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“All Mums Are Working Mums?” Discursive Constructions of
Career-Oriented ‘Good Mother’ Identities on Social Media among
Malaysian Mothers
*Norazrin Zamri., Akademi Pengajian Bahasa
Centre of Foundation Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Selangor, Kampus Dengkil,
43800 Dengkil, Selangor, Malaysia
*Corresponding Author
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.924ILEIID00100
Received: 23 September 2025; Accepted: 30 September 2025; Published: 01 November 2025
ABSTRACT
This study explores how new Malaysian mothers discursively construct and negotiate their multiple identities
on social media in relation to their careers. This qualitative study draws on Baxter’s (2007) Feminist
Poststructuralist Discourse Analysis, Bucholtz and Hall’s (2005) sociocultural linguistic principles of identity
construction, and Schippers’ (2007) concept of hegemonic femininities as its theoretical and analytical
framework. The study is based on a comparative dataset comprising: (1) six months of private motherhood-
related Facebook and Instagram posts from 2016, and (2) three months of public motherhood-related posts on
Instagram Stories, TikTok, and Threads from 2025. The 2016 dataset includes nineteen Malaysian mothers:
five working mothers (WM), seven work-at-home mothers (WAHM), and five stay-at-home mothers (SAHM).
Meanwhile, the 2025 dataset comprises six Malaysian mothers (two WMs, two WAHMs, and two SAHMs)
from diverse demographic backgrounds. Findings show that the selected mothers construct ambivalent
identities on social media as they negotiate multiple, intersecting discourses often tied to ideals of the ‘good’
mother. Their varied accounts of ‘good’ mothering reveal identity struggles in which they orient to sometimes
conflicting sociocultural expectations of ‘good’ motherhood in Malaysia, particularly those related to career
decisions. The 2025 data, however, are characterised by more nuanced self-disclosures enabled by newer
multimodal features of social media platforms. This study contributes to a deeper theoretical understanding of
the complexities of discursive identity construction in mediated contexts. Tracing these Malaysian mothers’
discursive practices across spheres and time unpacks how sociocultural and digital developments reinforce and
challenge dominant discourses of ‘good’ motherhood and career decisions in a multicultural society.
Keywords: Discursive identity construction, motherhood discourses, social media, careers
INTRODUCTION
The discursive construction of ‘good mother’ identities, especially within the context of career decisions,
presents complex challenges for Malaysian mothers who navigate diverse expectations across offline and
online domains (Goodwin & Huppatz, 2010; McMahon, 1995; Smyth, 2012). This study explores how career-
oriented identities are negotiated by new mothers in Malaysia, responding to societal ideals and pressures that
intersect with discourses of work, family, ethnicity, and religion (Abrams & Curran, 2010; Bhopal, 1998; Choi
et al., 2005; Goodwin & Huppatz, 2010; Smyth, 2012; Weaver & Ussher, 1997). While cultural narratives
often simplify mothers as selfless and innately capable (Wall, 2013), Malaysian mothers face intricate tensions
in defining ‘good motherhood’, particularly when it involves choices around employment, caregiving, and
career trajectories (Austin & Carpenter, 2008; Berger, 2022; Weaver & Ussher, 1997).
Existing scholarship has frequently focused on psychological aspects of motherhood in Western contexts,
largely overlooking the discursive and linguistic processes through which mothers in Malaysia construct their
web of identities, especially in relation to career aspirations and work-life arrangements (Benwell & Stokoe,
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2006; Bucholtz & Hall, 2005; Weaver & Ussher, 1997). Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram
have emerged as key sites for mothers to express, contest, and support career-oriented narratives. This enables
visibility into how mothers articulate their professional ambitions alongside caregiving roles (Kemp, 2018;
Othman & Mohamed, 2024).
Within Malaysia’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, career decisions and the pursuit of ‘good mother’
identities are shaped by diverse cultural norms, economic conditions, and social expectations (Ball, 2010; Tan,
2017). The prevalence of high female educational attainment alongside lower workforce participation rates
underscores the significance of discursively negotiating career choices within the context of motherhood
(Halim et al., 2016; Salleh & Mansor, 2022). Against this backdrop, social media is a critical site where
Malaysian mothers articulate, contest, and negotiate the meanings of working motherhood and familial
responsibility (Othman & Mohamed, 2024).
