Bettina Wilpert: Radical insights into motherhood and physicality!

Bettina Wilpert: Radical insights into motherhood and physicality!

Leipzig, Deutschland - On June 21, 2025, Leipzig author Bettina Wilpert in Conne Island will read from her new book "The bearded woman". Together with Simoné Goldschmidt-Glechner, she will design a reading that is particularly shaped by a powerful birth scene. The protagonist Alex, who reflects exhausted during this emotional moment, impressively shows the challenges and experiences of parenthood and birth.

The novel is about Alex, who has to help her mother after an accident and is separated from her own daughter for four days. In this work, Wilpert not only addresses the radical physicality and taboo topics about motherhood, but also the complex question of whether the queerness of her figure disappears with the mother role. This topic occupies a central position in the reading, especially at a time at a time when social expectations are still strongly pronounced and often regarded as patriarchal and sexist, as [https://www.goethe.de/prj/en/kre/spk/26561685.html).

a new look at motherhood

Bettina Wilpert, who is also active as a new columnist, writes about the historical and current norms that shape the image of the mother. In her column she examines linguistic pictures and thought patterns that mothers often stigmatize in Germany. The often used term "raven mother" is critically examined because there are hardly any corresponding terms for fathers. Wilpert also appeals to the feeling of guilt that many mothers, including themselves, has accompanied since their religious education.

In "The Bearded Woman", personal experiences from Wilpert, who also has two small children. It reflects on her own mother picture, shaped by Catholic Bavaria, and addresses the changes that arise from the birth of a child. With 192 pages and a price of 22 euros, the book is intended to put the often undeferred aspects of motherhood and birth into the light of the public.

social norms and language reflection

The reading will not only be a literary occasion, but also offer the opportunity to discuss the deeply rooted social expectations of mothers. Historical developments, starting with Jean-Jacques Rousseau up to the idealizations of the mother role during the Nazi era and the models of the post-war period, are discussed by Wilpert in their work. These reflections are particularly important because they show how the self -image of mothers has changed over the decades.

Wilpert emphasizes that many mothers take long parental leave in Germany and are often involved in part -time work, which makes them more susceptible to poverty in old age. These structural problems are reinforced by linguistic images, which often reflect the passive roles of women. The use of gender -neutral terms such as "breastfeeding milk" could be a step in the right direction to break up these outdated perspectives.

On June 21st, visitors to the Conne Island witnesses of this important literary and social discussion can become and benefit from a work that not only maintains, but also stimulates thinking.