What understanding do we have of motherhood?

“Iʼd Rather Be a Father” examines the lives of young women who often feel marginalized and overlooked in society: mothers. The project explores the experience of motherhood, capturing a snapshot of young mothers and their emotions, including their love, despair, doubts, and anger. What understanding do we have of motherhood and how do young mothers reflect on this? As a childless women in my thirties, surrounded by mothers I wanted to understand better what it means to be a mother. The topic was explored by observing a mother for some weeks with a video camera and interviews with young mothers about their experience and understanding of motherhood, what difficulties they have and how they reflect on this. The results of the research, the videos and audios and my reflection on it were integrated into an artistic project. This project gives young mothers a voice and let others hear and explore what motherhood means. It is not an ethnographic study, it is a snapshot, a collection, a documentation and interpretation of personal stories that have one thing in common: Love and despair are often closely intertwined.