Patriarchal Expectations Research Articles

(Un)Veiling the Female Gaze: Darlings Subverts the Madonna-Whore Complex

The portrayal of women in Indian cinema has long been constrained by the Madonna-Whore complex, which limits female representation to restrictive archetypes of virtue or seduction. This paper investigates how the 2022 Bollywood film Darlings challenges and subverts this dichotomy. The objective of this study is to employ a critical feminist approach to analyze the film’s subversion of patriarchal expectations through the narratives of Badru and Shamshu. Darlings, with its female directorial and production perspectives, highlights the importance of the female gaze in Indian cinema to authentically represent women’s agency, desire, and resilience. The research methodology involves a critical examination of the film’s narrative, character dynamics, and cinematic techniques. The film underscores the importance of female authorship in shaping authentic narratives that amplify female agency while resisting objectification and marginalization. The findings demonstrate several cinematic techniques, such as framing, scene sequence, and character arcs, used to establish an empowered female gaze. Ultimately, the film emerges as a part of the paradigm-shifting film genre with the potential to catalyze much-needed critical discourses in how women can control their narratives, reject cultural rationalizations of violence against them, and redefine the sexual norms in Bollywood.

Navigating Compliant Agency in Cyberspace: Muslim Womanhood Through the Lens of Oki Setiana Dewi

In contrast to the stereotype that docile Muslim women are confined to domestic roles, this study examines how Muslim womanhood can balance economic independence with adherence to religious and societal expectations. Focusing on the case of Indonesian ustadzah (Islamic preacher) Oki Setiana Dewi, this research explored her agency as expressed through her Instagram activity. Cultivating the compliant agency, this article asserts that consciously adhering to religious values preserves patriarchal expectations while gaining authority and financial freedom. This study utilized qualitative content analysis, collecting data from Oki’s Instagram account using "Instalouder" and analyzing captions with "Voyant Tools" to identify recurring themes. Oki's persona conforms to what society expects of women. She portrays herself as a devout Ustadzah, a prosperous entrepreneur, and a mother who is dedicated to her kids. This illustrates cyberspace as a place where women preserve traditional norms as well as a space for them to express their agency. It fosters a duality of cyberspace that is both empowering and constraining. This raises critical issues that Oki's narrative, while seemingly empowering, reinforces patriarchal norms that confine women to domestic and religious obligations, even to their agency. In other words, her portrayal emphasizes the ability to balance public and private roles but leaves room for questioning the societal structures that enforce these expectations. It raises critical questions about whether such an agency disrupts or perpetuates systemic inequalities in Indonesia's gendered social landscape.

Female Resistance and Rebellion in Clarice Lispector’s The Hour of the Star

This paper explores the theme of female resistance and rebellion in Clarice Lispector’s The Hour of the Star, with a focus on the character of Macabéa. Although Macabéa appears passive and compliant, her existence is examined as a subtle form of resistance against societal and patriarchal expectations. Her non-conformity to traditional gender roles, her indifference to beauty and success, and her quiet endurance of suffering are seen as acts of defiance in a world that devalues her. The narrative further analyzes Macabéa’s silence as a tool of resistance and autonomy, highlighting how her refusal to articulate her suffering undermines patriarchal control. Additionally, the paper delves into Macabéa’s internal rebellion, symbolized through her dreams and fantasies, which offer her a psychological escape from societal pressures. Through an exploration of narrative techniques, internal defiance, and psychological autonomy, this paper argues that Macabéa’s existence embodies a unique and profound form of female resistance in the face of patriarchal oppression.

‘Yeah, embrace your anger. Fuck them.’: using feminist collaborative autoethnography and an ethics of care to (re)imagine our position as disabled women in academic spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

In this article, we argue that a Slow Feminism, which evolves through the slow but consistent support of other women that is embedded in care, compassion and constructive challenge against patriarchal expectations, is essential for the future of feminist praxis within higher education. This work emerged from our coming together to reflect-on-action on our experiences as disabled, women, postgraduate researchers in different disciplines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeling ‘othered’ by and invisible to hierarchal structures, we sought to understand our individual challenges through a collective lens. Relational ethics and a praxis of care in line with feminist epistemology underpinned our systematic ‘feminist collaborative autoethnography’, whereby we critically engaged with individual reflections and together in online meetings to interpret shared social, emotional and structural challenges. In this article, we draw on our experiences sharing this data through poetry, during the stage of our collaborative project in which we utilised ‘poems’ to identify the challenges of being a disabled woman navigating higher education, and the resistance we employed individually, and collectively, in support of one another. Through this process, we challenged the neoliberal, patriarchal and oppressive systems that we are forced to engage with daily and our own complicity in them. Using our individual, collective and overlapping voices, whereby we recognise the tensions and supportive narratives created by and within our research conversations, we identify that feminist activism and feminist futures are not solely a response to extreme events.

