LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Etnografija; Etnografinis; Netikrumas; Prekariums; Reprodukcinis darbas; Vieniša motinystė; Ethnography; Lithuania; Precarity; Reproductive labour; Single motherhood.
ENThis paper presents challenges and life strategies of highly educated single mothers in Lithuania. My ethnography traces the impact on strategies of remaining in a country where exit strategies – alcoholism, suicide, emigration – prevail and seem as an “easier” option. It is a study concerned with the relationship between precarity, single motherhood, social reproduction and everyday living. I focus on precarious living conditions, social isolation and stigmatization, unappreciated and highly gendered care-work. Based on collaborative ethnographic fieldwork material, the paper presents the micro-level attempts to negotiate what it means to be a lone care-taker, to revalorize and challenge the hegemonic narratives of individual strength and success. [From the publication]