Ana Cristina Marques | Nazarbayev University (original) (raw)

Papers by Ana Cristina Marques

Sexuality in the Middle East and North Africa: Contemporary Issues and Challenges, 2024

Trans individuals as well as women, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and intersex individuals living in th... more Trans individuals as well as women, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and intersex individuals living in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) tend to be seen “under western eyes” (Mohanty 1988, 49) as victims of backward, retrograde cultures, oppressive and homophobic Islamic beliefs, and weak states (Hélie 2012).¹ Contrary to the main trend in the “global North” and other parts of the world, such as Nepal and Argentina—where laws are being changed to recognize gender identity as a human right and to protect trans people from discrimination, harassment, and other forms of violence and where ongoing processes of depathologization of...

Estudos de Género, Feministas e sobre as Mulheres: Reflexividade, resistência e ação (E-Book) , 2023

Études Kurdes, 2022

Since 2009, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has legislated gender quotas that guarantee 30% of... more Since 2009, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has legislated gender quotas that guarantee 30% of the seats in parliament for women. Thus, in the Kurdistan parliamentary elections of 2018, from the 111 seats available, women were able to secure 33 seats. For the first time in its history, a woman became the president of the Kurdistan parliament and three other women became part of the Cabinet. However, gender quotas remain highly controversial, with several arguments being put for and against their implementation.
In this article, we focus on the consequences of the implementation of quotas for women in the KRI, in the broader context of federal Iraq. We ask what the benefits and/or the limitations of quotas for women in the region, are considered to be. Further we question if the implementation and the increase in the number of gender quotas served its aim of increasing women’s representation in decision-making positions, and of changing society’s perceptions on women’s capability in the political domain. We discuss three main factors that emerged from the data as enabling and/or limiting women’s political participation: “patriarchal” cultural norms; (lack) of meritocracy and affiliations with political parties; and legislation as an enabler or as a hindrance. We conclude by arguing that in the KRI, though gender quotas can be seen as an important tool to increase women’s presence in decision-making positions, they have not had the intended result of transforming gender power relations at the political level.

Mapping LGBTQ Spaces and Places, 2022

Despite the existence of more inclusive policies and legislation, trans people in Europe still fa... more Despite the existence of more inclusive policies and legislation, trans people in Europe still face prejudice, harassment and abuse. Within this wider context, public spaces, associated with cis-heteronormativities and dominant gender binaries, such as the street, tend to be perceived as unsafe spaces, where higher levels of discrimination and violence tend to occur, whereas community spaces and/or the private spaces of the home tend to be perceived as safer spaces of belonging and support, where one can be his/hers/their true self. However, (trans)gender academics and feminist geographers have been cautioning us against considering private and public spaces as simple dichotomies. Instead, the importance of understanding the experienced lives of trans people and the spatial, social, cultural and historical contexts where they are embedded is emphasised. Accordingly, drawing upon 58 transcribed in-depth interviews with trans people in Portugal and the UK, I argue that rather than being opposites, public and private spaces should be seen as continuums where gender normativities and accountabilities condition trans people’s gender displays and their presence (or absence) in diverse spaces. Thus, displaying (trans)gender tends to be highly contextual, depending on trans people’s perceptions of (un)safe places. Moreover, spaces are not inherently safe or unsafe, but dependent on the people that occupy them. Having supportive others can transform what otherwise might be perceived as unsafe spaces into safe ones, and the opposite is true. Spaces that might be perceived as safe might become unsafe and unwelcome spaces.

Do ganha-pão à valorização pessoal: a centralidade do trabalho na vida dos indivíduos" DIA A MACI... more Do ganha-pão à valorização pessoal: a centralidade do trabalho na vida dos indivíduos" DIA A MACIEL A A CRISTI A MARQUES CIES e-Working Papers (ISSN 1647-0893) Av. das Forças Armadas, Edifício ISCTE, 1649-026 LISBOA, PORTUGAL, cies@iscte.pt Palavras-chave: trabalho, família, articulação entre trabalho e família

This chapter analyses, reflexively, the process of researching young adults’ sexu- ality in a(n) ... more This chapter analyses, reflexively, the process of researching young adults’ sexu- ality in a(n) (un)familiar space: the author’s home town and its surroundings. It addresses the issue of being both an ‘insider’ and an ‘outsider’. The chapter focuses on this “inside/out” position and its articulations with the research pro- cess, especially when the research is concerned with sexual representations and practices. The chapter considers key axes of similarity and difference between the researcher and participants, particularly in terms of space, time, gender and sexual orientation, and how this affects the interview process and wider aspects of research in the field of sexualities, arguing that the research process is a dynamic and dialectic interrelationship.

