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1 1 INTRODUCTION: CONCEPTS & THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OPERATIONALIZING CONCEPTS- SEX / GENDER, PATRIARCHY Unit Structure 1.0 Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Sex and Gender 1.2.1 Sex 1.2.2 Gender 1.2.3 Deconstructing Sex and Gender 1.3 Patriarchy 1.4 Summary 1.5 Questions 1.6 References 1.0 OBJECTIVES • To understand the concept of ‘Sex’ and ‘Gender’ and draw a line of distinction between the two. • To study the evolution and institutionalization of the concept of ‘Patriarchy’. • To understand the importance of these concepts in gender discourse. 1.1 Introduction The distinctions between men and women are more social than natural and the conceptual distinction between ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ seeks to capture this view. Social scientists use concepts as analytical categories to study society and social behaviour. There are several concepts in gender studies that provide a conceptual framework for the study of behavior. Lill Matthews first introduced the concept of gender in her study of ‘Construction of Femininity’ in 1984. In Mathews' view, the concept of gender recognizes that every known society has distinctions between men and women. Therefore, the concept of gender is a systematic way of understanding men and women socially and the patterning of relationships between them. In the concept of gender, we can study the differences in behavior between men and women, and assess the basis for these differences as primarily biological or as constructed by society. In this unit we are also going to munotes.in

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2 understand the concept of patriarchy that sheds light on male dominance in society. Throughout the feminist writings and discourse on gender studies, concepts of sex, gender and patriarchy are fundamental to our understanding of the differences between men and women in our society and to understand the male dominance in the society. Understanding these concepts serves as an analytical framework. 1.2 SEX AND GENDER: Academicians, researchers, and feminist writers use the terms 'sex' and 'gender' to distinguish biologically different 'male' from 'female' as well as socially different 'man' from 'woman'. At one level, they are easy to distinguish – sex refers to the biological differences between male and female bodies, while gender refers to everything else that goes into making us ‘men’ and ‘women’ – social and cultural processes, economic and political structures. However, this unit will help us understand that questions of sex and gender are not so simple or obvious at all, and have become highly debated concepts in feminist theory. According to feminist sociologists, it is imperative for academic discourse to understand and distinguish between the terms - 'sex' and 'gender'. 1.2.1 SEX: Sex, in its broadest sense, refers to biological and physiological differences between men and women. The term sex refers to the distinction between the biological male and female. So, when an infant is born, he or she is referred to as a boy or girl based on their sex. This characterization is based on the genital differences between males and females. Several early academic feminists, including Simone de Beauvoir (1988) and Ann Oakley (1972), as well as more conservative ‘sex role’ theorists, sought to establish a distinction between 'sex' as a biological reality and 'gender' as a cultural, psychological, and historical reality. It has been argued that there is a biological difference between the sexes, and that most people are born (with a few ambiguous cases in between) as one sex or another. Nonetheless, it was argued that individuals who are born into a certain sex are then socialized according to specific gender expectations and roles. A biological male learns to take on masculine roles and think and act in a masculine manner, whereas a biological female learns to take on feminine roles and think and act in a feminine manner. This is captured in Simone de Beauvoir’s much cited claim that, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman” Beyond the differences in genitals and reproductive organs, there are not many differences between a male and female child at birth. Rather, society constructs differences between the sexes through gender construction. Some psychological and socially constructed differences between men and women can be explained by biological differences. However, some feminist writers, such as Judith Butler, contests this view. munotes.in

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Theoretical Background The evidence for this distinction comes from a variety of sources. Several historical and anthropological studies have shown, for instance, that what is classified as 'typically' male or female varies considerably between cultures - even though biological differences are relatively constant. The roles and characteristics that are attributed to males in one society may be attributed to females in another. Therefore, what we consider to be naturally masculine may actually be a cultural construct and certainly not typical of men in other cultures or times. Furthermore, a number of cases have been identified where people have, by some quirk of birth, developed the 'wrong' gender for their sex and had then at some point changed their gender on the basis of an ambivalence regarding their biological sex. Individuals seem to be capable of changing their genders, while their biological constitutions remain unchanged. This paved the way for a powerful feminist critique. Feminists contend that the distinction between sex and gender is often overlooked. A great deal of gender is assumed to be a fixed fact of nature (sex). Often, cultural or social 'facts' are interpreted as biological facts, so gender relations are ‘naturalized' and persistent inequalities between the sexes are justified as inevitable. As a result of these assertions, a series of nature/nurture debates erupted, simultaneously scientific and political, in which the evidence for and against each attribute being biologically or socially based was mounted. In Judith Butler’s view the underlying principle of the sex/gender distinction is that sex comes first and is natural. Gender is seen as a secondary construct that is superimposed on top of the 'natural' distinction. According to Butler, 'sex' itself is a social category, that is, the distinction between 'male' and 'female' is a human, social distinction. It pertains to our particular perception of the world and division of it. Hence, 'sex' is as much a product of culture as is gender. Indeed, it might be deemed secondary to it as ‘sex’ is a category shaped by ‘gendered’ discourse. Or rather, the distinction between sex and gender itself collapses. Although Butler does not discuss them in detail, debates and shifts in the scientific (biological) meaning and definition of sex are an important source of evidence for this argument, since they indicate that the category of sex is theoretically rooted, historically variable and have shifted over time. Furthermore, Butler and others revisit the aforementioned instances of individuals whose biological sex at birth are unclear and cannot be decided on the basis of conventional procedures. These cases, she believes, blur and problematize sexual categories. They suggest that these categories are, in some degree at least, arbitrary. According to Butler, 'sex' is not merely an analytical category. In fact, it is also a normative category. It specifies what women and men are. Additionally, it specifies what men and women ought to be. In addition, it formulates rules for regulating men's and women's behaviour. Butler proposes that sex is also a social category. This is very apparent in the ambiguous cases, where an individual’s ‘sex’ cannot be decided on biological grounds. A sex is allocated to them and in many cases biological ambiguities are removed by way of surgery. This is an extreme munotes.in

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4 example but, again, it illustrates a more general point for Butler, namely, that the category of ‘sex’ has a normative content and does not so much describe a pre-given reality as orient practices which produces sex. This relates to her further concern with the ‘performativity’ of sex and gender. This normative discourse on sex, Butler continues, is intimately interwoven with a normative discourse on sexuality, which again divides individuals into types (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and so on) and stipulates, often seemingly on biological grounds, how they ought to identify and behave. The heterosexual ‘norm’ what Butler, in her early work, refers to as the ‘heterosexual matrix’, is a strategic centre around which forms of classification and regulation which seek to discipline human agents circulate. Sexuality, sex and gender are interconnected normative models from this point of view, which are enforced at numerous points throughout the social body. The argument goes that, as infants are classified as a specific 'sex', they are then subject to a range of gendered expectations regarding their behavior and to a gendered socialization process. The argument departs from the earlier feminist position in questioning the notion of 'sex' as bedrock upon which gender is constructed. Most research designs in sociology assume that each person has one sex, one sexuality and one gender, which are congruent with each other and fixed for life. A woman is assumed to be feminine female and a man a masculine male. These research variables polarize sex as males and females; sexuality is polarized as homosexual and heterosexuals; gender is polarized as women and men - these reflect conventionalize bodies that do not take into account transvestites, transsexuals, bisexuals and so on. When infants are categorized as a particular sex, they are subject to a range of gendered behaviour through gendered socialization. This brings us to the question what is gender? 1.2.2 Gender: Currently, gender is being used as a sociological or conceptual category, and it has been given a very specific meaning. It refers to the socio-cultural definition of man and woman; the way societies distinguish men and women and assign them social roles. Gender is used as an analytical tool to understand social realities with regard to women and men. The distinction between sex and gender was introduced to deal with the general tendency to attribute women’s subordination because of their anatomy. It has been believed for ages that the differences in characteristics and roles accorded to men and women in society are directly related to biology (that is, sex) and therefore cannot be changed. A gender refers to the socially constructed roles and relations between men and women. As a social construct, gender describes the social attributes and opportunities associated with being male or female, as well as the relationships between men and women and girls and boys. These munotes.in

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Theoretical Background attributes, opportunities, and relationships are socially constructed and acquired through socialization. These attributes, opportunities, and relationships are context/time specific and ever-changing. The concept of gender, as we now use it, came into common parlance during the early 1970s. Gender is an analytical category that is socially constructed. The term gender also refers to the differences in behaviour between men and women that are described as ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’. The purpose of affirming a sex/gender distinction was to argue that the actual physical or mental effects of biological difference have been exaggerated to sustain patriarchal power and construct a consciousness among women that they are naturally suited to domestic roles. Writings by feminists emphasize this aspect and argue that these differences are not biological, but social constructions of patriarchal society. According to some theorists, the biological differences between men and women also contribute to their mental and physical differences. For example, they claim men are physically and mentally better than women. Other theorists claim that the biological differences between men and women are exaggerated. Patriarchal society creates these differences by describing men as superior to women. Consequently, women become subordinate to men in society. Each culture values girls and boys differently and assigns them different roles, responses, and attributes. All the social and cultural ‘packaging’ that is done for girls and boys from birth onwards is ‘gendering’. Every society gradually transforms males and females into men and women, into masculine and feminine, with different qualities, behaviors, roles, responsibilities, rights, and expectations. As opposed to sex, which is assumed to be biological, the gender identities of women and men are based on social and psychological factors - which means historically and culturally-based. Ann Oakley’s ‘Sex, Gender and Society’ (1972) made the sex-gender distinction very popular in sociology. For Oakley, sex is ‘a word that refers to the biological differences between male and female: the visible differences in genitalia, the related difference in procreative function. And “‘Gender’ is a matter of culture, it refers to the social classification of men and women into ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’”. People can be identified as male or female by referring to biological evidence. However, people being, masculine or feminine cannot be judged in the same way and the criteria for being masculine and feminine are cultural, differing with time and place. The constancy of sex must be admitted, but so also must be the variability of gender. She concludes that gender has no biological origin and the connections between sex and gender are not really ‘natural’ at all. Judith Butler’s theorization about gender introduces the notion of performativity, an idea that gender is involuntarily ‘performed’ within the dominant discourse. She further states that “sex / gender distinction suggests a radical discontinuity between sexed bodies and culturally constructed gender”. This approach questions the way gender identity is munotes.in

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6 constructed. Individual do tend to challenge the way discourses establish and reinforce certain meanings and institutions such as that of compulsory heterosexuality. Gender is not something we are born with, and not something we have, but something we do (West and Zimmerman 1987) –something we perform (Butler 1990). Simone de Beauvoir has argued that 'anatomy is not destiny’ and that ‘one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman’ through various socio-psychological processes that ‘construct’ one as fundamentally female (or male) in her feminist classic ‘The Second Sex’ (1949). She explained the differences between biologically determined sex and the social construct of gender. Simone de Beauvoir describes how the female body is regulated by patriarchal norms and structures. At least in the social sciences, there is now unanimity in accepting that distinctions between men and women are more social than natural. This clearly projects gender is a social construct, not an outcome of the biological difference. There is a conceptual distinction between ‘sex’ and ‘gender’. They are not one and the same. The American anthropologist Margaret Mead was one of the first to establish an empirical grounding for distinguishing between men and women based on their biological and social characteristics. Arapesh, Mundugamor, and Tchambuli are three New Guinean societies that she studied to better understand the conceptions of masculinity and femininity. On the basis of this study, she argued that masculinity is often associated with aggression, while femininity is associated with nurturing. However, this association of traits is not inherent in biological sex. Mead contributed significantly to the development of the concept of gender in the latter half of the 20th century. The distinction between ‘sex’ and ‘gender’, which came to dominate theorization in the sociology of gender in the 1970s, is founded on the idea of universality of ‘sex’ and variability of ‘gender’. Neither gender nor sex can be treated as wholly biological or purely cultural. Human beings are constantly conceptualized as being primarily controlled by biological or social forces. Many feminist writers will continue their debate on sex and gender as some will argue for biological differences, while others will argue that they are socially constructed differences, supported by social institutions such as religion, caste, family, marriage, etc. As a consequence of the substantial shift in women's lives and expectations since the 1960s, the category of feminine has been rather elastic. Women's roles and performances have changed considerably over the past few decades and that has added new dimensions to the debate by feminists and others about sex/gender distinctions. CHECK YOUR PROGRESS 1) Explain the concept of Sex. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ munotes.in

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Theoretical Background 2) Explain the concept of Gender? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 1.2.3 DECONSTRUCTING SEX AND GENDER: In rethinking gender categories, it is important to split what is usually conflated as sex/gender or sex/sexuality/gender into three conceptually distinct categories: sex (or biology, physiology), sexuality (desire, sexual preference, sexual orientation), and gender (a social status, sometimes with sexual identity). Each is socially constructed but in different ways. Gender is an overarching category – a major social status that organizes almost all areas of social life. Therefore, bodies are gendered and are built into major social institutions of the society such as economy, ideology, polity, family and so on. The components of the gender of an individual are the sex categories assigned at birth according to how the genitalia appear. Each category provides a gender identity, gendered sexual orientation, marital and procreative status, a gendered personality structure, gender beliefs and attitudes, gender displays, work and family roles. These social components are meant to match one's biology and be consistent with it. The actual combinations may or may not be congruent with each other and with the components of gender and sex, likewise, the components may not line up neatly on one side of the binary divide. The necessity for the categorization of infants into neat legal descriptions of 'boy' or 'girl' soon after birth in societies is often subject to rather arbitrary sex assignment. It is not uncommon for infants with anomalous genitalia to undergo sex change surgery. The rational given for categorizing the ambiguous as female or male sheds light on the practices that perpetuate the illusion of sex differences. Without such critical exploration, sex differences may be regarded as natural rather than socially constructed. CHECK YOUR PROGRESS 1) How do your define Gender in Sociological Items. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ munotes.in

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8 1.3 PATRIARCHY: The concept of patriarchy is an essential tool in analysis of gender relations. To understand the gender relations, it becomes imperative to understand the concept of patriarchy. Gender relations are skewed because of the existence of patriarchy. A patriarchal society is one in which power is vested in the patriarchs. In its original form, patriarchy meant the rule of the father or patriarch, and it was used to describe a particular type of family dominated by a man -- the patriarch's large household, which included women, children, slaves, and domestic servants. Patriarchy is an ideological and a social construct that places men above women. The concept of Patriarchy is used more generally to refer to male domination, to the power relationships by which male dominate women, and to characterize a system whereby women are kept subordinate to men in a number of ways. Sylvia Walby in her book, ‘Theorizing Patriarchy’, describes patriarchy as "a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress, and exploit women." She argues that understanding patriarchy as a system will help us to reject biological determinism (the belief that men and women are biologically different because of their bodies and therefore must be placed in different positions and every woman in a subordinate one). Patriarchy creates a hierarchy of social positions based on the gender of the individuals, with the man positioned higher than the woman. The result is unequal power relations where men control the production, reproduction, and sexuality of women. Family, kinship network, state, religion and media perpetuate the culture of patriarchy by promoting male domination and women’s subordination. The patriarchy creates double standards in various spheres of life for men and women. Conceptually, patriarchy is a tool to gain a better understanding of social reality. Juliet Mitchell, a feminist psychologist, uses the word patriarchy to refer to kinship systems in which men exchanges women, and to the symbolic power that fathers exercise within these systems. This power, she says, is responsible for the "inferiorized" psychology of women. Hartmann (1981) has defined patriarchy as ‘a set of social relations between men, which have a material base, and which though hierarchical, establish or create interdependence and solidarity among men that enable them to dominate women’. The analysis of the major institutions of the society like family, religion, law, political, educational, economic institutions, media, and knowledge systems makes it quite evident that they are all patriarchal in nature and munotes.in

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Theoretical Background are the pillars of a patriarchal structure. This well-knit and deep-rooted system makes patriarchy seem invincible; it also makes it seem natural. In patriarchal societies, various forms of violence may be used to control and subjugate women, and this type of violence might even be considered legitimate. For feminists, violence against women is not just pervasive; it is systemic in patriarchal societies. The term patriarchy is not only a descriptive term but also explains how specific societies construct male authority and power and hence it can be looked up as an analytical category. The transformation of patriarchy from a descriptive to an analytical category took place in 1970s- that gave birth to a rousing feminist political and intellectual culture in diverse global contexts. Many feminist theories revolve around the concept of patriarchy. It seeks to explain the stratification of power and privilege by gender that can be observed by many objective measures. A patriarchy, from the ancient Greek patriarches, was a society where power was held by and passed down through the elder males. By "patriarchal society," historians and sociologists mean one in which males hold positions of authority and have more privileges: head of the family, leader of social groups, head of government, head of business. As a concept, patriarchy is used to describe factors contributing to authority and power in a social system, where men are automatically privileging over women and women can only lay claim to material, sexual, and intellectual resources by fighting for them. Over the past few decades, patriarchy has been described and critiqued not only for its negative aspects, but also for its positive effects. Thus, a patriarchal system offers comforting self-definitions and norms, regardless of how limiting or limited they are, and even rewards those who learn to accept their roles as mothers and wives. As a result, women are actively encouraged to fulfill their social roles by virtue of being praised and accorded social sanction. The concept of patriarchy goes beyond the subordination of women. A patriarchal system does not necessarily make all men powerful. There is hierarchy among men in patriarchal systems. The elder men in traditional patriarchal societies ruled over the younger generations of men. Modern patriarchy promotes power (and privilege) to some men as a result of their position of authority, and this hierarchy of power (and privilege) is accepted. Younger men must defer to older men in a patriarchal system until it is their turn to exercise power. The patriarchal system discriminates against, excludes, and denies humanity to many different categories of people, including the poor, underprivileged, Dalits, and people of the lower castes in India, as well as transgender and gay men. Although, certain classes and sorts of men are as much the targets of patriarchal authority as women- the fact remains that men can and do lay claim to munotes.in

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10 resources and power far more easily than the women in their families and communities. Normally women’s productive or labour power, women’s reproduction, their sexuality and mobility and property and other economic resources are areas of women’s lives that can be said to be under patriarchal control. Literally, patriarchy means the rule by the male head of a social unit. In a social unit, the patriarch has legitimate authority over other (especially younger) women, men, and children. In the early twentieth century, feminist writers, however, used the term to describe the social system of male dominance over women. The concept of patriarchy has been central to gender studies, contributing to a number of theories that seek to explain the basis of women's subordination to men. There are three important feminist theories in which patriarchy is central: Radical Feminist, Marxist Feminist, and Dual System Theory. The patriarchy is seen by some 'radical feminists' as the primary social division in society. Other radical feminist accounts of patriarchy emphasize the control men have over women's bodies. In a further grouping of feminist analysis, often labeled as 'marxist feminism,' Patriarchy is presented as arising from capitalism, as it requires and benefits from the unpaid labor of women at home. Under a dual system theory, capitalism and patriarchy are understood as mutually accommodating, interdependent systems of oppression whereby both benefit from women's subordination. Currently, it is widely acknowledged that patriarchy should be abandoned as an explanatory concept or theory, and should only be used as an adjective to describe relationships and institutions where men dominate women. Rather than attempting to reformative patriarchy as an explanatory concept, various writers have adopted an alternative approach to gender theorizing, one which ‘encourages a focus on the specifics of social relations, rather than on homogeneous social systems. The best way to describe male control of women is patriarchal dominance. There are oppressive aspects to patriarchy, but it also involves a set of mutual obligations and is rarely perceived as oppressive. It is for this reason that it is difficult to recognize and fight against patriarchal dominance. There are several feminist scholars who conceptualize and analyze patriarchy in different ways. Several of them challenge patriarchy. Feminists contend that patriarchy is a man-made system determined by socio-economic and political forces. Patriarchy is viewed by feminists as an instrument to serve the interests of men. According to them, patriarchal ideology manifests itself in knowledge, ideology, values, and practices prevalent in the society. munotes.in

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Theoretical Background CHECK YOUR PROGRESS 1) Explain the concept of Patriarchy ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1.4 SUMMARY: In this unit, we have considered the background against which the concept of 'sex' and 'gender' has been conceptualized and defined. The unit enables us to recognize that the sex-gender system is not as simple or obvious as it may first appear to be. Our ideas about gender roles, the relationship between 'gender' and 'sex', and the impossibility to clearly define 'sex' categories in scientific or biological terms, all bring us to think about the actual complexity of these concepts. Feminist writers use the term ‘patriarchy’ to describe the social system of male dominance over women. They have developed a number of theories to understand the bases of subordination of women in the patriarchal society. The concept of sex, gender and patriarchy are used in studies on gender to understand the basis of male dominance and female subordination in the society. Finally, the unit have helped us to question the conventional definitions of ‘sex’, ‘gender’ and ‘patriarchy’ due to their negative impacts on women. Hopefully, the understanding of these issues will propel us to think further about, and analyze several of the subtle issues related to these concepts. 1.7 QUESTIONS: 1. Explain the concept sex and gender. Do you agree with the feminist view that they are social constructions? Give reasons for your answer. 2. Differentiate between sex and gender. 3. Explain the concept of patriarchy with examples. 1.6 REFERENCES: • Bhasin, Kamla (1993). What is Patriarchy, New Delhi, Kali for Women. • Bhasin, Kamla (2000). Understanding Gender, New Delhi, Kali for Women. munotes.in

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12 • Bhasin, Kamla (2003). Understanding Gender. New Delhi: Women Unlimited. • Bhasin, Kamla (2014). Understanding Gender. Kali for Women. • Butler, Judith (1990). Gender Trouble. New York: Routledge. • De Beauvoir, Simone (1949). The Second Sex. (translated by H M Parshley, Penguin 1972.) • Jane Pitcher and Whelahan, (2005). Fifty key concepts in Gender Studies, New Delhi, Sage Publication, 2005. • Rosemari Tong, Feminist Thought : A Comprehensive Introduction. • Sylvia, Walby (1990), Theorizing Patriarchy, Oxford: Basil Blackwell. • https://www.thoughtco.com/patriarchal-society-feminism-definition-3528978 munotes.in

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13 2 SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR, SOCIALIZATION PRACTICE Unit Structure 2.0 Objectives 2.1. Introduction 2.2. Difference between Sex and Gender 2.3. Emile Durkheim – Division of Labour 2.4. Understanding Sexual Division of Labour 2.5. Structural Change in Economy and Sexual Division of Labour 2.6. Impact of Sex Segregation 2.7. Migration and Sexual Division of Labour 2.8 Informal sector and Sexual Division of Labour 2.9 Changes in Women’s Status with reference to Economic Development 2.10 Practice of Socialization 2.11 Gender Socialization 2.12 Socialization of Children 2.13 Socialization and Labour Market 2.14 Summary 2.15 Questions 2.16 References 2.0 OBJECTIVES 1. To explain the meaning and impact of Sexual Division of Labour 2. To learn about Socialization practice. 2.1 INTRODUCTION You must have observed different roles played by parents at home like mother cooking, father going to work. During festivals her load of work increases like cleaning home, cooking for relatives if they visit home. Things are changing yet majority of the house hold follow the above discussed pattern. This is due to the sexual division of labour. We will learn more about this in detail in this chapter, we will also learn as to how these practices are socialized into our lives. These topics will make you munotes.in

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14 question your own surrounding, day to day lives, everyday gender constructs, which you hear, follow consciously or unconsciously. 2.2 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEX AND GENDER The physical variations between males, females, or intersex persons are referred to as "sex." At birth, a person's sex is usually assigned based on physiological traits such as genitalia and chromosomal makeup. A person's "natal sex" is the sex ascribed to them at birth. Gender, on the other hand, refers to a person's self-identification. Gender, unlike natal sex, does not have binary forms. Gender, on the other hand, is a vast range. A person can identify at any place along this spectrum, or completely outside of it. People may identify with gender other than their natal sex or with no gender at all. Transgender, non-binary, and gender-neutral identities are examples of these identities. There are also several more ways for a person to describe their genderi. Given this background let us now look into the chapter. 2.3 EMILE DURKHEIM – DIVISION OF LABOR Emile Durkheim, the Classical sociologist has written about Division of Labor. He used the comparative technique to explain the variations in labour in pre- and post-industrial civilizations. Labor in ancient cultures was classified as mechanical solidarity because of its homogeneous character, whereas its industrial equivalent was classified as organic solidarity because of its diverse nature, according to Durkheim. The division of labour plays an important function in society since it does not rely just on the provision of economic services but also promotes social cohesion. He discussed the concept of anomie. Anomie has led to social turmoil, which society is aware of, and when society is revitalized, it leads to social reconstruction. The necessity of collective social norms and ideals in sustaining social cohesiveness and solidarity is a central issue in all of Durkheim's works. He claimed that the form of social solidarity is determined by the level of labour divisionii. Durkheim’s view of division of labour focuses upon society at large i.e., traditional and modern society. In this chapter we would look into it from that of gender point of view. 2.4 MEANING OF SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR The concept of Sexual Division of Labour refers to the specialized gender roles of male breadwinner and female homemaker. Talcott Parsons calls it as the 'instrumental' and 'expressive' roles, in his book, Family, Socialization, and Interaction Process, 1956. The division of labour is commonly associated with the separation of workplace and home that occurred with industrialization in the West. According to anthropological studies, most pre-industrial communities distinguished between 'men's tasks' from 'women's tasks,' however the sexual division of labour so classified may not conform to the Western caricature. In some munotes.in

