Beyond Sex/Work: Understanding Work and Identity of Female Sex Workers in South China
Autor/in:
Ding, Yu
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 8 (2020) 2, S 95-103
Inhalt: While scholars and activists often advocate using the term ‘sex worker’ in preference to prostitute, in my research I found that female prostitutes in the Pearl River Delta area, south China, do not like to be addressed as such, and prefer the title xiaojie in Chinese. ‘Sex worker’ generalises the heterogeneity of meanings these women identify and attribute to what they do; it does not capture the complex cultural meanings involved in the term xiaojie. It is stigmatising in that what is exchanged within the transaction is less defined by sexual acts and more by a diversified range of activities. The women employ what is useful to them and infuse new meanings in it to construct gender images and identities to resist the sex worker stigma and to express their desires as rural-to-urban migrants. Using xiaojie becomes a destigmatising and gender tactic. I also found that the women discard the idea of finding alternative jobs partly because of the practical difficulty, and partly because they do not want to work (gongzuo) any more in the future. This study highlights the importance of exploring desire and agency to understand the lived experiences of this particular group of women.
Schlagwörter:China; China; woman; Prostitution; prostitution; Stigmatisierung; stigmatization; Gender; gender; Ostasien; Far East; South China; desire; destigmatisation; sex worker
Inhalt: In this article, we draw a parallel between equality of opportunity in educational transitions and equality of opportunity in academic careers. In both cases, many methodological problems can be ameliorated by the use of longitudinal rather than cross-sectional data. We illustrate this point by using Finnish full-population register data to follow the educational and academic careers of the 1964-1966 birth cohorts from birth to the present day. We show how the Finnish professoriate is highly selected both in terms of parental background and in terms of gender. Individuals of different backgrounds differ greatly in the likelihood of completing different educational and academic transitions, but much less in the age at which they make these transitions. By contrast, women’s academic careers differ from those of men both in terms of timing and in terms of rates, with women’s PhDs and full professorships seemingly delayed compared to those of men. We additionally show with the help of a 2015 cross-section of Finnish professors how such differences are easily overlooked in cross-sectional data.
Schlagwörter:Bildung; academic (female); gender; Akademikerin; education; Chancengleichheit; Hochschulbildung; academy; Gender; equality of rights; Akademie; Karriere; Finland; woman; Gleichberechtigung; Akademiker; equal opportunity; Finnland; career; university level of education; academic
SSOAR Kategorie:Wissenschaftssoziologie, Wissenschaftsforschung, Technikforschung, Techniksoziologie, Berufsforschung, Berufssoziologie, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung
Feminism as Power and Resistance: An Inquiry into Different Forms of Swedish Feminist Resistance and Anti-Genderist Reactions
Autor/in:
Lilja, Mona; Johansson, Evelina
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 6 (2018) 4, S 82-94
Inhalt: This article explores how resistance and power are intertwined within the field of mainstream Swedish feminism, by analyzing some of its more visible expressions and strategies. These feminist resistance strategies could be described as circulating resistance (e.g., the #metoo campaign), public assemblies, the more subtle “disciplinary resistance”, and state feminism. The article illustrates how these different forms of resistance fuel different reactions from movements that reiterate different discourses of “anti-genderism”. In addition, some forms of feminism (state feminism and feminist disciplinary resistance) sometimes develop into, or overlap with, different technologies of power.
Schlagwörter:Schweden; Sweden; Feminismus; feminism; Gender; gender; Macht; power; Widerstand; resistance; Gender Mainstreaming; gender mainstreaming; anti-genderism; popular assemblies; state feminism
"Sweden Has Been Naïve": Nationalism, Protectionism and Securitisation in Response to the Refugee Crisis of 2015
Autor/in:
Ericson, Mathias
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 6 (2018) 4, S 95-102
Inhalt: Fake news, disinformation campaigns, xenophobia, political resentment, and a general backlash on equality issues mark the current political climate. In this context, the idealism of the Swedish welfare state has gained a specific symbolic value. This article investigates how the idealisation of Sweden as a modern and gender-equal country was articulated as a focal point in the establishment of threat and crisis narratives in the political debate of the refugee crisis of 2015. The article shows how progressive and egalitarian ideals were viewed as outdated and naïve, but at the same time put forward as core values worthy of protection. The title refers to the statement made by the Swedish Prime Minister in 2015 stating that “Sweden has been naïve” and serves as an example of how the myth of Sweden as an exceptionally modern, secular, and equal society was evoked in processes of securitisation, nationalistic protectionism, and normalisation of xenophobia. The article concludes that the articulation of Swedish exceptionalism in the establishment of threat and crisis narratives may reproduce and enhance social inequality and polarisation.
