# Cultural and psychological dimensions of the superwoman identity among Jordanian women

## TL;DR

This study explores how Jordanian women navigate the 'superwoman' identity in a patriarchal culture, highlighting the emotional costs and emerging shifts toward self-care.

## Contribution

First application of the Superwoman Schema framework in a Jordanian, non-Western context, revealing culturally specific psychological and social dynamics.

## Key findings

- Caregiving is central to the superwoman identity, often leading to emotional exhaustion and internalized pressure.
- Resilience is celebrated but linked to psychological costs from suppression and role overload.
- Younger women show a growing emphasis on self-care and boundaries as a path to sustainable empowerment.

## Abstract

The Superwoman Schema (SWS) reflects the expectation that women sustain strength, emotional control, and self-sacrifice while managing multiple roles. Although extensively examined in Western contexts, little is known about its relevance in non-Western, patriarchal cultures where motherhood and caregiving form central components of women's social identity.

Using an ethnographic qualitative design, this study explored how 43 Jordanian women negotiate the Superwoman (SW) identity within sociocultural expectations that equate feminine fulfillment with motherhood. Five focus groups were conducted, and the data were analyzed thematically.

Analysis identified five themes: (1) cultural constructions of the superwoman identity, (2) women manifesting strength, (3) structural barriers and lived struggles, (4) empowered transitions in women's identity, and (5) everyday coping and sustainable wellbeing. Caregiving emerged as the core site for enacting the SW, with maternal sacrifice celebrated yet producing emotional exhaustion, internalized pressure, and diminished wellbeing.

This study is among the first to use the SWS framework in Jordan, a conservative and patriarchal context. The findings reveal culturally specific manifestations of the SW identity, where resilience is a source of pride but also linked to emotional exhaustion and the psychological costs of suppression. Younger women's emerging emphasis on self-care and boundaries signals a shift toward more sustainable models of empowerment. The study's significance lies in advancing cross-cultural understanding of gendered stress and providing evidence to inform culturally sensitive mental health interventions, community programs, and policy that promote women's wellbeing while respecting cultural and religious values.