A Critical Examination of Patriarchal Structures and Female Subjugation in What's Love Got to Do with It? (2023)

Aim of Study: This research critically examines the patriarchal structures and female subjugation depicted in the movie What's Love Got to Do with It? (2023). The study aims to uncover how traditional gender roles and patriarchal expectations impact women's lives, particularly in marriage decisions. Methodology: The study employs a qualitative content analysis approach, utilizing dialogues from the film to explore underlying patriarchal themes and gender stereotypes. The theoretical framework is based on Simone de Beauvoir’s existentialist feminism, focusing on gender as a social construct, women as the “Other,” women’s immanence and domestic duties, and women’s alienation. Findings: Key findings include that Kazim's father desires for a non-ambitious daughter-in-law reflects the patriarchal fear of women's liberty. Kazim's mother's focuses on physical appearance and traditional submissiveness in a potential bride highlights gendered norms of behavior. Meymoona's hesitance and her mother's intervention in her responses indicate a lack of autonomy and forced compliance with family decisions. Meymoona's true rebellious nature, revealed in the absence of her family, underscores the dual life women often lead due to societal pressures. The eventual revelation that Meymoona was in love with someone else and felt compelled into marriage exemplifies the personal costs of forced marriage and patriarchal expectations. Conclusion: The study concludes that What's Love Got to Do with It? (2023) effectively portrays the impact of patriarchal structures on women's lives, particularly in the context of arranged marriages. It highlights how societal and familial expectations enforce traditional gender roles and suppress women's autonomy. The character of Meymoona serves as a case study for the broader issues of female subjugation and the struggles women face in asserting their independence within a patriarchal framework.

Kamala Das: A Writer Forged in Emotion and Language

Kamala Das, a poet renowned for her raw honesty and emotional intensity, carved her own path amidst societal constraints and personal struggles. This abstract explores the key themes that shaped her life and work. Das's childhood, marked by parental neglect and a yearning for connection, left an indelible imprint. It fueled her empathy for the marginalized and her defiant voice against injustice. From a young age, Das turned to poetry to express her unfulfilled desires and grapple with complex emotions. The "headless dolls" motif resonated with her sense of incompleteness and longing for wholeness. Das challenged societal norms, questioning feminine roles and advocating for women's autonomy. Her marriage, devoid of emotional intimacy, became a battleground against patriarchal expectations. Das's quest for love, initially idealistic, evolved into a yearning for genuine connection and emotional fulfillment. This exploration, often labeled "ecriture feminine," transcended categorization and resonated with universal human desires. Despite societal disapproval and personal challenges, Das remained true to her voice. Her poems, infused with vulnerability and strength, continue to inspire readers with their unflinching honesty and emotional depth.

“I Thought They Would at Least Love Me”: The Gay Experiences of Heteronormative Regimentation in Indian Families, a Phenomenological Ethnography

This paper inquires into the heteronormative regimes of sexual morality, focusing on the experiences of gay and queer men within the locus of family. Drawing upon a phenomenological ethnography involving interviews with the Indian gay community, this study demonstrates the disciplinary power of sexual morality over queer lives. It examines the varied strategies of moral regimentation within the locus of family, including regimenting through silencing, moral dictation, and penalizing. These strategies reflect the prevailing conservative and sex-negative attitudes in Indian society, particularly patriarchal expectations toward men and the pressure for marriage, which augments familial and social burdens on gay men, resulting in emotional distress. The cumulative effects lead to gay men living double lives, presenting a socially accepted façade while repressing their authentic queer selves, indicating a guilty conscience and internalized homophobia. These experiences correlate with risky sexual behavior, substance abuse, and overall compromised mental health. This phenomenological inquiry highlights the role of the family as a locus of moral control of queer individuals and contributes to the sociological understanding of morality as a power-relation.

The Ambivalence of Mother Love: Navigating Maternal Subjects Through the TV Drama A Love for Dilemma

The TV drama A Love for Dilemma (2021) has sparked widespread debates on motherhood and gender in China. This article explores the intricacy of the show’s representation of “bad mother.” While conventional perspectives often view motherhood as a realm of private intimacy, insufficient attention has been given to the distinctiveness of Chinese-style motherhood and its intersection with family, neoliberalism, and state politics. This article addresses the importance of analyzing the televisual representation of motherhood to gain insight into how the interplay between patriarchy, the market and the state configures maternal subjectivity, particularly under the leadership of Xi Jinping. By examining the emotional meaning of motherhood produced by the TV series, this study unveils the inherent contradiction of mother love as a site of political investment. It argues that the ambivalence surrounding mother love stems from its entanglement with patriarchal expectations, the burdens of emotional labor, and the state’s vested interests.