Focusing exclusively on social media data, this study investigates the nuanced discursive strategies mothers
employ to navigate career-oriented ‘good mother’ identities online. Two primary research questions guide it:
(a) What identities do the selected new mothers construct when communicating about motherhood in relation
to their career decisions on social media in Malaysia?
(b) How do the selected new Malaysian mothers construct and negotiate their identities within the intersecting
discourses of motherhood and career decisions on social media?
Through this lens, the research aims to unravel the complex ways mothers respond to, resist, and reproduce
societal expectations around career and caregiving on social media sites, providing significant theoretical and
practical contributions to applied linguistics and discourse analysis (Benwell & Stokoe, 2006; Berger, 2022;
Bucholtz & Hall, 2005). These insights advance understanding of how career, digital interaction, and identity
negotiation intersect for contemporary Malaysian mothers in the ever-evolving discursive landscape of social
media (Othman & Mohamed, 2024; Salleh & Mansor, 2022).
LITERATURE REVIEW
Conceptualising Discursive Identity Construction
Identity is widely understood as a dynamic, fluid, and discursively constructed phenomenon, where individuals
negotiate their sense of self amidst intersecting social and cultural discourses (Angouri, 2015; Benwell &
Stokoe, 2006; Bucholtz & Hall, 2005). This construction unfolds through language and interaction, often
reflecting competing influences such as gender, ethnicity, religion, and evolving digital communication
practices (De Fina et al., 2006; Walz, 2018). Theories on discursively constructed identities foreground how
such negotiation is situated in various contexts, shaping lived experiences and social positioning.
Motherhood identities, in particular, are socially and culturally constructed through gendered discourses that
emphasise ideals of care, self-sacrifice, and moral responsibility (Butler, 1990; Sunderland, 2004). Feminist
poststructuralist discourse analysis (FPDA) highlights how “good mother” identities are not neutral but
embedded within neoliberal and patriarchal norms, amplifying pressures on mothers to perform idealised roles
(Baxter, 2007; Goodwin & Huppatz, 2010; Schippers, 2007). These idealisations often marginalise alternative
maternal identities and neglect structural constraints and diversity in women’s experiences.
A growing body of research points out career-oriented mothers’ unique struggles in negotiating conflicting
demands between professional ambitions and societal expectations of motherhood (Duberley & Carrigan,
2012; Hays, 1996; Smyth, 2012). Working mothers regularly confront discourses that police ‘good mother’
behaviours, exposing them to guilt, scrutiny, and identity conflicts as they balance career and caregiving
(Abrams & Curran, 2010; Austin & Carpenter, 2008). The rise of hybrid identities like “work-at-home”
mothers and “mumpreneurs” reveals evolving but contested forms of maternal career identity, mediated by
socioeconomic changes and digital entrepreneurship (Berger, 2022; Duberley & Carrigan, 2012; Ekinsmyth,
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2011). Contemporary discourse also notes the role of gendered, sociocultural expectations in shaping women’s
career trajectories within motherhood (Ainuddin & Jegak, 2023; Harris et al., 2024).
Within the specific context of Malaysia, the country’s sociocultural norms, informed by ethnic traditions and
Islamic values, significantly influence constructions of motherhood and career (Bhopal, 1998; Tan et al., 2015;
Werbner, 2010). Despite high educational levels among Malaysian women, there is a “motherhood penalty” in
workforce participation and career advancement due to traditional caregiving expectations and limited family-
friendly workplace policies (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2018; Halim et al., 2016; Salleh & Mansor,
2022). Recent studies underscore persistent cultural narratives reinforcing women’s domestic roles but
document gradual shifts as Malaysian mothers negotiate work and familial responsibilities, including through
digital means (Ainuddin & Jegak, 2023; Othman & Mohamed, 2024).
Many online platforms have become mainstream sites for maternal identity construction. Social media
platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have become integral spaces where Malaysian mothers actively
negotiate “good mother” identities in relation to career roles (Kaufmann & Buckner, 2014; Othman &
Mohamed, 2024). These platforms enable performative identity work where mothers share successes,
challenges, and competing narratives around career, caregiving, and cultural norms (Brookes et al., 2017;
DeCesare, 2016). Digital motherhood communities offer support and increased exposure to normative
pressures, with online discourses often replicating or challenging offline expectations (Ainuddin & Jegak,
2023; Plantin & Daneback, 2009; Smyth, 2012). The affordances of social media thus create complex
dynamics of identity construction that are particularly salient for working mothers balancing professional and
maternal roles.