Gender, Place & Culture, 2019

Abstract Telling transgender and gender-diverse stories is an increasingly common process. The st... more Abstract Telling transgender and gender-diverse stories is an increasingly common process. The stories that are told are situated reflections of individual lives. Nonetheless, these stories tell us something about the world we live in, since they are, simultaneously, conditioned by and an expression of the social, cultural and historical contexts that surrounds them. Drawing upon 58 transcribed in-depth interviews with transgender and gender-diverse people in Portugal and the UK, in this paper, I focus on the dynamics and complexity of coming out stories and their relation with specific spaces such as the ‘private’ spaces of the family, the ‘virtual’ and ‘face-to-face’ spaces of transgender and gender-diverse communities and the ‘institutional’ spaces of work and school within these individuals’ lifecourse. I will consider these transgender and gender-diverse people’s social positionings, specifically in terms of age and national contexts in order to understand how their stories are shaped by several interconnected and mutually inter-influencing factors that condition their experiences and fields of possibilities. I will argue that coming out processes are strongly interrelated with located social times and spaces and the significant, symbolic and generalized others that occupy them.

Culture, Health & Sexuality, 2019

The lived gendered experience of trans youth constitutes a relatively overlooked aspect of curren... more The lived gendered experience of trans youth constitutes a relatively overlooked aspect of current research. Addressing this gap, this study reveals how young trans people in Portugal define their identities and legitimate their bodies in daily life. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 12 Portuguese trans young people, this study focuses on how trans youth situate themselves within dominant paradigms for understanding (trans)gender identities and embodiment. In doing so, this study engages with wider discussion regarding transgender embodiment that aims to move beyond binary/non-binary gender divisions, as well as privilege the voices and lived experiences of trans people. As the study demonstrates, trans youth are able to (re)construct authentic and coherent gendered selves through the incorporation of a diverse range of frameworks available in contemporary society. Although these frameworks may sometimes seem incompatible and contradictory, trans youth demonstrate conditional forms of agency in the way they (re)create their gender identity and embodiment. By revealing the diversity of trans participant discourses, practices and embodiments of gender, this study makes a key contribution to research on trans youth in Portugal and beyond, as well as broader debates.

Symbolic Interaction, 2019

Drawing upon data from in‐depth interviews with transgender people in Portugal and in the United ... more Drawing upon data from in‐depth interviews with transgender people in Portugal and in the United Kingdom, this article critically reflects upon different ways through which transgender people recreate their gender displays, particularly in terms of gender embodiment and aesthetics, in order to navigate their everyday lives. I focus on four strategies of articulating gender displays with one's own gender subjectivities: “blending in,” “masking,” “naturalizing,” and “subverting.” These strategies are not exclusive of one another. They are used differently throughout the participants' own lives in accordance to the social contexts they were in.

Displaying Trans (In)Visibilities, 2020

Around the world, laws are changing, and policies are being created that tend to be more “inclusi... more Around the world, laws are changing, and policies are being created that tend to be more “inclusive” of trans people. Notwithstanding these arguably undeniable advances, research data still shows that violence, abuse and, discrimination permeate many trans people’s everyday life experiences. In this context and in spite of the wider recognition of the diversity of trans people, communities and issues, I argue that it is useful to think about questions of (trans)gender (in)visibilities. With this aim in mind, I will start by briefly summarizing the (un/re)“doing” (trans)gender debate and the associated theoretical frameworks on gender displays, gender processes, and gender accountabilities. I will then problematize the idea of “passing” and the call for the visibility of trans people. Accordingly, I will consider the importance that recognition has for some trans people and the material conditionings of visibility. I will illustrate my arguments with examples taken from research done with trans people in and from Brazil, in the Sinophone world (particularly in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and in the United Kingdom. I will conclude by highlighting how people’s everyday life gender practices are conditioned and thus associated with various sets of constraints and possibilities.
Keywords: (trans)gender (in)visibilities; (re)doing gender; gender accountabilities; gender processes; (trans)national gender diversities