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Socialization Practice communities, for example, women are responsible for planting crops and weaving, whilst men are responsible for hunting and creating pots.iii. The sexual division of labour, which has penetrated all parts of society, manifests itself in the concentration of women workers in specific vocations and sectors of the economy. There are still large number of women working in the agriculture where they are unpaid labourers being a member of the household. The conceptual separation of the domains of production and reproduction into 'work' and 'home/family' is the foundation of the sexual division of labour in British culture. The former is seen as a man's domain, while the latter is seen as a woman's domain, with the wage serving as a bridge between the two. Furthermore, the 'naturalness' and desirability of this ideological separation is presented as if it were a historical constant that corresponded to current social realityiv. Traditionally there are several jobs which can be seen from gender viewpoint, like for women jobs related to nursing, teaching, as it is associated with care, attention, patience, nourishing qualities etc. Even the education given to girls is at times majorly are on those lines. On the other hand, the jobs associated with men are like that of plumber, electrician, engineering. In other words, as the International Labour organization points out we have occupational segregation on the basis of gender. 2.5 STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN ECONOMY AND SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR The sexual division of labour can be seen from the fact that being the second largest populated country in the world, still there are plenty of occupations where only male professions are found in majority. For example – Train drivers, Bus drivers, certain sections of defense forces. Even if they exist, they are very few in number compared to the large population we have. The sexual division of labour was practiced differently in the manufacturing-based economy where there were night shifts, heavy machinery etc. However, the scenario has improved to a large extent with the advent of Information technology, as the computers do not distinguish whether it is a male or female and the working conditions, environment have also improved. The large-scale development of service industry empowered the youth giving opportunities for both male and female. This phenomenon is found predominantly in the post liberalization and globalization. The greater number of females arrive into the workforce, the better the infrastructure and that of better policies would be made and implemented. There exists sex segregation of jobs let us look into its details. 2.6 IMPACT OF SEX SEGREGATION Sex segregation refers to the division of labour by gender among paid workers Sex segregation refers to the propensity of men and women to munotes.in

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16 undertake jobs, distinct types of paid employment in different environments. Work may be differentiated in terms of physical, functional, or nominal differences. The index of dissimilarity, which analyses the sexes has varied representation across occupational categories, and this is commonly used to gauge segregation. Inequality is also perpetuated by segregation. Inequality and gender division of labour in a society are both influenced by cultural views about the nature and social worth of gender disparities in competences and attributes. Actors may be consistently classified as men or women in all circumstances, and perceived more or less acceptable candidates for various tasks and places in society, thanks to such implicit assumptions.v The priority given to men than women, is one of the reasons for continuation of patriarchy and even sexual division of labour. This leads to work being treated differently by both men and women. On the other hand, Unequal treatment is facilitated and legitimised by segregation. Segregation also adds to sex inequality by presuming basic differences between the sexes, lowering the chance of equal-status interaction between the sexes, and generating same-sex reference groups against which employees evaluate their incentives. Pay and advancement chances are divided between the sexes as a result of segregation. Because males hold more desired positions and because traditionally female tasks are culturally despised, the gender makeup of jobs is connected to employment benefitsvi. 2.7 MIGRATION AND SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR Gender division of labour does not remain constant throughout time; it shifts as a reaction to broader economic, political, and social shifts. During migration, Men and women, travel in various ways and pursue different careers. When men migrate alone, they are forced to take on chores which they would not ordinarily do back at their home like cooking for themselves. Some migrants are also forced to work in jobs which are predominantly done by women in their villages like working in kitchen, cleaning, etc. Immigrant women also working as maidsvii or caregivers in the middle class or upper-class homes. However, migration does not improve their standard of living and occupation choice unless they are educated or picked up certain jobs/ businesses like beauty parlour, tailoring, cooking and selling it to shops, or setting up own shops etc. (paraphrase done ). The transgender lives and nature of work also cannot be ignored. Many at times asked to leave the home by their own parents. Parents disown them as a result of this, transgender population enter into the city. Due to lack of education, social support, skill sets these people generally end up asking alms in local trains, streets or in traffic signals. The total population of this community stands 4.8 lakh according to the 2011 census yet the living conditions haven't improved. Lack of social support leads their life to be more difficult i.e. double layer of marginalization specially when they face disability or even when they are into their old age. There is also need for munotes.in

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Socialization Practice massive change among the approach of people, and awareness, improvement is needed in the depiction in media and education. Encouragement, helplines, mentorship, career guidance etc. has to be offered for this community too who have been marginalized for generations. Check Your Progress 1. Explain difference between sex and gender ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. According to you, what can be done to bring about equality in sexual division of labour ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Explain Emile Durkheim theory of Division of Labour ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.8 INFORMAL SECTOR AND SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR The informal sector is a unregulated sector, where there is easy to enter and exit. Still the amount of women working in the informal sector is lesser than men. One of the reasons could be women have been socialized to remain in the private sphere that is home, many a times they lose the opportunity to find work, this is because the skills required at home are equipped like cooking, cleaning however certain skill set which one develops on the streets like that of social skills, networking, gets sidelined. For example – A man stands at the tea shop and he talks with other co-workers, friends and informs his situation and finds a job while a female might be at home and cooking in the meantime. Networking with multiple people, becomes limited if the female is a homemaker and she loses opportunities. munotes.in

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18 2.9 WOMEN’S STATUS IN RELATION TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Economic empowerment for women is critical for achieving women's rights and gender equality. Women's economic empowerment includes the ability of women to participate equally in existing markets. It also means having access and control over productive resources, access to decent work, control over their own time, lives, and bodies. It also includes having an increased voice, agency, and meaningful participation in economic decision-making at all levels, from the household to international institutions. Increasing the educational attainment of women and girls helps women's economic empowerment and more inclusive economic growth. Education, upskilling, and re-skilling throughout one's life, particularly to keep up with rapid digitalization jobs, are critical for women's and girls' health and well-being. It also would help, in income-generation opportunities and participation in the formal labour market. Over the last 50 years, increased educational attainment has accounted for over half of the economic development in OECD nationsviii. One of the core factors which contributes to the continuation of Division of Labour is that of Socialization. 2.10 PRACTICE OF SOCIALIZATION The process through which an individual learns to fit into a group (or society) and acts in a way that the group approves (or society) is called as Socialization. Socialization is also the process in which person acquires the culture or subculture of their group through social influence. It is also the process of gaining these cultural aspects, the individual's self and personality are molded. Socialisation tackles two major issues in social life: societal continuity and individual growth. The are other things too like creation of self and identities, internalisation of roles, motives, and values etc. Two primary theoretical approaches have affected sociological ideas on socialisation: structure-functionalism, which stresses the formation of self and identities, and symbolic interactionism, which emphasises the learning of social roles. Current socialisation research is largely influenced by symbolic interaction theory, and it focuses on the process and effects of socialisation. It studies in distinct contexts of interaction, such as family, peers, school, workplace, and resocialization settings, across the life course. Many social scientists believe that socialization encompasses the entire process of learning throughout one's life and has a significant impact on both adults and children's behaviour, beliefs, and actionsix. 2.11 GENDER SOCIALIZATION Gender socialization preparations begins even before the child is born. The sex of the kid is one of the first questions people ask pregnant parents. This is also the start of a lifelong process of social classification. The munotes.in

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Socialization Practice gender of the baby is frequently taken into account during delivery preparations (e.g., painting the room blue if the child is a boy, pink for a girl). There is variations in socialisation rather than hereditary or biological causes. Gender socialisation is the process of teaching people how to act in social situations depending on their given gender, which is determined at birth based on their biological sex. Today, most gender differences are thought to be due to variations in socialisation rather than hereditary or biological causes. Stereotypes can emerge as a result of gender socialisation, in which girls and boys are trained to act in specific ways from infancy. Children and adults who do not fit gender norms are frequently shunned by their peers because they are different. While most people are indoctrinated to think of gender as a binary form of masculine and feminine, there are many who question and complicate this idea. These people feel that gender is a flexible concept rather than a fixed binary. 2.12 SOCIALIZATION OF CHILDREN The problem associated with gender socialization is that it begins at a very young age. It is slow and carried out by a parent. For example – The eldest individual specially sister has to take care of his/her brother, sisters. She is expected to be responsible. In other words, roles are being given, responsibility is given. There are instances where the eldest child even loses the right to educate because he/she has to contribute to the family and take the responsibility of the family – either as working in traffic signals, child labour outside home or even cook at home and take care of the siblings. This makes the child clear about his/her roles at a very young age. He/she also understands the importance of money and work. Parents at times teach the child the roles by reward and punishment principle – reward could be gifts, chocolates for obedience and punishment would be creation of guilt, shame and even violence. Gender roles is taught right from childhood. This continues often as a regular practice which parents have imitated from their own parents. This begins with the clothes, toys, narratives like future roles, dialogues like– you will grow and become a doctor, engineer etc. Socialization and gender divisions enters right from childhood, into everything the toys the child plays as well as with the clothes the child wears. The cycle is – Grandparents – Parents – Children – Siblings – Marriage – One’s own child – Continuity This line is modified through raising questions like why certain practices are just and certain practices are unjust. People could also evolve or skip some steps through curiosity, education. Even social reformers influence or movie influence could bring about equalitarian society. munotes.in

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20 Check Your Progress 1. According to you, how can we learn unjust practices of society? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Discuss informal sector and socialization and work. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.13 SOCIALIZATION AND LABOUR MARKET There are instances where females are literate, yet with no experience of outside school, college leads to lack of development of social skills among these females. Later when they get married, they do not realize that they are facing discrimination. Lack of exposure to labour market and lack of self confidence in many women still makes women to be subjected to violence at home and make them continue to live in harsh conditions. Lack of support at home or any support from elders or friends leads to women staying in the same circle. Family members, Media, peer groups, immediate circles like neighbours play important role in self-esteem, decisions of the individual. There are instances where childhood socialization continues in the minds of the individuals, and individual continues to behave same way even if they have become adults. Specially in a country like India, parents’ interference upon adults exists. Like seeking acceptance from parents, unable to take independent decisions. This effects the career choices of individuals, females both pre marriage and post marriage. For example – If the female is married and the in-laws do not like the bride working outside, she would be asked to quit her job. Grooms even search for teachers as brides as the teacher works for a particular shift which is for 5 to 6 hours either early in the morning or afternoon and there after she could come back home and cook food. Apart from that childrens fees would also be reduced or become nil if the mother is a teacher and child is a student in the same school. Considering these parameters, parents even today expect their daughters become teachers. Parents should allow child to make his/her own decisions and career choices- parents are responsible for guiding them than forcing their decisions upon them. munotes.in

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Socialization Practice 2.14 SUMMARY The concept of Sexual Division of Labour refers to the specialised gender roles of male breadwinner and female homemaker. This has continued for long time. There is occupational segregation, based on which there is educational segregation. Sexual Division of Labour still exists in our society this can be seen from the fact that there are several jobs which continues to be held by majorily males like driving bus, trains etc. The idea of sexual division of labour is also a product of socialization. This socialization begins at the childhood and it continues even after adulthood. The chapter also discusses about the women and economy, where studies have pointed out larger number of women entering the labour force, greater would be the economic production and growth of the country. Thus, this chapter is very important to understand how divisions take place, what are the divisions among different genders in terms of work and how it operates through socialization. 2.15 QUESTIONS 1. Discuss Migration and Sexual Division of Labour 2. Discuss Gender Socialization and what are the possible steps which can be taken to bring a equilibrium according to you? 3. Discuss the impact of Sex segregation 4. Discuss meaning of Sexual Division of Labour 2.16 REFERENCES i. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232363 ii. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329091696_ Essay_on_Durkheim's_theory_of_division_of_labour Gautam, Ajay & Yadav, Neha. (2017). Essay on Durkheim's theory of division of labour. iii. GORDON MARSHALL "sexual division of labour ." A Dictionary of Sociology. . Retrieved March 01, 2022 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/sexual-division-labour https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-labor/economics-terms-and-concepts/division-labor#1O88divisionoflabour (division of Labour) iv. https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/3176-the-sexual-division-of-labour v. C.L. Ridgeway,Small-group Interaction and Gender, Editor(s): Neil J. Smelser, Paul B. Baltes, International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, Pergamon, 2001 munotes.in

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22 vi. B.F. Reskin,Sex Segregation at Work,Editor(s): Neil J. Smelser, Paul B. Baltes, International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, Pergamon,2001,Pages 13962-13965, https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/03994-2. vii. The Gender Division of Labour This document is an excerpt from: ILO International Training Centre, Module on Gender, Poverty and Employment http://www.glopp.ch/A5/en/multimedia/A5_1_pdf2.pdf viii. https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/economic-empowerment/facts-and-figures#notes ix. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2018, December 17). socialization. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/socialization  munotes.in

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23 3 INTERSECTIONAL LOCATIONS OF GENDER Unit Structure 3.0 Objective 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Definition and Meaning 3.3 History of Intersectionality 3.4 The intersectional approach 3.5 Intersectionality - Theory 3.6 Summary 3.7 Questions 3.0 OBJECTIVE:  Understand interrelatedness of gender, race, ethnicity, class, disability, sexuality, age, religion, and other social categories  To provides a lens through which we can examine the processes, practices, policies, and structures that increase the risk of individual’s experiencing disadvantage or discrimination because of their intersecting identities. 3.1 INTRODUCTION: Around three decades back the term ‘intersectionality’ was coined in 1989 by Kimberlé Crenshaw as an obscure legal concept which has gained academic recognition recently. Crenshaw used the term to explain how intersectionality existed within and parallel to race, class gender and distinct characters of individual. It represents a form of feminism which makes people aware and conscious of their oppression. In order to comprehend the depths of inequalities and the relationships among them in each given environment, intersectional feminism prioritises the voices of individuals who are subjected to several forms of oppression. MacCall and others (2005) considered intersectionality to be of great significance in comprehending contemporary perspectives on gender. Recently it has emerged as central to the feminist ideology. Intersectionality certainly has led to a revolutionary shift from conventional approach to a more empirical one in discussions related to gender. Feminists expose and contest the taken-for-granted assumptions of considering gender as homogeneous entity. It has been accounted profoundly that an individual’s social identity has a deep impact on one’s experience of gender. Therefore, the feminists are of the opinion that while exploring gender identities it is significant to consider the social munotes.in

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24 location as reflected in intersecting identities. Collins (1990, 2000) believes that it is indeed important to study the background of deep-rooted power relation of a given society intersecting with the social identities. Intersectionality is crucial because it should be a central concern of contemporary feminist theory. In terms of perspective, theory, and methodology, a generative and vibrant feminist theory has become more broadly and less apologetically interdisciplinary over the last two decades (Morawski 1994; Stewart and Dottolo 2006). Taking consideration of intersectionality is useful in applying the knowledge while piloting research. Despite greater acknowledgement of intersectionality, its empirical application is still very limited. Never the less it is significant to study how embracing intersectionality has altered the research process.
3.2 DEFINITION AND MEANING: The term intersectionality refers to the multifaceted, intricate, diverse, and inconstant impact resulting from interface of various socio-economic, political and cultural factors mutually intersecting each other. (See McCall, L. 2005). Kimberle Crenshaw used the term to explain the exclusion of black women from feminist inquiry along with anti-racial policies, failing to provide justification for the interface between gender and race. (Crenshaw, K. 1989). munotes.in

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Recently the term has been adopted the notion of intersectionality, concentrating on the numerous dimensions of identity as a basic category of enquiry. However, an integrated approach is need to comprehend the multi layered discrimination against women which for long have been biased in favour of single axis analysis. (See Collins, P. 2000). Analogously, Floya Anthias introduced the concept of “translocational positionality”: «a translocational positionality is one structured by the interplay of different locations relating to gender, ethnicity, race and class (amongst others), and their at times contradictory effects» (Anthias, supra: 275). Considered as black feminist theory of power, intersectionality identifies manifold levels of oppressions comprising of patriarchy, racism, capitalism etc. for further the detriment of institutionalised stratification of a group. Originating as a theory from voicing the experiences of black women to racism, capitalism, sexism and enslavement to Jim Crow laws and post-civil rights era, it aims at explaining the system of oppression strengthening each other. The power structure needs to be understood not at an individual level instead how various factors are intervened with each other (Zandria F. Robinson). Recognizing the historical settings around an issue is also part of using an intersectional lens. Long histories of violence and systemic discrimination have reared fundamental imbalances that put some people at a disadvantage from the start. Poverty, caste systems, racism, and sexism are examples of inequities that intersect and deny individuals their rights and equitable chances. The implications are felt across generations. The intersectionality perspective has had more impact in academic specializations already concerned with questions of power relations between groups. munotes.in

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26 Check Your Progress 1. Explain the meaning of Inersectionality ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3.3 HISTORY OF INTERSECTIONALITY In early 1970, the second wave of feminism started questioning the experiences of women as “which women’s experience”? The framework of intersectionality emerged from feminists of colours critique of prevailing focus of feminist scholarship on middle class, educated white women only. It pleaded for accounting of numerous intersectional identities along with other substantial identities including race. (e.g., Moraga and Anzaldúa 1981; Hull et al. 1982; Dill 1983). This specific group critique the non-acknowledgement of overlapping social positions with various group identities shaping one’s experience of identities. Intersectionality relies heavily on inequalities, dominance, oppression and production – reproduction for its theoretical foundations. Its history can be traced to Black feminists criticizing the weak model of prevailing feminists’ ideologies of 1970’s. Defining intersectional identities in relation to numerous other identities was the starting point for laying the foundation of intersectionality theories. (Crenshaw 1994/2005). Subsequently during 1980’s conventional studies on gender have adopted the intersection location of gender for comprehending the social identities. In comparison to Black men, Black women are at twice disadvantage position while analyzing from intersectional location. Thus, the actual meaning of womanhood while applied to a specific racial category may vary for each respective group. Thus, it can be summarized that today intersectionality has gained importance in discussions on gender. It promised a more precise and tractable approach of dealing with two difficulties as the foundation for theory. 1. It assured a resolution or at least a language for the obvious reason that talking about gender is impossible without recognising other dimensions of social structure/social identity that shape gender's operation and meaning. Race and socioeconomic class are the most visible, ubiquitous, and seemingly unchangeable. 2. Second, intersectionality appeared to be a universally applicable descriptive solution to the plethora of characteristics that shape and determine social identities. Age, ableness, and sexual orientation, to name a few, are just as important as colour, class, and gender. munotes.in

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Locations of Gender Despite the intellectual and moral imperatives of intersectionality, the dominant approach of groups is to compare group differences and similarities. The question "How do women and men differ?" does not appear to be going away anytime soon. Simple catalogues of difference reject theory's argument that focusing on descriptions of difference and similarity does not help us comprehend when and how gender operates as an oppressive system or as a system of oppression. Most researchers find it difficult to move beyond describing differences and similarities to explaining processes. The question of how to undertake empirical work without slipping back into the status quo approach of testing for difference requires a great deal of effort when adopting an intersectionality perspective. While there is broad agreement on the essential characteristics of a definition of "intersectionality," the construct's relationship to research practice differs greatly. It's difficult to establish parallels in where the conversation starts from since different disciplines and individual investigators define "intersectionality" differently. Walker (2003) points out that “the attempt to understand intersectionality is, in fact, an effort to see things from the worldview of others and not simply from our own unique standpoints. As a result, the intersectionality perspective is a call to go beyond one's own research comfort zone. 3.4 THE INTERSECTIONAL APPROACH The intersectional approach emphasises on non-recognition and diversity in each location. It takes cognizance of the fact that generalization of these variances may prevail other forms of inequalities. Factors like race, culture, ethnicity, religion along with socio-economic conditions are always linked with each other and are known to perpetuate already existing discriminations (Crenshaw, supra: 152.). Nevertheless an individual and separate struggle against these discriminations can have inconsistent and tenacious effect resulting in new forms of discriminations. Intersectionality can be well understood by the illustration of birdcage casted by Marilyn Frye. Consider a birdcage. If you look very closely at just one wire in the cage, you cannot see the other wires. If your conception of what is before you is determined by this my- opic focus, you could look at one wire, up and down the length of it, and be unable to see why a bird would not just fly around the wire any time it wanted to go somewhere. Furthermore, even if, one day at a time, you myopically inspected each wire, you still could not see why a bird would have trouble going past the wire to get anywhere. There is no physical property of any one wire, nothing that the closest scrutiny could discover, that will reveal how a bird could be inhibited or harmed by it except in the most accidental way. It is only when you step back, stop looking at the wires one by one, micro- scopically, and take a munotes.in

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28 macroscopic view of the whole cage, that you can see why the bird does not go anywhere; and then you will see it in a moment. (Frye, M. 1983). The above example of bird cage describes the significance of simultaneously considering multiple factors of discrimination. Intersectional gender highlights that gender identity intersects with various form of discriminations interfacing with each other. However analysing gender through the lense of intersectionality doesn’t neglect gender as an entity at all. Thus intersectionality aims at stressing on considering all the aspects of intersectionality while analysing gender discrimination. Failing which oppression of women and power relations in society cannot be evaluated in totality. While perceiving the migrant women, their conditions of oppressions cannot be understood without taking cognizance of their social, economic, political, emotional aspects of their life and working environments. While accounting for multicenteric nature of feminism reconceptualising intersectional location of gender adoption of an integrated approach is a must to study the overlapping elements of discrimination. Nonetheless the oppressive and disempowered situations are responsible for subjugation and oppression of marginalized women. While studying the circumstances of migrant women, it is indeed important to identify the power structure resulting in consequent subordination of women along with intersecting factors. This intersectional location of gender brings it to light that on the one hand women are fraught with oppression and at the same time oppressor of other men and women too. 3.5 INTERSECTIONALITY- THEORY Intersectionality significantly represents the reality of people's lives. The evidences from our lives describes that no single identity can possibly represent our response to the social surrounding and others response towards us. From theoretical perspective, the apprehensions about intersectionality has risen on the basis of ones experience of their identity. The components of intersectionality will be in the foreground and in the background, as well as how those constituent identities are seen to articulate is depicted on the basis of investigator’s level of analysis. Crenshaw (1994/ 2005), in her ground-breaking paper on intersectionality and violence against women of color, differentiated structural intersectionality from political intersectionality. 3.5.1 Structural intersectionality illustrates how an individual's legal position or social necessities marginalise them. Crenshaw uses the example of rape counselling for women of colour to illustrate how the specific convergence of socioeconomic status, race, and gender makes it less likely for poor women of colour to receive the help they require in munotes.in

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Locations of Gender comparison if resources are allocated based on the needs of racially and economically privileged women. 3.5.2 In contrast, political intersectionality emphasizes the various and possibly conflicting needs and aspirations of the various groups from which an individual gets his or her identity. Crenshaw takes the example of Black women, whose political energies are frequently divided between racial and gender-based social action agendas, neither of which can fully address the specific issues or pressing needs of Black women. The character of the experience differs by domain, as Crenshaw's investigation shows. Her analysis also highlights the importance of differentiating an individual's experience of intersecting identities from how that intersection is transmitted in larger culture (Nakano Glenn 1999.) Another way to think about intersecting identities is to underline the distinct type of identity that emerges from intersections. Emergent identity is seen as a uniquely mixed construct from this perspective. Postcolonial studies emphasised the impact of colonization on indigenous cultures, which gave rise to the notion of hybridity. The concept is that new cultural forms emerge at any place where cultures collide, whether involuntarily as in colonisation or voluntarily as in immigration. When this concept is used to identity, it highlights the impact that invading, conquering, or hegemonic cultures can have on group identity, as well as the individual's simultaneous and innovative representation of these new intersections. 3.6 SUMMARY Intersectionality is important because it encourages us as researchers to go beyond the individually informed perspective that we all bring to our work. The facts of intersectionality at the individual, interpersonal, and structural levels encourage us to study identity categories in relation to one another from an intersectionality viewpoint. At the same time, we must keep in mind the historical and contextual characteristics of individual identity categories. Ultimately, to recognize the heterogeneity, multiplicity, and inherent intersectionality of gender allows dealing with issues that involve women from non-Western cultures avoiding the risk of the ethnocentrism. In this way, a crucial goal for politics in global society could be reached: to abandon white, middle class and Western perspective, and to articulate, nego- tiate, and recognize negated identities particularly those of women belonging to cultural minorities in the diaspora. (MariaCaterina La Barbera,2009) 3.7 QUESTIONS: 1. Why is intersectionality important to women's studies? 2. Define intersectionality. Illustrate the issue of intersectionality with relevant examples. munotes.in

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30 3. Examine the intersectional approach by Crenshaw Kimberle. 3.8 REFERENCE AND ADDITIONAL READINGS:  Anthias, F., & Yuval-Davis, N. (1983). Contextualising feminism: gender, ethnic and class divisions. Feminist Review, 15, 62–75.  Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Boston: Unwin Hyman.  Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, conscious- ness, and the politics of empowerment (2nd ed.). NY: Routledge.  Crenshaw, K. 1989. Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrim- ination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. University Of Chicago Legal Forum: 140.)  Dill, B. T. (1983). Race, class and gender: prospects for an inclusive sisterhood. Feminist Studies, 9, 131–150.  Dottolo, A. L. & Stewart, A. L. (2008). “Don’t ever forget now, you’re a Black man in America”: Intersections of race, class and gender in encounters with the police. Sex Roles, this issue.  Frye, M. 1983. The Politics of Reality: Essay in Feminist Theory. Berkeley (CA): The Crossing Press: 4.  Hull, G. T., Scott, P. B., Smith, B. (Eds.) (1982). All the women are white, all the blacks are men, but some of us are brave: black women’s studies. Old Westbury, NY: Feminist.  MariaCaterina La Barbera (2009). Intersectional Gender- The Global Studies Journal · January 2009  McCall, L. (2005). The complexity of intersectionality. Signs, 30, 1771–1800.  Moraga, C., & Anzaldúa, G. (1981). This bridge called my back: Writings by radical women of color. Watertown, MA: Persephone.Morawski, J. (1994). Practicing feminisms, reconstructing psychology: notes on a liminal science. Ann Arbor, MI:University of Michigan Press.  Morawski, J. (1994). Practicing feminisms, reconstructing psychology: notes on a liminal science. Ann Arbor, MI:University of  Michigan Press.  Nakano Glenn, E. (1999). The social construction and institutionalization of gender and race: An integrative framework. In M. M. Feree, J. Lorber, & B. B. Hess (Eds.), Revisioning gender (pp. 3–43). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.  Stewart, A. J., & Dottolo, A. L. (2006). Feminist psychology. Signs, 31, 493–509.  Yuval-Davis, N. 2006. Intersectionality and Feminist Politics. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 13, 193-209. munotes.in

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Locations of Gender  Walker, A. (2003). Methods, theory and the practice of feminist research: a response to Janet Chafetz. Journal of Family Studies, 25, 990– 994.  Weber, L. (2004). A conceptual framework for understanding race, class, gender, and sexuality. In S. N. Hesse-Biber, & M. L. Yaiser (Eds.), Feminist perspectives on social research (pp. 121–139). NY: Oxford University Press.  (Zandria F. Robinson) Intersectionality and Gender Theory , Handbook of the Sociology of Gender pp 69-80 https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-76333-0_5 munotes.in

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32 4 SOCIOLOGY OF WOMEN- FEMINIST SOCIOLOGY- SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER Unit Structure 4.0 Objectives 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Recent conceptual developments 4.3 Feminist Sociology 4.4 Sociology of Gender 4.5 A brief history of the sociological study of Gender 4.5.1 Shift in the thrust areas during 21st Century 4.5.2 From Sociology of Women to Gender Studies 4.5.3 Discourse on Women studies versus Gender studies 4.6 Women and Gender Studies 4.7 Men studies and LGBT Studies 4.8 Conclusion 4.9 Summary 4.10 Questions 4.11 References 4.0 OBJECTIVES: To understand the genesis of interaction between Sociology of Women, Feminist Sociology and Sociology of Gender. To analyse feminist sociology and its take on gender differences 4.1 INTRODUCTION: The need to study women's issues in academic institutions and to conduct research based on experiential material and affirmative action began to be discussed among Indian women's studies scholars by the early eighties. It is understood that women have subordinate status in our society so the knowledgebase created by Sociology of women was used for empowerment of women and there is a need to examine to what extent Sociology of women in India have served this purpose. In the pre-independence period, academics were concerned with the status of women in the higher castes and classes. The reasons for widow-burning, child-marriage, purdah and illiteracy among women found extensive reference in their works. In the post-independence period, two distinct periods can be discerned: that up to 1974 and the years thereafter. munotes.in

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Sociology of Women -
Feminist Sociology -
Sociology of Gender Before 1974, the focus of scholars interested in women's question was on the role-conflict of middle-class women. Very few studies situated the problems of Indian women in the context of the macro forces of the developmental process. The only exceptions were the scholarly works of Neera Desai (1954) and D. R. Gadgil (1965). Towards Equality was prepared by the scholars with an interdisciplinary perspective and was presented in Parliament, where it received a tremendous response from the decision-making bodies, the state apparatus and the print media. Principal research bodies, like the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), provided financial support to scholars committed to the women's cause, to conduct research into problems faced by women in poverty. 4.2 RECENT CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENTS The sociology of women has gradually given way to a sociology of gender. On one level, this change is reflected in a growing literature on men and masculinity (Connell 1995; Kimmel and Messner 1989). Although men have long been of interest to sociologists, this recent literature focuses on men as gendered rather than generic beings. This development, in turn, has been accompanied by the recognition that gender itself is relational: Understanding what women are or can be thus requires attention to what men are or can be. Another important development involves the growing recognition of variations among men and among women, resulting in increased attention to masculinities and femininities. The acknowledgment of multiple rather than singular expressions of gender has been accompanied by a recognition that some forms of masculinity or femininity are more socially valued than others. In this view, relations between particular kinds of masculinity (or particular kinds of femininity) are understood as relations of domination and subordination. For example, while there may be many ways to be men in American society at the end of the twentieth century, “hegemonic masculinity” denotes that which is most “culturally exalted” (Connell 1995: 77). In addition, this formulation recognizes that “masculinities [and femininities] come into existence at particular times and places and are always subject to change” (Connell 1995: 185). A related development in the sociology of gender is the field’s increased concern with the relations between gender and other bases of distinction and stratification, such as age, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, or social class. This literature challenges the notion that women (or men) represent a homogeneous category, whose members share common interests and experiences. Theory and research exploring the intersections between race, class, and gender, for example, have proliferated exponentially (Andersen and Collins 1995). This research has been especially valuable in demonstrating the ways that these categories – acting together – shape how people experience the world. Hence, while gender, race and ethnicity, and social class are analytically separate, as aspects of lived experience, they are highly intertwined. munotes.in

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34 Ironically, some postmodern observers of these developments suggest that this diversity within and among genders makes our ability to conceive of – and draw any conclusions about – something called “gender” extremely problematic. Taken to its extreme, “[w]hat remains is a universe . . . in which the way men and women see the world is purely as particular individuals, shaped by the unique configurations that form that particularity” (Bordo 1990: 151, emphasis in original). This position of “gender skepticism” raises the possibility that gender is a convenient fiction, a product of language rather than social relations and organization. Gender skeptics make provocative claims. We particularly should heed their caution about the dangers of overgeneralization. Overgeneralization occurs when one assumes that conclusions based on one group of women or men can be automatically extended to all women or all men. As we saw earlier, a similar kind of critique was what led sociologists to examine women in their own right in the first place. Nevertheless, it is important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Gender remains a central organizing principle of modern life: “In virtually every culture, gender difference is a pivotal way in which humans identify themselves as persons, organize social relations, and symbolize meaningful natural and social events and processes” (Harding 1986: 18). This claim forms the basis for another kind of intellectual project – that of transforming sociological knowledge. These theorists and researchers argue that it is insufficient to simply add knowledge about gender to existing sociological literature. Their project instead has involved a rethinking of taken-for-granted sociological concepts and ideas, with the aim of refashioning these literatures. Purportedly gender-neutral practices and institutions, such as law, work, and formal organization have received new scrutiny from scholars interested in gender. These scholars’ efforts have helped move the sociology of gender from the margins to the center of sociological thought. In turn, they have contributed to the growing recognition that gender scholarship has something to offer the sociological mainstream. 4.3 FEMINIST SOCIOLOGY: The difference between Sociology of Women and Feminist Sociology lies in the ideological framework. Sociology of women are about women, may or may not have a feminist perspective. Focusing on women still means seeing gender as a relational term and making comparisons to men. The strength of feminist studies lies in its challenge to androcentric frameworks and generalizations in scholarship and women-centered inquiry remains critical to analytic vision. For many people (and many departments), Women's Studies is already a euphemism for Feminist Studies; a Dept. of Feminist Studies could/would study the whole world from the vantage point you get from assuming that the existing society is an oppressive patriarchy, and that this oppression causes social pathologies of far-reaching consequences, affecting everything from economic systems to child-raising to beliefs about God and meaning. It would include the study of men and boys as well as of women and girls, munotes.in

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Sociology of Gender but would not have to "sneak in" a tendency to use feminist text as basic while using text such as Sigmund Freud more as subject matter to be analyzed and subjected to critique for its patriarchal distortions and how they have affected the fields of patriarchal study that have relied upon him, etc. Feminism has been defined in various ways, but it is agreed that it encompasses a set of beliefs, values, and attitudes centered on the high valuation of women as human beings. Women are not valued for attribute imposed on women by others, but for those that exist in and are chosen by women themselves. Feminists reject negative cultural images of women and affirm women's strength, capability and intelligence. Women value autonomy and they work for condition that favour their independent control of their destinies. Feminists reject the assignment of social roles with their corresponding qualities according to whether a person is female or male. They reject evaluation which esteem presumably 'masculine' qualities, such as compassion. Any quality may appear in any human being and must be evaluated on its own merits, not in terms of the gender of the person in whom it appears. Understanding that most cultural attitudes and beliefs about women have been based on false premises, feminists are working to replace ignorance and fantasy with knowledge and reality. Women realize that discriminatory laws and customs have oppressed them for centuries, that this oppression is disgraceful and harmful to all human beings, and that women can, through their persistent and collective efforts, bring about change for the better. Feminists may differ in their immediate goals and the directions in which they choose to focus their energies for change. For some, the focus of feminism is on individual change and self-fulfillment; for others the, core of feminism lies in collective efforts and shared goals. Feminists also disagree about whether equality and freedom for women can occur in society as it is currently structured or whether a radical transformation of the social structure is required. Whichever position we take, feminists still gain our strength through mutual support and collective efforts. Feminists recognize that it is not only women who have been oppressed. They therefore support liberation from oppression of every kind, such as racism, class privilege and discrimination against homosexuals. Feminism, then represents an intellectual, ethical, and political position that can be espoused by women or men. It provides a major justification for the development of women's studies and makes explicit its most fundamental assumptions of feminism. It is the outgrowth of a realization that we know little about women, and its purpose is to provide a means of replacing ignorance with knowledge. As the scholarly discipline of feminism, women's studies receive support from feminist commitment outside the academic community and provides knowledge and activities to help women's efforts, both inside and outside the academy. Further, feminist scholars believe that women's studies must be for women as well as about women. The crux of the need to study women is not munotes.in

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36 merely that they have been ignored by the traditional scholarship. Even in fields where researchers have extensively studied women researchers have extensively studied women psychology and medicine, for example - the researchers' perspective has been male, and their conclusions have largely served male interests. Feminist critics decry the conclusions have largely served male interests. Feminist critics decry the accepted notion of objectivity in scholarship as a veil for unexamined sexist bias, they see their own work as socially and politically useful. Women’s studies have sometimes been labelled the academic arm of the women's movement", in recognition of the contributions scholars make towards the goal of equality of the sexes. A second source of feminist knowledge has been groups which feminists have set up to study and take action around particular problems affecting women Groups have arisen around a whole range of issues, for example, women's health sexism in children's book, women and the law, women's sex: sexuality, women in science, feminist history. Campaigning organizations like the National Abortion Campaign, women's caucuses within particular industries (like women in the media), and in trade unions, have also stimulated a lot of research work on women. Sometimes this has been produced in the form of mimeographed paper and reports, sometimes it has led to conferences. Some published work appears in academic journals, some in newspapers, and quite a lot within the women's Movements own publications. The knowledge which is produced by such groups forms an important part of the material on which women's studies draws. A third impetus for women's studies came from students and intellectuals of the New Left who were engaged in developing radical alternative to established forms of knowledge within academic disciplines. There emerged within the social sciences and within history, for instance a renewed interest in Marxist analysis, and a concern to develop perspectives which were adequate for understanding how people experience a social life from below. At the same time, there developed a strong interest in generating new frameworks for analyzing culture and subjectivity, which led to a renewed interest in phenomenology existentialism and psychoanalytic theory. Many of the endeavors to develop interdisciplinary frameworks of analysis led people to transgress the established boundaries between academic disciplines, and to develop interdisciplinary frameworks of analysis. One of the most notable absences within the new and radical perspectives, which feminists were quick to seize upon and to try to rectify within such critiques' own terms, was the absence of any concern for women's experience and for the sexual division of labour. munotes.in

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Sociology of Gender Check Your Progress 1. Explain the concept of feminist sociology ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4.4 SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER The sociology of gender examines how society influences our understandings and perception of differences between masculinity (what society deems appropriate behaviour for a “man”) and femininity (what society deems appropriate behaviour for a “woman”). We examine how this, in turn, influences identity and social practices. We pay special focus on the power relationships that follow from the established gender order in a given society, as well as how this changes over time. There is a paradigm shift from sociology of women to sociology of gender as earlier women were needed to be motivated and their family members had to be counseled to allow the women to contribute to the nation. It could be by means of studying or getting employment or involving in politics. The studies shifted to gender because now, both men and women have the same status. They can equally participate in all the fields that require their contributions. So, a study is required to analyse their “social, behavioural and cultural attributes”. What are their expectations etc. This is mainly due to the rising awareness among the people and whole of the society, the rights of women now equal to the men so they can also do the same like an independent person and whatever they want. This is why you always see women participate in every field. The sociology of women and gender emerged in the United States under the impetus of the re-emerged, world-wide women's movement that began in the mid-1960s. Feminist scholars have been concerned with women's invisibility and distorted presentation in sociological analysis, and with women's marginal position in the universities and colleges, and in professional activities. Major universities and colleges in the U. S. today offer a variety of programs and many courses concerned with women and gender. Scholarly journals, monographs and textbooks, professional associations, feminist presses and women's studies organizations have emerged to provide a rich and varied source of information and action. There is now a small but growing literature on men, and a large literature on women much of which continues to use conventional sociological paradigms though some of the more useful work has been concerned with developing alternative models. The current economic crisis in the United States is likely to mean a struggle by feminist scholars to maintain the munotes.in

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38 gains of the last 15 years in the context of shrinking university budgets, decreasing research funds and government refocus on saving the traditional family. 4.5 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF GENDER Amy S. Wharton (2005), in her book ‘The Sociology of Gender- An Introduction to Theory and Research’ stated that as she took her first course on gender as an undergraduate at the University of Oregon in 1975; the course she has joined had been in existence for a few years and she stated that the word ‘Gender’ appeared nowhere in the course title. It was called ‘The Sociology of Women’. She said her experience of being introduced to the study of gender through the sociology of women was fairly typical for sociology students of her generation. The study of gender in sociology grew out of the second wave of the women’s movement. One expression of this movement in colleges and universities was its criticism of academic disciplines, like sociology, for ignoring women. Women were rarely the subjects of research, and activities heavily dominated by women (e.g., housework) received little attention. To cite just one example: Blau and Duncan’s 1967 “classic” study of careers, The American Occupational Structure, based its conclusions on a sample of 20,000 men. The relevance of these conclusions to women’s occupational careers was questionable. Critics thus claimed that sociology reflected a “male bias,” generating knowledge most applicable to men’s lives rather than to the lives of women and to society defined more broadly. The challenge for sociology at that time was best captured in the question posed by the late sociologist Jessie Bernard (1973: 781): “Can [sociology] become a science of society rather than a science of male society?” Reforming sociology was seen to require adding women to the sociological mix. What Smith (1974) called the “add women and stir approach” led to the sociological focus on women. Courses on the sociology of women thus were seen as helping to counterbalance the rest of sociology, which was still viewed as essentially about men. While the term “gender” gradually began to enter the sociological literature, the legacy of the “add women and stir” approach lingered until very recently. For example, gender scholars for many years devoted considerably more attention to women – and topics related to femininity – than to men and topics related to masculinity. In addition, much more was written about differences between women and men than was written about variations among women and among men. Perhaps more fundamental was the persistent, often implicit, assumption that sociology as a discipline could accommodate new knowledge about gender without having to rethink some of its own key assumptions about the social world. Each of these tendencies has been challenged in recent years. munotes.in

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Sociology of Gender 4.5.1 Shift in the Thrust-Areas during 21st Century With more and more data coming out emphasising marginalisation of women in the development activities, employment is no guarantee against ill-treatment of women as revealed in dowry deaths, wife-beating, sexual harassment and attitude to girl child, explorations into the causes for such occurrences, the role of superstructure and ideology is realised. Patriarchal overtones in the institutional structures of family, education, economy, law and others are being examined. Induction of educated, computer literate women in the Information Technology Sector has encouraged researches on the labour processes and labour relations in BPOs and KPOs, Corporate World. Women working in the night shifts in service sector of the economy have to deal with issues concerning their safety. Currently major focus of women’s studies is on problem of sexual harassment at workplace and sexual assault in the streets and community. Globalisation, flexibalisation of labour and informalisation of workforce, feminisation of poverty and impact of slow down of economy, gender implications of agrarian crisis and farmers suicide are crucial concerns of women’s studies. 4.5.2 From Sociology of Women to Gender Studies A move from women's studies to gender studies has been a demand of the day in the mainstream academia. While justifying WS as a felt-need for a new epistemology, the basic understanding was that male dominant ideology and sexism in the social sciences and humanities were unable to capture women's perceptions and it was necessary to decentre a patriarchal discourse. Justification for Gender Studies comes from an understanding that both men and women are constructed and constrained by the unequal power relations based on class, caste/race/ethnicity and gender. While women studies focuses on patriarchal control over women’s sexuality, fertility and labour, gender studies focuses on power relations that are socially constructed and result into subordination-domination relationship between men and women in a multilayered manner resulting from class, caste, location, race, ethnicity and religion. 4.5.3 Discourse on Women’s Studies versus Gender Studies Several women’s studies scholars have raised their doubts as regards using gender as an analytical category as they aver that the use of the term gender fails focus on subordination of women as a result of women’s oppression and exploitation, injustice and structural patriarchal violence. According to them, Gender Studies is responsible for depoliticizing of feminist scholarship. To them, even using gender as a category to study men, women's perspectives, actions, and concerns can be omitted and the idea that men are the central actors in human societies and women the passive receptors of their actions is reinforced. Old guards in women’s studies consider Gender Studies was a retreat from more radical women's studies. Feminists think that Women's Studies were a compromise itself as a name, more innocuous than say Feminist Studies. Somehow it seems less threatening to say well we are studying women, munotes.in

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40 without specifying that one is studying women from a feminist perspective. But since most women studies programs have a "Feminist Theory" course, it would seem that most remain committed to some kind of feminist analysis. There are feminist scholars who think that Gender Studies was more radical since it held men accountable for their privilege and made them responsible for change along with women. But, at the same time, they would be opposed to the word feminist. Many male faculties have no problem with gender studies program because “it is not "feminist." Gender, in academic terms, reflects a broad concept that goes beyond "women's studies". It includes all kinds of genders, which has been the principle of feminist inclusiveness. In gender studies, Women as an oppressed group that we can research and study disappears. All we have in gender studies becomes different groups or cultures within cultures within a mainstream culture. Women's studies exist to study women. While, "gender studies," accommodates men. Women’s Studies scholar strongly believe that until they have equal inter-disciplinary research that is truly gender free, they must study women and not gender, so that they can catch up intellectually, theoretically, and of course, politically. 4.6 WOMEN AND GENDER STUDIES Women's and Gender Studies course has been promoted in several Asian counties (in spite of its unwieldiness) because it encapsulates a conflict within the field and allows the conflict to get stated up front to students rather than being part of a hidden agenda. It allows work to proceed on the idea of gender as a relational system in which, in good structuralist fashion, change in one part of the system requires change in another (i.e. women's state will not change unless men's does), allows us to explore gingerly the area of "men's studies," and still maintain a place in the curriculum to view these issues through women's perspective. In Women's and Gender Studies, the study women and men, the relations between women, between men and between the two are done from a woman's perspective. This maintains a significant and important balance. This view includes both ‘mainstreaming gender’ and ‘women's room’ approaches. Scholars promoting gender studies find it impossible to discuss women as separate from social practices such as power inequities, differences in the role of "mother" vs. "father", etc. According to them gender studies allows looking at gender as a verb in terms of the interpersonal and societal practices that create or construct women's and men's behavior. Gender studies helps in examining the unequal distribution of power. While women's studies help in deconstructing patriarchy, as a dominant structure in our society, cannot be 'escaped" in any simple way. Only by revealing the inadequacies of patriarchy can we begin to forge an alternate conception of gender. This argument provides justification for women and gender studies--that incorporates the two major strands of feminist theory structuring programs today; the gynocentric, essentialist view that we must focus on women, women's language, women's work, women’s agency, etc. munotes.in

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Sociology of Gender and the poststructuralist/Marxist view that we can only forge political change by deconstructing traditional gender, an act of questioning traditional constructions. Gender Studies comes about because there is plenty of social behavior to be analyzed in terms of gender (especially from a feminist perspective) that is not specifically about WOMEN. It also arises from non-feminist or possibly anti-feminist intentions to reopen gender issues from perspectives that are more easily taught by men or by either men or women who have no interest or familiarity with feminist viewpoints. The label Women's Studies, if applied to a program or department that is essentially interested in doing comprehensive study of gender from feminist viewpoints, can make it hard to argue against such changes; and changes that start off as mere changes in program title can lead to changes in content and in personnel later on. The traditional curriculum teaches us all to see the world through the eyes of privileged, white, European males and to adopt their interests and perspective as our own. It calls books by middle-class, white, male writers’ 'literature' and honors them as timeless and universal, while treating the literature produced by everyone else as idiosyncratic and transitory. The traditional curriculum introduces the (mythical) white, middle-class, patriarchal, heterosexual family and its values and calls it 'Introduction to Psychology.' It teaches the values of white men of property and position and calls it 'Introduction to Ethics.' It reduces the true majority of people in this society to 'women and minorities' and calls it 'political science.' It teaches the art produced by privileged white men in the West and calls it 'art history. 4.7 MEN'S STUDIES AND LGBT STUDIES Men's studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to topics concerning men, masculism, gender, and politics. It often includes masculism theory, men's history and social history, men's fiction, men's health, masculism psychoanalysis and the masculism and gender studies-influenced practice of most of the humanities and social sciences. Scholars pursuing men’s studies are also focusing on Lesbian, Gays, Bi-sexual and Trans-gender (LGBT) studies. 4.8 CONCLUSION Women's Studies, by design, are transformation. Women's studies have been critical to unmasking androcentric assumptions that make men the human norm. The idea, that gender studies, holds men accountable for gender inequalities in power while women's studies does not is contradicted by the volumes of women's studies scholarship that precisely do point to men's part in the constructions of these systems. Part of the dispute may center in the various definitions of gender that appear in scholarship. They range from the social relations of the sexes (usually analyzed in terms of power inequalities) to "a vocabulary for power”. munotes.in

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42 Given that most of the curriculum and scholarship focus on men, whether gender is used as an analytic framework or not, programs focusing on the study of women are critically necessary. The research activity and the debates generated have reached the levels of compensatory research where women's perspective has been added to the conventional discipline. We need more systematic work to challenge the mainstream discipline, build new paradigms and provide significant theoretical understanding. While justifying women studies as a felt-need for a new epistemology, the basic understanding was that, that male dominant ideology and sexism in the social sciences and humanities were unable to capture women's perceptions and it was necessary to decenter a patriarchal discourse. (Patel, 2002). Justification for Gender Studies comes from an understanding that both men and women are constructed and constrained by the unequal power relations based on class, caste/race/ethnicity and gender. Existing 34 WSCs, recognised and partially supported by the UGC are at a crossroad and every crossroad leads to a new road. Let that road be of scientific understanding of gender relations leading to gender-justice. 4.9 SUMMARY: A move from Sociology of women to sociology of gender is gaining ground in mainstream academia. Finally we can say that both Sociology of Women and Sociology of Gender challenge patriarchal, hierarchical order and facilitate the process of mainstreaming women’s concerns. 4.10 QUESTIONS 1) Explain the concept of feminist sociology 2) Elaborate on the history of the sociological study of Gender. 4.11 REFERENCES The Sociology of Gender – An Introduction to Theory and Research, Amy S. Wharton , Blackwell Publishing 2005 Brah, Avtar (1991) ‘Questions of difference and international feminism’, in Jane Aaron and Sylvia Walby (Eds.) Out of the Margins, London, Falmer Press. Moi, Toril (2001) What is a Woman? And Other Essays. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Agarwal, Bina, 1983, "Report on the Current Status and Needed Priorities of Women's Studies in Asia and the Pacific", APDC, Malaysia. Agarwal, Bina (ed.), 1988, Structures of Patriarchy- State, Community and Household in Modernising Asia London: Zed Books. Walby, Sylvia, 1990, Theorizing Patriarchy, Oxford: Basil Blackwell.munotes.in

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43 5 FEMINIST SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY & FEMINIST RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Unit Structure 5.0 Objectives 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Understanding the concept of Feminism 5.3 History of Feminism 5.4 Feminist Sociological Theories 5.5 Feminist Research Methodology 5.6 Possible Steps to drive Feminist Research Methodology into Mainstream 5.7 Case Study of Feminist Writings – Playing with Fire Book 5.8 Emerging Areas/ Debates 5.9 Summary 5.10 Questions 5.11 References 5.0 OBJECTIVES • To learn about Feminist Theories • To learn the feminist Research Methodologies 5.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter we will be studying about two topics namely Feminist Sociological theory and that of Feminist Research Methodology. Understanding these two topics would be helpful for understanding the gender relations, difficulties, complexities associated with it in day to day lives. You may have read about these topics in your earlier semesters however here we would be look into it in more details. These topics would be very much useful to you, if you are planning to make a career in academics, specialization of Gender studies, Family studies, Research, Doctoral Program etc. Studying these topics also remains important, as there exists even today gender discrimination, disparity in the treatment, violence upon women and even upon the unborn baby girls. Feminist Sociological theory and that of Feminist Research Methodology is an interdisciplinary subject. Before getting into details of it, let us look into little about what is feminism. munotes.in

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44 5.2 UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF FEMINISM Feminism is a collection of counter-hegemonic beliefs regarding gender. It tries to question the hierarchy behavior of certain individuals practiced in daily lives. Scholars like Simone de Beauvoir's ([1949,1961) note that women are created rather than born. Feminism attempts to dis identify with several traditions, customs, locations, identities given to women in the patriarchal system. Feminism questions the socialized girls' and women's consciousness, values, and wants. It questions dominance, power and hierarchy, specially in relation to girls' and women's identities, opportunities, and outcomes as individuals and members of organisations. Feminism can also be linked to politics and history as it questions the public and political behaviors which are part of the community. It also challenges the historical trends in the society. There are several feminists – who may not call themselves feminists but work for the upliftment of human/ women. 5.3 HISTORY OF FEMINISM Towards the mid of nineteenth century, feminism has produced social movements all across the world, like in 1848, a women's movement emerged in Seneca Falls, New York, in the United States. With the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which institutionalized women's ability to vote, the first wave of North American feminism came to an end. The theoretical and rhetorical foundations for the second wave of contemporary Western feminism was formed with the publication of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex in 1949 and Betty Freidan's The Feminine Mystique in 1963. The National Organization for Women (NOW), which Freidan helped to form, was instrumental in this rejuvenation in the United States. A third wave of feminism evolved as a result of the enactment of significant legislation further formalising women's rights in most Western cultures. This last feminist wave of the twentieth century, began in the early 1980s, focused on diversity. This third wave has been led by feminists of colour and young white feminists who were also engaged in the first and second waves. With time the groundwork for more of multicultural, global, feminism emerged. Regardless of whether wave of feminism is being discussed, feminism is always manifested as a complex mix of ideas and actions. Feminism encompasses numerous strands of thinking and multiple techniques for attaining social change and cultural transformation, and may be found in liberal, radical, cultural, and postmodernist variantsi. munotes.in

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Research Methodology Check your Progress 1. Scholars like Simone De Beauvoir's note that women are ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Which type of feminist theories recognize the non binary categories associated with gender. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5.4 FEMINIST SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES • Liberal Feminism Classical liberal thinking has the view that the uniqueness of human beings is their ability to think rationally. Traditionally,men were assumed to be naturally rational, while women were regarded to be innately emotional and incapable of rational reasoning. The ovaries, uterus, and reproductive capability of a woman were viewed as feminine traits that inevitably constrained her reasoning powers. Men, on the other hand, were viewed as more worldly, open, and capable of greater artistic creation. This assertion was reinforced by observed disparities in men's and women's emotional and intellectual life. This attitude, however, was challenged by liberal philosophers supporting social change and sex equality like Mary Wollstonecraft. Wollstonecraft noticed that women in her culture lacked virtue, reason, and complete personhood and even women overindulged in materialism back then. Hence, she talked about change through education. Though Wollstonecraft doesn't quite refer to the social differentiation between men and women as "gender roles," she did see men's and women's differences as socially produced. She believed that if males were confined to the domestic realm and denied opportunities to develop their ability for logical thought via education and labour outside the house, they would be continued to be treated as inferior human beings. Liberal feminists argue that the basic capacity for rational thought is natural to all humans, and that the cause of observed differences between men and women is not differences in their natural capacities for rational thought, munotes.in

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46 but rather women's comparatively limited social opportunities for developing their capacities for rational thought. In other words, liberal feminists think that women have the same rational mental skills as men, but that biological reproduction and the related sex-specific responsibilities limit their prospects. According to liberal feminists, the sexual division of labour is a natural result of women having children; men and women have distinct societal duties to execute as a result of their varied reproductive functions. Thus, the masculine and feminine genders coincide with this sexual division of labour. They also noted that the women's separate gender identity is rooted on biological reproduction as well as the prosaic and repetitive tasks of housework and mothering. Liberal feminists point out that control over reproduction, undermines the fundamental liberal idea that biology is destiny. Men and women no longer have to be restricted to sex-specific roles and limiting gender identities. Liberal feminists understand that if women are given the chance to be educated on an equal footing with men and to work outside the house, they may acquire and possess the same attributes perceived as inherent in males. Liberal feminists have fought for social change in the educational, political, vocational, and economic prospects for women. They suggest that as more women enter the public arenas of school and labour, becoming social equals with males, their standing will grow as well. Furthermore, liberal feminists widely felt that reproduction was a barrier to equality, and that women could only attain equality via reproductive control. Women were conceived as having the same passions, essences, and mental powers as males. These are the kinds of concerns that radical feminists would raise. • Radical Feminism Radical feminists point out that there are basic, natural distinctions between males and females, but these differences do not make women inferior to men. Women's activities are not less attractive or valuable compared to men. Women, according to radical feminists, are not just different but oppressed, held in a submissive position, pushed down under patriarchal power systems. Women's oppression is regarded as complex matrix of female subordination and sexist conceptions of women's attributes. In other words, Patriarchal dominance is associated with rigid adherence to gender norms in which masculinity is exhibited via male bodies and portrayed as powerful, logical, and dominant. Conversely, expressing femininity requires women to engage in passive, compassionate, emotional community behaviours. In a patriarchal capitalist culture, masculine reason, authority, individualism, and power are praised, while the many feminine traits possessed by women are undervalued and used to justify their subjugation and degradation. However, radical feminisim point out that binary gender differences are problematic because feminine traits perceived to be biologically innate to females are degraded, devalued, and expressed as inferior, whilst munotes.in

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Research Methodology masculine qualities is perceived as to be biologically natural to males and is revered, valued, and represented as superior. Radical feminists assert that the personal is political, drawing a direct link between gendered experience and capitalist patriarchy's sociopolitical systems is needed. So far as power and superiority are tied to the male body, masculine gender traits will be prized and there would be dominated systems, radical feminists interpret women's subjugation as an intrinsic element of capitalism and patriarchy's interlocking structures. According to radical feminists, men and masculinity display dominance, control, power, and authority over everything, including less strong women. Kate Millet identified patriarchal relationships between men and women as the source of women's oppression. She points out that men dominate in both the public and private realms. They (men) have dominance over women within the gender binary because society rewards masculine attributes with economic mobility and social authority. According to Kate Millet, women may only experience full personhood and social affirmation if gender segregation is abolished. Hartmann contended that work segregation based on gender is the key mechanism in capitalist society that perpetuates masculine dominance by enforcing lower salaries and unpaid labour for women. Low earnings and unpaid work force drive respectable women to marry for economic survival, security. This also leads to being tied up by emotional and interpersonal interactions and capitalist patriarchy. According to Catherine MacKinnon, heterosexual relationships exist through inequality and female subordination, and it further creates male control. To comprehend women's oppression, it is necessary to recognise the ways in which the objectification of the female body is linked to dominance and violence against women. Notably, radical feminists regard the assessment of male gender roles as unneeded in as much as women and men have learnt to appraise their collective identities under patriarchal, sexist frames. They contend that women must reclaim, rebrand, redefine, and revalue their sexual and gendered identities. As a result, kids will come to comprehend the emotional and social distinctions between men and women, as well as cherish self-defined frames of womanhood. • Post Modern Feminism Gender construction is called into question by postmodern feminists. According to postmodern thinkers, theoretical explanations of women's oppression are incorrectly restricted to heterosexual male and female binaries. Furthermore, gendered language mediates the binary sexual categories of female and male. Butler considers the body to be formed and identified through words. According to her. gender management is a performative process in which men and women are deliberately engaged in gendered behaviour that is regarded as male or female category. Gender is established by body stylization. Gender is created by routinized, sedimented, and ordinary physical gestures, actions, and enactments. munotes.in

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48 Bodily activities, through the same mechanism, create the appearance of a persistent gendered self.iiIn other words, there are multiple ways of understanding gender as viewed by post-modern feminists. 5.5 FEMINIST RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Feminist Research Methodology is writing about women, her experiences. It is only through documentation that lives of people are revealed and it be read across generations if published. As mentioned earlier feminist writings can be seen from multidisciplinary viewpoints like that of literature, psychology, history, science etc. Works like Lihaaf / The Quilt written by Ismat Chughtai discuss sexuality from the view point of women. The important point to note here is that such writings where written and published when lesbian relations were not discussed openly. This book brought about debates, discussions in the society. Feminist research is a technique of doing social research that employs a certain subset of methods and/or focuses on a specific set of issues with the objective of criticising male-developed approaches and improving women's status in society. The feminist project and feminist research confront male study in areas such as public vs private themes, gender blindness, hierarchy, and so oniii. As feminist perspective theorists have argued, social scientific research often overlooks or minimises the process of generating research questions, or the "context of discovery" (Harding 1991, 143–44). 5.6 POSSIBLE STEPS TO DRIVE FEMINIST RESEARCH METHODOLOGY INTO MAINSTREAMS Let us try to look into some solutions through which there could be improvement of feminist research methodology. • Change in Techniques It is only 33 percentage of women who are Women researchers in the World including Natural Science research and that of Social Science. This shows that there has to be a greater number of women who can enter into the field of science. Feminist have been figuring out as to how to increase this imbalance of females in the field of science, one of the methods seen is that of change in the pedagogy. Sue Rosser's book Female-Friendly Science, published in 1990, provides observations and processes for scientific activity that may be used to influence the development of multidisciplinary technique. Rosser approaches scientific education from the idea that many female students. She advised that "Increase the number of observations and stay longer in the observational stage of the scientific process," (Rosser 1990, 59). She claims that staying in the observational stage longer leads to improvement in the method, and helps in accuracy to some extent, and also the interaction between the researcher and the study object. This would help in developing munotes.in

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Research Methodology unique perspectives, especially perspectives from women’s view point. • Research Questions Developing the right research questions is needed while doing feminist research. If feminists took a transversal (cross line disciplines, methods, strategy, they would be able to create research questions that were based on "thinking from women's experiences" (Harding 1991). Getting "specific" about our research methodology can help one avoid disciplinary methods' excesses, gaps, unasked questions, and partial vision, which are characterized by a relatively narrow range of accepted ways of asking questions, gathering data, identifying parameters, and testing hypotheses. Just as feminism's differences have served to check both universalism and essentialism.iv Book example - Let us try to understand the feminist research through a case study of a book. This book stands unique from several aspects like from the content perspective, the publishing process and the journey of post publishing which has been covered through review. 5.7 CASE STUDY OF FEMINIST WRITINGS – ‘PLAYING WITH FIRE’ BOOK – In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, nine women created the Sangtin support collective in 1998. In which, some women were activists, and some where working at village level and one at the district level for Nari Samata Yogana, a World Bank-funded and Indian government-run effort to empower rural women across the state. Six years later, in 2004, they released Sangtin Yatra, a Hindi book was released based on their talks. This was a piece of "a shattered oneness in voices" which helped to develop the "Journey of Sangtins," a name they roughly translated from the native language Awadhi to denote solidarity, reciprocity, and lifelong friendship among women. In the book playing with fire, eight rural activists tell their tales of persecution, loneliness, bravery, and tense relationships through the book. They were little aware of the dangers and implications of speaking publicly about their job as women who campaigned for the rights of other women. Post publication, some were moved once the book was released in Hindi; others were on the verge of losing their employment, and the majority were subjected to greater monitoring and suspicion. They also had to tackled their own preconceptions of caste and class with honesty in their own words and through their own lives. They also discussed the maltreatment at the hands of their parents and in-laws in their own home. The book also expressed the uneasiness with other women in the company of the Sangtin collective's. They also disregarded the restrictions on what may be spoken publicly concerning the mistreatment of girls, and they munotes.in

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50 even crossed the borders in terms of where and to whom they expressed their prejudice, across religion or caste lines. Women activists from the Dalit (oppressed) caste, for example, who made up two of Sangtin's members, remarked of their frustrations with their coworkers' uneven and dismissive treatment. In this aspect, the novel succeeds because it refuses to simply criticise the women's efforts. Instead, it seeks innovative solutions, such as developing organizational skill and knowledge hierarchies, as well as ways to combat organizational reliance on the part of donors in order to sustain the more aggressive activism sparked by their work. Check your Progress 1. Discuss research question with reference to Feminist Research Methodology ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Which percentage of women are in research (Science, social science). ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3 According to you, how can we improve marginalized women’s conditions. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ munotes.in

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Research Methodology 5.8 EMERGING DEBATES/AREAS • Identity struggle – Mother’s name Since long it is the father’s name which is attached with the name of the child. Let it be in the school admissions or in any Certificates. It is only lately that the mother’s name has been added to the Certificate. In terms of higher education, the University Grants Commission (UGC) published the guideline of adding the mother's name in 1998. According to the University Grants Commission, universities and affiliated schools must expressly state the student's name, father's name, and mother's name in all academic testimonyv. Recently, single mothers have been allowed to have their own name of the ward. There is court verdict according to which females or child could include the surname of mother than just of fathervi. The point to note here is that when both parents have equal role to play in the upbringing of the child, yet the child carries the father name, surname and this has continued for several years in India. It took several years to bring about change this shows the identity issues associated with it. • Discrimination or Voluntary Elimination The modern workspaces specially with multinational companies there is project based works which are carried out. Many a times there exists deadline according to which the work timing extends. As a result, the men stay back and work however, the female are unable to stay back and work as there are children’s at home who would be waiting at times even infants. If the female resides in joint families, she would be answerable to lot of people at home. In other words, parents and families at times find it difficult if females are coming home late. This in a way leads to situational or voluntary elimination from work. In other words, discrimination on the basis of gender from societal acceptance point of view. Oral history and Non binary genders using feminist research methods Oral history is that piece of knowledge, lessons, proverbs, songs, myths, narratives which are passed on from one generation to another. Oral history techniques may be traced back to the social history beginnings, when there were no enough written records available. Even today in several folk art forms oral history is used. Oral history as a theory, method has been used by several Anthropologists, Sociologists, Folklorists in their study. Feminist scholars have also been using this method. Many gay, lesbian, and queer historians have followed similar suit. Oral history and ethnography have been used to understand the gay, lesbian, and queer history projects by focusing on the methods, methodology of a number of historical and anthropological monographs.vii munotes.in

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52 Feminist ethnographers, on the other hand, have also been influenced through the work of American gay, lesbian, and queer historians, whose methodology tries to expose the social, economic, and ideological disparities that exist between researchers and their "subjects." Feminist academics also try to empower historical narrations by believing the marginalized groups voices. As historical experts, some have even interpreted the voices of marginalized alongside the narrators' readings of their own recollections. 5.9 SUMMARY In the beginning of the chapter, we tried to understand the concept of feminism whereby we learnt that feminism attempts to disidentify with several traditions, customs, locations given to women in patriarchal system. Scholars like Simone de Beauvoir note that women are created rather than born. We also looked into history of feminism. Further we dicsusses the different theories associated with feminism like liberal, Radical, Post-modern. The second core topic of the chapter was that of feminist research methodology, whereby the researcher questions the writing of men and even speak about documenting women’s experience through multiple methods, tools etc. We also looked into the case study of a book titled ‘Playing with Fire’. The chapter also focuses on finding probable solutions to increase the writings, voice of females. Whereby discussion on kind of research questions, techniques have to be carefully executed. The chapter also discusses about emerging debates/ issues like Identity struggle – inclusion of mother’s name, Voluntary elimination, oral history usage, LGBT movements methods etc. 5.10 QUESTIONS 1. Discuss Liberal Feminism 2. Discuss Post Modern Feminist theory 3. Discuss the book Playing with fire as example of female writing 4. Explain feminism 5.11 REFERENCES i Mary F. Rogers, Ritzer, G. (Ed.). (2004). Encyclopedia of social theory. Sage publications. ii — Candice Bryant Simonds and Paula Brush, Ritzer, G. (Ed.). (2004). Encyclopedia of social theory. Sage publications. iii Payne, G. & Payne, J. (2004). Feminist research. In Key concepts in social research (pp. 89-93). SAGE Publications, Ltd, https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781849209397 munotes.in

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54 6 ENGENDERING THE ECONOMIC – WORK, LABOUR, DEVELOPMENT Unit Structure 6.0 Objectives 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Engendering meaning 6.3 History of Industries in India 6.4 Indentured laborers 6.5 Current scenario 6.6 Pandemic and changing nature of work 6.7 Women and work 6.8 Development of privatization and its problems 6.9 Changing nature of work and its impact on the relationship 6.10 Case studies of Privatization and Work 6.11 Use of media for business 6.12 Case study 6.13 Summary 6.14 Questions 6.15 References 6.0 OBJECTIVES 1. To look into the engendering process of work, labor. 2. To learn about the development of work related to women, media and start-ups. 3. To learn about the role of privatization and its effects on economics and human lives. 6.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter, we will learn about the emergence of the market in Indian society. We will also look into the changing nature of work, labor force and development in this field. In addition, we would also look into the economic development with respect to gender and the role of gender in work. Here the attempt is also to learn about both the positive and negative aspects of this transition. This chapter will help you to relate economics and sociology together. Being part of the system as students and a population witnessing the transition, you will be very much able to relate to what has been covered in this chapter. munotes.in

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Labour, Development 6.2 ENGENDERING MEANING The term engendering was initially used around the fourteenth century. It meant back then ‘to propagate’ or ‘procreate. Later the meaning got modified with time. Engender is derived from the Latin word generare, which meant ‘to generate’i Here we can view this with reference to the title of the chapter as a creation of the economic – Work, Labour and Development. Without understanding the history, it would be difficult to learn about the present; hence, let us look into the history of Industries and work in India. 6.3 HISTORY OF INDUSTRIES IN INDIA Under British rule, India exported the raw materials to other countries. Britain, already being in an advanced state of industrialization, could easily produce the finished goods at a large scale with better infrastructure and less time. As a result, their finished products were imported back to India and sold at a higher price. These finished goods strategically destroyed the local indigenous industries, handicrafts, and cottage industries. India back then had a disadvantage that we entered industrialization at a very later stage, while several other countries had already reached an advanced stage. The first industry in India was set up in 1818 at Fort Gloster, located near Kolkata. It was primarily a cotton mill; however, it turned out to be a commercial failure. After this, the second cotton mill was built by KGN Daber in the year 1854 and it was named Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company. This mill acted as a foundation for the modern cotton industry in Indiaii. Before Independence, when the Britishers had set up few industries, they found it very difficult to retain their employees. The absenteeism was high, especially during Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, or harvesting seasons. The colonizers had a tuff time regulating the laborer's behavior. However, after a century, one could observe the change in the work culture. Now people work for multinational companies; they work according to the clock of the Western countries. Unlike India, the new set of millennium employees even works on festivals as the multinational companies do not have the same or plenty of festivals. Being a culturally diverse society every few months, we have festivals that other countries do not have. 6.4 INDENTURED LABORERS Indentured labourers are those groups who left India during colonization to other countries. The colonizers made arrangement of ships in the ports like Chennai, Kolkatta, Mumbai, Cochin for laborers who wanted to migrate to other countries like Srilanka, Malaysia, Fiji, South Africa, etc. These laborers were invited to work on the farms of these countries where the colonizers had discovered fertile and suitable lands for coffee munotes.in

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56 plantations, sugar plantations, cotton plantations. Back then, the caste system within the country was very compact, at times even following the hereditary occupational model. As a result, they felt it was better to leave and work in another country. After a few years, they had the option to return. However, some thought it was better to be there, and some returned. This is one of the major reasons, because of which Indian's can be found in several countries residing for generations together. Check Your Progress 1. Explain indentured laborers _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Discuss the history of industries in India. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6.5 CURRENT SCENARIO Traditionally, India still works predominantly as an agriculture-based economy. We still have nearly 70 percent of our population directly or indirectly working in the primary sector. Several studies point out that we need to create more than 100 million additional jobs by 2030. There exists a high need for more job creation in the two-tier and three-tier megacities. There is also a trend where youngsters and small businesses create more jobs than large corporations. Unlike China, manufacturing business has to be more encouraged. We have moved directly from that of agriculture to that of services-based industry.iii The growing dependence on artificial intelligence will be further taking away many jobs. States play an important role in the creation of jobs. It is due to their initiative; new opportunities are created. Recently ministers from different states tweeted Elon Musk asking him to come to India and set up plants for his company Tesla. This shows the newer ways of communication and approach among new leaders who want to bring about change. As with foreign companies coming to India, newer expertise would come, local people will learn the new technology, methods and enough job opportunities will be created. Some of the people working in these organizations may further build their own companies; in a way, it would build an ecosystem altogether. munotes.in

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Labour, Development 6.6 PANDEMIC AND CHANGING NATURE OF WORK With the pandemic Covid 19, the work culture has changed significantly. Several jobs have moved completely online. As a result, people are working from home. Those with advanced skills sets related to Data like data analysts, data scientists, database administrators, etc., are suddenly more in demand. Work from home is the new accepted norm. Companies are giving options to the employees; that they can choose between work from home or from the organization itself. With this change, there are new ways of work emerging. Youngsters are migrating out of cities and are working from rural areas. As cities are congested, polluted and quality of life is a bit harsh. Especially with the IT sector, people started migrating out of the cities and have started to live in villages. Some suddenly got enough time to practice their passions which they had sidelined to build a career. Pandemic will further change the working pace and infrastructure. There are some companies and employees who are discussing the four-week norm too. 6.7 FEMALES AND WORK It is only during the independence movement that women on a large scale have stepped outside their homes to participate in the independence movement. A Ph.D. thesis on women working in cotton mills points out that women worked in harsh conditions out of poverty in the late 60s 70s in Mumbai. They would face problems like Asthama, Tuberculosis. Back in those days, there were no nursery daycare centers available and even children were playing around or near the places where mothers would be working. So, children also faced health issues. Even though trade union movements were very active during those times, some women found it difficult to participate. Some would enter the meeting, sit at the end, and leave after some time as the women had to go home and cook and look after children. The number of women employed outside agriculture before liberalization was comparatively less than in the present times. One of the reasons could be the working conditions, heavy machines, factories based unit's existence. However, with the IT revolution and multiple service industries' emergences, the number of women who joined the workforce is large. As the working conditions have improved to a large extent, Some companies are offering pick-up and drop-up facilities for women. There are companies training women cab drivers to make women feel safe while she is traveling. One such cab service is She cabs which operate in different cities. On the other hand, the informal sector still employs many women. Female Auto drivers are working in different parts of India. Auto driving or drivers were predominantly male-oriented professions. However, things are changing at present. Women are now bus conductors, found in pan shops that earlier were predominantly male-oriented; there is a change now. As the book 'Why loiter'? suggests the higher number of women on munotes.in

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58 the roads, visible everywhere; fewer crimes will occur in public spaces. It would normalize and bring a change in society at large.iv Some organizations are considering having leaves for women who are on periods every monthvIf this is implemented, it would be a big change from where we began associating pollution with periods. There is also discussion around homemakers to get a monthly payment in states like Keralavi. If this is implemented, household work would be recognized and seen with dignity rather than just a duty, or one has to perform it naturally or be obliged to perform a kind of mindset. The right to sitvii which means in Malayalam ‘irippu samaram’, which began by women's collective movement 'Penkootu .'The saleswoman who used to work in shops did not have any space for a toilet; being a commercial space, any extra space was used as a shop than building a toilet for females. In addition, if any female sat down or leaned against the wall, the owner who was abroad and watching in CCTV would cut 100 Rs. Hence, this whole movement began and things are evolving for good. This has to be implemented in other states too. Mental health Female and Work Studies point out that females who stay at home and work have better mental health. Specially those jobs which have flexible job hours. As with flexibility of timings the females are able to focuss more on stress relief programs, yoga, meditation etc. It is also helping them to build a satisfying environment and careerviii. This can be more seen from the view point of females who have small childrens - feeding babies to look after, too much of travelling time like in cases of metropolitan cities. Check Your Progress 1. Explain the changes in work in formal sector due to pandemic _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. According to you, how can we improve working conditions for people in informal sector _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ munotes.in

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Labour, Development 6.8 DEVELOPMENT OF PRIVATIZATION AND ITS PROBLEMS Post liberalization, the license raj practice was stopped. Several public companies were converted into private or public and private partnerships began. The problem associated with privatization is that when companies are converted into the private sector, the government norms are relaxed. For example – Reservation for women, Reservation for SC, ST, Economic Weaker groups, minorities etc. As a result, this further creates a problem for the marginalized sections of society. 6.9 CHANGING NATURE OF WORK AND ITS IMPACT ON THE RELATIONSHIP Prior to liberalization, the generation born in the 60s, 70s the common pattern was to take a job or choose an occupation and stay with the same organization till retirement. People start with a salary of 100 or 70 rs. Per month and stay till Rs. 40,000 or 25,000 by retirement. If they had improved their skills sets and upgraded their qualification, they would have become managers. However, generally, they continued with the same organization. The young millennium is taking far higher than what a generation ago those youngsters who are old now did. Working with the same organization and growing was seen as the formula to grow back then. In addition, the responsibilities were high as women or men often used to get married early. With individualism coming ahead, the nature of marriage is also changing. The nature of networking or relationship is also changing through dating apps. People now have a work spouse at times; generally, one spends at least 8 to 10 hours working, especially in a metropolitan city like Mumbai, where one spends few additional hours traveling. 6.10 Case Studies of Privatization and Work Case One – The recent incident where a company CEO called his employees over a meeting in an online platform called Zoom is sad. All joined from their homes and he informed them. You are lucky people who have to leave the organization. Nearly 900 people were fired over a fifteen-minute zoom call. This would have been difficult if it was carried out in person discussion; there would be some reaction from the people were being asked to discontinue. With online things, the CEO managed to speak it easily and close the meeting, which could have been very different in person, he would face some consequences for his action.ix Case Two – Another case is a young man in his late 40s, working for an IT company for the same IT company for more than seven years. During the pandemic munotes.in