Despite growing literature on discursive constructions of motherhood and identity, few studies examine
Malaysian mothers’ career-oriented identity negotiation within digital spaces from a discourse analytic
perspective (Othman & Mohamed, 2024). Moreover, the intersection of career decision-making, culturally
specific motherhood ideals, and social media-driven identity work remains underexplored. This study seeks to
address these gaps, illuminating how Malaysian mothers construct, perform, and contest ‘good mother’
identities vis-à-vis career on social media, with implications for applied linguistics, discourse studies, and
gender research.
METHODOLOGY
This study employs a qualitative, interpretivist research design anchored in social constructionism, which
views identity as fluid, socially constructed, and discursively negotiated (Kamberelis & Dimitriadis, 2005;
Merriam, 2009). This paradigm aligns with examining Malaysian mothers’ multiple motherhood and career
identities as performed and contested on social media.
The research draws on Baxter’s (2007) Feminist Poststructuralist Discourse Analysis (FPDA), Bucholtz and
Hall’s (2005) sociocultural linguistic principles of identity construction, and Schippers’ (2007) hegemonic
femininities framework (the local-regional-global levels of analysis).
Bucholtz and Hall’s framework includes five principles for identity analysis: emergence, positionality,
indexicality, relationality, and partialness. This study focuses on three:
Positionality explores how mothers construct identities from multiple intersecting social positions (e.g.,
ethnicity, motherhood, career).
Indexicality is used to analyse linguistic and multimodal signs that signal identity and social meanings.
Relationality examines how identities are formed in contrast or alignment with others within social
hierarchies and discourses.
Emergence and partialness principles, although valuable, were excluded to maintain analytical clarity, given
the deductive thematic framework of this study.
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In Baxter’s FPDA, the study centres on:
Power relations, examining mothers’ positioning along powerful-powerless axes.
A dual-level analysis: denotative descriptions of discourse features paired with connotative interpretations
linking linguistic and multimodal signs to sociocultural power dynamics.
This framework robustly supports dissecting identity performances mediated by evolving social media
environments.
Participants and Data
This study analyses two social media datasets, consisting of participants with diverse demographic profiles:
2016 dataset: Six months of private Facebook and Instagram posts from 19 new Malaysian mothers: five
working mothers (WM), seven work-at-home mothers (WAHM), and five stay-at-home mothers (SAHM).
2025 dataset: Three months of public posts on Instagram Stories, TikTok, and Threads from six Malaysian
mothers (two WM, two WAHM, two SAHM).
Data Collection Methods
For the 2016 dataset, 2,395 motherhood-related posts were collected from participants’ personal Facebook and
Instagram accounts over six months, encompassing a range of formats including captions, images, and videos.
The posts were only drawn from mothers with active accounts and at least three motherhood-related postings
during the data period, with significant variation by platform. Most Facebook posts were personal captions
paired with images, while all Instagram posts included images, typically accompanied by short captions.
Differences in the volume of posts across career-role categories and platforms reflected available accounts, not
inherent posting behaviours.
The 2025 dataset was collected from publicly available posts on Instagram Stories, TikTok, and Threads over
three months, focusing on Malaysian mothers with diverse career decisions. Data were purposively sampled to
capture motherhood-related content reflecting evolving social media practices and multimodal communication
formats. The selection focused on public, multimodal posts featuring images, videos, and captions to explore
how career-oriented ‘good mother’ identities are discursively constructed through current features of social
media platforms, some of which were not available in 2016. Public Facebook posts were not collected, as not
many new mothers today use this social platform anymore. Ethical protocols were observed by restricting the
data to publicly accessible posts without collecting or analysing comments to protect privacy.
Data Analysis
Both social media datasets were guided by a deductive analytic approach informed by a prior interview phase,
the data of which were inductively analysed (Norazrin, 2019). Ten thematic codes from the interview data were
applied to the collected social media posts. The 2016 social media dataset was initially analysed against these
10 themes to explore discursive constructions of identities among the participants systematically. The same
data analytical method was employed for the 2025 dataset, although their newer multimodal platforms
captured some shifts in identity constructions.