Sympathizing with Gen-Z: Reflections of Social Media Culture in TikTok

Social media, which has become more essential in people's lives over the last two decades, on the one hand, creates a new social condition, a digital society, and on the other, changes people's everyday lives to a large extent. Social media deepens an intergenerational conflict between the young people who grew up with it, commonly referred to as the Z-generation, and the older generations, who are struggling to adapt to this new situation. As a reflection of this situation of conflict, bias towards younger generations occupies an important place in a significant part of the studies on social media. In these studies, young people are often portrayed as actors who, by all means, are permissible to become famous, pragmatists, and corrupt the moral values of society. Emerging as a critique of such approaches, this study tries to comprehend the new social condition created by social media. The study is based on a nethnographic analysis of the 58 highest-rated videos shot under the Buss It Challenge, which became a trend among young people on TikTok in early 2021. The study, on the one hand, reveals young people's perceptions of the ideal life and ideal body; on the other hand, it questions the projections of intercultural and gender differences in such videos. As a result, the study claims that an understanding of fame based on the sexualization of the female body, which is an important component of social media culture, is significantly shaped by neoliberal and patriarchal expectations, and social media alters the perception of time and space, which in turn reshapes the private and the public.

Subtle-Radical Female Subversion as a Means of Self-Empowerment in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions and Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood

In this article, we use two African literary texts written by African women to demonstrate ways in which women use very subtle but radical ways to circumvent patriarchal norms. We re-read Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions and Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood to demonstrate subtle-radical ways in which women subvert patriarchal expectations. We utilise African radical feminism as a literary theory to frame our analysis. Furthermore, we problematise the ideology of using radical means as a way to survive and argue that women ought to survive and live a meaningful, free life post survival. To do this, we bring to light the subtle-radical ways in which characters such as Tambudzai, Lucia, and Adaku subvert gender role expectations in order to emancipate themselves from the shackles of patriarchal expectations. We find that women who use conventional radical resistive ways tend to have the full force of patriarchy’s weight clamped down on them, while those who use subtle-radical means tend to get their freedom and succeed.

Freedom and Agency in The Second Sex

Freedom and Agency in <i>The Second Sex</i>

Narratives of Self-Discovery: Examining Kamala Das's Autobiography in the Context of Women's Empowerment

This research article examines the significance of autobiographical works as a means of self-expression and self-portrayal in contemporary society. The study explores the genre of autobiography, its historical development, and its psychological implications. The research focuses on Kamala Das's autobiography, "My Story," as a case study to analyze the themes of self-realization, self-assertion, and the struggles of Indian womanhood. The article highlights the role of autobiographies in challenging societal norms and advocating for women's rights and individuality. It explores how Kamala Das's autobiography defies patriarchal expectations and explores themes of love, sexuality, and personal growth. The research also addresses the impact of Kamala Das's work in reshaping feminine personas in Indian English fiction. Overall, the article contributes to the understanding of autobiographical literature as a powerful medium for self-exploration and social critique.

Intimacy and Race in Late Soviet Central Asia

Intimacy and Race in Late Soviet Central Asia

Mapping Icons of Victorian Femininity: Engendering London in Nineteenth-Century Indian Accounts

ABSTRACT Indian travelers in Victorian London began engaging with questions of nationhood, modernity, family, home, and gender roles within the ambit of reproducing the city’s imperial geography on increasingly gendered and sexist lines. The rise of Indian feminists like Sarojini Naidu, Cornelia Sorabji, Rukhmabai, and Princess Sophia notwithstanding, Indian men redrew London’s patriarchal contours. Drawing on a legacy of accounts by nineteenth-century Indian men, like T. N. Mukharji, Behramji Malabari, M. K. Gandhi, Lala Baijnath, T. B. Pandian, and G. P. Pillai, this article examines the maps of the geography of Victorian womanhood that they sought to reproduce. I argue that—while colonial travelers helped India derive administrative, bureaucratic, and architectural models—the geopolitical roots of postcolonial Indian patriarchy date back to ways in which an emotionally vulnerable Indian male gaze perceived Victorian Englishwomen. There is much to be troubled by the gendered relations that made imperial London and had an ominous afterlife in India, normalizing patriarchal expectations and codes of womanhood—a social malignancy whose etiology stems from structures of India’s colonial conflicts.

A mother’s voice and a child’s view: revisiting the constructed role of women in rural Chile

As gender constructs, the roles of mothers are shaped by family dynamics, social relations and cultural codes that influence the spaces in which these roles are performed. The pandemic can be seen as an element that altered these constructs to varying degrees, providing an opportunity to revisit them, particularly in groups in which the patriarchy is dominant. Thus, this article focuses on rural mothers from central Chile with elementary school-age children. Specifically, we analyze how prolonged school closures have impacted household dynamics and how rural women became responsible for their children’s education. Using a qualitative approach, dyads that account of 24 testimonies of mothers and children from three different schools were interviewed after one year of school closure. Accounts of the children’s head teachers were also included. Their testimonies shed light on how school, experience and actions intertwine, contributing to our understanding of the dynamic construct of motherhood and how it is being deployed during the current public health crisis. The main results indicate that the pandemic has reinforced these mother’s role as the sole caretaker of her children. Despite their lack of education, knowledge and skills, female participants expressed that they have undertaken a new burden by adopting the role of vicarious teacher. Their children and their children’s head teachers share this view, confirming traditional and patriarchal expectations of rural women as caregivers.

