Over the years, the various changes have been underpinned by a discourse relating particularly to single mothers. The essay critiques the portrayal of single mothers in the welfare debate and in welfare news, arguing that, while single mothers continue to be the targets of condemnation, the discourse on single mothers has shifted with major political and social changes. Changing ideas about women’s roles and capabilities, and the appropriateness of mothers’ dependency, have paved the way for welfare reforms that have subjected single mothers to increasingly punitive and paternalistic policy measures. In turn, these ideas have facilitated a new kind of stereotype of single mothers – that of ‘welfare dependent’, a term that carries a range of negative connotations.