Study on Motherhood in an Era of Low Birth Rates: Focusing on Feminism and Personalism Perspectives

Today, Korean society is facing a crisis of low birth rate. Conflict between men and women caused by an intense competitive system and conservative familism is cited as a major cause of the low birth rate problem, which has emerged as a national issue. Radical feminism, which is considered an ideological background that influenced the conflict between men and women, emerged as a backlash against the government's reproductive policy that instrumentalizes motherhood, but its argument for liberation from motherhood is becoming a cause of social conflict. At a time like this, discovering a new positive view of motherhood and its value has important implications. Even within feminism, there is not only a perspective that views motherhood as a control mechanism for women and advocates liberation from motherhood. Since the 1980s, efforts have been made to understand motherhood more diversely within feminism, and there is a movement to present motherhood as a social value by discovering the value of care within motherhood. This perspective is believed to have a positive meaning by presenting the area of care as a common area for men and women and highlighting the ‘right to care’ of the vulnerable in a fiercely competitive society. However, in order for care to become an important value for both men and women, it is necessary to properly understand the value of care within motherhood. The personalist perspective, which understands motherhood as an outstanding attribute of women and shows a complementary relationship between men and women, will help men participate more actively in the area of care by learning about fatherhood through motherhood.