Changes in Korean Immigrants' Gender Role and Social Status,and Their Marital Conflicts

Based on survey and ethnographic research conducted in New York, this paper shows how the discrepancy between Korean immigrant women's increased economic role and persistence of their husbands' traditional patriarchal ideology causes marital conflicts and tensions. While only a small proportion of married women participate in the labor force in South Korea, the vast majority of Korean immigrant wives work outside the home, most working long hours. Parallel to the increase in Korean women's economic role, their husbands' provider role and social status have significantly weakened with immigration. Despite Korean women's increase in their economic role, most Korean husbands have not modified a rigid form of patriarchal ideology brought from Korea because they are socially segregated from the mainstream society. A big clash between Korean women's active economic role and their husbands' traditional patriarchal attitudes causes serious marital conflicts in many Korean immigrant families. In addition, Korean partners' (particularly husbands') frustrations over their downward social mobility, the long hours spent together in the family store, and their midlife crisis are additional causes of marital conflicts. Other contemporary immigrant groups, mostly from non-European, Third World countries, seem to encounter lower, but similar marital conflicts caused by sudden changes in women's gender role.     

Women and the rural idyll

The existence of a ‘rural idyll’ has been widely accepted by social scientists working within the rural field. Yet the term itself has received relatively little critical attention. In particular, the variable characteristics and impacts of the rural idyll amongst different groups within the rural population has been largely overlooked. The cultural turn in rural geography and the emphasis which has recently been placed on identifying and studying the rural ‘other’ provides an important opportunity for the notion of a rural idyll to be unpacked from the perspective of different rural dwellers. This paper investigates the role of the rural idyll in maintaining rural gender relations. It examines women's attitudes towards and experiences of two key elements of the rural idyll; the family and the community. Drawing on material from interviews with women in rural Avon in the south west of England, the paper shows how women's identity as ‘rural women’ is closely tied in to their images and understanding of rural society. It is argued, in particular, that the opportunities available and acceptable to women are built on very strong assumptions and expectations about motherhood and belonging within a rural community. Some of the more practical implications of these expectations are explored in the context of women's involvement in the community and in the labour market.     

The restructuring of social imaginations in rural geography

This paper reviews the development of rural social geography. It argues that there has been a restructuring in the dominant social imagination expressed within rural social geography away from a ‘restricted social imagination’ which shied away from considering phenomena which were immaterial and clearly politicized. The prevalence of this social imagination within geographical studies of rural settlement, population change, access to resources and services and rural communal life is highlighted. It is argued that there have been two important directions of critique of this social geography. First, the politicization of rural social geography through Marxism is discussed with particular reference being paid to the analysis of class relations in the countryside. Second, the rise of postmodernism and the cultural turn of rural geography is discussed. Attention is drawn to the explicit politicization of this social geography and the emphasis placed within it on the immaterial. The paper outlines some of the key arguments and texts of these two lines of restructuring, and also how some earlier work trespassed beyond the dominant restrictions placed on social imaginations of the rural. The paper ends by raising the issue of whether the immaterial and the politicized have been reconciled together within the current work of rural social geographers.     

A double-edged sword: challenging women's oppression within Muslim society in northern Nigeria

This paper reports the consequences experienced by Islam women attempting to reform gender relations among Muslim societies in northern Nigeria. The article also examines the problems encountered and its relation to the ideas, plans, and programs of gender and development (GAD) programs. In Muslim communities, few men or women disagree with the content of the GAD program aimed at addressing women's practical needs and interests, or the reform of gender relations. However, many question the GAD program on principle, viewing them as illegitimate because they are "Western" in nature. In line with this, many Muslim activists may have been branded as Western agents, funded by foreign powers to undermine Islam. As a result of this attitude, fund sources show mistrust to organizations which have religious affiliation, which further affects the aim of the organizations which is to address Muslim women's needs. Furthermore, the GAD program, which focuses solely on women's issues, only created an impression that only women are vulnerable to Western influences. The program also suggests suspicion on the issue of gender and development which hardened their stand against interventions to promote women's interests and needs. Finally, the difficult and fragile relationship between Islamic women's organization and international donor organizations, which are predominantly from Western societies with a Christian heritage, perpetuates the marginalization of Muslim women activists in the transformation of their society and religion.     