Ritchie and Carter’s beauties and beasts

Anne Thackeray Ritchie and Angela Carter both recreated the classic tale Beauty and the Beast. This article analyses these recreated tales using the new historicist and feminist theories. The analysis allows for a discussion of how each tale conforms to and/or contrasts with expected gender roles. Thackeray and Carter reflect particular ideas about gender within their tales. Writing in the 19th and 20th centuries, respectively, the women published within particularly patriarchal social contexts – Ritchie slightly more so than Carter. The limiting social contexts allowed for minimal, if any, diversion from the status quo of expected gender behaviours. These social contexts impacted on the writers of these centuries and their texts. However, writers such as Thackeray and Carter did not simply accept the patriarchal expectations thrust upon men and women but actively commented against them within their tales. These women writers developed tales that were commentaries on the gender expectations of their social contexts. Although both of these centuries were saturated with patriarchal ideas encouraging particular rigid behaviours for men and women, Thackeray and Carter sought to recreate these limiting gender expectations through publishing dynamic tales. Each writer includes characters and relationships in their tales, which are alternatives to their societies’ patriarchal expectations of men and women. By creating new narratives into their Beauty and the Beast tales, these women writers both question and critique patriarchal rule and provide alternatives to it.

Supporting community health workers in fragile settings from a gender perspective: a qualitative study

ObjectiveTo explore how gender influences the way community health workers (CHWs) are managed and supported and the effects on their work experiences.SettingTwo districts in three fragile countries. Sierra Leone—Kenema and...

(De)constructing Argentine Women: Gender, Nation, and Identity in ‘Alfonsina y el mar’

AbstractThis article examines gender, nation, and identity in the popular song of folk roots ‘Alfonsina y el mar’. Written by Félix Luna and Ariel Ramírez, the song is based on the suicide of feminist poet Alfonsina Storni and achieved worldwide popularity through Mercedes Sosa's 1969 rendition on the album Mujeres argentinas. Using Butler's theory of gender performance, Cusick's proposals for a feminist music theory, and Plesch's concept of dysphoric topics in Argentine nationalist music, this article deconstructs the song's poetic, musical, and visual discourses to critique its underlying cultural signification. It concludes that by infantilizing, romanticizing, and nationalizing Storni's public figure, her legacy was adapted to the patriarchal expectations of decorum and historical narrative about nation pervasive in Argentina in the late 1960s. Storni's white European urban background was adapted to more ‘authentic’ Argentine values through Sosa's performance and public image.

Women Equity Strive in Society Depicted through Animation Film Characters

The purpose of this research is to identify the female representation depicted in the Disney Renaissance and to investigate why Disney characters struggle to claim their equity as women in their society. The research methods used in this study are classified as qualitative and descriptive. The documentation method and taking notes techniques are used to collect data. The research also employs two method concepts to analyze the collected data, including a gender equity approach analysis and Simone de Beauvoir's second-wave feminism theory. The data consists of linguistic units from various Disney Renaissance stories. The writer discovered three parts in the description of female representations based on data analysis of the female representations depicted in Disney Renaissance: rebel, wise, and adventurous women; confident, intelligent, and repellent of domestication women; and masculine, loyal, and ambitious women. Furthermore, data analysis of Disney characters' struggles in claiming their equality as women in their society reveals that they outperform patriarchal expectations, reject domestication, and practice emancipation by appropriating masculine attributes and roles.

Netball in Zimbabwe: Towards a Social History

This paper traces the evolution of netball as a sport in Zimbabwe. The analysis builds on the success of the Zimbabwe netball national team at the 2019 World Cup in Liverpool, England. This newly found interest in the sport has also highlighted the paucity of related academic studies. The social historical analysis is utilized to trace the development of netball from its colonial roots into post-colonial Zimbabwe. The analysis takes into cognizance the fact that netball in Zimbabwe has been confined to the margins, mainly due to the fact that it has been historically played by women, though recently men are defying societal norms to play the sport. Netball’s history, therefore, is understood within a context in which sport has acted as a vehicle of the patriarchal expectations of society. It is only through the exceptional performances of the Zimbabwe senior women’s netball team on debut at the Netball World Cup in 2019 that the sport attracted a national spotlight, becoming a source of national pride, and dominating national conversations.