Questões de gênero e justiça social

Questions of identity, and deconstructionist methods, have characterised gender theory in the global North in recent decades. But the key issues about gender in the global South are social issues, which require a different approach to understanding gender. Social theories of gender and justice now recognize the multiple dimensions of gender issues, such as organization, violence, recognition and problems of embodiment. We move beyond dichotomies to questions of change, multiplicity (e.g. of masculinities) and the different gender orders across the world. As the pioneering work of Heleieth Saffioti showed, gender analysis deals with large-scale structures. The dominant economy of knowledge privileges theory from the global North. But increasingly we recognize the coloniality of gender and the gender analysis that come from the post-colonial majority world. This includes different approaches to identity, to power and the state, and new thematics such as the relation between gender and the land. In developing the gender perspectives that are needed for the pursuit of gender on a world scale, South/South relations will be vital.Questões de identidade e métodos desconstrucionistas têm caracterizado a teoria de gênero no Norte global nas últimas décadas. Mas as questões chave acerca do gênero no Sul global são de cunho social, o que requer uma abordagem diferenciada para que se possa compreendê-lo. As teorias sociais do gênero e da justiça atualmente reconhecem as múltiplas dimensões das questões de gênero, tais como organização, violência, reconhecimento e os problemas de inclusão. Levamos as questões de mudança, multiplicidade (por exemplo, de Masculinidades) e as diferentes ordens de gênero em todo o mundo para além de dicotomias. Como evidenciou o trabalho pioneiro de Heleieth Saffioti, a análise de gênero lida com estruturas de grande escala. A economia do conhecimento dominante privilegia as teorias advindas do Norte global. Mas cada vez mais reconhecemos a colonialidade do gênero e a análise de gênero que emerge de um mundo majoritariamente pós-colonial. Isto inclui diferentes abordagens para a identidade, o poder e o Estado, além de novas temáticas, como a relação entre o gênero e o direito a terra. Para tanto, no desenvolvimento das perspectivas de gênero necessárias para alcançar uma concepção em escala mundial, as relações Sul/Sul serão vitais. http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/223667251703

Decolonial Research Methods: Resisting Coloniality in Academic Knowledge Production (Webinar 3)

This is the third webinar in a six-part series from NCRM called Decolonial Research Methods: Resisting Coloniality in Academic Knowledge Production. The speaker is Professor Raewyn Connell from the University of Sydney. The title of her talk is Decolonising Research: Working Methods. The webinar took place on 9 November 2021

Negotiating with the North: How Southern-tier intellectual workers deal with the global economy of knowledge

This article examines a group of intellectual workers who occupy a peripheral but not powerless position in the global economy of knowledge. How do they handle relations with the global metropole, especially in new fields of research where established hierarchies are in question? Three new domains of knowledge - climate change, HIV/AIDS and gender studies - are studied through interviews with 70 active researchers in Southern-tier countries Brazil, South Africa and Australia. A pattern of extraversion, involving active adoption of paradigms from the metropole, is widespread and institutionally supported. Major alternative knowledge formations have not emerged in these domains. However contestations of more specific kinds are frequent. Paradigms are adapted, criticism is offered, activism is engaged, capacities are developed and allegiances sometimes changed. The valorization of local knowledge, which goes beyond the abstractions of universalized paradigms, is particularly significant. Not stark subordination, but a complex collective negotiation characterizes the response of intellectual workers in the Southern tier.Australian Research Council, DP13010348

The Monstrous ‘White Theory Boy’: Symbolic Capital, Pedagogy and the Politics of Knowledge

This article presents a critical uncovering of the continued dominance of whiteness and maleness in processes and practices of knowledge formation. Tracking the figure of the ‘white theory boy’ or ‘dead white man’ across experiential accounts of theory, scholarship on canonicity, and pedagogical strategies, the article demonstrates his enduring authority in theoretical knowledge making and dissemination. Where this article moves somewhere different is its suggestion that a space of sympathy be extended to this hegemonic figure. Though the dominance of the ‘white theory boy’ undoubtedly perpetuates inequalities throughout social theoretic thought, it is necessary to locate a new method of tackling such ingrained problems. Though extending sympathy to the ‘white theory boy’ is perhaps initially counter-intuitive, my suggestion is that he does not hold the sort of monolithic power we might first assume. Bringing an intersectional analysis of gender, class, ‘race’ and ethnicity to bear on this figure, creates a space in which a more critical and fine-grained account of the relationship between power, knowledge, and social status can be uncovered. It is through extending this space of sympathy and mutual cooperation to ‘white theory boys’ that the practical and conceptual machinations of their power are further revealed. From here a more thorough dismantling of this power becomes possible

Carving out pathways : dear doctor gender and sexuality researcher

This chapter is about carving out a pathway in academia or related gender and sexuality (G&S) careers. A panel of academic experts on G&S—including Professor Emeriti and Associate Professors with highly successful careers—answer eight questions about career pathways in research and education. All experts have held or hold academic roles in research-only institutions and teaching faculty roles, professional research roles, related professional/corporate/government roles, and engaged in both theoretical and empirical studies. All questions were submitted by emerging and student researchers, and workers in sexuality and gender in education, from various countries around the world

‘It’s like equality now; it’s not as if it’s the old days’: an investigation into gender identity development and football participation of adolescent girls

This article explores the influence participating in football has on the development of adolescent girls’ gender identity, an area which currently lacks academic attention. Data were taken from an ethnographic study with a group of adolescent girls and boys and compared to Jeanes’ research. A social constructionist framework was deployed with links to both critical theory and feminist literature. Qualitative and participatory methods were used to fully engage with the complex issue of gender identity. The girls within this study were aware of the normative gender expectations linked to ‘being a female’ but did not find this restrictive. The girls moved between many changing identities and organised their ‘web of selves’ accordingly. The apparent need to measure success by the parameters of male standards created a barrier to girls’ identity development