Based on the initial thematic analysis, some social media posts were selected for further discourse analysis,
mainly through the denotative-connotative angle of analysis following FPDA (Baxter, 2007). Denotative
analysis details posts' linguistic and semiotic properties, while connotative analysis interprets the underlying
ideological and power relations within motherhood and career discourses. Institutional ethical approval was
secured. All forms of data confidentiality and participant anonymity were observed, with reflexive practices
addressing researcher bias, acknowledging her positionality as a Malaysian mother who was also actively
engaged with social media.
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1 shows the initial deductive coding of 2,395 motherhood-related Facebook and Instagram posts. The
analysis revealed ten major thematic categories, with ‘positivity’ and ‘responsibility’ dominating the dataset,
while ‘judgments and views’ appeared least frequently.
Table 1 Social media posts deductively coded to the ten principal themes.
Notably, the theme of ‘relations to career’ (number 7) emerged as a distinct strand, intersecting with notions of
‘good’ motherhood often articulated by Malaysian mothers across both Facebook and Instagram platforms.
Table 1 demonstrates that ‘relations to career’ accounted for 275 coded instances, with more Facebook posts
than Instagram posts reflecting this theme, likely owing to Facebook’s more public and share-friendly nature.
The thematic analysis revealed that the overarching concept of the ‘good’ mother serves as a link between all
the other coded themes, underscoring its pivotal role in shaping identity negotiations. The timing of data
collection also influenced thematic prevalence, as sociocultural factors such as religious celebrations shaped
content related to family and spirituality.
The table below provides quantitative data on the number of Facebook and Instagram posts categorised under
the key theme of ‘relations to career’.
Table 2 Coding information and excerpts from social media posts categorised under ‘relations to career’ and
associated with the ‘good’ mother
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Table 2 indicates that a greater number of Facebook posts were categorised under the key theme of ‘relations
to career’, a finding that may be explained by Facebook’s more public platform and the relative ease of sharing
content from external sources compared to Instagram. The table also presents two examples of social media
post captions assigned to both the ‘relations to career’ and ‘good’ mother themes, with one example drawn
from each social media platform. These patterns highlight the nuanced ways Malaysian mothers discursively
construct and position their identities in relation to career and ‘good’ motherhood, often drawing on complex
socio-cultural and personal experiences. The coding process facilitated the selection of pertinent data excerpts,
illustrating how the themes of ‘relations to career’ and the ‘good’ mother’ intersect for subsequent in-depth
discourse analysis.
Unpacking the Intersections Between Motherhood and Career-Related Discourses
This section details some core findings on how selected participants construct their identities on social media
by navigating the complex intersection between ‘good’ motherhood and career decisions.
Many of the Facebook posts of one of the participants, Lippy Morgan, exemplify this intersection, offering
narratives of her dilemma as a working mother (WM). The selected post below demonstrates how her career
role and maternal identity are constructed and interwoven textually and visually.
Figure 1 Lippy Morgan [Facebook post]
Denotative analysis reveals that Lippy Morgan reflects on her experiences as a mother following a two-week
work-related trip to the United States. Her narrative describes her son’s emotional attachment to her return. It
includes an accompanying photograph taken at home, where she appears in casual attire and glasses, thus
subtly signifying a private, unglamorous side of motherhood. Through direct speech and shifting tenses, she
situates mothering as a “job”, employing superlatives such as “best” and “most” in an exclamatory manner.
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Hashtags like #diaryofaworkingmom and #mysonmyworld are used, explicitly referencing her working mother
identity and maternal priorities.
Connotatively, the caption, image, and hashtags reflect Lippy Morgan’s feelings of regret, affection, and
changing priorities. This Facebook post draws attention to her maternal role, accentuating self-evaluation and
future intent. The post conveys movement from a previously powerless position – imposed by the demands of
her job and regret over leaving her son – to a more agentive, powerful stance, as she voices a commitment to
prioritise motherhood. Notably, her candid, unfiltered portrayal of everyday domesticity challenges the notion
of the ‘glamorous’ mother often suggested in social media contexts. This deliberate honesty, staged in image
and language, underlines the complexity and multiplicity of negotiating ‘good’ motherhood as a working
professional.
This finding brings attention to the nuanced ways Malaysian working mothers can explicitly and visibly
construct their identities, drawing on both personal reflection and broader societal discourses around work,
care, and gender.
Constructing and Negotiating Identities Through Career Role Categories
In this section, the discourse analysis focuses on three more social media posts in which the selected new
mothers positioned their identities within the discourses associated with three leading career roles among
Malaysian mothers: stay-at-home (SAHMs), work-at-home (WAHMs), and working mothers (WMs) (Irwan
Nadzif & Nor Azaian, 2011; Tang, 2017).
