Maarit Sireni

Reinventing rural femininities in the post-productivist Finnish countryside

Abstract This paper examines how Finnish farm women interpret their own position as women on family farms. Following the poststructuralist approach in rural gender studies, the analysis focuses on the meanings which women produce regarding agrarian femininity. For this purpose, interview material on their everyday life stories are compared with the discourses on rural femininities in the Koti magazine, which is published by the most important organization representing farm women in Finland. It is concluded that the positions in which farm women present themselves are in accordance with the discourses on rural femininity produced and mediated by this magazine. Farm women present themselves, and they are expected to be, economically active agents in the post-productivist countryside Abstrakti Artikkelissa tarkastellaan, miten suomalaiset maatilan emännät ymmärtävät ja tulkitsevat naisen paikan maatilalla. Tutkimuksen näkökulma on konstruktionistinen. Tavoitteena on tunnistaa maatilan emännyyteen liitettyjä merkityksiä, joita haastatellut naiset tuottavat kuvatessaan jokapäiväistä elämäänsä ja työtänsä maatilalla. Näitä merkityksiä verrataan keskeisen suomalaisen maaseudun naisille suunnatun aikakauslehden tuottamiin maaseudun naiseutta koskeviin puhetapoihin. Artikkeli osoittaa, että naisten esitykset itsestään ovat linjassa heitä koskevien puhetapojen kanssa. He kertovat olevansa ja heidän odotetaan olevan aktiivisia taloudellisia toimijoita postproduktivistisella maaseudulla

Agrarian femininity in a state of flux: multiple roles of Finnish farm women

In rural gender studies, the dominant forms of agrarian femininity are associated with the traditional role of being the farmers spouse. According to Brandth (2002), “the discourse of family farming” has represented the hegemonic interpretation of how a typical farm woman lives and works on a farm owned and controlled by her husband, or by members of her husbands extended family. In this context, family farming has been characterised as patriarchal, and the position of farm women subordinated. Whereas the head of the farm is a man, who supervises activities and makes decisions, a woman is responsible for household tasks and routine agricultural activities. Hence, agrarian femininity is conditioned by this gendered division of labour. A farm womans feminine identity is “tied to her marital contract assuming the identity of a farmers wife” (Brandth, 2002, p. 184), she has no independent status, thus her occupational identity is weak and hardly recognised. Homemaking also defines farm women “as mothers, tying the definitions of social roles to their biological functions” (Brandth, 2002, p. 184). Thus, a “good farm woman” can be defined as a caring woman in this discourse of family farming.

When Urban Planning Doctrine Meets Low Density Countryside

Abstract Drawing on an empirical analysis of Finnish local policy-makers’ views on land use planning aims in rural areas, this paper investigates local responses to the new national planning regulations set out by the Government. According to the new norms, a dense settlement structure should be promoted not only in urban centres but also in rural areas in order to curb climate change and improve the viability of communities. Based on the data obtained from an internet-based survey conducted by a regional newspaper in western Finland before municipal elections in 2008 and 2012, this paper shows that the majority of the local policy-makers challenge the new norms. They do not believe that sustainable development can be promoted by constraining building rights in the rural region characterised by a dispersed settlement structure.