The popular media has often been criticized for creating and sustaining the cultural battlefield of the so-called "Mommy Wars." However, I argue in this paper that these two opposing social images of "traditional" versus "contemporary" mothers are rooted in the internal conflict over issues of motherhood that have divided the feminist movement and scholarship since its beginning. Many of the online communiities of stay-at-home mothers have called attention to the need for feminism to recognize all roles of women--at home and in the workplace--with equal value. Some have suggested that in doing so, these women are contributing to the beginning of a "new wave" of the feminist movement that includes at-home mothering as a feminist ethic. It is the efforts of this group of women with which this study is primary [sic] concerned.

In sum, identity conflicts and dilemmas can result when social forces disregard or question an individual's or group's attributes, social roles, and personal pursuits as they move through and experience the changes and transitions in their lives. I argue in this paper that for working mothers who transition from the workplace to full time motherhood within the home, their individual and collective attributes, roles, and pursuits are "called into question" by a cultural value system that places little worth in the role of nurturing and caring for children. As a result, many of these women experience conflict between their personal and social identity. Exploring the ways in which contemporary stay-at-home mothers, both individually and collectively, come to make sense of and challenge our cultural value system can help further our understanding of the role communicative processes play as individuals and groups attempt to manage, negotiate, and redefine their personal and social identities.