Anthropological Explorations of Gender, Identity, and Economics (original) (raw)

Gender: culture, power and resources

2003

The Research R eview of the Institute of African Studies is a peer-review ed scholarly jo u rn al appearing twice a year. The Editorial C om m ittee w elcom es subm issions o f papers for publication. T hese should be academ ic and scholarly articles that set forth the findings o f new research in any branch o f A frican Studies, or discuss and re-evaluate earlier research by the author and authors, or com bine these approaches. A rticles subm itted should not have been previously published. 1 he Editorial C om m ittee also w elcom es short reports on research in progress and b rie f research notes. 1 hey should be accom panied by a b rief biographical note giving the au th o r's nam e in the form it should appear in print, current academ ic or professional position, field o f research interest, and titles o f one or two previous publications. Please see the inside back cover o f this issue for detailed instructions. I he E ditorial Com m ittee also w elcom es books from authors and publishers for review in the Research Review.

GENDER THROUGH AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

"Shashi woke up and went to the bathroom. Leaving the pyjamas on the floor and turned the shower on. Shashi stepped into the water. It was not a hair-washing day, so after a quick rub with the soap, Shashi got out and dry off. After towelling and applying hair care substances to the new short haircut, Shashi applied some moisturising lotion and went to get dressed. Nothing special was happening that day so jeans and a T-shirt was fine enough. The only choice to be made was between sandals or basketball boots." After reading the above paragraph it is assumed either Shashi was a woman or Shashi was a man. Shashi is mostly a shortened name which is used both by Shashidhar and Shashirekha. The above situation does not have any pronoun to decide upon the sex of Shashi. It does not even identify masculinity or femininity. It might be argued that women are less likely to have short hair compared or that men do not use moisturiser as much as women do. But still we all know men who use cosmetics and women who have short hair. The decisions made are not defensible, but the point is that decisions are made. We often tend to think about people as women or as men and we interact with them accordingly. We live in a world in which there are ideas like women and men have different bodies, different capabilities, and different needs and desires.

Gender Economics by Vibhuti Patel

Concepts in Gender Economics ‘Sex’ Versus ‘Gender’ Sex is a biological term and gender refers to the sex of the individual after socialization. Sex refers to biological difference between men and women. Gender is a social construct that defines social relationship between men and women. Women belong to the feminine gender because during the process of growing up , certain culturally constructed feminine traits are inculcated into them, right from the birth. Oppression and Exploitation Any form of dehumnisation and degradation, violence and injustice, terrorization and humiliation, intimidation and threat, subordination and discrimination is considered as ‘OPPRESSION’, while ‘Exploitation’ has an economic connotation. In a Marxian sense, it is an extraction of ‘surplus labour’ (that generates profit) over and above ‘necessary labour’ that an individual does for his/her subsistence. Socialisation Socialisation is defined as the process through which the self acquires the rules, social recipes, conceptions of appropriate conduct and knowledge that allows them to act in their socio-cultural-political world. It is a mechanism of cultural transmission. Gender socialization means the process by which the individual is taught to internalize socially determined values of appropriate masculine traits and feminine traits. Social Construction It is the process by which men and women are moulded into the culture of the group and thereby become accepted members of the group/community/society and measure up to their expectations. Deconstruction and Reconstruction They are the analytical tools to examine individuals unfolding capacity to complex forms of behaviour and direct those capacities to now ethos/values to create new personalities. In gender economics, these analytical tools are used to bring a change from ‘gender biased’ or ‘gender neutral’ attitude to ‘gender aware’ and ‘gender sensitive’ attitude. Patriarchy Patriarchy is an institution that perpetuates male domination and female subordination. It sustains power relations that discriminate against girls and women in the households and in the economy. It attributes ‘private’ realm to women and ‘public’ domain to men. Pillars of patriarchy are family, kinship network, state, religion and media- PANCH MAHABHOOTA. In a patriarchal society, the line of inheritance passes from father to son known as Patrilineage. The patriarchal order is Patrilocal i.e after marriage, the bride is expected to go to the groom’s residence. Matriarchy Matriarchal institutions are mother centered. In this system, the line of inheritance is from mother to daughter, known as Matrilineage. After marriage, groom goes to brides house termed as Matrilocal. Trends in Feminism a. Liberal Feminists- Those who focus on the constitutional guarantees of equal treatment of men and women are known as liberal feminists. b. Marxist Feminsts- Those who locate women’s subordination in a class contradictions are known to be Marxist feminists. c. Radical Feminists consider ‘patriarchy’ as main culprit for women’s woes. d. Socialist Feminists believe that women’s predicaments are determined by the complex interplay of class, caste, race, religion, ethnicity with patriarchy. Hence the need for deconstructing patriarchy in a different socio-cultural, geo-political and historical contexts. e. Psycho Analytical Feminists focus on individual journeys of women to arrive at mental make up and internalization of values by the people concerned. They critique Freud for its misogyny but also acknowledge Freud’s analysis of childhood experiences playing important role in the rest of the life. f. Post Modern Feminists contest hegemony of meta theories and dominant discourses and bring to the fore the voice of the subjugated, oppressed and marginalized. They emphasise ‘decentreing’ from the mainstream. g. Eco-feminists believe that women’s role in the subsistence economy is crucial for the survival of the humankind. Women have symbiotic relationship with mother-nature. Male dominated development models are violent towards mother earth and women. h. Black Feminists- Race is the central reality for the black feminists though they also challenge the patriarchal/male domination. i. Womanist- Womanism is a contribution of Afro American feminists who believe that in spite of barbaric experiences of slavery, subjugation and horror the black culture/celebrations have survived due to women’s resilience. There is a need to promote this celebrations/cultural legacies thro’ heritage of oral histories, legend, grandmothers’ stories. They believe that the non-while and coloured women must be proud of HERSTORY instead of aping the white, consumerist, oppressive male culture.

Anthropology of gender

The dramatic development of women and gender studies over the past decades has profound implications for anthropological research. The course begins with a historical look at the emergence of women and gender issues in the field of anthropology and focuses on the relationship between feminism and anthropology. We shall then explore the myriad of ways in which gender ideologies, discourses and practices are constructed in different cultural environments. Emphasis will be put on current sensitive debates that concern anthropologists of gender (religion as masculine domination, gender and nationalism, pornography, prostitution and FMG). Readings and discussions will provide avenues for exploring key issues such as essentialism/constructivism, universalism/relativism, power/resistance, differences/identities, sexualities, gendered bodies, and the masculine domination as they relate to men and women in different societies.

International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology

Population census is a total process of collecting, compiling, evaluating, analyzing and publishing demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at a specified time, to all persons in a country or in a well defined part of a country drawing valid conclusions in situations of uncertainty and variability. Usually in the context of prevailing gender discrimination like issues, the figures revealed by means of census have also divulged gender bias. Taking notice of this, efforts were made to make Census of India 2011 gender sensitive in order to reveal a gender sensitive and objective picture of Indian population. The present paper aims to understand and evaluate the whole activity of Census of India 2011 as a tool ensuring gender mainstreaming.

Book Review Essay Handbook on Gender in Asia

Journal of international women's studies, 2021

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