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This article analyses the ways in which Portuguese women and men manage to balance different dime... more This article analyses the ways in which Portuguese women and men manage to balance different dimensions of their lives, namely participating in the labour market in relation to conjugality, domestic chores and parenthood. Our analysis is based on 83 in depth interviews applied to Portuguese couples living in conjugality, with at least one child and taking into account different social backgrounds as well relationships with different time spans. We argue that work has strong implications in people's lives, playing a positive role in personal identity, but also conditioning family time. An analysis on conjugality reveals that relationships aim to balance togetherness as a space of love and passion while preserving individuality and identity. Parenthood is a critical moment in these couples' lives, increasing men's and women's sense of identity but also restructuring their lives, albeit in different ways. For women parenthood often implies being pulled inside the household and postponing their work while men, on the contrary, tend to be pushed outside.

Eu gosto muito do meu filho mas…» Parentalidades entre o desejo e a realidade A A CRISTI A MARQUE... more Eu gosto muito do meu filho mas…» Parentalidades entre o desejo e a realidade A A CRISTI A MARQUES CIES e-Working Papers (ISSN 1647-0893) Av. das Forças Armadas, Edifício ISCTE, 1649-026 LISBOA, PORTUGAL, cies@iscte.pt Palavras-chave: maternidade, paternidade; o nascimento dos filhos; interferência, conflitos e preocupações na/com educação das crianças

Programa de Doutoramento em Sociologia do ISCTE. Está a desenvolver trabalho na área da conciliaç... more Programa de Doutoramento em Sociologia do ISCTE. Está a desenvolver trabalho na área da conciliação entre trabalho e família. Tem especial interesse nas áreas da família, do género, da sexualidade e da juventude.

Thesis Chapters by Ana Cristina Marques

MA Thesis, Jan 1, 2006

A gravidez na adolescência é tema de várias pesquisas que procuram perceber as motivações das jov... more A gravidez na adolescência é tema de várias pesquisas que procuram perceber as motivações das jovens para a uma maternidade precoce, considerada como problemática a vários níveis, tentando deste modo contribuir para a sua resolução.
Com este trabalho pretende-se conhecer os diferentes roteiros sexuais que conduzem à maternidade em jovens com menos de 20 anos, inserindo-os nos seus contextos mais alargados e tendo em conta as estratégias individuais e particulares das jovens, para quem os conceitos de sexualidade, género, parentalidade ou juventude assumem significados diferentes. Deste modo procuramos também pensar a maternidade na adolescência, a partir de um quadro teórico flexível e dinâmico, que nos permite desconstruir algumas ideias gerais sobre este “problema social”, que será de facto um problema para algumas jovens, mas não para outras. Como as páginas seguintes nos vão mostrar, as diferentes trajectórias das jovens, nas suas formas de pensar e de viver a sua juventude, no seu percurso escolar e relacionamento com a família, nas suas aprendizagens e práticas da sexualidade, nos apoios que recebem aquando da gravidez, no relacionamento com o companheiro, etc., levam a diferentes formas de aceitar e enquadrar a gravidez nas suas vidas que poderão ser mais ou menos problemáticas ou apenas a realização de um percurso normal do seu projecto de vida.
Numa primeira parte deste trabalho, faremos uma breve apresentação de alguns dados estatísticos sobre a gravidez adolescente e a sua evolução, das representações que a sociedade faz desta, e uma caracterização dos traços gerais atribuídos às jovens grávidas por diversos estudos. Passamos depois à apresentação do quadro teórico no qual nos posicionamos, assim como à apresentação dos valores e atitudes relativos à maternidade, à juventude e à sexualidade, e ao modo como estes conceitos foram sendo construídos na nossa sociedade, exemplificando, com alguns estudos de caso, como estes podem ser representados e vividos de forma diferente para as jovens que engravidam com menos de 20 anos. Por último, procuraremos explicar os objectivos e hipóteses que orientam este trabalho, e as opções metodológicas que fizemos.
Na segunda parte deste trabalho iremos então dar a conhecer o percurso das jovens até à maternidade. Começaremos por introduzir as jovens nos contextos em que vivem, tentando mostrar as implicações e as relações que estes podem ter na e com a maternidade das jovens, referindo ainda os significados que a juventude e o estatuto de adulto têm para elas e de que modo a gravidez vai incidir sobre a vivência desta fase das suas vidas. De seguida iremos dar a conhecer os seus roteiros sexuais e o modo como a gravidez vai surgir no seu contexto. Para finalizar, apresentaremos o modo como as jovens e os seus outros significativos reagem à notícia da gravidez, o modo como esta vai ser enquadrada e o modo como as jovens representam a maternidade e se representam a elas como mães.
Tratando a problemática da gravidez na adolescência a partir de um ponto de vista sociológico, que nos ajuda a distinguir a sua realidade social e nos leva a concluir sobre a sua diversidade, pensamos poder contribuir para a compreensão mais aprofundada desta questão.