As a disclaimer, while these career categories aid in analytic clarity, they are recognised as heuristic
distinctions rather than absolute identities. In other words, their boundaries remain fluid and contested.
(i) Navigating Opposing Narratives: The conflicting discourses of SAHMs versus WMs
This section presents one of the mothers' distinct challenges regarding their specific career choices. The
following Facebook post reveals such a dilemma by Lippy Morgan:
Figure 2 Lippy Morgan [Facebook post]
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In the reflective post above, Lippy Morgan describes her rewarding two-week Raya (Eid) break, during which
she devoted herself to caring for her son and was comforted by a fellow working mother who reassured her
that she need not feel guilty about her career. The post conveys gratitude through the phrase “Alhamdulillah”,
signalling her Muslim faith. She candidly reflects on her previous feelings of guilt about working instead of
choosing to be a stay-at-home mother, reaffirming her commitment to being the “best mother” she can be for
her son. Assertive phrases such as “it is the quality of time spent that matters most, not the amount” emphasise
her resolve to “give my all” and remain “fiercely adamant.”
Connotatively, LM positions herself primarily as a WM, explicitly juxtaposed with the SAHM role within the
‘quality versus quantity’ discourse. She argues that the meaningful time she dedicates to her son compensates
for her lesser physical presence than stay-at-home mothers, restoring legitimacy to her career despite earlier
guilt. Her language signals a shift from past powerlessness to present empowerment regarding her maternal
identity. Moreover, generic sentence structures, inclusive pronouns, hashtags, and images reinforce shared
motherhood experiences, fostering solidarity with SAHMs.
This nuanced positioning reveals her consideration of other mothers’ experiences within her social network.
While openly discussing her dilemma, her social media post adopts a tactful tone, reflecting different identity
co-constructions on digital platforms, which are asynchronous and non-interactive. The overall post portrays
LM’s complex identity as distinct from and similar to SAHMs, suggesting her career role allows her to be
equally ‘good’ and perhaps excel beyond traditional motherhood confines. Her religious expression also
indexes simultaneously constructed Muslim identity within the ‘good mother’ and career discourses. Through
this, LM challenges local stereotypes about working mothers by invoking global ideals of ‘good’ motherhood.
(ii) Dual Benefits: Empowerment through Work-at-Home Motherhood
The work-at-home mother (WAHM) identity is shaped by positivity and challenges, primarily due to domestic
conflicts. This is evident in participants’ social media posts, such as Sarah’s, where her Instagram serves both
personal and business functions.
Figure 3 Sarah [Instagram post]
In her post, Sarah highlights increased business difficulties linked to childcare responsibilities, referring her
elder son with “this here” and intensifying her challenges as “multiply it by two!” Her apologetic tone (“I’m
sorry”) addresses followers for less frequent updates. Still, it grows hopeful as she outlines plans, citing
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religious phrases like “InsyaAllah,” “Allah knows best”, and “Please pray for me”. Sarah’s use of singular
pronouns underscores a personal perspective.
Connotatively, the post shows Sarah negotiating motherhood and work by running a “less demanding” part of
her business to prioritise her children, implicitly framing herself as a ‘good’ mother who sacrifices career
ambitions. The absence of collective pronouns echoes discourses of absent fatherhood, suggesting she faces
these challenges alone, though religious references reveal her faith-based acceptance. Sarah’s narrative reflects
powerlessness and empowerment, illustrating how faith intersects with motherhood and the construction of
career identity in Malaysian cultural contexts.
(iii) Challenging Demarcations: Uniting Motherhood Beyond Career Labels
Some selected participant mothers use social media to question the usual link between being a ‘good’ mother
and specific career choices, particularly at the regional level in Malaysia. Although they often present
themselves as aligning with dominant motherhood discourses elsewhere, their posts sometimes challenge the
demarcated differences in motherhood identities regarding career roles. Sarah’s Instagram post below reflects a
similarly minded perspective.
Figure 4 Sarah [Instagram post]
Denotatively, Sarah’s Instagram post draws on a quote from the Huffington Post, emphasising that all mothers
(SAHM, WAHM or mothers working outside the home) “never stop working for your kids”. This is in line with
the message in the image, “All mums are working mums”. The tone moves from earlier self-questioning
towards encouragement, with the uplifting phrase, “you are awesome!” and a reference to the Islamic hadith,
elevating mothers above fathers in respect.
