Abstract
Rangeland researchers are increasingly interested in understanding working rangelands as integrated social–ecological systems and in investigating the contexts of human decision-making processes that support system resilience. U.S. public lands ranchers are key partners in rangeland conservation, but the role of women in building system resilience has not yet been explored. We conducted life-history interviews with 19 ranching women in the Southwestern United States. We analyzed the resulting transcripts by identifying contradictions between women’s material practices and traditional discourses in the ranching livelihood that illustrated women’s efforts to maintain both a way of life and a living during social and ecological change. These gendered practices of cultural resilience included self-sacrifice during difficult financial times, engagement with non-rancher networks, and efforts to transfer cultural and technical knowledge. We argue that the key part ranchers play in rangeland conservation cannot be fully understood without a consideration of gendered practices of cultural resilience.
Highlights
Changes in Southwestern U.S rangeland landscapes challenge the ranching communities and families that rely on these systems for their livelihoods
Each is an example of gendered cultural resilience identified by a contradiction between discourses in ranching culture and women’s material practices
Women lessen their own standard of Women bridge ranching and non-ranching Women produce and reproduce ranching living for ranch ecological and/or worlds through advocacy and community knowledge; empower younger generations economic sustainability keeping to chose to stay in the ranching
Summary
Changes in Southwestern U.S rangeland landscapes challenge the ranching communities and families that rely on these systems for their livelihoods. Social scientists criticize resilience theory for ignoring the context of ecological knowledge and for failing to explore systems of power while emphasizing institutional design and rule-making (Brown 2014; Olsson et al 2015). Cote and Nightingale (2012) question the effectiveness of analyzing social resilience by documenting local or indigenous knowledge They advocate for placing knowledge in social and cultural context, and exploring the multidimensional social processes, relationships, and identities that influence decision-making in these systems (Cote and Nightingale 2012)
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