Marilyn Porter

Peripheral Women: Towards a Feminist Analysis of the Atlantic Region

The purpose of this article is to clear away some tangled ground, and, with the terrain a little clearer, to explore the possibilities of some new alliances. In Atlantic Canada, there are a number of theoretical perspectives directed at understanding the political economy of the region. The endeavors I find most interesting are those that have an explicitly political agenda directed at changing, as well as understanding the situation in which they find themselves. In this article I suggest that two of these endeavors would benefit from a closer alliance.

Time, the life course and work in women's lives: Reflections from Newfoundland☆

Abstract Bringing together the preliminary results of two pilot studies carried out in two fishing towns in Newfoundland, this paper examines some of the questions raised by the studies. In particular, it demonstrates that women interpret their experience of work in different ways than men do, and differently from that expected by the conventional economic interpretations. This, in part, explains womens perennially poor position in the labor market. However, and more important, the paper shows how womens interpretations of the value of their paid and unpaid work in the context of the overall “family project” allows them to see their contributions as positive, essential, and certainly equal to those of men.

Women in “Reformasi” Aspects of Women's Activism in Jakarta

ABSTRACT This article documents and analyses the role of womens groups in the events of May 1998 in Jakarta, Indonesia. It argues that the May crisis, especially the gang rapes of Indonesian women of Chinese descent, forced activist womens groups in Jakarta to unite and develop common strategies and arguments. The emerging Indonesian womens movement focusses on two key issues: violence against women and the use of international agreements, especially United Nations instruments, to pressure the Indonesian government. The article suggests that the energetic activities of organized womens groups have put the womens movement in a position where it can have a significant impact on the policies and practices of the new Indonesia. The article is based on both field work and formal and informal written data.

Mothers and daughters: Linking women's life histories in Grand Bank, Newfoundland, Canada☆

Abstract Grand Bank is a small fishing town on the southwest coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The oral history project, on which this paper is based, focussed on the “life stories” of women in three, four and sometimes five, different generations of families. My aim was twofold. First, I wanted to build a picture of the way to the economy, and the sexual division of labour has changed in the period 1890–present. Second, I wanted to see how, by focussing several accounts of the same family experience, I could break apart the ideological construction of the past. I could also use contrasting accounts of mothers and daughters to re-examine the role of “work” in the family and the construction of a sexual division of labour. This paper explores how women situate and construct both their past and present experience, and what the different accounts given by mothers and daughters and grandaughters tell us both about female family relationships and about the interaction of gender with economic, social and technological change. The paper also suggests why this particular oral history approach, using different generations of women in the same family, is especially relevant to feminist concerns.

Promoting Gender Equity and Equality Through the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines: Experiences from Multiple Case Studies

Gender equity and equality is the fourth guiding principle of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines), and sits within its wider human rights framework. The SSF Guidelines contain acknowledgement of the roles of women in the small-scale fisheries value chain, the need for gender equity and equality in access to human well-being resources, and the need for equal gender participation in fisheries governance. While the inclusion of gender in the SSF Guidelines is unprecedented and encouraging, effective implementation is the critical next step. Part of the implementation process will include the creation of culturally and regionally-specific information that allows local agencies to recognize and prioritize gender needs. To provide an example of the diverse and interacting issues related to the implementation of the gender equity and equality principle, we use case studies and expertise from seven countries and regions. We examine the context-specific issues that should be considered in the implementation process and focus on the many barriers to gender equity and equality in small-scale fisheries. We conclude by outlining the many gender approaches that could be used to implement the SSF Guidelines, and suggest a gender transformative approach. Such an approach focuses on illuminating root causes of gender injustice and inequality, and requires on-going examination of power relationships as well as capacity development for women and marginalized groups.