Schlagwörter:Schweden; Sweden; Sozialstaat; social welfare state; Sozialpolitik; social policy; Migrationspolitik; migration policy; Protektionismus; protectionism; Nationalismus; nationalism; Gender; gender; Gleichheit; equality; Gleichberechtigung; equality of rights; refugee crisis
SSOAR Kategorie:Sozialpolitik, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung
Women's Coalitions beyond the Laicism-Islamism Divide in Turkey: Towards an Inclusive Struggle for Gender Equality?
Autor/in:
Çağatay, Selin
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 6 (2018) 4, S 48-58
Inhalt: In the 2010s in Turkey, the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) authoritarian-populist turn accompanied the institutionalization of political Islam. As laicism was discredited and labeled as an imposed-from-above principle of Western/Kemalist modernity, the notion of equality ceased to inform the state’s gender policies. In response to AKP's attempts to redefine gender relations through the notions of complementarity and fıtrat (purpose of creation), women across the political spectrum have mobilized for an understanding of gender equality that transcends the laicism - Islamism divide yet maintains secularity as its constitutive principle. Analyzing three recent attempts of women's coalition-building, this article shows that, first, gender equality activists in the 2010s are renegotiating the border between secularity and piety towards more inclusive understandings of gender equality; and second, that struggles against AKP’s gender politics are fragmented due to different configurations of gender equality and secularity that reflect class and ethnic antagonisms in Turkish society. The article thereby argues for the need to move beyond binary approaches to secularism and religion that have so far dominated the scholarly analysis of women’s activism in both Turkey and the Nordic context.
The Traps of International Scripts: Making a Case for a Critical Anthropology of Gender and Sexuality in Development
Autor/in:
Roodsaz, Rahil; Van Raemdonck, An
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 6 (2018) 4, S 16-24
Inhalt: In this article, we look at colonialities of gender and sexuality as concepts employed in international aid and development. These international arenas reveal not only strong reiterations of modernist linear thinking and colonial continuities but also provide insights into the complexities of the implementation and vernacularisation of gender and sexuality in practices of development. Using a critical anthropological perspective, we discuss case studies based on our own research in Egypt and Bangladesh to illustrate the importance of unpacking exclusionary mechanisms of gender and sexuality scripts in the promotion of women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights in postcolonial development contexts. We provide a conceptual analysis of decolonial feminist attempts at moving beyond the mere critique of development to enable a more inclusive conversation in the field of development. To work towards this goal, we argue, a critical anthropological approach proves promising in allowing a politically-sensitive, ethical, and critical engagement with the Other.
Schlagwörter:Kolonialismus; colonialism; Anthropologie; anthropology; Gender; gender; Sexualität; sexuality; internationale Hilfe; international aid; Entwicklungshilfe; development aid; woman; Menschenrechte; human rights; Postkolonialismus; post-colonialism; Feminismus; feminism; Ägypten; Egypt; Bangladesch; Bangladesh; Entwicklungsland; developing country; Nordafrika; North Africa; Südasien; South Asia; critical anthropology; development;
SSOAR Kategorie:Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Entwicklungsländersoziologie, Entwicklungssoziologie
How gender conscious pedagogy in higher education can stimulate actions of social justice in society
Autor/in:
Witt, Ann-Katrin; Cuesta, Marta
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 2 (2014) 1, S 12-23
Inhalt: In order to reflect about methods that can generate social justice and democratization, this article emphasises on practical implementations, connected to gender conscious pedagogy. Gender conscious pedagogy aims at overcoming the myth of objectivity, and by questioning through teaching what is considered as common sense and "normal". This entails acting and reflecting on breakthroughs, for example about an understanding of how gender codes influence everyday instances as well as working life. The collected data is based on narratives from alumni students who were asked to memorise and reflect on their gender studies and particularly about how useful this type of knowledge is in connection with everyday and working life - as politician, lecturer, IT-manager, doctoral student etc. The aim of this article is to focus on how teachers support students to be gender confident and as a consequence of that, becoming gender actors outside the university, in working life. Some central questions are: how are gender issues represented and integrated in the different areas of studies; what can teachers do in order to generate equality in the classroom; in what way and how are students given possibilities of understanding, internalizing and discussing gender issues.
Schlagwörter:Bildung; gender studies; gender; pedagogics; Gleichstellung; education; Arbeitswelt; Demokratie; Gender; social justice; democracy; Geschlechterforschung; Pädagogik; soziale Gerechtigkeit; affirmative action; world of work
SSOAR Kategorie:Makroebene des Bildungswesens, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung