1. CONFLUENCE AND CHANGE IN GENDER RESEARCH Rebecca McEvoy EDRD 6000 University of Guelph 2. OVERVIEW OF THE PRESENTATION Why we need feminist methodology A few presuppositions about society... What is Gynopia? Different branches and confluences Women In Development Gender And Development An important fallacy Principles of feminist/gender studies research Why is gender planning important? 3. WHY WE NEED FEMINIST METHODOLOGY 4. A FEW PRESUPPOSITIONS ABOUT SOCIETY... Much of the early literature was written by men and portrays the experiences of only half of society Womens stories were largely buried narratives There are many groups with hidden narratives Gender research and methodology seeks to retrieve these narratives and knowledges 5. WHAT IS GYNOPIA? The inability to see women, -opia meaning a deficiency in vision or perception As researchers in pursuit of truth, we must all ask: Whose voices are not present? What other narratives must be restored? 6. BRANCHES AND CONFLUENCES Race and/or ethnicity Social status Sexual diversity Post-colonial discourses Linguistics 7. WID & GAD USAID changed its approach over time Women in Development (WID) Caroline Moser critique New focus placed on gender Gender and Development (GAD) Focusing on social relations instead of biology thought to offer more pathways for positive change 8. AN IMPORTANT FALLACY Research is not value-free; when a social scientist asserts this, he or she is self-deluding Gender studies researchers often situate themselves in the research 9. PRINCIPLES Good listening skills Interviewee feels supported in sharing Promises made by the researcher are fulfilled When scheduling an interview, practical constraints on the interviewee are considered and accommodated There is a sense of reciprocity Follow-up relationship or action research may emerge 10. WHY IS GENDER PLANNING IMPORTANT? Men and women are different & have different needs Planning and extension workers need to account for this Often disaggregate households on the basis of gender to address such needs 11. GENDER PLANNING (2) Families are not always nuclear & division of labour is not always based on sex There are increasingly more single-parent families & female heads of households The triple role of women: reproductive work; productive work; and community managing Feminist theory has helped to bring this to light Feminist methodology developing new ways to account for it in research Problematic nature of painting the Third World Woman as a monolithic motif 12. QUESTIONS What resonated with you? Do you agree gender research offers more pathways for change than feminist research? Why? What are the benefits of situating oneself as a researcher? 13. References Bucholtz, M. (1999). Why be normal?: Language and identity practices in a community of nerd girls. Language in Society, 28(02), 203-223. Cameron, D. (1998). Gender, language, and discourse: A review essay. Signs, 23(4), 945-973. Eckert, P., & McConnell-Ginet, S. (1992). Think practically and look locally: Language and gender as community-based practice. Annual Review of Anthropology, 21, 461-490. Gubrium, J. F., & Holstein, J. A. (2002). Handbook of interview research: Context and Method. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications. Mohanty, C. T. (1984). Under western eyes: Feminist scholarship and colonial discourses. Boundary 2, 12/13(3), 333-358. Moser, C. O. N. (1989). Gender planning in the third world: Meeting practical and strategic gender needs. World Development, 17(11), 1799-1825.