Moving Women and Family Concerns: Reflections from a Cross Cultural Study

Abstract This paper is based on data gathered during a comparative (Indonesia and Canada), intergenerational, life story project focused on women’s reproductive lives. In this paper we explore the ways in which the reproductive stages in women’s lives and their family responsibilities influence both their geographical mobility and the intersection with how they ‘move’ through the stages in their lives. We first compare and contrast how and when women in the two countries move around geographically, and how they manage to maintain their families in the process. We look at the different reasons women give for moving from their place of birth and at the consequences for them. We then relate this data to a discussion about how women also ‘move’ through the stages in their lives. We consider how mobility has different consequences for a single woman or for a grandmother, whose children are ‘moving away’. Finally, we reflect briefly on how mobility of place relates to generation; how women of different ages and stages understand ‘place’ both geographically and ideologically.

How Ideas Migrate: Reflections from an International Comparative Project

Abstract This paper takes a different approach to the topic of ‘migration,’ attempting to explain how ideas migrate and how peoples ideas change as they themselves move either geographically or in terms of their family position. We look first at the experience of migration for women in Indonesia and Newfoundland. We also pay attention to how ideas change as women age and join a different generation. We then look at how our own ideas change as a result of working with colleagues from a different cultural background, especially in the context of comparative studies of womens lives. In our conclusion we look at what this approach to the ‘migration of ideas’ tells us about the consequences for womens situations

Living Culture and Making Relationships: Mothers and Daughters Negotiate Sexuality in Indonesia and Canada

Purpose – To explore certain aspects of womens experience of their reproductive lives, in different cultural contexts, especially their views on sexuality and sexual practices. It is based on transnational comparative research, and compares the experiences and meanings about motherhood and mother/daughter relationships, especially referring to sexuality and reproductive health. The two contexts we have chosen for this chapter are drawn from our data on Indonesian and Canadian women. While these women come from culturally diverse situations, we find continuities between their experiences as well as contrasts in the contexts in which they live their reproductive lives. Methodology – Our study was based on collecting participant driven narratives focused on their experience of their reproductive lives. We interviewed women from three generations in the same families to secure a longitudinal perspective and to examine the relationships between generations in the same family. Our overall purpose was to examine the role of local culture in the social reproduction of womens lives in the family. Findings – The findings we discuss in this chapter focus on the continuities and contrasts we found in womens experience as lived in very different cultural, religious, and political contexts. Indonesian and Canadian women are struggling to live healthy and meaningful lives in a world that is changing ideologically, culturally, politically, and economically. We identify some key problems faced by women, especially as they negotiate the difficult terrain of sexuality, and suggest some points of entry in solving them. Originality/value – The originality of the article lies in the close examination of in-depth, qualitative data on family relationships, especially in contrasting cultural situations. We also think that our approach, which focuses on generations of women in the same families, provides us with a unique perspective on how relationships and especially womens experience of their reproductive and sexual lives are closely related to the way in which culture is mediated in families.

Linking Lessons: Disentangling the Subtexts

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to identify. some problems and contradictions in the concept of “linkage” as Canadian universities have tried to develop it with their “partners” in the South (and in the North). After an analysis of the ideological framing of such projects in the official documents of one university and of CIDA and AUCC, I will take examples (both positive and negative) from the three main stages of a project—project design, project implementation, and project evaluation, attempting in each case to suggest ways in which current practice can be strengthened and made more conceptually coherent.

Feminism is a Good Woman: Reflections on the Use of Ideas in the Women's Movement in Indonesia

Abstract This article examines the actions, ideas and strategies of one womens group in Jakarta, Indonesia, during the turbulent period in the late 1990s before, during and after the overthrow of President Suharto. I argue that Suara Ibu Peduli or SIP (literally, the Voice of Concerned Mothers) was successful in re-claiming various aspects of the good woman in Indonesian culture for a form of feminist activism and a radical re-conceptualizing of womens position in society. While many of the ideas used by SIP can be viewed through the lens of maternal feminism, SIPs strategic and ideological sense has transformed those ideas into a powerful and empowering part of the womens movement.