Knowing is not Feeling: COVID-19, Academic Mothers, and Maternal Guilt

Maternal guilt is ubiquitous. Related to the expectations placed on mothers built into the ideology of intensive mothering, the pandemic led to a significant heightening of this emotion. Given the increased demands brought about by COVID-19, this is not surprising. However, the how and why maternal guilt increased have yet to be explained. In this chapter, we explore some factors that heightened maternal guilt for a particular population—academic mothers living with minor children. Based on interviews conducted early in the pandemic, we argue that despite the sophisticated understanding of gender inequality articulated by many of our interviewees, members of this group were not immune to heightened maternal guilt. We identify four themes that help explain this phenomenon: an increase in maternal responsibilities; a lack of reliable expert advice; a lack of boundaries between work and home; and a blurring of maternal and professional roles. As academics, our interviewees held significant privilege, yet we argue that our findings shed light on why US mothers—including those with less privilege—internalize responsibility for problems created by structural forces