‘Caravan wives’ and ‘decent girls’: Gypsy-Traveller women's perceptions of gender, culture and morality in the North of England

This paper examines the beliefs and practices that constitute gender among Gypsy-Traveller women and then attempts to discern the consequences that flow from these. It analyses gender ideology and expectations among women and the shared investment in the moral identity attached to being a good Gypsy-Traveller wife. The paper argues that 'Gypsy-Traveller woman' cannot be understood as an identity that stands apart from gender and racial oppression. It is within this context that the tension between change and permanence in gender relations is played out. It argues that the maintenance of cultural taboos embodied and symbolised in the surveillance of womens' bodies is an important issue that problematises the construction of Gypsy-Traveller women. It posits that the appeal to morality may represent as much an avoidance of anxiety as a defence of marked gendered divisions within Gypsy-Traveller society. The paper suggests that the demands of cultural survival play a significant role in framing the degree to which women are willing or able to challenge the status quo

Relational and gendered selves : older Irish migrants’ housing and employment histories in the North and East Midlands of England

Most accounts of migration stress the economic necessity, but generally blur the role of migrants themselves in the process. It is also rare to consider male and female migrants together, or to explore the relational aspects of masculinity and femininity in migration histories. This paper explores the relational aspects of Irish migrants’ residential and work histories using narrative enquiry. First, we explore the complex relationship between housing and employment in Irish women and men’s’ stories focusing particularly on the early phase of migration. Second, we argue that these narratives, especially the ‘intertwining personal, sub-cultural and cultural stories’ are essential in understanding Irish migrants’ experiences. Third, we posit that gender emerges as a significant factor with qualitative differences in Irish women’s and men’s trajectories. Our analysis focuses on the self-in-relation, housing pathways and gendered housing and employment strategies

Homeless women: still being failed yet striving to survive - summary

A summary of Crisis’ latest research into the experiences of homeless women, undertaken by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam Universit