Abstract

Gendered relations in resource access and farming are two important intersecting themes of gender studies in a northern rural context. However, conventional analysis and perceptions of the economy conceal the contribution of women within families, in businesses and in the labor market. This article demonstrate the significance of capital to farming women's engagement with agriculture using a Swedish case study, based on descriptive analyses of data from the Federation of Swedish Farmers. To disclose the embodiment of family farming, gendered control of land, business activities and farm incomes is analyzed. On this empirical basis, we argue for reconstitution of farm-related entrepreneurial research, rural development policies and rural gender studies from a new material feminist approach. Access to resources, typically land, together with social forces and embodied experiences constitute the basis of strategic focus and agency. We demonstrate that acknowledgement of access to resources in the research process and in the understanding of social relations, resistance and situated knowledge are essential.

Keywords

land; economy; materiality; material feminism; agriculture; entrepreneurship

Published in

Land
2014, Volume: 3, number: 1, pages: 188-203
Publisher: MDPI

SLU Authors

• Andersson, Elias

  • Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Lidestav, Gun

  • Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls


UKÄ Subject classification

Gender Studies
Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use
Economic Geography


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/land3010188

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/63902