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60 while trying to help his parents, he too got Covid. To his bad luck, both his parents passed away. He also had covid and due to the mental shock, he was psychologically disturbed. He was under 45 days leave from his company where he worked. He was working as a team leader for a project. In his absence, the organization realized that the other employees could function well and he was no longer needed. So, they fired him after sometime. At present, this man has to pay his housing loans child's education and deal with emotional trauma and job loss. The point here to draw is that some organizations continue to work like what Karl Marx had pointed out, Capitalism is a beast that would extract you. It is just a give and takes business; no emotions are involved. There are certain positive aspects of privatization too. They are creating more jobs and businesses. New start-ups are household names, they provide services, and are part of problem-solving. For example - Companies like the snap deal, Flipkart, Paytm, nykaa, lenskart, mama earth, med plus. There is a growth of the fintech revolution where finance and technology is combined. The UPI has brought a massive revolution in the Indian market. Unlike India, developed countries are trying to build similar mechanisms where the transaction could be quick and easy and transfered directly to the bank. In 2021, more than 3,800 crore UPI transactions around seventy-three crore, was conducted in Indiax. Especially during the festive seasons, the transaction rate was seen as higher. India is also further going towards digitalization. Google is supposed to be investing around 1 billion in the Indian company Airtelxi. As 5G is a new network that is springing up. Once, I saw a female in a local train. She was a hawker selling hair clips, beauty products, and other accessories. She had a Paytm scanner. I enquired how she got it. She said, upon the Airoli bridge, some company people were sitting. We had to submit just the bank passbook Xerox and photo. They did the rest of the procedure and gave this to us. It was free. Through this hawker, we learn how three-four sectors are connected altogether. Even those who are not highly literate can be part of the digital revolution. At the same time, they can also take benefit of the modern technological revolution. Here, we can also observe the role of the new age start-up formal sector and informal sector blending together. 6.11 USE OF MEDIA FOR BUSINESS There are networking platforms that have emerged in recent times. For example – Linkedin, Naukri, Indeed.com. However, the jobs here are based on the formal sector. Mr. Mahindra uses Twitter to spread the message and, at times, even hires people or assists them through loans or offers better opportunities when he comes across viral videos. Thereby creating a win-win situation by recognizing art, creativity and business. Whatsapp has been seen as an important platform not one to communicate but to sell business local or Kirana or online businesses. There are business WhatsApp groups that have emerged where people display products, brochures, etc. munotes.in

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Labour, Development 6.12 CASE STUDY OF URBAN CLAP Earlier, to get something repaired at home, we had to know someone who offered these services. Some networking needs to be there with neighbors who could guide us. Once hired, the employees would work for years every year a bonus would be given to them. At times, well-off families even support the employee's education for children, provide them books, old clothes, food cooked for the day, etc. However, there are cases of abuse and exploitation too. At large, one has to be good to them so that they come over call and offer the service. Even pay them a high so that they would visit home the next time in an emergency. Things are changing with MNCs like Urban clap entering these informal sector areas. Urban clap/ Urban company provides services through their website applications. The services they provide are what the informal sector generally provides like painting house, beautician, massage, cleaning the house, plumber, home repair, etc. Here the claim is that whatever the cost will be there, it is visible clearly before inviting the staff to home for services. On one side, this could be seen as an organization entering into the informal sector and trying to encroach daily wage laborers problems. On the other side for customers, this is empowering and easily available and profitable. There are issues connected to this, like one woman points out that before joining the urban clap, she used to work for five hours for households cooking, swiping floor and washing clothes. Later she learned about urban claps and thought of joining them. Initially, she earned around 55,000 Rs per month, which was a big amount; later on, the company started to give targets and penalties for cancellation of work and low wages and high commission. With good salary she the women had taken some loans for her house. Today unable to achieve targets and raise her voice, she struggles in betweenxii. As the organization does not permit to organize, protest, gherao the matter is still pendingxiii. The point is that traditionally certain occupations had gender roles attached to them. For example – Plumbing, electrician, carpenter, painting has been predominantly performed by men. On the other hand, beauty services, cooking, household work have been associated with women. Even today, whenever the household income is less, deserted women, women whose husbands do not earn or are alcoholics, illiterate women supplement their income by getting into household work. While illiterate men generally get into the informal work like laborers, painters, etc. Here, we could observe a change where MNC are getting into these sectors by seeing their potential and market value, which is a 2.8 billion industry. munotes.in

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62 Check Your Progress 1. List out few problems associated with privatization _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What is your opinion on privatization? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6.13 SUMMARY We began this chapter by looking into the meaning of engendering which is to generate, to create. Thereafter we looked into the history of Indian industries, which was in the year 1818 at Fort Gloster, which is located near Kolkata. The chapter also explains the indentured laborers who had migrated to other countries during colonial times. Further, the chapter looks into understanding the changing nature of work with pandemic, privatization which has both positive and negative effects. Positive like creating more jobs, negative any time firing the employee if the performance is poor, absence, performance decline. We also learned about women and work problems like toilets etc. We also learned about the new-age start-ups and one case study of Urban clap which is entering the informal sector work area and its problems like targets, high commission rate, denial of labor rights to express and question. Overall, this chapter covers the nature of work, its changing nature, impact on women, labor, and economic development. 6.14 QUESTIONS 1. Discuss the meaning of engendering and explain the case study 2. Explain the history of industry in India and write about indentured laborers. 3. Discuss in brief the role of privatization in Indian society 4. Discuss the changing nature of women and work munotes.in

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Labour, Development 6.15 REFERENCES i https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/engender ii https://www.investindia.gov.in/team-india-blogs/cotton-textile-industry-india#:~:text=The%20cotton%20sector%20in%20India,after%20man%2Dmade%20fibres).&text=The%20states%20of%20Gujarat%2C%20Maharashtra,cotton%20producing%20areas%20in%20India. iii https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/how-india-can-promote-job-creation/article35286136.ece iv Phadke, S., Khan, S., & Ranade, S. (2011). Why loiter?: Women and Risk on Mumbai streets. Penguin Books India. v https://time.com/6105254/menstrual-leave-policies/ vi https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2021/06/01/kerala-budget-coronavirus-pandemic-monthly-wages-housewives.html vii https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/protests-saleswomen-granted-right-sit-kerala/ viii Desai, M., Majumdar, B., Chakraborty, T., & Ghosh, K. (2011). The second shift: working women in India. Gender in Management: An International Journal. ix https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/the-ceo-who-fired-900-employees-on-a-zoom-call-is-out-its-a-tragic-example-of-how-not-to-manage-people.html x https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-bytes/upi-transactions-scale-new-peak-in-december-2021/articleshow/88689479.cms xi https://indianexpress.com/article/business/companies/google-invests-in-bharti-airtel-7745263/ xii https://qz.com/india/2113055/women-gig-workers-are-protesting-urbancompanys-unfair-practices/ xiii https://theprint.in/economy/urban-company-files-lawsuit-against-its-women-workers-for-protesting-unfair-labour-practices/785827/  munotes.in

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64 7 ENGENDERING THE SOCIAL-KINSHIP, HEALTH AND EDUCATION Unit Structure 7.0 Objectives 7.1 Background to the chapter 7.2 Introduction 7.3 Lewis Morgan on Kinship 7.4 Approaches in Kinship 7.5 Types of Kinship 7.6 Kinship Structures and Autonomy 7.7 Kinship and Gender Relations 7.8 Religion and Kinship 7.9 Feminism and Kinship 7.10 Future of Kinship 7.11 Technology and Kinship 7.12 Health Education and Gender 7.13 Community and Health 7.14 Health Education in Schools 7.15 Food Safety Education 7.16 Summary 7.17 Questions 7.18 References 7.0 Objectives • To explore the concepts of Social Kinship and gender interaction • To learn about Health and Education with respect to gender relations 7.1 BACKGROUND TO THE CHAPTER In this chapter we would look into two main topics firstly Social Kinship with reference to gender. We would also learn about the interconnections between gender health and education. Kinship studies stand as a independent field for research. Several scholars like Iravati Karve, G.S. Ghurye, K.M. Kapadia have studied and published books, articles on this topic. Internationally scholars like Levi Strauss, Malinowski have also written about Kinship. In a country like India, kinship studies continuous munotes.in

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Education to be important both for understanding the social structure and even to understand the economic structure. This topic would be very much useful for you as students for understanding our Society better. It would help you to get a perspective, opinion on problems related to our society. Kinship studies would be also helpful if you are planning to work upon topics like Gender, Family studies as specialization in the future. This topic would be also useful if you are considering competititive exams etc. as a career path. Let us now look into the details of it. 7.2 INTRODUCTION Engendering in simple words means 'to cause or to give rise to', while kinship means relationship formed through blood ties or through marriage, adoption etc. Social aspects of kinship mean how we can locate kinship within a given culture. The modern study of kinship can be traced back to mid-19th-century interests in comparative legal institutions and philosophy. In the late 19th century, however, the cross-cultural comparison of kinship institutions became very important in Anthropology studies. Kinship is found universally irrespective of culture or country. In the context of India, Kinship has been discussed in several Indian epics like Mahabharata, Ramayan. The relation, rules, violation through example of Karna, marriage patterns through example of Draupadi, Ram and Sita etc. Even the Indian mythologies Gods also take different avatars and have been evolving with the kinship patterns, there also exists modifications, building new narratives too it. Even during the kingdom periods when the king did not have a male child he was ridiculed by other relatives, villagers. His property / kingdom was under threat or attack. 7.3 LEWIS MORGAN ON KINSHIP Henry Lewis Morgan the famous Anthropologist has studied kinship intensively. During his time most of 19th-century anthropologists relied on library study, but Morgan conducted fieldwork among the Iroquois and other Native American peoples. He sought to relate the formation of family systems with technical improvement, emergence of property forms in Ancient Society (1877). He proposed a model in which the earliest phases of family organisationwas associated with low levels of technology and modalities of sustenance such as hunting, gathering, or fishing. According to him Property ownership did not exist in the early phases of human development. Later, with the rise of pastoralism agriculture was established. Humans learnt the importance of labour, men wanted to pass on the skills learnt to his kids, and offspring became more crucial. As a result, men sought more control over women, causing mankind to progress through the phases of primordial promiscuity, group marriage, matriarchy, patriarchy, and polygamy before "reaching" monogamy. munotes.in

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66 7.4 APPROACHES IN KINSHIP There are predominantly two approaches in Kinship – 1. Indological approach – This kind of study is carried out through the help of texts, epics etc. 2. Descent and Alliance approach – Descent here could be patrilienal, matrilineal, bilateral. Alliance here refers to that of marriage. Through this approach too studies are made. 7.5 TYPES OF KINSHIP Sociologists and anthropologists disagree over the many forms of kinship. Most social scientists believe that kinship is defined by two factors: birth and marriage; however, others argue that a third factor also exists that is social relationships. There are three categories of kinship found : Consanguinal kinship is viewed on the basis of blood relations —or birth, the link between parents and offspring, as well as siblings. This is the simplest and most ubiquitous kind of kinship. It involves persons who are directly connected and this is known as primary kinship. Affinal - This connection is founded on the basis of marriage. The marriage of a husband and wife is also seen as a basic kind of kinship. Social: According to Schneider, not all kinship is based on blood (consanguineal) or marriage (affinal). There are also social kinships, in which people who aren't related by blood or marriage and have a sense of kinship, he explained. According to this concept, two persons from different communities might share a kinship relationship through religious membership or a social group, such as the Kiwanis or Rotary service clubs, or a rural, tribal community with strong ties among its members. Schneider noted in his 1984 book, "A Critique of the Study of Kinship," that a key distinction between consanguineal or affinal and social kinship is that the latter entails "the power to end utterly the relationship" without any legal recourse. 7.6 KINSHIP STRUCTURE AND AUTONOMY i In India marriage is a important life cycle ritual through which the rituals and engendering process of families takes place. Through marriage the institution of family stabilizes and gets a legal sanction. Within the family the values, lessons, violations are being taught to the child. The kinship relations varies according to time and place too. For example – During the feasts, marriages etc. the norms and rules are relaxed. In certain kinship relations humour, fun, teasing each other also takes place. In certain relations there is respect, honour also involved. munotes.in

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Education 7.7 KINSHIP AND GENDER RELATIONS • Kinship and Gender Relations in Daily lives The study of Kinship and that of gender studies are related in multiple ways as both these areas are based on understanding and comparing cross cultural locations of rights and duties of human beings. In the Indian context, traditionally based on the Kinship hierarchy or status the gender roles exist. For example – The Grandfather is viewed as the elder individual in the family- members of the family ask his opinion as a sign or respect and experience. Specially in respect to the monetary decisions. As a male is viewed as having more knowledge of the public sphere i.e. world, money etc. On the other hand, the females specially grandmothers are viewed as storehouse of stories , recipes, medicines. In other words, the private sphere. Even the newly born childrens among them the gender relations/ connections are constructed through that of toys, rituals, rewards and punishments. For example – The elder son/ daughters are expected to look after their little brother or sisters. A desire for son is found in several families even today. Kinship is generally connected with biological aspect however, it has also the gender aspect of it through culture, socialization. Roles assigned like man and his duties, female and her duties to nuture the child, looking after the in laws etc after marriage in Indian context. Or even getting married and going to another individuals home (patriarchy). In today’s time there are changes in the kinship and gender relations both due to the modernization, pandemic, corporate lifestyle etc. The new changes has brought about changes like people are getting more divorced, there are now single parents, childrens born through surrogacy, step parents etc. • Existing Literature on Kinship and Gender Levi Strauss mentioned matrilineality as a factor that shapes society in his book The Elementary Structures of Kinship (1969). The theory of female exchange was founded on the widely held belief that women should be exchanged. Men's domination over women. The widely held belief in masculine authority has resulted in Strauss theory more accepted. As bot h patrilineal and matrilineal civilizations could benefit from Levis-Strauss' thesis. In patrilineal communities, males exchange daughters, whereas in matrilineal societies, men exchange sistersii. • he book Kath Weston's Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Family (1991) studies the gender and kinship studies in modern anthropology. The book focuses on how the creation of identity in the realm of kinship takes place. As Gay men and lesbians have bonds that are not based on blood or marriage, but on choice. Weston’s work is one of the few literature which focused on this munotes.in

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68 area. It was observed that the relations of lesbian gay was based instead of blood relationship it was based on commitment, friendship. The methodology of the book is that of ethnography. The focus of Weston's research was on the families that homosexuals and lesbians had made themselves rather than the families into which they were born, a decision that has become an important factor in establishing kinship. These gay members or lesbian members many a times used to adopt children. Relations in a way are born out of trust than just blood. The family here was an extension of kinship, durability, permanent unlike the homosexuals too. This study stands very important as still the society is in the process of recognizing the rights of lesbians gays or any category which do not confine themselves to one category too. Violation of Kinship Rules In the Indian context, females are generally treated with respect as goddess, daughter, mother. Parents invest in education of their daughter, government too encourages through various economic schemes for the development of girl child. However, the same female if she violates the rules like marrying an individual from another Caste, subcaste. It leads to conflicts among villages, instances of honour killing. Parents even do not speak with their daughters for years together out of anger. In a way, the anger of the family is to such an extent that they hurt the same blood relation due to violation of Caste norms. Hence, we can draw to the conclusion that at times, the community where one resides becomes stronger than the blood relationship and the decisions pertains to it. This is often observed in the villages of India. There are certain norms which are also uniform in the world like prohibition of incest relationship and violation is unacceptable among families. Check Your Progress 1. Discuss violation in the kinship rules _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. List out few authors name who have contributed to Kinship studies. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7.8 RELIGION AND KINSHIP During communal violence one can witness where human beings behave inhumanly. Here again the kinship members like mother, sister, father is not able to control the behavior of certain individuals. Some times one munotes.in

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Education individual gets brainwashed and he/she effects the whole community. Beyond the kinship the ideology plays a major role. Kinship ties remain strong and intact even today because of festivals. Annual festivals in villages, brings people together, marriages get decided through informal meetings at festivals. Rituals and Kinship - Marriages involves several rituals. Customs traditions like dowry , streedhan exists. Among few tribes there are cattles too shared. Some communities also provide with all the essentials required for the girl while she is getting married like a new house, television, fridge, washing machine, utensils, cupboard etc. It is at times seen as duty, status issue etc. Society as a group creates the kinship, as when a baby is born he/she is ignorant of the norms and values of the society, he/she doesn’t have a relation or a identity. It is in the society through language, exchange of food, labour relations are built. The mother feeds the baby and then he learns the importance of her and gets attached to her. He realizes the father gets him gift. At the same time he/she realizes the mother is also close to the father and then the relations are built. The elder, brother sister protects the child from falling, in the playground later he/she learns their importance. In other words, all the relatives have a role of protection, safeguarding, cautioning, support for individuals to survive in the society. The one with more powerful connection in the ancient society tribes has better chance of survival. The one who is weak would have lesser chance of surviving hence he/she would be dependent upon the stronger or even become slave too and become a follower in the group. In the modern context we can correlate this with more of power, money than physical strength. People feel stronger when they have a known relative, kin in a place where there is certain degree of authority existing. 7.9 FEMINISM AND KINSHIP The study of kinship was criticized to some extent not just by feminists and gender specialists, but also by others who saw it as a minor topic in comparison to politics or religion. This straightforward distinction between the social and biological dimensions of kinship obscured an underlying ambiguity in the subject's definition. Anthropologists have long believed that kinship is based on sexual reproduction or links derived from it, this even David Schneider pointed out in his Critique of the Study of Kinship (1984). He also adds that anthropologists brought their own cultural assumptions. While kinship entailed into the field was not always cross culturally valid as claimed. 7.10 FUTURE OF KINSHIP In the West, many of these studies have focused on encompassing the new changes and developing different types of kinship. The perceived changes in the form of the family in Western nations have sparked also interest in kinship research in this regard. Instability and divorce in heterosexual munotes.in

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70 marriages, the rise of same-sex marriage, gender equality, LGBT rights, dropping fertility rates, and an increasing number of individuals living alone all point to fundamentally altered Western kinship practises and experiences. With time, it is not even West but all over the world. 7.11 TECHNOLOGY AND KINSHIP The borders between the "natural," given domain of family and the "cultural," technologically alterable world of science are by no means set or impermeable, as evidenced by advances in reproductive technology. Anthropologists have turned their attention once more to the conflict between nature and culture, this time to show that the ostensibly "natural" world of kinship can no longer be understood in the old terms. By the late twentieth century, several technological interventions, most notably different medical types of birth control (e.g., oral contraceptives, the intrauterine device, the diaphragm, and vasectomy), has been used. Other technologies include in vitro fertilisation, surrogacy, artificial insemination, and others. Check Your Progress 1. List out the different types of kinship _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Discuss kinship structure and autonomy _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7.12 HEALTH, EDUCATION AND GENDER • Understanding Health and Education A high-quality education is the backbone of excellent health and well-being. People require information to prevent sickness and disease in order to live healthy and productive lives. Children and adolescents must be well-nourished and healthy in order to learn. According to data from UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report, greater levels of education among mothers enhance children's nutrition and immunisation rates while decreasing avoidable child deaths, maternal mortality, and HIV. Education can be seen as both a growth accelerator and a health intervention. The Incheon Declaration of 2015 confirms that munotes.in

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Education education fosters the skills, values, and attitudes that enable individuals to live healthy and fulfilling lives, make informed decisions, and even respond to local and global concerns.iii A study was conducted with the help of data collected from twenty six countries by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank from the year 1995 to 2015. This was done by using pre and post educational progress indicators and it was found out that, Adults with higher educational attainment enjoy better health and longer lifespans than their less-educated counterparts. Having tertiary education helps in the reducing the newborn mortality, increasing the life expectancy, child immunisation, and enrollment rates. However, there is still need for more research in this area.iv In other words, women play an important role in the family health conditions as many a times she is the person who is cooking food at home. It is also observed that a mother who is aware of good quality food, nutrition would help in improving the health of the child and the child would further carry those habits as a adult and take it forward to his own family. With white collar jobs existing even today literate people are unable to manage their health. Many end up smoking, drinking, drugs either due to peer pressure or due to depression, anxiety or unable to solve one’s problems. So, entirely we cannot say that education can solve the problem of health. Access to food, habits, discipline also plays important part in maintaining one’s health. Health can also be connected with the accessibility like a city dweller has better access to quality foods at times even at cheaper cost. There are food based applications which even sell vegetables at door step. On the other hand, the villages have difficulties to get ration, vegetables, electricity, medical facilities even today. Primary and secondary prevention should be addressing the health education programmes. New activities should be made for general public, teachers, children, parents, and it should be coordinated by qualified doctors, primary health-care providers, and school instructors. The need of detecting and reporting diseases, measures to reduce and avoid the spread of illness, the advantages of treating health problems early, appropriately, and the importance of adhering to recommended treatment regimens should be the emphasis of health education initiatives. Health education programmes in schools and communities, particularly in rural regions, slums, and congested sections of cities, are effective ways to communicate health information and raise awareness. The use of print and electronic media (radio, television, newsletters, and posters) is critical to the effectiveness of such campaigns. Patients' group meetings can also be an effective way to share and network health information. School health service's dedication to children's health education is also criticalv. munotes.in

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72 • Health, Education and Gender Access the education helps in improving the nutrition of the babies, children. As the hygiene practices at times the educated women is more aware. Awareness related to water borne diseases, timely action related to that of medical care etc. A literate women would be also able to read more material and be aware about her rights, government schemes to improve her and child health. An educated women would be able to work many a times outside her home and even consume better food and life choices. She would be able to have insurances, better quality of food in a way, which would help the family too like childrens etc. Sex education could prevent several diseases like HIV AIDS, STD etc. Awareness would solve the problems both for her family and her self and even the children. Awareness in terms of preventive measures related to family planning can prevent over population hence, here any form of education in any language helps. The right to control one’s own body through contraceptives is one of the biggest inventions which benefits the female lives and health. Several International bodies like UNESCO points out various measures to improve health and education among girls It is necessary to combat school dropout of girls due to early or forced marriage, teenage pregnancy, and sexual and reproductive health issues, Even today girls drop out of schools due to lack of enough public toilets or because schools are far away from home. It is necessary to help young people become more responsible in their attitude and behaviour regarding sexual and reproductive healthvi. In some parts of the world, two out of three girls reported having no idea what was happening to them when they began menstruating, and pregnancy and childbirth complications are the second causative factor. Hence, sex education and education about one’s own body, rights becomes very important. Study conducted around 55 countries through United Nations point out the importance of female education. According to the study each additional year of education for a mother lowers the risk of infant mortality by 5-10%. Children with moms who have completed secondary school or above are twice as likely to live through the age of five than children whose mothers have not completed secondary school. Between 1990 and 2009, improvements in women's education accounted for half of the reduction in child deaths. A kid born to a mother who can read has a 50% chance of living past the age of five. In 2008, an estimated 1.8 million children's lives in Sub-Saharan Africa may have been saved if their moms had at least a secondary educationvii. munotes.in

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Education 7.13 COMMUNITY AND HEALTH The conventional medical model cannot prevent most chronic diseases, reach the full population in need, or change the environmental and social variables that underpin many bad health behaviours. Here the community-wide interventions help in bringing about change in the public health paradigm. When local electronic and print media are available, the community can further exerts influence on workplaces, schools, medical and hospital settings, families, and all social network, social events. It provides options for health-promoting policies, such as giving opportunity for all people to engage in physical exercise, school fitness programmes, nutritious school meals, alcohol sales limitations, and prohibiting tobacco product marketing to youngstersviii. Community based education, leadership, good initiatives by peasants also helps in bringing about awareness in food and health. To give some example – G. Nammalvar, a visionary from TamilNadu wrote several books on the benefits of indigenous farming, chemical free farming and he went to several villages and advocated about natural organic farming, instead of hybrid products. Subhash Palekar who speaks about Natural farming and writes about it has also helped in bringing awareness. 7.14 HEALTH EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS Adolescents benefit from school-based health education because it builds the attitudes, beliefs, and helps in cultivating skills required to adopt and sustain healthy habits throughout their life. Through the implementation of excellent health education, schools may play a vital role in lowering adolescent health risks. Students' syllabuses should include the particular information and skills covered in health education, including sexual health and other relevant topic areas (e.g., violence prevention, mental and emotional health, food and nutrition). According to research, well-designed and well-implemented school health programmes can have a positive impact on a variety of health outcomes, including reducing sexual risk behaviours related to HIV, STDs, and unintended pregnancy, reducing substance and tobacco use, and improving academic performanceix. 7.15 FOOD SAFETY EDUCATION Food borne illnesses continue to be a serious public health concern. Food safety education is a very important to reduce foodborne disease. Public should be aware about technical advancements and they should be allowed to take educated decisions. Food safety education should be provided to the whole population. As everyone has a role to play in food safety including the potential food handler or consumer. To achieve this, a methodical, effective, and long-term approach is required. The medical community, is the most trusted source of information hence, public health authorities must take the leadx. munotes.in

