturing a new being. It is negative in that it affects many women's positions in society, especially when it comes to their careers, lost wages, lost social experiences, personal time and hobbies."

• A mother, born in 1996, said: "Raising a baby is an achievement in its own rights. Sometimes when I have no motivation, and I think of it that way, it helps me keep going. On the other hand, my life is affected a lot by this sudden change of being pregnant and having a child; there's a lot of pressure. There's pressure from the family; they always place the responsibility of taking care of the child on the mother, despite the fact that the mom and dad are equals in terms of social status and career advancements."

As Figure 2 points out the dominant attitude toward the view that “motherhood” is a “sacred duty” among our survey participant. We find that there is a consensus among feminists about the certain "sensitive" terms associated with traditional Vietnamese views on motherhood, such as "sacred duty." Feminists tend to oppose the traditional view.

Regarding the decision of whether to have children, Vietnamese feminists agree that women need to decide for themselves. To make this decision, they:

• Carefully consider their own abilities, their partner's abilities, and their family's abilities;

• They haven't decided, but both options are acceptable.

Vietnamese feminists have a neutral opinion regarding motherhood. For them, motherhood in and of itself is a positive experience, but their concerns are mainly with the social issues they may face or personal conditions that may force them to sacrifice many things in their personal lives.

• A female participant, born in 1997, no children: "I really wanted to be a mother, so I thought about it and had a plan. Recently, after working in the gender equality field for a while, I really reconsidered this thought. I find being a mother quite difficult, especially financially, and the amount of effort and time investment."

Some participants planned to have children but didn't specify a particular timeline in their life plan:

• A mother, born in 1996: "95% of [my decision to have a baby] was because of external factors, like my husband's parents, my parents. That was why I made the decision to be a mother at 23."

• A mother, born in 1987: "It was more about life planning. It was my personal desire, that is, to have a baby. But when it would be, that was a bit surprising to me."

Vietnamese feminists also recognize the different ways that women can become mothers, such as through adoption, IVF, or surrogacy. There is a consensus among them that the motherhood experience doesn't necessarily require childbirth, but child-rearing, in that the process of nurturing a child plays a significant role in a woman's experience as a mother. It is worth noting that both mothers who participated in the in-depth interviews said that the relationship between a mother and her child is unique, especially during the neonatal period, and the mother's role is irreplaceable except during extreme circumstances.

• Mother, born 1987: "I think the relationship between a woman and her child is a unique relationship because only the mother can be pregnant and give birth to the child. I can completely trust my husband or relatives to take care of the children if I am busy with work or if I have some health issues [...] However, during the first few months of life, the mother needs to take care of her child because she knows how to best care for her child. Of course, there are extreme circumstances where the mother cannot be with her child.”

Every feminist interviewed, regardless of their parental status, agreed that childcare can be performed by other family members, including the child's father or grandparents. This view stems from their response to the heavily gendered language that Vietnamese society and government use to describe motherhood, including "sacred duty" (thiên chức), "a mother's noble role" (chức năng cao quý của người mẹ), or "excel at work, great at home" (giỏi việc nước, đảm việc nhà).

Vietnamese feminists' view of the legal system and legal provisions governing "motherhood"

Figure 3 provides a clue to measure how much the feminists want the state to intervene the “motherhood”, which is considered as a personal matter. The majority of respondents agreed that policies were needed. However, supporters of both of those opinions agree that women need autonomy when it comes to deciding whether they have children.

Those who support policy intervention share a common negative view of social factors. They agree that the state needs to provide more policies to:

1. Protect women's reproductive rights

2. Protect the rights of both mothers and their children

3. Improve society's awareness of mothers' significant roles

• A female participant, born in 1997, with no children, said: "Society has not paid enough attention to women's autonomy and sexual rights; it is necessary that the law regulates and ensures the enforcement of these basic rights. [...] The law also needs to recognize the effort, time, and resources that women have devoted to housework and caregiving because that work makes a great contribution to social development and the labor and consumer market. Especially in Vietnam, these jobs (housework and caregiving) are still considered women's work."

• A female participant, born in 1998, with no children, said: "Whether to have children is an individual's choice, there should be laws to protect this freedom to choose. In addition, the law should also protect the rights of mothers and support them so that this "sacred duty" is not only women's but men's too. The fact that men get little paternity leave after they have a baby somewhat deprives men of their rights to fatherhood and closeness to their children. During those first few months after giving birth, women need a lot of support, both physically and mentally."

Those who oppose policy intervention emphasize the need to retain bodily autonomy and the desire to limit the state's population policy to avoid putting more pressure on women, especially in a patriarchal culture such as Vietnam. Notably, male feminists also support this view.

• A mother, born in 1996, said: "There's no need for more policies, but it's necessary to educate parents, especially men, to reduce social pressure on women."