Rethinking gender and development practice for the twenty-first century

This article presents the personal view of the author on raising the profile of gender equality and gender transformation in development agencies. In the first section, the author describes the practical difficulties observed in the context. These include the confusion in the discourse, overemphasis on the economic aspect of women's empowerment, oversimplification of complex issues, exploration of the meaning of gender, the assumption of a distinction between male and female sexes, and the assumption of a distinction between sex and gender. The findings indicate the need to develop a social relation theory which revolves around three elements: 1) conceptualization of social relations as the mainframe of analysis; 2) the understanding of the link between experience and gender differentiation; and 3) the lack of acknowledgement of the relevance of homosexual experience. Lastly, the author emphasizes that gender must not be viewed as a politically correct ideology, but as an integral element in a wider search for a deep understanding of human behavior.     

The question of women and environment in the Sudan: inquiries into eco-feminism and feminist environmentalism

This article discusses a theoretical framework suggested by Agarwal on eco-feminism in the context of Sudan and the Kordofam region of Sudan. The paper focuses specifically on one aspect of eco-feminism that is discussed by Shiva (1988). Eco-feminism is the link between the domination and suppression of women and the domination and exploitation of nature. Women are identified with nature, while men are closer to culture, which places women in an inferior position. Because of the link of women with nature, women have a vested interest in restructuring the domination of nature. Feminism and environmentalism both reflect egalitarian and nonhierarchical systems. This analysis tests whether women are the central actors of environment and whether women's and environmental interests can be advanced simultaneously. The Indian experience reflects the class and gender process that results in loss of knowledge and livelihoods among poor rural women. The impact is related to the interaction between ideology and political and economic power. Grass-roots resistance to environmental degradation is strong, and women are engaged due to threats to survival. Sudanese women's role, position, status, and relation to the environment is shaped by the patriarchal order, class, ethnicity, and the sexual division of labor. The Shiva concepts apply to Sudan and the Kordofan region. The marginalization of traditional farming and pastoralism has pushed the growing population into marginal environmental zones. The focus on cash-oriented development, political instability, and insufficient and corrupt bureaucracies have aggravated the environmental crisis. Social inequality has increased. Shiva's theories do not fit Sudanese society and Agarwal's perspective is too general. Some Sudanese women have accumulated wealth, commercial interests, and exploited land.     

Masculinity,Gender, and Rural Policy*

Abstract This paper explores the operation of gender relations in the context of rural policy. Framed by debates on new rural governance, it considers how both the content and the culture of recent rural regeneration policy reflect highly masculine values and the maintenance of traditional power relations. New forms of decision making in rural areas promote a style of policy making that values and grants priority to male networks in the construction of elite groups and styles of management, and devalues community participation. We use examples from the United Kingdom to demonstrate the implications of shifts in the mechanisms and practice of policy making and implementation for men's and women's differential involvement and experience with rural regeneration. We go on to show how gender relations are also reflected in the content of contemporary rural regeneration policy. Decisions concerning the most appropriate types of initiative are predicated on a male‐oriented view of previous economic activity and local labor markets, and represent a highly masculinist approach to regeneration.     

Does Class Consciousness Exist in Rural Communities? The Impact of Restructuring and Plant Shutdowns in Rural Canada1

Abstract This paper examines qualitative data on class consciousness derived from a study of corporate restructuring and the impacts of layoffs in rural Ontario communities. In particular, the study examines how the rural environment might impinge on the development of class consciousness among the workers there in the context of severe economic stress brought on by plant shutdowns. It is argued that an ideology specific to a farm and small town environment plays a significant role in shaping their response to crisis. The more standard predictors of class consciousness such as age, gender, past union membership, and employment status are also considered. The paper aims to deepen our understanding of the seemingly contradictory belief structures of working class people.     

Contradictions in Agrarian Ideology: Restructuring Gender,Race-Ethnicity,and Class1

Abstract Contradictions in agrarian ideology are revealed through an analysis of social dimensions of economic restructuring in rural Iowa. Data are culled from field observations and in-depth interviews with white European American residents. How rural residents cope with and make sense of the changes within their communities are two interrelated dimensions of social restructuring. The research highlights a perception of sharpening social and economic divisions within two small communities. The social and economic changes challenged residents' self-definitions, perspectives on rural community life, and previously taken-for-granted notions of gender, racial-ethnic, and class relations. Analysis of field data demonstrates contradictory ways that discourses on agrarianism and gemeinschaft serve as resources as well as impediments to social support and community development.     

