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Anew, more current way of conceiving the complex functions of parenthood, as well as masculine and feminine roles, requires a broader vision of the relationship between the individual, the family and social institutions. The relations between these elements should be taken as context-bound, transitory dimensions, which do not have a rigidly predetermined outcome. On the contrary, these relations are to be regarded as processes characterised by very complex transitions in the relations between the various elements. Furthermore, we should not neglect the interrelationship between psychoanalytic parameters and anthropological contexts. On the epistemological plane, a possible route leads us to a constructivist approach - though hopefully not radically so - which redefines psycho-social roles inasmuch as they are defined as constructs. This relates, for example, to the concept of «the invention of the mother» (Busato Barbaglio, Mondello, 2009), which resonates widely in both the psychoanalytical and anthropological fields. In its light, we may review key parameters in our reading of the functions of social roles, male and female psychic counterparts, and the dynamic interaction between the two.
A more open and integrated conception of parenthood and gender roles within the family allows us to broaden our field of observation, and situate such observation between nature and culture, considering that the feminine and the maternal are key factors in comprehending the significance that these two aspects have gradually assumed, in the multilinearity of historical and cultural development. In this context, an analysis of parenthood, and the maternal functions related to it, may thus provide an opportunity to assess how psychological and cultural elements interact, set against a specific psycho-anthropological background, acting as a guarantor.
It is becoming increasingly evident that the maternal function is not a given, an expression of an «original» naturalness, regardless of