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 The article shows how progressive and egalitarian ideals were viewed as outdated and naïve, but at the same time put forward as core values worthy of protection.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
Inhalt: In this article, we explore the efficacy of sport as an instrument for social inclusion through an analysis of the film Bend it Like Beckham. The film argues for the potential of sport to foster a more inclusive society in terms of multiculturalism and gender equity by showing how a hybrid culture can be forged through the microcosm of an English young women's football club, while simultaneously challenging assumptions about traditional masculinities and femininities. Yet, despite appearances, Bend it Like Beckham does little to challenge the structure of English society. Ultimately, the version of multiculturalism offered by the film is one of assimilation to a utopian English norm. This conception appears progressive in its availability to all Britons regardless of ethnicity, but falls short of conceptions of hybrid identity that do not privilege one hegemonic culture over others. Likewise, although the film presents a feminist veneer, underneath lurks a troubling reassertion of the value of chastity, masculinity, and patriarchy. Bend it Like Beckham thus provides an instructive case study for the potential of sport as a site of social inclusion because it reveals how seductive it is to imagine that structural inequalities can be overcome through involvement in teams.
SSOAR Kategorie:Freizeitforschung, Freizeitsoziologie, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Allgemeine Soziologie, Makrosoziologie, spezielle Theorien und Schulen, Entwicklung und Geschichte der Soziologie
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
Identifying the barriers to women's agency in domestic violence: the tensions between women's personal experiences and systemic responses
Autor/in:
Aldridge, Jo
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 1 (2013) 1, S 3-12
Inhalt: Despite advances in knowledge and understanding about the impacts of domestic violence on women's lives, global research on violence against women shows there is a need for research that not only places women centre stage in research praxis, but also that involves them more collaboratively in genuine dialogue about their experiences, including their agentic stances. This is especially the case for marginalised and socially excluded women victims of domestic violence, such as those who are not known or do not present to services and who survive abusive relationships alone or with little outside support. Evidence from two studies reported here-secondary analysis of women with severe and enduring mental health problems and a collaborative narrative project with unsupported women victims of domestic violence-suggest that women's capacity for agency are compromised by a number of critical factors, and that these are also reflected in the tensions between micro-macro analyses and understanding of the impact of domestic violence on women. This article considers the barriers to women's agency from the women's perspective and in the context of broader, systemic dynamics, including the denial or obscuring of abuse by governments and states and the consequences of stringent fiscal retrenchment that put women at increased risk of domestic violence.
Credibility assessments as "normative leakage": asylum applications, gender and class
Autor/in:
Wikström, Hanna; Johansson, Thomas
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 1 (2013) 2, S 92-101
Inhalt: Based on the assumption that credibility assessments function as "normative leakage" within the asylum process, we analyse how narratives of gender and class are articulated, rendered meaningful, or silenced in credibility assessments. Two cases concerning male applicants are selected in order to illustrate these processes. In relation to the existing concepts of internal/external credibility, we wish to introduce the concept of social credibility, which focuses on how the assessors read different socio-cultural narratives. While previous research has shown that the postcolonial will to protect women favours women as victims of patriarchal cultures, we wish to point out the continuity of this line of argumentation in relation to male and female applicants by adopting a theoretical generalization: male applicants instead become situated at the other end of the spectrum of postcolonial notions of modernity as non-victims, victims of other circumstances or perpetrators. We argue that these processes are accentuated in relation to credibility assessments. In order to prevent processes of social exclusion and to enhance inclusive practice, authorities need to acknowledge the "normative leakage" associated with the assessment process.
Schlagwörter:woman; soziokulturelle Faktoren; sociocultural factors; Glaubwürdigkeit; credibility; Asylverfahren; asylum procedure; gender; Norm; standard; Bewertung; evaluation; soziale Klasse; social class; Postkolonialismus; post-colonialism; Fallstudie; case study
SSOAR Kategorie:Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, soziale Probleme