Social Gender Relations Research Articles

Estrategias de manejo en torno al VIH/SIDA a nivel familiar

To identify the critical points of the trajectories of the families of persons with AIDS which may serve as a basis to develop educational and support programs. A qualitative investigation was conducted in 1995 in Ciudad Netzahualcóyotl, State of Mexico, Mexico. Rapid Assessment Procedures (RAP) were applied to determine the social, economic, demographic and cultural context of persons with HIV/AIDS in the community. Forty-six in-depth interviews were applied to persons with AIDS, their families and people from their social networks. The main aspects of the family response to the HIV/ AIDS are characterized, and it is demonstrated that it is possible to identify critical points in such a response which can be targeted through specific interventions. In Ciudad Netzahualcóyotl, a context of poverty, a migrating tradition, and gender social relations are the basis of the acceptance or rejection of persons with AIDS. The main finding refers to the ambiguos attitude, ranging from rejection to support, displayed by family members of persons with AIDS. This pattern varies according to the history and specific conditions of each family. Specific health interventions are proposed to support families with one or more persons with AIDS.

Silences speak louder than claims: Gender, household, and agricultural development in Southern Africa

Social sciences — and economic theory particularly — continue to treat the household as a socioeconomic unit, in which all members strive for a common end. This conceptualization, which leaves the social relations of gender and the concominant inequalities in access to land, produce and income unaccounted for, has continued to determine the policies of development agencies, and women and development (WID) units. This failure has gained renewed prominence and political relevance in the efficiency approach of structural adjustment programs. On the basis of empirical household data from Zambia, the article questions the validity of the conceptualization of cash and food crop production along gender lines as equal parts in the household enterprise and instead pleads for a recognition of a gender differentiated concept of control over household production as a basis for future development planning.

?Changing men? and feminist politics in the United States

In recent years, U.S. men have responded to and at times initiated changes in the personal and social relations of gender. There is an increasing cultural preoccupation with men's roles as fathers.1 Gay liberationists and anti-sexist men are confronting heterosexism and male domination in society,2 while some academic men contribute to the feminist challenge to phallocentric curricula.3 Meanwhile, born-again Christians are subtly re-defining women's and men's "god-given roles,"4 while conservative ministers hold popular seminars on "the meaning of manhood,"5 and angry men (mostly divorced fathers) organize for "men's rights."6 And as I write, Robert Bly's book, Iron John: A Book About Men7 enjoyed over half a year on the national top ten bestsellers list.

Property rights and relations: The purchase of council housing

Abstract This paper explores the issue of council house sales from the starting point that the social relations of gender and generation are potentially as interesting in the sociology of housing as are class relations. This analytic approach is developed in the first section of the paper. The second part presents data from a survey of three groups of long‐standing residents in Sunderland: those who bought their council houses in the early 1970s; those buying under the Right to Buy legislation of the 80s; and those who had no intention of buying at the time of the survey. It discusses the social backgrounds of the three groups, the process of deciding whether or not to buy, the significance of the tenure change in their lives, and the broad political significance of those decisions. The concluding section argues that the purchase of council housing represents a highly specific tenure change in mid‐life, for a group of people bound by the class and gender relations of the post‐war generation.