• A male participant, born 1993, with no children, said: "In a liberal society, instead of regulating motherhood to control the mother-child relationship and civil responsibilities, it is only necessary to expand the "human" relationships, which already include the mother-child relationship. Looking at "motherhood" from the point of view of reproduction, the population will only see the fearful effect of the one-child policy [in China] or the one-to-two-child policy [in Vietnam]. The most recent example is Decision 588 on marriage and "motherhood" to ensure population growth."

When speaking of the issues that Vietnamese mothers may face, every participant used the word "pressure" to describe them. This answer echoes the problem that they previously mentioned: that cultural beliefs and practices create more issues for women rather than the law.

The pressures that they mentioned include:

• Insensitivity to the mother's mental health: After the baby is born, all the attention is on the child, and the mother is neglected. Their personal issues were not recognized by older family members, who experienced worse conditions when they had children. Older generations used the fact that modern-day mothers have it better to explain that they (mothers) had nothing to complain about (mother, born 1996).

• The pressure of doubled responsibilities: Having to work while being the primary caretaker at the same time because housework and parenting are not considered "real jobs" (participant with no children, born 1991).

• Loss of autonomy: The pressure is not only about being forced to have children, but they also mention the conflicts between mothers and their families, between mothers and society about how to raise and educate their children (mother, born 1987). They express their frustration as: "If a child is raised right, it's not necessarily a mother's accomplishment, but if a child isn't, mothers will certainly be blamed" (participant with no children, born 1996).

In the participants' opinions, the relationship between mothers and their family members, as well as their social relationships, are the main sources of pressure on mothers. Therefore, improving cultural understandings related to motherhood is the solution that will relieve the aforementioned “pressure” in their motherhood experience, rather than changes in the law.

Vietnamese feminists' expectations of the legal system regarding motherhood.

Regarding specific laws, the participants also expressed dissatisfactions with the following issues.

The authors arranged the answers from depth interviews with the participants in Table 2. In this table, we divided them into three groups based on the characteristic of each anwers, which are the pattern among their ideas.

Regarding Vietnamese regulations, the participants tend to be more cautious with those that are open to interpretation and require more guidance from the authorities. In the survey, the only provision that did not receive any objections was Clause 2, Article 137 of the Labor Code (2019), which detailed the rights of female employees and the responsibilities of employers. This consensus shows an apprehension towards the system’s ability to interpret the law in a way that ensures women’s rights and gender equality.

Vietnamese feminists' views on motherhood

Vietnamese feminists tend to view motherhood as a personal matter that can have both positive and negative effects on women, depending on each woman's personal context. The negative effects mentioned were primarily caused by the Vietnamese social structure and patriarchal culture, rather than childbearing itself. However, in the participants' views, the motherhood experience still has some positive impacts on women.

Vietnamese feminists want to remove the issue of motherhood from Vietnam's patriarchal social judgment, so that women can gain more decision-making power, especially regarding important choices such as whether a person wants to have children or how parents should raise their children.

Vietnamese feminists' view of the legal system and legal provisions governing "motherhood"

Regarding the relevant regulations on motherhood, Vietnamese feminists' assessments can be summarised into three main themes:

• Use of gendered language

• The law doesn’t fit the reality of a woman’s experience

• Laws that favor women actually generate stereotypes, rather than protect them.

We hypothesize that these assessments are based on the assumption that Vietnamese culture is patriarchal, and therefore Vietnamese laws do not reflect women's lived experiences.

Vietnamese feminists' expectations of the legal system regarding motherhood.

• Making maternity benefits more inclusive: The participants expressed their appreciation for the existing maternity benefits, but they want these benefits to become more inclusive to avoid perpetuating stereotypes about women’s roles as mothers. They expect more expansive paternity benefits so that men can have an equal opportunity to practice their rights and responsibilities as fathers.

• Ensuring that laws are enforceable: The participants did not feel that the laws related to the rights and responsibilities of mothers were accessible or impactful. They expressed a stronger belief in the persuasive power of culture rather than laws because the law has not made an impact in their everyday lives. This is especially true for laws that supposedly protect the rights of pregnant employees since these laws still have some loopholes that weaken this protection.

• Eliminating the gendered language in the law: The participants reacted strongly to the phrases that had no legal value but only perpetuated patriarchal beliefs about women’s roles. These phrases will be the subject of further criticism as feminist movements progress.

From these conclusions, we expect that Vietnamese feminist movements will focus more on improving cultural understandings of motherhood in order to normalize the concept of “personal choice” rather than “sacred duty” when it comes to the decision to have children. Therefore, in the future, they will gradually broaden their understanding of the concept of motherhood to become more inclusive of LGBTIQ+ parents so that each individual can make their own decisions to become parents based on their personal aspirations and abilities. This is a human rights approach, rather than a lesbian feminism approach. In addition, these feminists also hope to raise cultural awareness about the social pressure that mothers face, as well as provide science-based comprehensive maternal care using personalized medicine, rather than using folk remedies based on community experiences.