Abstract

This paper contributes to the gender-and-marketplace literature by exploring whether and how the ongoing, under-researched food-to-cash crop transformation of rice in Tanzania reinforces or challenges the “doing of gender”. We apply Acker’s “doing gender” framework, where gender is done by following normative conceptions and undone by challenging them. We analyze women and men’s everyday practices and relations in terms of identities, divisions, symbols and interactions. The empirical material includes observations, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with women and men traders, farmers and key informants at two rice markets in Kyela, south-western Tanzania. We find that this transformation of rice has resulted in more processes of doing than undoing gender. Too, more women than men undo gender. Since men and masculinity are constructed as superior to women and femininity, this makes it more difficult for men to undo gender. The structures of the marketplaces also seem to influence these processes. Surprisingly, the old marketplace offers more avenues to undo gender, whereas the new, government-initiated marketplace reinforces the doing of gender. We conclude that this commercialization trajectory, including associated interventions, exacerbates rather than reduces gender inequalities. Future agricultural interventions should therefore consider both technical and social aspects to yield desired outcomes.

摘要

本文通过探讨坦桑尼亚正在进行的、研究不足的水稻从粮食到经济作物的转变是否以及如何加强或挑战“性别行为”，为性别和市场文献做出贡献。我们应用阿克的“做性别”框架，其中性别是通过遵循规范概念来完成的，并通过挑战它们来取消。我们从身份、划分、符号和互动方面分析女性和男性的日常实践和关系。实证材料包括在坦桑尼亚西南部凯拉的两个大米市场与女性和男性贸易商、农民和主要知情人进行的观察、深入访谈和焦点小组讨论。我们发现，水稻的这种转变导致了更多的做而不是消除性别的过程。同样，取消性别的女性多于男性。由于男性和男性气质被构建为优于女性和女性气质，这使得男性更难消除性别。市场的结构似乎也影响这些过程。令人惊讶的是，旧市场提供了更多消除性别的途径，而政府发起的新市场则强化了性别行为。我们得出的结论是，这种商业化轨迹，包括相关的干预措施，会加剧而不是减少性别不平等。因此，未来的农业干预应同时考虑技术和社会方面，以产生预期的结果。而政府发起的新市场强化了性别行为。我们得出的结论是，这种商业化轨迹，包括相关的干预措施，会加剧而不是减少性别不平等。因此，未来的农业干预应同时考虑技术和社会方面，以产生预期的结果。而政府发起的新市场强化了性别行为。我们得出的结论是，这种商业化轨迹，包括相关的干预措施，会加剧而不是减少性别不平等。因此，未来的农业干预应同时考虑技术和社会方面，以产生预期结果。