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74 Check Your Progress 1. Discuss how technology could be used to improve health. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. According to you , how can we improve health conditions in our society. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7.16 SUMMARY This chapter we began with trying to understand the meaning of kinship which is formed via blood relationship or through marriage. The chapter also discusses the different approaches in kinship, types. It also discusses about the changes taking place through technology like ART, IVF etc. The kinship study is also being criticized by that of feminist groups as being based on assumption and some of the findings not being valid like cross culture etc. The kinship study also have to expand to the evolving categories related to gender. The second topic of the chapter being health and education we look it from different parameters like school health education, food safety, women health etc. 7.17 QUESTIONS 1. Discuss the changes in the kinship studies with reference to technology and that of social movement in terms of Gender rights. 2. Discuss the feminism and Kinship studies 3. Explain school education and health how it can bring change. 4. Discuss the food safety and health conditions. 7.18 REFERENCES i Dyson, T., & Moore, M. (1983). On Kinship Structure, Female Autonomy, and Demographic Behavior in India. Population and Development Review, 9(1), 35–60. https://doi.org/10.2307/1972894 Carsten, J. (2012, April 5). kinship. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/kinship ii https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/41921/1/Unit-1.pdf munotes.in

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Education iiihttps://en.unesco.org/themes/education-health-and- well-being#:~:text=A%20good%20quality%20education%20is,be%20well%20nourished%20and%20healthy. iv Raghupathi, V., Raghupathi, W. The influence of education on health: an empirical assessment of OECD countries for the period 1995–2015. Arch Public Health 78, 20 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-020-00402-5 v R. Vijayvergiya, Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease,Editor(s): Harald Kristian (Kris) Heggenhougen, International Encyclopedia of Public Health, Academic Press, 2008, Pages 571-577, ISBN 9780123739605, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012373960-5.00009-5. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123739605000095) vi https://en.unesco.org/news/positive-health-education-and-gender-equality-outcomes-myanmar-youth vii https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/education-pathway-towards-gender-equality viii John W. Farquhar,Health Interventions, Community-based,Editor(s): James D. Wright,International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition),Elsevier, 2015,Pages 646-652,ISBN 9780080970875, ix https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/health-education/index.htm x Y. Motarjemi,Public Health Measures: Health Education, Information, and Risk Communication, Editor(s): Yasmine Motarjemi,Encyclopedia of Food Safety,Academic Press,2014,Pages 123-132,ISBN 9780123786135,https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-378612-8.00334-6.  munotes.in

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76 8 ENGENDERING THE POLITICAL- POLITICS, MEDIA AND CULTURE Unit Structure 8.0 Objectives 8.1 Introduction 8.2 History of Women in Politics with reference to India 8.3 Comparison of Political Participation of Women 8.4 Political Socialization 8.5 Gender and Reservation 8.6 Violence against Women in Politics 8.7 Possible Solutions for increasing Women’s Participation in Politics 8.8 Media and Culture 8.9 Media Culture, Politics and Gender Roles 8.10 Summary 8.11 Questions 8.12 References 8.0 OBJECTIVES 1. To learn about the engendering process with reference to Women and Political Situation in India. 2. To learn about the relation between Media and Culture 8.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter we would discuss about political, media and culture from the gender dimension. The topics are designed in such a way that basic introduction is given about all the topics and the main topics with reference to gender is discussed. This way you will be able to get a background about the topic as well as locate it in a context. These topics are very contemporary and it is necessary to study about these topics for understanding the Indian society better. One can even look for specialization about these topics with Political Sociology, Gender Studies, Media studies, Cultural studies etc. after your Post Graduation if you are interested. munotes.in

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Media and Culture 8.2 HISTORY OF WOMEN IN POLITICS WITH REFERENCE TO INDIA The princely states though have been ruled many a times by the queen. These queens were well aware of the administrative rights, skill sets etc. During the 1935 the rights of women were restricted to partial voting as a result, this effected even the future number of females entering to the field. The contribution of women during the Nationalist women was impactful and large. Several leaders like Gandhiji spoke about increasing the number of women in the struggle The Independence movement was also a period in the history where large amount of women stepped out of their home in the public space. Women have always have been denied precedence in decision-making in India; they endure institutional, systematic exclusion from decision-making. Political under-representation is one of the major causes of women's low developmental resultsi.The demand for voting rights among Women in India began as early as in the year 1917ii. Some females in the earlier days (1948) were not able to vote because they did not want to give their names to the concerned authority. During the British rule women had to pay taxes if they had the land, property over their name but they were not given the right to vote. The Britishers did not give any voting rights to females. However, it was because of the women’s organizations that voting rights for women began. It began with limited vote in the city of Bombay now Mumbai and Madras now known as Chennai. Later, between the year 1923 and 1930 seven other provinces further allowed women to participateiii. This shows that the journey of political participation was not easy for women back then nor today. 8.3 COMPARISON OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) publication "Women in Politics, 2021," women have 25.5% of the world's parliamentary seats. In relation to Asia (20.4) and the rest of the world (25.5), the South Asian area ranks 15th in terms of female representation in parliament.(i) In India, the average proportion of women in Parliament (both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) is 12.8 percent, which is lower than in South Asia, Asia, and the rest of the world. India is ranked as 148th out of 188 nations, in which 12.8% of parliamentarians being women. On the other hand, countries like South Sudan (20.25), Pakistan (19.7), and Bangladesh (20.9) have better representation of women in parliament than in India. (i) The point here to observe is countries with lesser economic development than India are having greater amount of participation of women in the political process. 8.4 POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION Socialization plays a very important role in imparting politics into the lives of the children, adults etc. Political Socialization takes place through munotes.in

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78 that of mass media, discussions at home, friend circles, different location etc. Political Socialization takes place through both traditional and modern forms of media. Traditional includes banners, speeches, folk art forms promoting a particular party etc. Digital (Modern) Socialization takes place through that of social media, digital media etc. However, the real socialization begins at home. It takes place through informal discussions. Many a times it is the men (Father ) who is discussing about it with his son or with others outside the home, over telephone or even with sipping a cup of coffee/ tea on the streets. This even the females (girls) at home observe and realize that politics is only for men. As mother does not discuss about politics. The general view in people is that the politics is dirty and hence parents do not encourage their childrens specially girls to build a career around politics. As a result, unconsciously, the females do not get enough opportunities to know about politics at a younger age. There are various reasons due to which women do not win election, one of the reason being they do not get ticket. Money and muscular strength have long been important factors in obtaining election victories. Given that economic empowerment of women in India is still in its infancy and with weak foundation, with female employment participation decreasing to 23.3 percent, women do poorly in both sectors. Only 14% of women in the agricultural industry own the farms they work on, and men still possess the vast bulk of property in India. Women also have a tougher time gaining muscle power since women have traditionally been identified with domestic tasks rather than political leadership positions, making it difficult to break free. As a result, this effects the election outcome and females are many a times unable to win the electioniv. 8.5 GENDER AND RESERVATION Reservation policies for women have been shown to (1) increase women's political engagement in rural regions, (2) change rural service provision to public goods that match gender preferences, and (3) enhance public service access and quality. Reservation is seen as a tool to empower. At present there is only 33 percentage of reservation allowed for women at Panchayat, Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti. However, the reservation bill is pending in the Lok Sabha for 33 percentage inclusion of Women. Many a times female candidates get elected but they are still controlled by men like their husbands, father in law etc. Even when a female is about to vote is informed by her household members whom to vote. Women Councillors fared well in programme implementation, according to a study conducted in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, and they had advanced community services and interests. This resulted in the female leaders, re-elected from their wards. With greater female participation the voters appeared to see social change and as well as politicians who were having willingness to engage with themes and concerns that were more significant and substantive to the community. The study also showed that Women councillors have also performed well in terms of financial munotes.in

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Media and Culture management. It ranged from 60 to 90 percent, with usage below 50 percent being uncommonv. While the study of Jaipur showed that several female councilors made career in politicians and hence became role model for others and hence the participation and interest among females increased. It was believed that women from the families of locally powerful politicians of higher castes and classes would monopolise the reserved positions for women, because local elites benefit from rank, income, information, political abilities, and influential relationships. However, representation has broadened. Reservation of seats, for example, guarantees that women from Scheduled Castes and Tribes are represented. Many of the women elected to reserved seats are from farming families or landless labourers. According to studies, 40% of female politicians are impoverished and live below the poverty line. Some authors are also of the view that Reservation rules for women are insufficient in there is need for great rural service delivery and governance, more inclusive and gender equal policies. Therefore, gender-integrated/ awareness policy measures that target both women and men appear to be requiredvi Women's engagement in panchayats has improved their position within their families, castes, and communities due to reservation. There is improved position in the family and society. The case of Shubhatai of village Vitner in Maharashtra needs to be discussed, after she got into politics she appears more confident, and her husband has stopped hitting her (Baviskar 2005: 340). Many males have stopped drinking as a result of women's panchayat work, according to women. The improvement in women's self-esteem, as well as their growing confidence and experience in public life, is even more significantvii. There is still need for greater voice for women’s rights specially single parents, single women. There is a need for more amount of intervention programmes and implementation and awareness for women in politics. 8.6 VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN POLITICS Research on gendered violence is still very limited, there is need for more work on this area. As women have become more politically involved across the world, there has been an increase in reports of physical attacks, intimidation, and harassment directed against female politicians, activists, and voters. Often disregarded as the "cost of doing politics," such crimes constitute a major danger to democracy, is a hurdle in the path for progress toward integrating women as full political agentsviii. Women entering the politics as elected members and even as voters has increased with time every year. The ongoing under-representation of women in legislative bodies, under different ranks diminishes the image of the historic achievements gained in India's people-driven feminization of munotes.in

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80 electoral politics. The real problem is that political parties have never made a serious attempt to mobilise female voters on any subject affecting women in national or state elections and implemented the pre election promises. Political parties' promises on gender problems in their manifestos stay clichéd and are conveniently forgotten after the elections . The inability of India to enact upon the Women's Reservation Bill is cited as the most compelling proof towards political parties' lack of sincerity in taking greater account of women's increased electoral involvementix. 8.7 POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS FOR INCREASING WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS There are several measures that could be taken to solve the problem. Some of the measures are listed below. • There needs to be reservation implemented strictly. Awareness and gender equality in politics has to become at school level. There needs to be encouragement for girls at school to hold powerful positions. Syllabus has to include role models, narratives about gender equality and female politicians. There needs to be encouragement through films, print media and characters. The change has to begin from home whereby socialization is being gender neutral. • Studies point out that greater the number of females in politics, fewer crimes, corruption, speedy work, efficiency and less issues would emerge for women, as females would be decision makers.x. Thus, Women's decision-making participation in politics has the potential to have a significant influence on women's empowerment, which is why India is addressing gender imbalance. • Emphasis on education for girls has to be increased rapidly. As according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2020, India stands at 112th out of 153 countries in terms of educational attainment, indicating that education plays a significant role in determining women's political participation. Education has an impact on women's social mobility. Formal education, such as that provided at educational institutions, allows for leadership development and instils key leadership skills. Women are unaware of their basic and political rights due to a lack of political understandingxi. Check your Progress 1. What percentage of Reservation exists for Women at Panchayat level? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ munotes.in

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Media and Culture 2. Discuss one way through which political participation of women could be increased in your opinion. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8.8 MEDIA AND CULTURE Before understanding the relation between Media and Culture we need to learn about Culture. According to the Anthropologist, Clifford Geertz Culture is “a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which human communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life.” In other words, Culture's purpose is to give the world meaning and make it understandable xii The documentary social Dilemma in Netflix portrays how human beings data is being stored by giants of ecommerce, social media and it used to manipulate the human behavior, to sell products, to create more screen time. The social media founders are also using consumer psychology to influence individuals. It’s a kind of a hook which once an individual uses the continuity remains. Massive amount of data being accessible to third parties creates a threat to both individuals as well as nation. The social media founders collect data through creating habits among people, like geo tagging locations. When a individual geotags it makes the company of social media know that such a place exists and such things are available. Later, these data could be sold to an enemy country and they could at any given time attack via cyber technology like drones. Hence, periodically the Indian government bans applications. Media is now controlling human minds through stimulations. Hate speeches, Misinformation related to other religion, morphing of photos, Videos are also passed on through media specially Whatsapp, Youtube, Facebook etc. Due to the large amount of videos being uploaded in all these sites, it at times becomes even difficult for the companies to monitor this leads to wrong information being passed across wide range of audience and being provoked through such images. In a way, as Chomsky points out media is controlled by various agents like the sponsors, the capitalists and it these groups who decides, controls information hence the information that we hear every day could be biased too. Carey writes in his book "A Cultural Approach to Communication that "We as human beings create, express, and disseminate our knowledge of and attitudes toward reality through the building of a variety of symbol systems: art, science, journalism, religion, common sense, mythology, and so on, this is further shared with othersxiii. Social Media from people’s view point is sharing platform. As human beings we love to share our joy, fear, anxiety and other emotions. Earlier people used to share it to friends and families now it has been to anyone. Hence we see, people wishing in whatsapp birthday in status, sending forward good morning, munotes.in

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82 good night, greeting during festival etc. Infact, there is a application called share it through which large files could be shared within seconds. The sharing culture or the power of social media has being used by politicians. There are advertisements in social media about political parties, specially during elections, jingles, banners displayed in facebooks etc. This practice has been followed in that of America and hence the Obama government could reach a wider audience. The Cambridge Analytica is one such example where data of people was misused for to influence political decision of the facebook users. The internet is used for spreading hatred or as a medium of control by those in power. Whenever there is a problem the first thing the state does is blocking the internet. This leads to loss of job on the part of those who are dependent on it as source of income. 8.9 MEDIA CULTURE, POLITICS AND GENDER ROLES Media influences the culture in multiple ways be it through films, serials, songs etc. Women is still used as a object ‘product’ to sell another product. Cosmetics, Shaving cream which are used by men is also marketed through female models. The characters are often shown as in traditional sexual roles, occupations. This regenerates the notion of patriarchy and existing stereotypes in the society. Television serials portray women as extreme characters and in binary mode – either as homely, passive or as extreme as villain. With time there are inclusion of non binary gender characters also in films. There still exists underrepresentation and misrepresentation of feminism in the mainstream mediaxiv. Women are frequently depicted in media in limited and stereotyped positions, such as caregivers, models, or victims. While Men are more likely to be referred to in reference to their thoughts, experiences, and vocations. Women are also connected and potrayed in media with related to superficial traits such as their looks, dress, age, and relationship statusxv. The cyber crime towards all genders have also increased with time. Cyber crime through access personal information and morphing and passing it on to other people. Hiding video camera and recording pictures is also a big problem. This As well generates a degree of fear, lack of trust and even increase in the crime rates. The representation of women in media can be seen from the point that even today there is underrepresentation of females in television, journalism, professions like cameraperson, film directors etc. There is a need for more number of females as this will lead to the issues related to females more in coverage. As they would be able to relate to it. There is a need for more inclusion of females and genders across all groups, caste, class, tribes as that would lead to development. However, as media still is controlled by powerful groups, capitalists several issues are under reported munotes.in

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Media and Culture The media has a significant impact on how people create gender identities, social conventions, and values. Stereotypes can be reinforced by media, but they can also be challenged. Children are influenced by gendered stereotypes in the media from an early age. The media has immense potential to reflect a larger range of male and female roles and behaviours, and even inspiring people to aspire to various, gender-equal futures. Women's rights and gender inequality can be addressed in the media through presenting news in a gender-sensitive manner, featuring more female voices and opinions, and creating awareness about these gender issues. • Pornography During the Covid 19 the internet traffic towards pornographic sites grew up to 90 percent in Indiaxvi. This is alarming as pornography is known for unreal sexual behavior, acting, fake sexual portrayal. It also shows women many a times in unnatural behavior like seeking violence, pleasing men, facing abuses but showing as if they are enjoying. Pornography also activates certain parts of the brain which is seeking some new experience. It is designed accordingly by the creators of it. Pornography has impact over marital relations where husband demands the same kind of act and this can be problematic and abusive for women. The husband can even be violent under the influence of pornography. Childrens specially those who reside in streets and who do not have parents to guide them, any access to pornography could lead them into understanding sexual behavior in negative manner. The politics associated with the pornography industry is that there is a need for stringent law implementation related to pornography sites or access to it as pornography creates sexual inequality, silence women’s voices, demeaning women as just sexual objects. There is a need for improvement in the obscenity law according to several feministsxvii. Questioning the and Gender Politics Norms through OTT Prior to a decade, there were two movies – Fire and Water – both these movies had unique stories. One was talking about lives of Widowhood and the other was talking about two women who were in love with each other. Both these movies were criticized heavily, there were political rallies, movements to bann it. With time, both the medium of film showcasing platforms have changed. One such is that of the OTT. OTT has given space for artists creativity to question the existing gender norms and a freedom of censor free space. The OTT focuses on content than what is popular hence the quality of content has improved immensely. It has also provided a platform for expression of art and scope for varied characters. Unlike the traditional method of releasing a movie in theatre – if the movie was discussing against any caste, religion, gender, multiple ideologies then people, hired goons, politican parties would be protesting, theatre seats would be torn, anger would be expressed by pelting stones. In a way, the approved way of behavior, ideology of a given time or ideology of a political party if it was questioned by any movie or the munotes.in

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84 theme was as such then the political groups would question it, boycott it etc. However, such things are not happening with that of the OTT platforms. It has brought about revolution through content. OTT has given space for story, content which were seen as taboo and not accepted since long. For example – Stories about gays, lesbian, queer rights, genders who do not want associate to any specific category. The focuss at times is on content than just commercialization this has given rise to a silent revolution and helped in opening up avenues for new forms of cinema which is discussing the social change in gender relations, in the society. There are sections in OTT platform which has gender theme where women characters are focused. Marginalized stories are given a space which the commercial cinema at times fails to highlight. However, we cannot also ignore the fact that the modern media forms popularity has sidelined several traditional forms of media like that of theatre, Nukad Natak and the artists who are dependent upon these forms for their livelihood. Check your Progress 1. What is your opinion on sharing culture in social media ? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. According to you, how does media influence the human mind. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8.10 SUMMARY In this chapter, mainly there are two topics being discussed the first topic is about engendering the political- politics and second is that of media and Culture. We learnt about how women are still marginalized in the political structure of the country. We also compared this with women in politics from other countries. The chapter also showed how political socialization takes place at home and its impact on the career choices of females. In the second section of the chapter we looked into the meaning of culture and its impact on media. Social media has been playing a important role with highest number of users in the World. We also learnt that cheap internet and easiness in using applications has made large people to consume it. We also learnt how childrens are using social media today. Discussion on the media and women was also made in the above chapter. munotes.in

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Media and Culture 8.11 QUESTIONS 1. Discuss how media is influencing the gender roles 2. Write a note on the changes brought about by newer forms of media platforms like OTT (over the top) in terms of cinema. 3. Discuss political socialization and solutions to increase women into politics; you can add your own observations too. 8.12 REFERENCES i https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/main-article/women-in-politics-a-long-way-to-go-964810.html ii Khanna, M. (2009). Political Participation of Women in India. The Indian Journal of Political Science, 70(1), 55–64. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41856495 iii https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43081429 Shani, O. (2017). How India became democratic: Citizenship and the making of the universal franchise. Cambridge University Press. iv https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-let-s-talk-women-s-reservation-2805945 v https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/impact-of-gender-reservation-in-indian-urban-local-bodies/ vi The effects of political reservations for women on local governance and rural service provision BY KATHARINA RAABE, MADHUSHREE SEKHER AND REGINA BIRNER IFPRI DISCUSSION PAPER | 2009 | PAGES: 75 vii https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/25927/1/Unit-19.pdf viii Krook, M.L. (2017). Violence Against Women in Politics. Journal of Democracy 28(1), 74-88. doi:10.1353/jod.2017.0007. ix Rai, P. (2017). Women’s Participation in Electoral Politics in India: Silent Feminisation. South Asia Research, 37(1), 58–77. https://doi.org/10.1177/0262728016675529 x https://www.theigc.org/project/female-politicians-and-economic-growth-evidence-from-state-elections-in-india/ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/politicalcritter/women-in-indian-politics-democratisation-and-decision-making-31823/ UN (University World Institute for Development Economics Research) https://www.theigc.org/project/female-politicians-and-economic-growth-evidence-from-state-elections-in-india/ xi https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/link-between-education-and-participation-of-women-in-politics/ https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/48649_ch_11.pdf munotes.in

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86 xii https://www.britannica.com/biography/Clifford-Geertz xiii https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_understanding-media-and-culture-an-introduction-to-mass-communication/ xiv Media and the Development of Gender Role Stereotypes L. Monique Ward and Petal Grower Annual Review of Developmental Psychology 2020 2:1, 177-199 xv https://kq.freepressunlimited.org/themes/gender-equality/gender-in-media-content/ xvi https://www.indiatoday.in/news-analysis/story/pornography-gets-a-pandemic-boost-india-reports-95-per-cent-rise-in-viewing-1665940-2020-04-11 xvii THE NEW POLITICS OF PORNOGRAPHY. By Donald A. Downs. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1989. Pp. xxiv, 198.  munotes.in

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87 9 WOMEN IN THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT Unit Structure 9.0 Objectives 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Reform and Nationalist Movement in the Context of Women Rights 9.3 Social Reform Movement and Women’s Organisations 9.4 Women Leaders of the Nationalist Movement 9.5 Female Education 9.6 Agitation by Women- Women Suffarage 9.7 Gandhi, Women’s Rights and Nationalist Movement 9.8 Women in Political Action 9.9 Summary 9.10 Questions 9. 11 References 9.0 OBJECTIVES: • To analyze the social reform movements in the 19th century • To situate women in the nationalist movement 9.1 INTRODUCTION: The term ‘women's movement’ does not refer to one individual movement or entity. It is composed of several movements that touch upon a variety of issues and uses various approaches. It is a term used in recognition of the ‘feel that all these movements’ are working in some way or the other towards the emancipation of women. These movements seek to reformulate public life, education, the workplace, and the home. In short, they seek a total transformation of society. A women's movement is a conscious and collective effort to deal with a specific set of problems and needs. Women face these needs or problems due to a cultural system that categorically puts them at a disadvantage. In patriarchal societies, women have been forced to resist because of generally silent and unorganized disenchantments, suppressed feelings of rejection and gender injustice. Women have been affected by these factors at an individual level, resulting in an organized outburst in the form of manifest women's movements. munotes.in

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88 From very early period the ‘women’s question’ featured prominently in the colonial discourse in India. Westernization, Enlightenment and modernity were equated with progress. In this discourse the Indian men fared badly as they did not treat their women well. Therefore, women became the target of reformist agenda in the first half of the 19th century as the modern Indian intellectual tried to respond to western criticism. Thus, female infanticide was banned, Sati was abolished and widow remarriage was legalized. But it is well known fact that the actual social impacts of these reforms were limited. According to Rajendra Singh, any theoretical perspective for studying women's movements and their strategy should include the following propositions: In general, resistance and protests against unjust structures of power and the institutions of patriarchy and patriarchal oppression of women begins with the oppressions themselves. These oppressions are ever-present and ubiquitous. In pre-colonial India, as Romila Thapar has argued, the status of women varied widely. The absence of freedom was more a problem of high caste women following a Brahmanical gender code, than the lower caste women and untouchables for whom the very existential compulsion and demand for productive labour helped them to move out in society freely. In Hindu society the caste hierarchy is connected with the ideology of patriarchy and maintenance of ritual purity. The complex substance of ‘Jati’ is transmitted from one generation to another and here the role of women became crucial as they had a burden of maintaining the patriarchal line. Therefore, female sexuality and her reproductive abilities are controlled. As women are considered responsible for bodily purity of caste, pre-pubertal marriage was prescribed and ban on inter-caste marriage was highlighted. Two important movements influenced the growth of the feminism in India. One was the social reform movement which aimed at changing traditional structure. The other was the struggle of National Independent from colonial rule. The general situation regarding the status of women has been one of separation and domination within the patriarchal system of family and society. Movements of reform against the social evils that affected women began in India in the early 19th century. One of the most important influences in reform movements was the rise of liberal ideology with its concepts of liberty, fraternity, equality and education. Western education helped to create a new awareness among the Indian upper caste and class which led to social reform and legislation throughout the 19th and 20th century. In India, the tradition of women's struggles and movements against patriarchal institutions of gender inequality has been weak in comparison to the women's movements in Western and European societies. The rise of women in their fight against patriarchy has been rather slow. Women's writings of the eighteenth century show disenchantment with patriarchy and gender injustices rather than any kind of active resistance or revolt. munotes.in

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Nationalist Movement Nevertheless, women did attempt to confront the patriarchal system. Women in the nineteenth century found themselves subjugated and oppressed by the male patriarchal ideologies and attitudes, even though they possessed a feminist identity consciousness and realized their plight. Unfortunately, this awareness did not result in an open and organized struggle for selfhood and survival. Although women felt deprivation and anger toward the injustices they faced, these feelings remained mostly latent, or at the best, mildly visible. The women's movement in India can be seen as forming three ‘waves’. The first wave can be seen during the national movement, when there was mass mobilization of women for participation in the nationalist movement. Thereafter, for over a decade, there was a lull in political activities by women. The late 1960s saw resurgence in women's political activity and can be called the second wave. In the late 1970s, the third wave of the women's movement emerged, which focused on women's empowerment. 9.2 REFORM AND NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF WOMEN RIGHTS: There are two distinct progressive movements aimed at emancipating Indian women. Each group acknowledged the restrictive and coercive nature of social customs and institutions. One group opposed these customs and institutions as they contradicted the democratic principles of liberty and freedom. This group was called the Reformers. The other group demanded the democratization of social relations and removal of harmful practices on the basis of revival of the Vedic society in modern India, which according to them, was democratic. This group came to be known as the Revivalists. The social reformers believed in the principle of individual liberty, freedom, and equality of all human beings irrespective of sex, color, race, caste, or religion. They aimed to liberate Indian women hence, attacked traditional, authoritarian, and hierarchical social institutions. Although many reformers were men, the movement aimed to improve the status of Indian women. The issues taken up by the reform movements included Sati, Widow Remarriage, Child Marriage, Polygamy, Education for Women and Women’s Property Rights. These were the problems faced mainly by Hindu women of higher castes and class. The social reformers who were educated and from upper classes felt that women’s role in the context of patriarchy must be addressed. The social evils also affected middle class families and social reform was necessary to convince people to give up such practices. The social reform movements influenced the British administration to prevent these social evils by passing legislation. Pandita Ramabai: Pandita Ramabai was a remarkable woman who pioneered women's education, and she rebelliously fought for women's rights and empowerment. She combined ideas that she had learned from her sisters and friends from other racial and ethnic backgrounds at munotes.in