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Connotatively, Sarah transitions from doubting her WAHM career choice to asserting herself as an empowered
mother who rejects strict career-based labels. By embracing the broader meaning of “working mums”, she
motivates herself and others to focus on what unites mothers instead of differences. Her post blends Western
and Islamic perspectives, aligning her experience with global communities of mothers, particularly Muslim
mothers whose value, she suggests, should not hinge on their career paths. Religious references further support
and justify her views on maternal identity and decision-making.
A Reflection of Motherhood Social Media Posts in 2025
This section discusses three selected social media posts from the 2025 dataset, which continue to unpack the
similarities and differences in how mothers conform to, challenge, and negotiate dominant discourses of
motherhood, career, and identity across various social media contexts. The following public post on the
Threads platform reveals Rina’s specific motherhood experience as a working mother.
Figure 5 Rina [Threads post]
Denotatively, this Threads’ post features Rina’s selfie next to an image of a breast milk bag and a caption
reflecting on her first year returning to work after childbirth. She describes returning to work two weeks early,
enduring a long commute, and adapting to changes such as moving house and parenting. The caption is
tenderly addressed to her child, frequently using “Ibu” (mother) and direct second-person language to point to
her sacrifices. The use of the Threads format that combines captions with visual media, along with Rina’s
direct, personal addresses, is quite similar to the style of some analysed Facebook and Instagram motherhood
posts in 2016, underlining the continuity in how mothers narrate their experiences across platforms and time.
Connotatively, this post positions the mother as resilient, adeptly managing the intricate demands of both
career and family. Her maternal identity is signalled by affectionate language and caregiving references, while
breastfeeding equipment visually indexes her role as a working, breastfeeding mother, a culturally resonant
symbol locally and regionally. Relationality shows in her implicit contrast between past city convenience and
current sacrifices for family. Sharing this personal, vulnerable journey in the local language and globally
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understood symbols bridges specific cultural experiences with broader international mothering discourses. This
post demonstrates how a mother publicly negotiates her identity through personal storytelling and symbolic
imagery within layered sociocultural contexts.
Figures 6 (a), (b), (c) below depict Suraya’s motherhood identities as a WAHM, which she shared on
Instagram via three of the platform’s multimodal features: her user profile, reel video, and story.
Figure 6a Suraya [Instagram profile]
Figure 6b Suraya [Instagram reel video]
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Figure 6c Suraya [Instagram story]
Denotatively, the Instagram post features Suraya presenting herself through the reel video and story formats
(Figure 6b and Figure 6c) with a blend of personal reflections and business promotion. The reel’s caption
(Figure 6b) recalls her financially challenging past, contrasting it with her success as a well-paid WAHM who
can now raise her child flexibly. In the video, she describes transitioning from part-time office jobs to
establishing a thriving online business that allows her to work from home while caring for her children
“anywhere and anytime”. The story (Figure 6c) uses intimate, local language addressing her children and
followers, conveying affection and concern over her children growing up too fast and her struggle to let go. In
the Instagram profile (Figure 6a), Suraya explicitly labels herself as a “Work At Home Mom”, showcasing her
dual role as a mother and entrepreneur.
Connotatively, this post constructs the mother as empowered and resilient, successfully combining career and
caregiving roles through online entrepreneurship. Positionality appears as she embraces the WAHM identity,
emphasising the advantages of flexible work that enables close childcare. Indexicality is conveyed in the local
language and cultural references, embedding her narrative in Malaysian Muslim identity; she explicitly
attributes her achievements to God, linking career success with religious faith. Relationality emerges in her
tension between professional empowerment and the sentimental maternal desire to hold on to her children’s
early years, expressing power and vulnerability. Using social media platforms as dual promotional and intimate
spaces reflects contemporary mothering discourses that balance public visibility with personal storytelling.
Overall, this post illustrates how a WAHM actively negotiates her identity at the intersection of motherhood,
career, and faith, projecting empowerment and affection through digital narratives grounded in local and
global sociocultural contexts.
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Figure 7 represents another popular social media platform among mothers today: TikTok.
