Reconstituting Male Identities through Joint Farming Ventures in Ireland

Abstract

The analysis of this paper is located in the theoretical interplay between the concepts of identity and masculinity, contributing to the ongoing debate on gendered identities and masculinities in family farming. Our focus in this paper is specifically on men who established formal collaborative arrangements (Joint Farming Ventures, JFVs) with fellow farmers, including family members. We present an empirical analysis of primary qualitative data, using the Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method (BNIM), which has particular analytical purchase in the study of identity. Our analysis finds that formal collaborative arrangements in the form of JFVs are employed as resilience strategies by male farmers. The strategies strive to continue the performance of some traditional masculinity traits but markedly involve the renegotiation of hegemonic masculine identity forms, resonant with debates elsewhere on reconstituting gender norms in family farming. Our narrative analysis finds that men's entry to and operation of JFVs entail a conscious and active relinquishing of dominant decisionmaking power on their farms, an openness to the views and opinions of others, and a greater willingness to helpseek and express emotions.

‘A Woman in Charge of a Farm’: French Women Farmers Challenge Hegemonic Femininity

“…For men, performing hegemonic masculinity gives them power over other men enacting lesser forms of masculinity (subordinate masculinities) and over all women. When it comes to agriculture, hegemonic masculinity shapes a perception of good farming and good farmers (Cush and Macken‐Walsh 2018) and defines appropriate behaviours for all. As a normative ideology, hegemonic masculinity impacts men both in practice and discourse (Brandth 1995).…”

“…For the past two decades, rural scholars, mainly in geography and sociology, have explored the intersection between masculinity and agriculture, shedding light on the existence of multiple masculinities with attention to how these different forms of masculinity shape social relations and how they challenge existing power relations (Bell et al 2015;Coldwell 2007;Cush and Macken-Walsh 2018;Peter et al 2000). However, despite calls to deconstruct both rural masculinity and femininity (Little 2002) -with the exception of a few feminist rural scholars (Kazyak 2012;Byrne et al 2014;Keller 2014;Keller et al 2015) -only a small number of studies have explored the existence and/or emergence of multiple femininities in rural areas.…”

Gender and the Preservation of Family Farming in Ireland

“…Parents (including the mother) play a critical part in transmitting the corresponding set of socio‐cultural norms and allocate gender roles to their children, implicitly or explicitly, from an early age (Cassidy and McGrath, ). One son is chosen as the rightful heir and bestowed with the clear identity of the family farmer (Cush and Macken‐Walsh, ). Other children and, in particular, daughters are discouraged from farming, mainly by fostering educational ambition (Cassidy and McGrath, ; Ní Laoire, ).…”

“…for bank loans, insurances, farm safety and food product marketing campaigns) are generally geared towards male representation and limit women's role to that of the family caregiver. In that regard, the traditional male farmer identity is based on masculinised, occupational traits centred on farm work (Cush and Macken‐Walsh, ; Ní Laoire, ). These include the ability to attend to the physical demands of farming and to overcome difficult environmental and market conditions, capacity for tenacity when facing such challenges and occupying the breadwinner's role within the household.…”

Dolor cervical entre agricultores que producen tabaco en el sur de Brasil

“…El cultivo de tabaco es principalmente manual, intensivo en trabajo y en gran medida se realiza a través de la producción familiar, con una marcada división sexual del trabajo (23) . La construcción de género tiene una dimensión histórica, marcada por factores culturales de larga data respecto a la masculinidad y la ruralidad, y exacerbada por el trabajo físico extenuante necesario en algunas tareas de la producción agrícola (24,25) . Algunos estudios epidemiológicos (26,27) indican que factores fisiológicos, hormonales o psicosociales -o hasta factores relacionados con los distintos tipos de tareas realizadas por varones y mujeres-pueden relacionarse con un mayor dolor cervical.…”