Men's and Women's Beliefs About Gender Inequality: Family Ties,Dependence, and Agreement

This paper addresses an often stated but rarefy tested assumption in feminist theory: that women's dependence on men and the high degree of intimate contact between women and men shape women's consciousness of gender stratification, encouraging them to develop interpretations of gender inequality similar to men's. I explore this issue by examining whether women's dependence on men and family ties to men are associated with the degree of similarity in men's and women's gender-related attitudes, using data from a national probability sample of adults in the United States. The analyses presented are not conclusive, but they do suggest that further inquiry into the role of dependence and family ties in drawing women's interpretations of gender inequality toward men's is merited.     

Women farm workers on South African deciduous fruit farms: Gender relations and the structuring of work

Utilizing a feminist perspective and based on data obtained by interviewing 350 women farm workers on South African deciduous fruit farms, the article analyses how existing gender relations structure various aspects of women's paid work on farms. It explores the recruitment and employment of women, the division of labour and existing wage differentials between women and men workers, and the nature of women's work relations. Women's participation in the reconstitution of existing gender relations and the obstruction of women's choices are interpreted within the context of ‘the farm as family’ and the farm worker community as subculture. It is suggested that some women workers on fruit farms are gaining a measure of control over certain aspects of their work lives. The transformation of traditional to neo-paternalistic labour relations, the extension of labour legislation to the agricultural sector, and especially farmers' changing perceptions of women (and consequently their utilization as farm workers) have been central to women farm workers gaining more power in the workplace.     

The circular migration of Puerto Rican women: towards a gendered explanation

"The purpose of this paper has been to outline a theoretical framework for the explanation of the circulation of Puerto Rican women that brings gender relations to the fore, but frames the island-mainland pattern of mobility in the context of core-periphery capitalist relations. We have argued that gender relations in the home and workplace are vitally important for understanding women's moves to the [United States] and return trips to Puerto Rico. Specifically, we posited that most Puerto Rican women move as tied-migrants or because of their obligation or desire to meet gender responsibilities. In addition, we also viewed migration as an action with the potential to modify gender relations and alter future migration decision-making, as women gain experience in the labour market and exposure to new social and cultural environments." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

Parental role strains, salience of parental identity and gender differences in psychological distress.

Although past research indicates that women's higher levels of psychological distress can be accounted for by their greater exposure and vulnerability to role-related stress, the social psychological factors contributing to female vulnerability have not been fully identified. This paper applies identity theory to the phenomenon of gender differences in distress among parents. From an identity perspective, I propose that salience of the parental identity in women's self-conceptions contributes to their vulnerability to parental role strains. Using 1988 survey data from a stratified random sample of married and divorced Indianapolis residents (N = 448), I find that gender differences in distress are explained by differences in exposure to parental role strains. Further analyses reveal, however, that salience of the parental identity contributes to both men's and women's vulnerability to parental role strains. These findings underscore the utility of identity theory for explaining psychological distress among women and men.     

A GENDERED CONTEXT OF OPPORTUNITY:

Current research has failed to examine how women's opportunities in the labor market, in combination with their human capital attributes, differentially affect the likelihood that they will live in poverty. This study overcomes this limitation by placing specific emphasis on the role that labor market opportunities play in contributing to, or reducing, women's and men's risk of poverty. In addition, differences in poverty risk by urban and rural labor market areas are examined, as labor market dynamics vary substantially by rurality. Using the PUMS-L and STF3C for 1990, logistic regression techniques are employed to address these issues. Our results indicate that women across all labor market contexts have a significantly higher risk of poverty than men, and incorporation of labor market characteristics fails to explain this higher risk. However, the economic opportunities available in the labor market play an important role in determining how an individual's credentials, family background, and work experience translate into poverty risk. While individual attributes play a smaller role in explaining rural women's likelihood of living in poverty, women in both urban and rural labor markets face more limited economic opportunities than their male counterparts. This suggests that a "gendered" context of opportunity remains a barrier for women's movement out of poverty in both urban and rural labor markets.     