PhD Dissertation, 2014

Based on semi-structured interviews with 60 young people, aged 18-29 years old, living in Leiria,... more Based on semi-structured interviews with 60 young people, aged 18-29 years old, living in Leiria,
Portugal, and belonging to different social backgrounds, this work analyses the intimate paths of a group
of young people and its articulation with their transitions into adulthood, taking into special attention the
representations, values and norms that guide young people’s sexual and/or love practices and relationships,
and the contexts, networks and social positions in which they are immersed. Thus, it’s argued that young
people’s knowledge about sexuality and their construction of sexual and gender identities is based in
multiple socialization spaces, as the family, friends, partners, media and the new information technologies,
that can transmit contradictory information and/or have different possibility fields. In these contexts young
people create their own patchwork of ideas (Almeida, 2013). Thereafter, young people tend to have diverse,
multiple and, often, contradictory practices and representations of sexuality; drawing on different sexual
scripts that exist in society (romantic, essentialist, hedonist...) according to their social circumstances and
positioning, their interpersonal encounters, and the possibilities they admit at an intra-psychic level.
Simultaneously, it’s argued that the domain of intimacy, namely sexuality, it’s not trivial for young people’s
transitions into adulthood. Intimacy, affection, sexuality and gender have practical implications in their
lifestyles and/or may affect young their expectations, especially concerning leaving home, conjugality
and/or parenthood. Finally, the importance of intimacy and the relational aspects of life are underlined, e.g.
in terms of family relations, friendship, sexual and love relationships and parenthood, against the “risks” of
the individualized world, of contemporary western societies

Book Reviews by Ana Cristina Marques

International Sociology, 2018

According to Collins and Bilge, Intersectionality originates from a need to introduce the complex... more According to Collins and Bilge, Intersectionality originates from a need to introduce the complexities of intersectionality to a larger audience and provide a guide to the field. Thus, the authors set themselves the task of examining the perspectives, definitions, and controversies that characterize intersectionality through selected moments in its history: beginning in the 1960s and the 1970s social movements, moving forward via the work of Crenshaw and its academic institutionalization in the 1980s and 1990s, and its global dispersion beginning in the 2000s, in particular its relation to human rights approaches, academic adoption, and discussions in digital media. There are also examples taken from different dimensions and/or fields of the social world: from the FIFA World Cup to hiphop, to the black women's movement in Brazil, the Rana Plaza tragedy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the militarization of nation-states and their neoliberal policies of securitization, and late 20th-century school reforms in the United States, among other examples. Notwithstanding, Collins and Bilge want to tell the story of intersectionality in a selfreflexive way. They feel that telling the story of intersectionality is itself a type of political work that authenticates and legitimizes certain schools of thoughts at the expense of others. They choose the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s as a starting point, pinpointing the importance of intellectual production and activism among African American, Chicana, Asian American, and Native American women in the United States. These groups of women are seen as starting to develop intersectional analyses within social movements, which took into account the fact that the oppression they suffered could not be solved by considering only one axis of social inequality (whether it be race, class, gender, or sexuality). In the early 1990s, the work of Kimberlé Crenshaw became a significant marker through the coining of the term 'intersectionality.' Collins and Bilge try to show how Crenshaw builds on previous work of the 1960s and 1970s social movements to articulate individual and collective identity, maintain a focus on social structures, and highlight social justice as the main objective of intersectionality, among other issues. The authors proceed to explain how during its institutionalizing period in academia in the 1980s and 1990s, intersectionality frameworks, both as a form of critical inquiry and as a form of critical praxis, changed from projects grounded in lived, individual, and/or collective experiences to projects originating from an academic background. A 'normative' history of intersectionality started erasing the heterogeneity of forms of intersectionality of the previous period, eclipsing a group of people and their work, which Collins and Bilge consider to be of great importance to the development of intersectionality. Furthermore, what is seen as particularly perverse by the authors is the fact that by seeking scientific recognition and legitimacy within the Euro-American scientific field, the stories being told about the history of intersectionality helped establish intersectionality as a legitimate

