Cultural Inventory of 21st-Century Maternities in Spanish Film and Literature

A cultural inventory explores diverse 21st-century maternities through recent Spanish cinema and Latin American literature, rejecting monolithic narratives of motherhood. Spanish films like Mamífera (2024) examine social expectations and reproductive freedom, while Cinco Lobitos (2022) portrays motherhood's abrupt changes and persistent gender inequalities. Sorda (2025) addresses deaf community challenges intertwined with parenting, and Salve María (2024) offers a gothic tale of infanticide. French cinema contributes with Saint Omer (2022) by Alice Diop, updating the Medea myth, and Titane (2021) featuring an extrahuman maternity. Earlier films include Juno (2007) on teen pregnancy and adoption, The Kids Are All Right (2010) on lesbian motherhood, and Mommy (2014) by Xavier Dolan on maternal violence. Latin American literature features Samanta Schweblin's Distancia de rescate (2014) on maternal paranoia and Brenda Navarro's Casas vacías (2019) on kidnapping and loss. Gabriela Weiner's Nueve lunas (2009) discusses migration and pregnancy, and Guadalupe Nettel's La hija única (2020) problematizes motherhood construction. Vivian Gornick's Apegos feroces explores mother-daughter relationships in Manhattan. In Barcelona, the play Batecs runs from April 16 to May 3 at Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, depicting three distinct maternities and issues like assisted reproduction commodification.