Figure 7 Zakiah [TikTok post]
Denotatively, the TikTok video features Zakiah, a SAHM, responding humorously and sarcastically to
common questions about being a SAHM. The visual shows only the mother at home, acting out exaggerated
expressions of frustration such as crying and screaming. The caption and hashtags reinforce pride and
solidarity in the SAHM role with sarcastic phrases like “Eh kita suka duk rumah. Hepi dgn budak2 ni” [“We
like staying at home. (We are) happy with the kids”]. The post replies to hypothetical queries like “Best ke jadi
mak-mak surirumah?” (“Is it great to be stay-at-home mothers?”) with a mix of irony and direct personal
assertion.
Connotatively, this post constructively reclaims power for SAHMs using wit and sarcasm to challenge
stereotypes and dismiss patronising assumptions. The mother asserts her identity by openly referencing herself
as a SAHM while critiquing societal misconceptions undermining the role’s difficulty. The humour softens
expressions of struggle, portraying the SAHM role as both challenging and fulfilling, which positions the
mother in a contested space of powerlessness and empowerment. The interactive TikTok format with likes,
comments, and sharing further fosters collective support among SAHMs, strengthening communal identity and
relationality. The post also situates local Malaysian cultural nuances in digital mothering discourses. Overall,
this TikTok post exemplifies how SAHMs strategically negotiate their identities by combining humour, irony,
and personal assertion to resist marginalisation and foster solidarity within digital mothering communities.
The analysis of findings, thus far, contributes substantively to understanding how Malaysian new mothers
construct and negotiate their identities concerning motherhood and career within social media. The integrated
analytical framework, melding sociocultural linguistic identity theory (Bucholtz & Hall, 2005), feminist
poststructuralism (Baxter, 2007), and hegemonic femininities (Schippers, 2007), provides a comprehensive
lens to capture the complexities and fluidity of identity performances across platforms such as Facebook,
Instagram, Threads, and TikTok (Irwan Nadzif & Tang, 2017). The findings reveal that mothers actively use
intertextual cultural and religious resources, adapting their self-representations to reflect both local socio-
religious norms and global motherhood discourses (IKIM, 2025; Yoong, 2022).
One salient feature is temporality: mothers reflexively construct their identities not solely in relation to social
expectations or peer networks but also relative to their prior selves, such as navigating transitions from feelings
of doubt or ambivalence to empowerment and agency (Tang et al., 2017). This temporal dimension is evident
in social media narratives documenting evolving career and motherhood experiences. Together with evidence
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ILEIID 2025 | International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS)
ISSN: 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS
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of persistent career–motherhood tensions (Ho, 2024; Statista, 2024) and the increasing prominence of work-at-
home entrepreneurial identities (Mohd Noor et al., 2024), the research highlights social media as a dynamic
arena for mothers’ ongoing, context-sensitive identity work that challenges rigid binaries while fostering
solidarity within Malaysia’s unique cultural landscape. Also, these identity negotiations are shaped and
performed in platform-specific ways, where, for instance, Facebook’s public affordances support confessional
narratives and Instagram’s visual focus facilitates curated representations (Irwan Nadzif & Tang, 2017).”
CONCLUSION
This research reveals the complex discursive construction of motherhood and career identities among
Malaysian new mothers, mediated through digital communication and shaped by intersecting cultural, social,
and religious discourses. Applying an integrated analytical framework outlined above, the study captures
dynamic, multimodal, temporally situated identity work reflected in diversified social media practices. It
foregrounds mothers’ reflexivity in repositioning themselves across relational and temporal axes, enriching
scholarship on digital motherhood beyond Western-centric paradigms.
Addressing gaps in existing literature, this study underscores the importance of interdisciplinary, multimodal
analysis to appreciate the interplay between online and offline identity work. The findings spotlight social
media’s dual role by potentiating, reinforcing, and transforming motherhood and career discourses, extending
theoretical and empirical understandings of discursive identity construction. These contributions invite further
research exploring diverse cultural contexts, longitudinal identity trajectories, and richer digital textualities in
parenthood discourses.
FUTURE RESEARCH RECOMMENDATION
Expanding research to include mothers with limited online engagement and integrating interviews or
ethnographic methods would deepen insights into how online and offline narratives intersect in discursive
identity negotiation. Comparative studies across Southeast Asian countries could highlight cultural specificities
in maternal career identities within multicultural contexts. Investigating digital affordances, algorithmic
visibility, and community interactions would advance applied linguistics, gender studies, and social media
scholarship on discursive identity construction.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I sincerely thank all the mothers who generously shared their time and experiences, making this research
possible.
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