Conference Presentations by Ana Cristina Marques

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Trabalho, família e género MACIEL, Diana Pós-graduação em Família e sociedade CIES/ISCTE diana.ma... more Trabalho, família e género MACIEL, Diana Pós-graduação em Família e sociedade CIES/ISCTE diana.maciel@iscte.pt MARQUES, Cristina Mestrado em Família e sociedade CIES/ISCTE ana.c.marques@iscte.pt TORRES, Anália Doutoramento ISCTE analia.torres@iscte.pt Palavras-chave: Família, Trabalho, Conjugalidade, Parentalidade, Género NÚMERO DE SÉRIE: 742 Resumo O Objectivo da apresentação é o de dar a conhecer os principais resultados do projecto "Trabalho, família, Género e Políticas sociais, numa perspectiva comparada", em que pretendemos relacionar variadas vertentes da realidade social. Como sejam nomeadamente a parentalidade, a conjugalidade, o trabalho, a relação trabalho/família e a divisão das tarefas domésticas. Com as transformações sociais, económicas, culturais e valorativas que a sociedade tem sofrido nas últimas décadas questionamo-nos sobre a forma como os indivíduos, hoje em dia, sentem a sua conjugalidade e a sua parentalidade, de que forma se relacionam, como estes dois planos da vida interpenetram na realidade profissional e que influência esta última tem nas primeiras; e de que forma essa relação trabalho/família molda a divisão das tarefas domésticas. Embora, a pesquisa tenha uma vertente quantitativa fundamental, que se debruça sobre os diversos países da Europa, nesta apresentação vamos centrar-nos, sobretudo, na sua vertente qualitativa; apresentando alguns dos resultados obtidos com as entrevistas realizadas em Lisboa, Porto e Leiria, a casais com filhos, de diferentes classes sociais e de diferentes durações de casamento.

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is often considered a patriarchal and patrilineal society, where str... more The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is often considered a patriarchal and patrilineal society, where strong gender inequalities exist. However, in the last few decades the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has seen considerable changes, with significant impacts on gender power relations. In this sense, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), in association with international organizations, has been changing its legal framework and creating several associated measures in order to improve and to create more opportunities for women's empowerment, to enhance gender equality, to increase women's safety, and to combat honour killings and other types of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Within this context, the aim of this paper is to analyse the structural changes carried out by the KRG in relation to its gender politics and their impact (or lack thereof) on women's everyday lives, particularly in terms of political participation and SGBV. We argue that the KRG's gender politics is part of a wider process of "modernization" and democratization of the region, aimed at a desired international recognition of the KRI as a nation-state, in a context where foreign states and inter/transnational (non)governmental organizations, and particularly the United Nations, play a major role in the region. Our data is based on three "focus groups" held in February 2020 with high qualified women, working in (non)governmental organizations and/or in academia; and document analysis of Kurdish online media, of legal documents, plans and directives, and of reports produced by regional, national and international (N)GOs and foreign states.