Maternal Legacies

Reflections on the Life and Work of Dr. Marie Porter, AM

Abstract

This article honours the life and scholarly contributions of Dr. Marie Porter AM (1938–2023), a transformative figure in motherhood studies whose work bridged lived maternal experience and academic theory. Drawing on her journey of mothering three sons, including one with severe physical disabilities, Marie developed the concept of “transformative power in motherwork,” which theorizes how mothers develop agency and adaptability through their maternal practice. Through analysis of Marie’s published works, particularly her groundbreaking text Transformative Power in Motherwork (2008), and unpublished manuscripts and speeches, we explore how her scholarship emerged from and was deeply informed by her mothering lived experiences. The article examines Marie’s key theoretical contributions, including her development of concepts like “incipient agency,” and her analysis of how mothers resist dominant master narratives of motherhood. As a mother and scholar who helped establish motherhood studies in Australia, Marie’s work demonstrates how mothers develop diverse agentic skills even within constraining institutional contexts. We argue that Marie’s scholarly legacy offers vital insights for contemporary maternal scholarship by emphasizing mothers’ capacity for resistance and transformation. Written by three scholars who worked closely with Marie, this article weaves together academic analysis with personal reflections to capture the enduring impact of her work on motherhood studies and the lives of those she mentored.