Holding it all together : an existential-phenomenological description of the everyday consumer experiences of professional working mothers

This investigation begins with a systematic assessment of the philosophical traditions that underlie the accepted methodological procedures and rationales of existential-phenomenological research. Most prominent among these traditions are life-world philosophy, transcendental philosophy, and hermeneutic philosophy. It is proposed that the only latter of these traditions offers a viable framework for developing a methodological approach that serves the existential-phenomenological goal of understanding lived experience in a holistic manner. A hermeneutically based, methodological approach to existential-phenomenological research is then presented.

This approach is applied to develop a phenomenological understanding of the everyday lived experiences of seven professional working mothers. Each participant was individually interviewed, on two separate occasions, and the verbatim transcripts from these interviews provided the primary data for the investigation. Four thematic aspects are identified that highlight the network of meanings and social involvements that shape the meanings of these experiences and, second, the dialectic between personally relevant understandings and the background of socio-cultural meanings. Finally, an emergent theme is discussed that addresses the roles of control, power and history in the everyday lived experiences of these seven participants.