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90 Wantage. She saw caste system as a major flaw in Hindu society. According to her caste system not only saw physical work and labour as denouncing, but it also led to false ideas of valuing intellect and merit. Furthermore, she believes caste associations promote narrow self-interest and hinder the development of a truly democratic spirit. She formed various organizations like Arya Mahila Samaj, Sharada Sadan, Mukti Mission for empowering young widows, providing residential school for Brahmin women, mainly widows, and also unmarried girls. Her organization also provided vocational training to girls and women in order to make them economically secure. Raja Ram Mohan Roy: Raja Ram Mohan Roy was one of the greatest social reformers of India. Raja Ram Mohan Roy's (1772–1833) name is usually listed first among those of nineteenth-century reformers concerned with improving women's status. The first social reform movement of 19th century was led by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Historians have called him the ‘father of modern India,’ a ‘champion of women's rights,’ and a ‘feminist’. He was concerned about a number of evil customs like Sati, female infanticide, polygamy, child marriage, purdah, absence of education among women, and the Devadasi system. He also fought to permit widow remarriage. He quoted from religious literature to show that Sati, Child Marriage and female infanticide were not part of the Hindu religion. He established the Brahmo Samaj to fight for the better status of women. He strongly refuted the contention that Sati was a free, voluntary act of the widow, and called it a monstrous lie. Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s arguments and anti-Sati activities led Lord William Bentinck to legislate for the prohibition of Sati in 1829. Ishwar Chandra Vidhyasagar: Another social reformer, Ishwar Chandra Vidhyasagar, worked to improve the situation of widows, encouraging widow remarriage. Others like Maharshi Karve and Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade continued his work, legalizing widow remarriages. All the efforts taken by these reforms led to the passing of the ‘The Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act 1856’ which legalized the remarriage of widows in all jurisdictions of India under East India Company rule. Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade: Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade was a social reformer from Maharashtra with a background of the western education. He worked to abolish child marriage and to support widow remarriage. He was also concerned with the education of girls. He was instrumental in the foundation of an all-Indian organization that carried on the struggle for social reform - the Indian National Social Conference. It was the first national organization to carry out the social reform movement collectively, in an organized manner, and on a national scale. He took up the problems of widow remarriages and was an active member of a society, which worked for widow remarriages. It was in 1869 that he was excommunicated by the Shankaracharya for attending the first widow remarriage. Ranade was also committed towards educating women. He and his wife established a school for girls in 1884. munotes.in

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Nationalist Movement Maharishi Karve: Maharishi Karve was deeply concerned about the plight of widows and the problem of widow remarriages. He founded the Hindu Widow's Home and revived the Widow Remarriage Association. Karve also worked toward improving the education of girls and widows. Consequently, he established the Kane Women's University. His efforts in the movement to liberate Indian women were crucial, and his successful and extensive work led to a change in attitudes towards widows. He married a widow after his first wife passed away, in an effort to set an example for others. Jyotirao Phule: Jyotirao Phule, a Maharashtrian of the upper caste led to anti-brahmin struggle. He made a connection between caste oppression and women’s oppression. He opposed polygamy and child marriage and was in favour of women’s education and widow remarriage. Yet another social reformer Behramji Malbari of Bombay fought against child marriage, for widow remarriage, education of girls and better conditions for women. Another important area for social reformers was that of property rights for Hindu women. In 1874, the Right to Property Act gave a widow a life interest in her husband’s share of property and a share equal to that of her son. The efforts of Social reformers of 19th century helped to bring about some improvement in women’s condition. Check Your Progress 1. Highlight the role of Social Reformers in to bring changes in women’s lives ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9.3 SOCIAL REFORM MOVEMENT AND WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS: The social reform movement led to the establishment of several institutions and organizations. These institutions covered the whole country with their activities. The institutions established during this period are as follows: The Gujarat Vernacular Society: The social institute was founded in 1848. This institute aims to decrease the high levels of illiteracy and superstition that characterized Gujarati society. Moreover, it has been associated with all social reforms for women in Gujarat. The society worked for the rights of women through education. It started a number of co-educational schools. It published articles about women's issues in the munotes.in

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92 vernacular press. It organized elocution competitions and provided a platform for women to express their issues and problems. The Deccan Education Society: This society was formed in 1884. The society started girls' schools and encouraged education of women in Maharashtra. The Ramakrishna Mission: The Ramakrishna Mission was established in 1897. It set up homes for widows and schools for girls. It also gave refuge to invalid and destitute women, ante- and post-natal care for women, and provided training for women to become midwives. The Arya Samaj: Arya Samaj was started as a revivalist organization, but it prioritized women's education. Girls were instructed in home science and domestic affairs. The curriculum also included fine arts. Religious instruction and ceremonies were also part of the curriculum. A shelter was provided for distressed women during difficult times. The Hingne Women's Education Institute: In 1896, this institution was created to meet the needs of women, whether they were married, unmarried or widowed. By imparting training in various fields to young unmarried girls, it hoped to prevent early marriage. The program aimed to provide married women with the skills and education they needed to carry out domestic duties efficiently and economically. Widows were also trained to become economically independent. S.N.D.T. Women's University: This University was established to meet the needs for higher education for women in such a manner that women's requirements were satisfied. It provided education in the mother tongue. It was established exclusively for the education of women. The Seva Sadan: In 1908, the Seva Sadan was founded to bring together enlightened women from different communities who wished to elevate backward women. Its main purpose was to provide social and medical aid to women and children from the poorest classes, regardless of caste or creed. A home was also established for destitute and distressed women and children. Moreover, it provided training in domestic crafts for poor women to enable them to earn a living. Seva Sadan in Poona was established to provide women with religious, literary, medical, and industrial education. Additionally, it stressed the importance of all-round development of a woman's personality. It also stressed the necessity of economic self-sufficiency for women. The Indian National Social Conference: Some of the activities taken up by this organization were-to deal with disabilities of child marriages, sale of young girls, the practice of polygamy, and the issue of widow remarriages. It also took up the problem of access to education for women. All India Women's Conference: This organization focused primarily on women's education and social reforms. The main purpose of the group was to actively advance the general welfare and progress of women and children. In different sessions, it passed various resolutions aimed at munotes.in

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Nationalist Movement advancing women's status. Additionally, it also dealt with the evils of early marriage, polygamy, and divorce prohibition. It advocated complete equality for women in property matters. It sought to improve working conditions for women. It also agitated against immoral traffic in women and children, and against the inhuman custom of Devadasi. 9.4 WOMEN LEADERS OF THE NATIONAL MOVEMENT: There is no doubt that a significant number of women took part in the anti-imperial struggle in India. If we were to recall the names of women leaders in our national movement, the list would be very long. We can begin with Sarojini Naidu, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and Mridula Sarabhai at the national level and then move to provincial leaders like Annie Mascarene and A.V. Kuttimaluamma in Kerala, Durgabai Deshmukh in Madras Presidency, Rameshwari Nehru and Bi Amman in UP, Satyawati Devi and Subhadra Joshi in Delhi, Hansa Mehta and Usha Mehta in Bombay and several others. Due to the nature of our nationalist movement, it is very difficult to distinguish between regional and national level leaders. Many women began at the local level and went on to become players in the nationalist centre stage. Besides all these Indian women, there were also Irish women like Annie Besant and Margaret Cousins, who brought their own knowledge of the Irish experience of British exploitation to bear on India. 9.5 FEMALE EDUCATION: In the 19th century, as 'women's question' became part of discourse of progress, there was a movement to educate women, seeking a new vision of womanhood based on the goals of educated colonial males. The educated middle-class male dreamed of finding the perfect woman for marriage from an educated and gentle background. Westernized independent women were seen as a threat to the moral order of modernized Hindu patriarchy. A major agenda of social reform included reform of the marriage rules and the family structure by enforcing strict control over female sexuality and reproductive power as well as following the orthodox norms of Hindu society. Throughout Hindu society, the model codes that defined women's status varied according to respective sections of the hierarchy, but in almost every situation the responsibility to maintain the honour of the community and family fell on women, resulting in disadvantage to them. It is well argued that women in each section of society began to lose their autonomy in their communities. Many experienced social mobility and felt pressure to reinvent themselves according to the norms of the Brahmanical culture. munotes.in

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94 Since the reform of social evils was linked to preserving and strengthening the family structure and creating good wives, it was necessary to have female education. This policy was supported by progressive and orthodox reformers. There had been many educated women from the upper classes and castes but there was no general education for girls. As a result many attempts we made to provide opportunities for female education. Schools for girls were started by Vidhya Sagar in Bengal and by Ranade and Karve in Maharsahtra. The SNDT Women’s University was also started in Mumbai. Many Indian reform groups like Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj ran education institution for women. Generally Indian reformers thoughts that social evils could best be eliminated through education. However, the concept of education was limited to producing home makers and continuing orthodox idea. However, as a result of this a large number of girls received education in the 19th century by 1882 there were 2700 educational institution for girls with 127000 students. By the end of the 19th century, there were also some women graduates. By early 20th century education helped women to become (gain) employment especially as teacher and nurses. Some women from the upper castes and classes also became doctors and lawyers. The female education remained a hotly contested terrain of social reforms on one hand it became compulsory for educated elite to respond to reformist discourse of progress on the other hand it was considered as a potential threat to the harmony of the family and the peace of the households. These dilemmas and anxiety of a revivalist nationalist discourse of the late 19th century resonated against the lower caste literature in the early 20th century. Although some women benefited from access to schools and universities, education for women was mainly confined to the needs of the petty bourgeoisie. The policies of promoting women education and the types of education provided were not intended to promote women’s emancipation or independence but to reinforce patriarchy and the class system. The claim that education would only improve women’s efficiency as wives and mothers left its permanent mark on the educational policy. Check Your Progress 1. Explain the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the struggle of women’s rights. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9.6 AGITATION BY WOMEN – WOMEN SUFFRAGE Women in India played an important part in the struggle for women suffrage. In the first period of struggle in India, British women like Annie munotes.in

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Nationalist Movement Besant and Margaret Cousins led Indian women in their struggle for the right to vote. At the 1918 special Congress session in Mumbai, Sarojini Naidu, underlined the growth of education, civic consciousness amongst women, their greater engagement with political processes, serving on municipal councils, other local bodies, therefore deserved voting rights. Similarly, Sarla Devi Chaudurani passed a resolution demanding adult suffrage, citing similar arguments. It’s denial infuriated women. Princess Sophie Duleep Singh (grand daughter of Raja Ranjit Singh), Lady Herabai Tata, Mitian Tata-Lam, a graduate of London School of Economics, Mrs. Radhabai Subbrayan, Mrs. Shah Nawaz, Mrs. Muthulaksmi Reddy, Sarla Ray, Dorothy Jinarjadas, Margaret Cousins over the years organised protest meetings, passed resolutions, wrote letters, petitions, emphasizing the right to vote as essential for women’s overall empowerment. As a result between 1921-30 Provincial legislatures granted voting rights to women subject to educational and property qualifications, and the Government of India Act (1935) ‘reserved’ seats for women. Since most Indian women did not own property, the franchise did not help women in practice. Nevertheless, more than 4.25 million women had acquired and exercised their right to vote by the first provincial elections (1937). The unconditional right to vote came to women after independence. 9.7 GANDHI, WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND NATIONALIST MOVEMENT: These developments aided India's women's movement and encouraged their active involvement in public life, but it was Mahatma Gandhi's leadership of the Indian National Movement that enabled them to come out of their homes. Madhu Kishwar, a well-known feminist, explains it was during the Gandhian movement that the single woman acquired her sense of dignity and came to be respected for her political work. As part of the Gandhian movement, women weren't mere add-ons, but they played a crucial role. When explaining his strategy of satyagraha and how it worked, Mahatma Gandhi often said that he felt women would understand the method better. The act of satyagraha required patience, forbearance, and moral courage and Gandhi believed that most women in India possessed these qualities. Despite the limited participation of women in the first major Gandhian movement, the Khilafat and Non-cooperation Movement of 1920-22, some notable developments occurred. A second important development was that women went to prison for the first time during the Non-Cooperation Movement. Although Mahatma Gandhi was initially opposed to women being jailed. Then, in 1921, when Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das' wife and sister were arrested in Calcutta, Gandhiji had to reconsider his position. After that, he began addressing women all over the country, exhorting them to go to jail. “A yagna is incomplete without women taking part in it”, he told the women of Gujarat. munotes.in

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96 At the end of 1921, he invited them to attend the Ahmedabad session of the Indian National Congress in large numbers. The women of U.P. in particular responded to the appeal, setting forth from their distant homes, travelling to Ahmedabad, staying at Sabarmati Ashram and experiencing the rigours and austerities of Ashram life. Attending the Congress session, participating in the discussions and getting more deeply drawn into the spirit of non-co-operation were exhilarating experiences. After the Congress session, their lives had been transformed. The Non-Cooperation Movement was at its peak, most of the leaders had been arrested. As a result, the women held meetings defying prohibitory orders, addressing large crowds for the first time in their lives, and, if necessary, even going to jail to keep the movement alive. Women actively participated in the peasant movement in Awadh that accompanied the Non-Cooperation Movement. Jaggi Devi, the wife of Baba Ramchandra, was an active figure. We also have some other names of peasant women who were part of the large crowds who gathered outside police stations to get their leaders released. The peasant historian, Kapil Kumar, in his article titled “Rural Women in Oudh 1917-1947” refers to women like Musammat Putta and Abhilakhi, who came into the peasant movement on their own and not at the initiative of their husbands. Sumitra Devi, on the other hand, had her husband and mother-in-law in the peasant movement. Gandhi's basic ideas about women's rights focused on equality in some areas and opportunities for self-realization and development. He realized that women's position as subordinates was a result of male dominance. In his struggle against non-cooperation, Gandhi was well aware of the power women could wield. Moreover, he urged them to join the nationalist movement and to participate actively in social and political affairs. He believed that women are able to endure suffering and could therefore play an important role in this movement. He advocated principles of non-violence and political non-violence. Having been exposed to passive resistance in their everyday lives, it was suggested that they could effectively participate in socially organised passive resistance and non-cooperation. Also, Indian women soon took up Gandhian ideology and advocated Satyagraha as a form of struggle especially suitable for women. 9. 8 WOMEN IN POLITICAL ACTION: It was in the political struggle against imperialism that Indian women began to participate. The expansion of women’s education and their admission to universities has produced a number of English educated middle class women. By the late 19th century, they made their presence felt in political activities. Bengali writer Swarna Kumari Devi was among the earliest pioneers of reform and political agitation. In 1882, she started the Ladies Theosophical Society, for women of all religions. In 1886, she began a women's association which was concerned with promoting local handicrafts made by the women. In the 1890’s women activists like a munotes.in

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Nationalist Movement Pandita Ramabai and women professionals such as Dr. K Ganguly continued to participate in Congress politics. In the early 20th century, women become more involved in politics. With the increase in nationalist activities, women joined the agitations, organised swadeshi meetings and boycotted the foreign theosophist movement. Many foreign theosophists also participated in the nationalist and women's movement, the foremost being Annie Besant. She came to India in 1893 and was active in the theosophical movement and in education. She not only formed the Home Rule League in India but also become the first woman president of Indian National Congress in 1917. Other theosophists who were concerned about the Indian women's status include Margaret Noble who arrived in India in 1895 and under the influence Swami Vivekanand took the name of Sister Nivedita and worked in Bengal. Her work in education, cultural activities and agitation for Swaraj was characterized by revolutionary zeal. The Congress leaders saw the advantages of mobilizing women and always urged them to join the Nationalist struggle as equals. Despite intentions of Reform the status of women, most of the men still saw a women's role basically as that of the housewife within a conservative family structure. Women activist became included in the political struggles. However, the real issues that concerned them as women were regarded by the men as of secondary importance. The agitations of early social reformers about the social evils that affected women in the family were replaced by Nationalist issues resulting in neglect of women unequal social and economic position. The few women's issues that were taken up were those that interested in the middle class organizations, such as right to vote. The efforts of Sarojini Naidu and Margaret Cousins bore fruit and women were given the right to vote. Through their struggle women were given the right to enter the Legislature. Dr. S Muthulakshmi Reddi became the first woman legislative Councilor. Social legislation such as the Devadasi bill- banning Temple prostitution of young girls meets with opposition and was unsuccessful. In the mass movement of the 1920s and 1930s women participation was much visible in certain acts such as the Khadi campaigns; in the picketing of shops selling foreign goods. In the Salt Satyagraha of 1939 as well as in the general political demonstration and mass agitation which resulted in the call by Congress for civil disobedience. Women all over joined the struggle for independence. The study of participation of women in the political struggle of Indian in the 19th century and in movement for the improvement of the status of women provides historical understanding of some of the problems faced by women’s movement in the third world. While highlighting the legally abolishing the worst act like sati, emphasizing female education and mobilizing women for satyagraha, the movement gave the illusion of change while women were kept within the structural confines of the family and society. munotes.in

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98 Women in the nationalist struggle did not use the occasion to raise issues that affected them as women. While Indian women participated in all stages of the movement for national independence, they did so in a way acceptable and dictated by men. Nevertheless, their participation and involvement in political activities shows that Indian women have played an important part in the anti-imperialistic, anti-capitalist and democratic movements of protests since a long time. In spite of Women in political action and despite the good intention of the male social reformers most of them still believed that a women’s role basically is that of a house wife within conservative patriarchal family structure. During the Nationalist struggle the large number of women joins the leaders in the fight against British rule. They participated successfully in the Khadi campaign and Dandi March. Thousands of women were jailed all over India. Two famous women associated with the freedom struggle were Sarojini Naidu and Kamla Devi Chattopadhyaya. Check Your Progress 1. Discuss the role of women leaders in the nationalist movement. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9.9 SUMMARY: Participation of women in the Indian Nationalist Movement can be traced back to the Swadeshi Movement. During the early decades of the twentieth century, women's lives were transformed by education, the formation of women's associations, and a rise in political participation. The story of women's participation in India's freedom struggle is one of making bold choices, finding themselves on the streets, inside jails, and in legislatures all of which empowered them in many ways. The non-violent movement that gained India her freedom not only took women along but was dependent for its success on the active participation of women. At the same time, there were other strands in the anti-imperialist movement, such as the revolutionaries, communists and other leftist groups. 9.10 QUESTIONS: 1) Elaborate the role of reformers and nationalist movements in bringing about change in the status of women in India. 2) Discuss the role of social reformers for empowerment of women in Indian Society. munotes.in

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Nationalist Movement 3) Highlight the agitation taken over by women to acquire women’s suffrage. 4) Discuss Social Reform Movement and role of women’s organization for upliftment of women. 5) Why was the Gandhian method of satyagraha effective in bringing out women to public life? 9.11 REFERENCES: Armstrong, Elisabeth (2017), “Women and Social Movement in Modern Empires since 1820". Study of Women and Gender: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA. (https://scholarworks.smith.edu/swg_facpubs/3) Gandhi N and Shah N (1991), The issue at state, Theory and practice in the contemporary women’s movement in India New Delhi; Kali for women. Khullar, M (2005), Writing the women‟s movement; A leader, Zubaan, New Delhi. Mukhopadhya, Amites (2012), Social Movements in India, Pearson Publications. Sarkar, Tanika and Sumit Sarkar (2007), Women and Social Reform Movement in India – A Reader, Vol. I and II, (Eds), Permanent Black, Ranikhet. https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/sociology/social-reform-movement-in-india-and-role-of-women/32979 munotes.in

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100 10 CONTEMPORARY WOMEN’S MOVEMENT, GLOBAL FEMINISM & CONTEMPORARY TRENDS Unit Structure 10.0 Objectives 10.1 Introduction to Contemporary Women’s Movements 10.3 Feminist Consciousness since the 1970s 10.4 Contemporary Women’s Movement 10.4.1 Landmarks in Campaigns of Contemporary Women’s Movements 10.5 Global Feminisms 10.6 Contemporary Trends – with special reference to eco feminism 10.7 Summary 10.8 Questions 10.9 References 10.0 OBJECTIVES: • To understand the backdrop of contemporary women’s movement in India. • To evaluate the nature, dynamics, composition, methods of functioning, political-social-economic agenda of contemporary women’s movement. • To analyse the core ideas of Global feminism. • To discuss the contemporary trend of women’s movement. 10.1 INTRODUCTION: The activism of the Indian women’s movement reached a kind of significance point in the mid 70’s and 80’s. It is from this point that the women’s movement entered a new phase. In 1970’s and more particularly in the period following national emergency, the women’s movement assumed a different role from social reform and struggle from independence phases. The National Committee on the Status of Women was formed in India to examine the status of women in the country and determine the extent to which constitutional and legal provisions impacted women's employment munotes.in

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& Contemporary Trends and education. The Committee was the first major effort to evaluate an array of data regarding women's status. It was a lengthy report based on the various indices showing the status of women in India. It exposed the shocking gender disparities in the country and showed the invisibility of women in several sectors of society and economy. This report directly attacks the myth that women in post-independence India were progressing. The report reflected that most Indian women suffer from poverty, illiteracy, poor health and discrimination, both at home and in society. In response to this, middle-class women organized agitations and campaigns against the worst manifestations of sexism and patriarchy. The Committee came out with its findings in the form of a report, popularly known as the Towards Equality Report (1974), which became a major landmark, for the women’s movement. It highlighted the need for a concerted effort to eradicate oppressive practices such as dowry, polygamy, bigamy, child marriage, and it emphasized the need for a campaign on legal awareness, better working conditions for women including equal pay, the compulsory registration of marriages, law reform on aspects concerning divorce, maintenance, inheritance, adoption, etc. In India, the report of the Committee on the Status of Women marked a turning point in the history of contemporary women's movements. This report made the following recommendations: • Equality not merely for justice but for development; • Focus should be on economic empowerment of women; • Child bearing should be shared as a social responsibility; • Recognition of household work as national productivity; • Marriage and motherhood should not be a disability; • Emancipation of women should be linked to social emancipation; and • Special temporary measures for de facto equality. 10.2 THE ROOTS OF THE CONTEMPORARY WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS: Post-1975 saw the growth of independent women's organizations with expanding bases in both urban and rural India. In Indian society at large, autonomous women's groups were degraded as anti-male and even viewed as separatists by the left. Following the resumption of the women's movement, women participated in various campaigns and agitations. Women's movements raised many questions about land rights, the gender-blind nature of development, laws about dowry, rape, divorce, etc. that confronted the state. On the radical left and within the socialist movement, a host of new ideas and movements arose in the early 1970s. munotes.in

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102 India's 'contemporary' or 'autonomous' feminist movement is often regarded as having taken off in the 1970s. By describing itself as autonomous, the feminist movement sought to distinguish itself from other groups operating in public space and from the nationalistic politics of social reform. In India, several strains of feminist movements have been concerned with a wide range of issues, including the environment, sexuality, representation, health and civil rights. There are three broad waves of feminist movements in India. During the first wave, women were active in the anti-colonial nationalist movement; the second wave saw women becoming political activists in the late 1960s; and the third phase of the women's movement in India happened a decade later. During this early phase of the movement, concerns were raised about the gendered nature and application of laws, and efforts were made to pursue legal reform, particularly with respect to violence against women. Check Your Progress 1. State the background of contemporary women’s movement. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10.3 FEMINIST CONSCIOUSNESS SINCE THE 1970s Since 1975, a number of feminist activities have taken place all over the nation, especially in Maharashtra. Indirectly, this was due to the United Nations proclaiming 1975 to be International Women's Year. From the early 1970s, interest in women's issues and problems intensified in Maharashtra. Maoist women formed the Purogami Stree Sangathana (Progressive Women's Organization) in Pune, and the Stree Mukti Sangathana (Women's Liberation Organization) in Bombay in response to the formation of the Progressive Organization of Women (POW) in Hyderabad. On 8 March 1975, the International Women's day was celebrated for the first time by both party-based and autonomous organizations in Maharashtra. In September', a conference of Devadasis was organized. In October, a United Women's Liberation Struggle conference was held in Pune. A connection was established between the anti-caste Dalit movement and feminism. The Dalits had been agitating for social acceptance, and for women's rights to education, widow remarriage and against purdah. Women from the Dalit movement formed the Mahila Sarnta Sainik Dalam (League of Women Soldiers for Equality). It stressed on equality, and highlighted women's oppression, especially the oppressive character of religion and the caste system. munotes.in