Youth transitions and interdependent adult–child relations in rural Bolivia

There are few studies which document youth transitions from school to work in rural areas of the majority world. This paper, based on ethnographic fieldwork in a rural community in Bolivia, considers how young people make decisions about different types of school-to-work transitions which include migrating to continue their formal education, working in the community, or seeking migrant work in the regional town or in neighbouring Argentina. The paper explores how young people negotiate structural constraints over their choice of transition, including the rural location, economic resources, parental attitudes and family background, gender, birth order, social networks and role models. Importantly the paper highlights that underlying young people's choice of transition are interdependent household relations. In the majority world, in this case in Bolivia, rural young people may achieve economic independence sooner than those in the minority world, but long-term family interdependence tends to be maintained throughout the life-course. This paper suggests that the notion of negotiated interdependence is a more appropriate way to understand youth transitions and relations between young people and adults in rural areas of the majority world.     

ADOLESCENT GENDER IDEOLOGY SOCIALIZATION: DIRECT AND MODERATING EFFECTS OF FATHERS' BELIEFS

Previous research examining the intergenerational transmission of gender ideology focuses generally on the influence of mothers' beliefs. This article extends the understanding of gender ideology construction and transmission in two important ways. Utilizing data from the child sample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (N = 206), we examine the construction of adolescent gender ideology via mothers' and fathers' gender beliefs. Further, we consider the interaction between maternal and paternal ideologies as they influence adolescent ideology. Findings suggest that paternal ideology plays a strong role in adolescent ideology formation, both directly and as a moderator of maternal influence.     

Managing organisational change: the "gendered" organisation of space and time

Although the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) maintains a strong commitment to gender equity in its anti-poverty programs, a conservative external environment often impedes efforts to make its organizational structure consistent with this commitment. For example, BRAC's approach to organizing its field operations has been to abolish the distinction between home and office. BRAC's female employees live with male colleagues in their rural offices, travel long distances on bicycles and motorcycles, and reject the sari--practices that are antithetical to the prevailing culture and place tremendous pressure on these field workers. The high work intensity, need to work beyond normal business hours, and lack of on-site child care subjects married female employees to hostility from their husbands and relatives. Single female employees are often regarded as unmarriagable because of their divergent life-styles. Although BRAC makes provisions for employees to take leave for family responsibilities, staff who access this benefit are viewed as more committed to family than their work. The sexual activities of female--but not male--employees are scrutinized. Despite these contradictions, BRAC's innovative arrangements model a new form of gender relations in rural areas. BRAC is enabling its young women employees to postpone marriage and demonstrate a nontraditional role. The extent to which BRAC should take responsibility for compensating for the constraints imposed on women by patriarchy remains problematic. Working conditions could be improved, however, by allowing women to be near their families, domesticating the work environment, and respecting women's personal lives.     

Health perceptions of local community works: network women describe how flows of energy and space of action generate health and ill health

This paper presents a theoretical model on how flows of energy and space of action generate health and ill health in a local community work. Local community work was assessed through a case study of women's networks in a peripheral region of northern Sweden. The aim of the study was to analyse what participation in women's networks can mean for the members health perceptions. A purposeful selection of women's networks was made for the purpose of carrying out a qualitative follow-up study. Grounded theory was used to analyse the data and to generate a theoretical model. The meaning of participation in networks proved to be plural, as both health-deteriorating and health-promotive mechanisms were found. Two core categories "flows of energy" and "a space of action" as well as the four ancillary categories: social relations within the network; increased awareness of gender and power; becoming visible; and material prerequisites for networking were grounded in the data. We suggest that under certain circumstances local community work can be of crucial importance for health promotion.     

Editorial

This special issue of "Gender and Development" focuses on the challenges of implementing gender equity policies in organizations and development programs that have been influenced by hegemonic sex role concepts. Useful to this analysis is a framework developed by Schuler emphasizing the interdependence of substantive elements (laws or organizational policies), structural factors (procedures and mechanisms to enforce the substantive level), and cultural norms and attitudes. In general, adoption of a women-in-development approach has been based on efficiency rather than equality rationales, reflecting awareness of women's potential to contribute to economic growth. Other organizations have embraced gender equality as a prerequisite to poverty alleviation. Feminist organizations, in contrast, address the power inequities implicit in gender relations. Many enlightened grass-roots organizations currently face the dilemma of balancing their commitment to women's empowerment with the need to meet the funding requirements of bureaucratic donors in the context of an unequal partnership. Worrisome is an apparent shift on the part of mainstream development agencies from a women-in-development approach to a social welfare perspective. Alliances and networking between diverse stakeholders united around a common aim are essential to translate the rhetoric of gender equity into actual social transformation.