Gendered spaces on trial: the influence of regional gender contracts on in‐migration of women to rural norway

Abstract

While the Nordic literature on rural migration and gender relations has usually focused on the push effects of a patriarchal or traditional gender culture on out-migration of women, this article centres on the conjoint way in which regional gender contracts and female in-migration shape one another. On the basis of survey data of women who migrated into Valdres, a rural area in Norway, as well as interview material, three ideal types of rural gender contracts are identified: traditional, modern and alternative. It is further demonstrated that women living by a traditional gender contract are more often attracted to Valdres than women living by modern and alternative gender contracts, and seemingly also tend to stay for a longer period of time. With the help of Halfacree's model of rural space, it is argued that the in-migration of women serves just as much to sustain the region's traditional gender contract as to challenge it.

Place, (In)Equality and Gender

“…Grimsrud (2011) speaks of three different types of women who are located in the peripheral areas, and argues that these different types of women respond differently in relation to the gender contract in the peripheral areas. Thus, Grimsrud operates with the traditional, the modern and the alternative.…”

“…The modern woman who moves to the peripheral areas is often attracted by a particular job opening, which is seen as an important step in a better future career. The alternative woman who moves to the peripheral areas, is, according to Grimsrud, not tied down by traditional gender roles, but chooses, to a great extent, the location based on a desire of being closer to nature and to live another kind of life than the city life (Grimsrud 2011).…”

“…Norwegian researchers Aure (2013a;2013b), Fossland (2013a, Grimsrud (2011) and Munkejord (2006; all focus on immigration in Norway and have made studies among immigrants from various places in and outside Europe on their motivations for and experiences with settling in Norway (especially in the peripheral areas of Norway). Aure particularly emphasises that despite the lack of a highly educated labour force, it may be difficult to find acceptance in the local communities of Norway.…”

“…The Norwegian researcher, Grimsrud (2011) speaks of the term regional gender contracts in relation to understanding the interaction between gender relations/norms and mobility. Grimsrud (2011) speaks of three different types of women who are located in the peripheral areas, and argues that these different types of women respond differently in relation to the gender contract in the peripheral areas.…”

“Women in groups can help each and learn from each other”: The role of homosocial practices within women’s social networks in building local gender contracts

“…In more recent developments, gender contracts have been studied at the individual level for instance research regional variations of gender contract in Sweden (Forsberg, 2010) and local gender contracts in Norway (Grimsrud, 2011;Gerrard, 2011); housing conflicts in Southern Africa (Larsson and Schlyter, 1995); women´s self-help housing in Botswana (Kalabamu, 2005); the renegotiation of the LGC in Laos due to the rubber boom (Lindeborg, 2012), gender adaptive capacity to climate change in Kenya (Caretta and Börjeson, 2015) and landscape formation in East Africa (Caretta, 2015b).…”