What does Silva (1996) argue about media-fuelled concerns over lone mothers?

• A. They reflect genuine welfare concerns
• B. They are patriarchal attempts to push women back into traditional roles and undermine gender equality
• C. They have no impact on gender equality
• D. They support women's independence

Answer: (B)

Media representations of lone mothers can function as a tool to reinforce patriarchal ideas about gender roles. Silva argues that the frequent media focus on lone mothers isn’t simply about real welfare concerns; it serves to moralize and sensationalize them in a way that supports a traditional, male-breadwinner family ideal. This framing helps justify policies that push women back into domestic roles and curtail advances toward gender equality by portraying single motherhood as a problem rooted in individual morality rather than broader structural factors like poverty or housing. In this way, the discourse acts to uphold patriarchal norms rather than genuinely addressing welfare.