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& Contemporary Trends In the 1980s, women's movements underwent a transformation. Organizations evolved from focusing on one or two issues to addressing holistic issues. The feminist movement evolved into three different streams: i. The Liberal Stream focuses on reforming areas of the polity which specifically affect women. ii. The Leftist Stream situates oppression of women within a holistic analysis of the general structure of oppression and calls for a coming together of specific movements for social change in order to bring out the revolutionary transformation of society. iii. Radical Feminists defined feminity and masculinity within society as fundamental polarities and experimented with reclaiming traditional sources of women's strength, creativity, and so on. Women's organizations have been linked with political parties since the days of the pre-independence freedom struggle. It was in the 1980s that "autonomous" groups or organizations emerged, which were not linked to political parties. There were a number of women's groups that were formed in the late 1970s that adhered to the Leftist ideology. Although they were affiliated with various political parties, they declared themselves autonomous. Despite differences in ideology, they quickly developed networks among one another. The fact that most members of these groups had leftist affiliations and belonged to the urban educated middle class, influenced the feminist movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a result, groups in the 1970s were loosely organized and without formal structures or funding. Several groups opted for autonomy and wanted to be separate. While feminists criticize party politics, they acknowledge their importance. The parties were seen as a means to enact reforms and to accomplish feminist goals. Despite the fact that many feminist movements and campaigns of the late 1970s and early 1980s were concentrated in cities and dominated by urban groups, feminist consciousness was entering rural movements as well. The sharecropper's movement in Andhra Pradesh was revived in the late 1970s. Women in Telangana's Karimnagar District have been very active in the landless laborers' movement since the 1960s. Activists were enraged by the kidnapping of a woman, Devamma, and the murder of her husband by a local landlord. The Stri Shakti Sanghatana was formed in Hyderabad in the late 1970s, because of a demand for an independent women's organization from the women themselves. In Bihar, the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Vahini (Young Students' Struggle Organization) was formed, and women of the organization raised feminist issues. This organization was involved in an agricultural laborers' movement for land reclamation from the temple priest who owned most of the land. Women were actively involved in these movements. Among the members of these organizations were lawyers, doctors, professors, students, and working women. Due to the growing power and visibility of women, political parties have strengthened their women's munotes.in

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104 wings. Numerous feminist publications were published, among them: Stree Sangharsh (Hindi), Manushi (Hindi and English), Sachetana, Sabala, and Mitreyi (Bengali), and Apni Azadi ke Liye (Hindi). The idea was to make feminism acceptable to the masses (Patel 1988:124). Protest marches, sit-in strikes, and media publicity were used by feminists in order to create awareness regarding specific instances of violence against women. 10.4 CONTEMPORARY WOMEN’S MOVEMENT In the 1970s, support from the media was an important aspect of the women's movement. In order to influence public opinion in favour of women's movements and to reach a wide audience about the challenges women face, the media played an important role. During this period, violence against women became a key issue for women's movements. The Mathura rape (1972) case, brought women's groups from across the country together. Women's movements also began to search for legal reform in the wake of it. Women's movements in the 1980s were divided on issues of religious and cultural identity. Since the 1990s and the early 21st century, other issues have become important, including domestic violence, women's reservation bill, and reproductive and sexual rights for women. In the movement, women played the most aggressive role, and as a result of the development of a 'women's consciousness,' they began to raise issues that affected women such as wife-beating. In addition, the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution were enacted in the 1990s, which sought to devolve political power to local communities. Through these enactments, women enjoyed political power within local communities for the first time in history. Even if women were to get enough representation in electoral politics, the situation would be difficult. Due to the intersections of caste, class, and gender identities, the question remains as to how to hold women elected representatives accountable to the women's movement. The situation is further complicated by the political reality of fragile coalitions and the rise of OBC / Dalit assertiveness. The early 1980s witnessed a growing number of women's groups forming in protest against violence against women, particularly dowry deaths. In addition to creating awareness about the issues, some of these autonomous organizations offered women alternate support structures. Several of these women's organization provided legal assistance, counselling, and short-stay homes. munotes.in

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& Contemporary Trends 10.4.1 Landmarks in Campaigns of Contemporary Women’s Movements RAPE- One of the first cases to come to light was the gang rape of a poor Muslim woman Rameeza Bee by three policemen in Hyderabad in 1978. The incident galvanized women’s organizations and the public. There was a widespread campaign during 1970-80 against the Supreme Court judgement in the Mathura rape case that brought women issues on the public agenda in Maharashtra. Mathura, a young tribal girl, from Chandrapur in Manarashtra was raped by two policemen who were found guilty by the High Court of India. However, in reversal of the High Court judgement, the Supreme Court acquitted them, which led to protest. Demonstrations took place in Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Allahabad and Nagpur. The women activist from all over the country stressed that rape was a violation of women’s right to her body and it constituted one of the worst forms of violence against women. As a result of the protests that followed, there was a demand for a change in the rape laws especially redefining ‘consent’. The Criminal Law Amendment Act passed in 1983 accepted this demand only partially in the case of custodial rape only. However, Adv. Flavia Agnes, a leading activist in the campaign against rape stated that rape itself must be redefined. The term ‘sexual assault’ must be used to replace the categories of rape, attempt to rape and violation of a woman’s modesty. According to feminists, rape is violence, not sex; rape is unique form of violence because of its sexual character. Rape when used as a terror weapon in war, rape is not only an attack on the body but on personal identity and cultural integrity. During war and conflict rape takes place on a mass scale and often in public in front of family and others. Rape as a terror tactic is attack on women and also on the social system. It is linked to the destruction of social order for victims and non-victims. Rape also creates a deep sense of shame in the women victims. The sense of being raped intimately known and exposed plays an important part in producing shame. DOWRY- Issue of dowry taken up by women’s movement played an instrumental role in raising the visibility of the women's movement in India. Dowry refers to all the money and other items that the bride's family gives to the groom's family, such as jewelry, a car, furniture, a house, etc. The Progressive Organization of Women organized formal protests against dowry in Hyderabad in 1975. Due to the Emergency in 1975, protests could not become full-fledged campaigns. After the Emergency was lifted in 1977, a new movement against dowry began in Delhi. The movement brought attention to the violence meted out to women for dowry, including bride burning and abetting suicide. Delhi has remained the place for sustained agitation against dowry and related issues. This munotes.in

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106 may be because Delhi has had a high number of dowry-related deaths and harassment cases. There have been protests and movements against dowry demand and dowry deaths in many states across India. Many scholars and commentators have stressed a correlation between the increase in dowry demands and a more consumer-oriented society in India, especially among the middle classes. The Mahila Dakshata Samiti was the first feminist organization in Delhi to take on the issue of dowry harassment and dowry deaths. In June 1979, another women's organization, Stri Sangharsh drew public attention to the problem of dowry and dowry-related crimes by organizing a demonstration against the death of Tarvinder Kaur, who had given a dying statement blaming her in-laws for killing her, as her parents could not fulfill their ever-increasing demands for dowry. This demonstration gained wide, publicity, and resulted, in a number of demonstrations against dowry deaths, including a large demonstration led by the Nari Raksha Samiti (Women's Rescue Committee). These demonstrations sparked off public debates on dowry and dowry-related crimes. The law prohibiting dowry and related crimes was passed in 1980. The atrocities that took place in the private areas of home were brought into public light. Various women’s organisation stated that dowry was not an isolated phenomenon but was linked to the inferior status and position of women in society. Despite anti-dowry law (1961), incidents of women death due to dowry were high. As a result, the Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act came into force in 1984. WOMEN AND HEALTH- The question of women’s health in India can be better understood in context of reproduction. While women in India face many serious health concerns, reproductive health, violence against women, nutritional status, unequal treatment of girls and boy and sex selective abortion exert a negative impact on the health status of India women. For the feminist movements in the city of Bombay, women’s health is mainly connected with issues around sexuality, reproduction and the social and legal control of these. The family planning programme- Indian feminists have pointed that unlike in the west, in India the state uses force and coercion to reduce birth rates. India was the first country of the world to accept family planning as National programme in the first and second five-year plans. MTP Act- The family planning program can be more clearly looked at with the focus on the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP Act) passed in 1971 to permit legalized abortions. Prior to 1971, abortion was criminalized under Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, except in cases where the procedure was necessary to save the woman’s life. munotes.in

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& Contemporary Trends The Shah Committee, appointed by the Government of India, conducted a comprehensive review of socio-cultural, legal and medical aspects of abortion and recommended, in 1966, legalizing abortion as a means of protecting the health and lives of women. It was also seen as a way to control the population. The major concern of feminists has been that most of the contraceptive methods are aimed at women, absolving men of any responsibility towards contraception. .\ The Sex Determination Debates and Activism in Bombay: Amniocentesis Test was designed to detect abnormalities in fetus. This test also showed the sex of the child. These tests were very popular mainly because of sex determination which led to sex selective abortion of female fetuses. In 1984 the Forum Against Sex Determination, Sex- Pre-selection was formed in Bombay to campaign against the misuse of the amniocentesis tests. Protests were launched in different parts of the country by women groups and health activists. The campaign has two aims to pass a law banning sex determination and to generate debate around the issue. In April 1986 a demonstration was held outside a hospital in the city with the posters depicting the test and the need to ban it. In 1988 a law was passed banning these techniques and Maharashtra became the first state in the country to adopt such a law. PRE-CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUE (REGULATION) ACT (PCPNDT) 1994- Indian society is characterized by a tradition of male preference. High living costs and the desire to have male child have led to an increase in sex-selective abortions. In practice, the MTP Act is often abused by families who invoke its provisions to obtain abortions of female fetuses after using modern technology to determine the sex of the child. Consequently, the preference for having sons gained a new boost and gradually caused a skewed gender ratio. In Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act of 1994 was passed to curb this trend (PCPNDT Act). As these tests are important for detecting fetal abnormalities and genetic defects, they could not be banned, they could only be regulated. Now these tests can only be performed under very strict conditions, and they cannot be used in order to identify or disclose the sex of the unborn fetus. The PCPNDT Act, regulates genetic counseling centers, genetic laboratories, genetic clinics, and regulates prenatal diagnostic procedures. Under the PCPNDT Act, any medical professional operating a genetic center must be licensed. According to the Act, prenatal diagnostics can be used only to identify specific genetic abnormalities and disorders. This law prohibits the use of these techniques to determine the sex of a fetus. Additionally, the Act bans any kind of advertisement related to pre-munotes.in

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108 conception and pre-natal sex determination of a fetus or sex selection of a fetus. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE- Domestic violence is a manifestation of inequality within the home. It is therefore, not enough to advocate for the implementation of laws criminalising domestic violence. There is a need to create an enabling environment in which a woman is able to assert her rights and seek legal recourse. It is, therefore, essential to address the inequality within the home and recognise rights that counter such inequality to enable women to seek legal action. The Women's Movement played an important role in introducing laws to protect women. In December 1999, the Lawyers Collective Women's Rights Initiative (LCWRI) began campaigning for a new law on domestic violence. Women's groups from all over the country were consulted and it was argued that domestic violence required a civil law. Based on this, the Indian Government passed ‘The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005’. Check Your Progress 1. What are the key campaigns taken up by contemporary women’s movement? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. 5 GLOBAL FEMINISMS As its name implies, global feminism examines the oppressive effects of colonial and nationalist policies and practices, and how Big Government and Big Business divide the world into so-called First World (the realm of Haves) and Third World (the realm of Have-nots). As multicultural feminists agree that definition of feminism must be broadened to include all oppressions against women, whether they were a result of race, class, or colonization, global feminists argue that the oppression of women in one part of the world can often affect what happens in another, and that no woman can be free until the conditions of oppression against her are eliminated everywhere. Aiming to dispel misunderstandings and forge alliances between Third World women and First World women, global feminists aim to expand the scope of feminist thought. In short, Global feminism talks about movements for women’s rights on a global scale. Many Third World women emphasize that they are more concerned about political and economic issues than sexual issues, and that First World women are only interested in sexual issues or claiming that gender munotes.in

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& Contemporary Trends discrimination is the worst form of oppression a woman can experience. Furthermore, they state that in their experience, their oppression as women is not nearly as bad as their oppression as Third World citizens. As a result, many Third World women reject the label feminist. Instead, they embrace Alice Walker's term womanist. Walker defined a ‘womanist’ as “a Black feminist or woman of colour” committed to the “survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female.” In reaction to Third World women’s critique of feminism, some First World feminist object that ‘womanists’ do women a disservice by minimizing gender discrimination. Despite this, the majority of First World feminists are highly receptive to Third World women's reservations about feminism. The time has come for feminists to redefine “feminism”. First World feminists are so eager to make up for past neglect of Third World women's issues that they insist that only Third World women's issues are important. According to them, First World women should simply count their blessings and ask for forgiveness from Third World women for their contribution to oppression of Third World women and men. In addition to First World men, First World women are also guilty of exploiting Third World people. For other First World feminists, it is not necessary to deny the legitimacy of their own concerns to acknowledge the oppression of Third World people. In their view, global feminism is not about giving First World women priority over Third World women's concerns. Rather, global feminism is about women coming together from all over the world as equals in an effort to discuss their similarities and differences with honesty, with the goal of achieving what Charlotte Bunch identified as the two long-term goals of global feminism: 1. The right of women to freedom of choice, and the power to control our own lives within and outside of the home. Having control over our lives and our bodies is essential to ensure a sense of dignity and autonomy for every woman. 2. The removal of all forms of inequality and oppression through the creation of a more just social and economic order, nationally and internationally. This means the involvement of women in national liberation struggles, in plans for national development, and in local and global struggles for change. For global feminists, the personal and the political are one. What goes on in the privacy of one’s home, affects the ways in which men and women relate in the larger social order. Sexual and reproductive freedom should be no more or less importance to women than economic and political justice. In addition to elucidating the connections among the various forms of oppression every woman faces in her own life, global feminists stress the links among the oppressions women in all parts of the world endure. For global feminists, the local is global and the global is local. What an individual woman does in the United States affects the lives of women all munotes.in

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110 over the world; and, correlatively, what women all over the world do affects the life of the woman in the United States. Global feminists firmly believe women are interconnected, but they warn that to comprehend what bonds them; women must first comprehend what separated them. Women cannot resolve issues concerning them until they recognize the depth of their differences before they can work together as equals. According to Audre Lorde, when a feminist walks into a room filled with women from all over the world, she probably does not want to confront her differences from all of them. It is simply too threatening to her notions about ‘sisterhood’ to focus on women’s ‘manyness’, so she strains to focus on women’s ‘oneness’. Lorde stressed that it is precisely this type of behavior that explains feminists’ inability to forge the kind of alliance necessary to create a better world. Just because a feminist wants to work with women very different from her- who may, for example, have suffered oppressing far more harmful to body, mind, and spirit than the ones she has suffered-does not mean she should deny who she is. Nor does it mean she should keep her counsel for fear of offending others. On the contrary, to refuse to reveal one’s self to others is to assume that others are not capable of coming to terms with one. Among the differences global feminists address, some women focus on sexual and reproductive issues, while others focus on economic and political issues. The United Nations declared 1975-1985 as the Decade of Women, instructing all its members to provide women with the same opportunities as men in economic, cultural, religious, political, and judicial fields. Three international conferences were held during the Decade of Women: a beginning conference in Mexico City (1975); a midpoint conference in Copenhagen (1980); and a final, twelve-day conference in Nairobi, Kenya (1985). The final meeting was attended by more than 2000 delegates from 140 countries. Approximately 13,000 delegates also attended Forum 85, a loose confederation of 157 non-governmental organizations. Despite looking forward to each of these conferences, many global feminists were concerned about a women's conference sponsored by a "patriarchal" organization like the United Nations. Global feminists urge First World women who object to the UN international women's conferences to reconsider their positions. In spite of admitting that Big Brother did indeed use some women at these meetings to support political causes that weakened rather than strengthened women's positions, feminists remain convinced that so-called political issues and so-called women's issues are not necessarily diametrically opposed. They also remain convinced that it is a mistake to think that feminists must always privilege women’s issues over political issues; sometimes sexual and reproductive issues must, as many Third World women presently believe, defer to economic and political issues. munotes.in

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& Contemporary Trends Third World women’s priorities help explain why some of them view First World women as arrogant know-it-alls, who are totally ignorant about real oppression. Nawal el Saadawi, an Egyptian writer, was particularly critical of First World women’s supposed powers of perception. She noted: “Western women often go to countries such as Sudan and ‘see’ only clitoridectomy; but never notice the role of multinational corporations and their exploited labour.” In other words, First World women frequently fail to appreciate the extent to which they are the economic and political oppressors of women (and men) in the Third World. Global feminists stress that the distinction between so-called political issues and so-called women’s issues is false. There is, they say, no boundary between these two kinds of issues. On the contrary, they co-constitute each other. Check Your Progress 1. What do you understand by Global Feminism? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10.6 CONTEMPORARY TRENDS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE O ECO FEMINISM ECO-FEMINISM: WOMEN AND ENVIRONMENT In the 1970s, a significant body of literature attempted to link the dominance of women with the dominance of nature; this link is presently a major focus in both feminist debates and development circles. This is known as eco-feminism. During the 1992 U.N. conference on 'Environment and Development,' a panel was devoted to eco-feminism. Due to the striking initial similarities between the treatment of women and that of nature, several attempts were made to investigate the conceptual links between the dominance of women and nature. Efforts to uncover the similarities between the dominance of women and the dominance of nature led to the formation of feminist and ecological movements. Both have been regarded primarily for their usefulness to others, that is, women to men and nature to humans. There has been an attempt to impose a sharp separation on a continuum between the characteristics of sexes on the one hand and of human beings and animals on the other. Based on these similarities, efforts at exploring the relationship between the domination of women and the dominance of nature led to different perceptions among eco-feminists particularly those in the west and third world countries. munotes.in

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112 PERSPECTIVES ON ECO-FEMINISM: As a theory, eco-feminism is relatively new and still finding its voice. Therefore, there is no one single definition of eco-feminism. The word eco-feminism was coined in 1974 by French feminist Francoise D Eaubonne. She wanted to describe the epic violence male dominance had inflicted on women and nature. Eco-feminism is the theory that aims to end all forms of oppression. It tries to achieve its goal by illustrating the inter-relationship of human dominance by race, gender, and class, on one hand, and the dominance of Earth on the other. The eco-feminist movement looks at the oppression of women and nature as interconnected. Consequently, it is now understood as a movement that fights against the inter-connected oppressions of gender, race, class, and nature. Against the similarity in the eco-feminist thought outlined above, the literature in the area offers diverse perspectives among eco-feminists. Broadly they are grouped into three categories based on the underlying stress in their conceptualization of eco-feminism. They are those centered around – (i) Women - nature linkage, (ii) Those in opposition to domination of nature by culture; and (iii) Those based on non-hierarchical networks in nature. PERSPECTIVES BASED ON WOMEN-NATURE LINKAGE: The women-nature linkage is seen by most feminists as an important factor contributing to women's subordination. According to them, women can be liberated by challenging the connection with nature. This masculine wave of feminism aims at attaining equality through becoming like men. Eco-feminists argue against this resolution of the women- nature question, through becoming like men as argues by most western feminists. They argue that separation from nature will not make women fully human and it is not progressive for women to be absorbed into a masculine defined relationship with the non-human, based on dominance, control and exploitation. BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISATION OF WOMEN-NATURE LINKAGES: Eco-feminist explanations of women's connection to nature vary- some consider it to be a biological fact, while others contend that women are universally considered closer to nature, and biological differences offer the basis for social definitions that place women closer to nature than men; this creates the basis for the universal subordination of women. The biologically deterministic explanations of the women-nature link were opposed by some eco-feminists as such interpretations treated women as sub-humans and produced an essentialism in which women constituted an undifferentiated category. munotes.in

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& Contemporary Trends HISTORICAL CHARACTERISATION OF WOMEN-NATURE CONNECTION: Historical characterisation of women-nature connection has been based on views of a common domination of both. But the historical processes accounting for the domination differ between the West and Third World. Science revolution is credited with separating nature from culture, with women associating with nature, and making them dominant (Merchant 1982). In contrast, Shiva (1989) stressed the colonial explanation for women's relationship with nature, describing the link as one of shared similarities. (i) Both women and nature are female; (ii) Both create and sustain life; and (iii) Both have suffered colonization (Rao, 1991, 17) OPPOSITION TO THE DOMINATION OF NATURE BY CULTURE: Another perspective of eco-feminism lays stress on opposition to the domination of nature by culture. This group of eco- feminists is largely represented in the Third World Countries. They believe that women's affinity with nature drives them to defend and protect it. This group of eco-feminists opposes Western feminism because they portray Third World women as victims by emphasizing the negative impact of environmental degradation on women. Third world eco- feminists represented by Shiva believe that women will mobilize in defense of the environment and therefore a post-victimology stance. They emphasize on women environmental friendliness. They also assume that women relate to environment positively except when forced by poverty to do otherwise. They advocate interventions to support the environment and involvement of women in conservation as it will be beneficial to them. Eco-feminists also argue that life is an inter-connected web, not a hierarchy. According to this group, human life is no more valuable than non-human life. They share this concern with some animal rights theorists' development discourse, although traces of it are present in the bio-ethical motivations of Chipko women. PROBLEMS AND LIMITATIONS OF ECO - FEMINISM: The laudable efforts at linking symbolic constructions of women and nature with warp of activity on them attempted by eco-feminists, is beset with many problems viz., it is ethnocentric, essentialist, blind to class ethnicity, historical and neglects the material sphere. • Picturising Women as Unitary Category- The major problem with eco-feminist perspectives is that they posit women as a unitary category that fails to differentiate between women by class, caste, race, etc. Hence, it fails to take into account other forms of munotes.in

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114 dominance besides gender, which also have an impact on the position of women. • Undue Stress on Ideology- In putting greater emphasis on ideology, eco-feminism neglects the non-ideological sources of dominance, namely economic and political power. • Essentialist and Historical- Eco-feminism which traces women's dominance to biological determinism appears to adhere to a form of essentialism, or to a notion of an unchangeable female essence. Such a stance disregards the fact that nature, culture, and gender are historically constructed over time and space. • Neglect of Material Sphere- The concept of eco-feminism is silent on women's material relationship with nature, in contrast to what others view this relationship to be. Nowadays, women participate in all fields equally with men. Women are ahead of men, especially when it comes to pollution prevention, protection, preservation, and conservation of the environment. This can be proved by the participation of women in various environmental movements starting from "Chipko Movement '' to the "Narmada Bachao Andolan". Although women actively participate in the protection of the environment, their contributions to the formulation, planning, and execution of environmental policies are low. An environmental program cannot succeed without women's participation. It is impossible to achieve sustainable development without their active participation. There is an increasing recognition of the need to improve women's capacity to participate in environmental decision-making by increasing their access to information and education, especially in the areas of science, technology, and economics. Lack of female participation in development planning and policy formulation also impacts long-term environmental management and protection and the advancement of sustainable development. The science and technology interventions for sustainable development are designed to take into account women's environmental needs, promote sustainable livelihoods, protect the natural environment, and ensure women's equitable participation and conceptual authority in environmental decision-making. It is likely that failure to meet these needs and interests will negatively impact women's ability to provide food, household needs, and income for themselves and their families, on their ability to use the natural environment sustainably, and on their equitable participation as environmental decision-makers in their communities. 10.7 SUMMARY The women's movement has emerged as a dynamic force since 1975, with many autonomous groups entering the scene and taking up almost all issues of oppression and exploitation faced by women. The contemporary munotes.in

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& Contemporary Trends women's movement has been among the most articulate, and heard in the public domain. Dowry, domestic violence, rape, custodial violence became the basis for various women's movements. Additionally, it reintroduced concepts such as patriarchy, feminism, and the division of labor into its language and analysis. The Contemporary Women's Movement until the mid-seventies is characterized by an element of complacency that emerged out of the enactment of laws for equality between sexes. Multicultural and global feminism present a great challenge to feminism as how to unite women in, through, and despite their differences. In general, multicultural and global feminists have offered women two ways to achieve unity in diversity. The first consists in working toward sisterhood or friendship. Other ways are to try to imagine what other women’s lives are like and to be tolerant of difference no matter how much it threatens one. In the contemporary trend we can see that women are actively taking part in the protection of environment. However, their participation in the formulation, planning, and execution of environmental policies still remains low. One needs to understand that no environmental program can achieve success without the involvement of women and without full participation of women sustainable development cannot be achieved. 10.8 QUESTIONS 1. Explain the nature, dynamics and composition of the women’s movement in the contemporary period. 2. Discuss the women’s movement and development agenda. 3. Highlight the salient features of the Women's movement in India since 1975. What constitutes for its resurgence? 4. Discuss the key features of Global feminism. 5. What do you understand by Eco-feminism? Critically examine alternative perspectives on eco-feminism. 6. What is eco-feminism? Bring out the problems and limitations of eco-feminism? 10.9 REFERENCES Agnes, Flavia. (2001). Law and Gender Inequality, New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Aggrawal, Bina. 1999. Gender and legal rights in landed property in India, Kali for Women, New Delhi. Desai N. and Krishnaraj M. (1980). Women and Society in India (2nd revised edition), Ajanta Publication, Delhi. munotes.in

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116 Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay. (1975). The women's Movement - Then and Now' in Devaki Jain (ed.) Indian Women, Govt. of India. Mukhopadhya, Amites. (2012). Social Movements in India, Pearson Publications. Rao, B. (1991). Dominant constructions of women Nature in Social Science and Literature. Capitalism. Nature, Socialism Pamphlet -.2. Shiva Vandana. (1988). Staying Alive-Women, ecology and survival in India, Kali for women. New Delhi. munotes.in