This article draws together two studies: one that explores the intimate relationships of young slum-dwelling Dalit women in Mumbai and the other of young middle-class women in Baroda, Gujarat. Using an intersectional lens, we trace the ways that gendered ideals of respectability shape women's freedom of movement and relationships. The comparison produces new insights into the ways that class, caste, and location cut across gender to shape young women's lives in India. We argue that the distinctive positionings of the women structure the ways in which they react to gender norms and the means with which they strategize around them. Middle-class young women strike a ‘passive bargain’, upholding ideals of respectability by shoring up symbolic capital for a ‘good’ marriage and class privilege. The Dalit women show more active resistance to an ideal that they struggle to achieve, despite heavy control and surveillance over their movement and relationships. However, contrary to previous research, we show that both groups are beholden and lay claim to similar gendered and intimate ideals.

中文翻译：

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谈判尊重：比较印度贫困和中产阶级年轻城市女性的经历

本文汇集了两项研究：一项探讨孟买贫民窟年轻达利特妇女的亲密关系，另一项探讨古吉拉特邦巴罗达年轻中产阶级妇女的亲密关系。使用交叉镜头，我们追溯了受人尊敬的性别理想塑造女性行动自由和人际关系的方式。这种比较对阶级、种姓和位置如何跨越性别影响印度年轻女性的生活产生了新的见解。我们认为，女性的独特定位决定了她们对性别规范的反应方式以及她们围绕这些规范制定战略的方式。中产阶级年轻女性达成“被动交易”，通过为“良好”婚姻和阶级特权提供象征性资本来维护体面的理想。达利特妇女对她们难以实现的理想表现出更积极的抵抗，尽管对她们的行动和关系进行了严格的控制和监视。然而，与之前的研究相反，我们表明，这两个群体都感激并声称拥有相似的性别和亲密理想。