Towards an Understanding of Gender and Capital in Constituting Biotechnologies in Agriculture

Abstract

A compelling body of international literature now exists on the political economy of biotechnology. This work has used capital as a lens through which to view the increasing economic importance of biotechnologies to the agricultural sector. It has, however, given little attention to gender. The purpose of this article is to argue for the significance of gender in studies of agricultural biotechnology, that is, to posit that it is not just capital, but the intersection between capital and gender that informs the application, creation and regulation of agricultural biotechnologies.

Gender, Knowledge, Scientific Expertise, and Attitudes Toward Biotechnology: Technological Salience and the Use of Knowledge to Generate Attitudes

“…Previous research has suggested that because of gender roles associated with childbearing and childrearing, women are more likely to be directly affected by some of the negative consequences of biotechnologies (Napolitano & Ogunseitan 1999;Bryant & Pini 2006). The more women understand biotechnology, the more they see the personal implications, and the more skeptical they become.…”

“…Whether asked about environmental issues (Stern et al, 1993;Hayes, 2001;McCright, 2010), nuclear power (Freudenburg & Davidson, 2007;Davidson & Freudenburg, 1996;Krannich & Albrecht, 1995), biotechnologies (Qin & Brown, 2007;Bryant & Pini, 2006;Simon 2010Simon , 2011 including reproductive technologies (Napolitano & Ogunseitan, 1999), or science in general (Trankina, 1993;Barke et al, 1997;von Roten, 2004;Mallow et al, 2010;Breakwell & Robertson 2001;Hayes & Tariq 2000), women express more skepticism toward science and technology than men do. Gender is an important determinant of people's attitudes toward science and technology, and the fact that there is some evidence that indicates that men and women use knowledge differently to form attitudes suggests this is of critical importance for understanding public attitudes toward science and technology.…”

University-Industry Relationships in Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences: The Role of Women Faculty

“…In other words, female and male scientists bring qualitatively different beliefs and values into scientific disciplines and technology development. Bryant and Pini (2006), however, caution against assuming men and women as groups hold different essential sets of beliefs and values. In their analysis of the relationship between gender and agricultural biotechnologies, Bryant and Pini emphasize that the "gendering of agricultural biotechnology" is a complex process involving more than attitudinal differences between men and women (2006:272).…”

Genetics and livestock breeding in the UK: Co-constructing technologies and heterogeneous biosocial collectivities

“…Goodman et al 1987;Kloppenburg, 1990) has been extended in recent years by further research on the political economy and also the gendered dimensions of these phenomena (Bryant and Pini, 2006;Pechlaner and Otero, 2008). A more emergent scholarship has begun to consider the farm level implications of genetically modified organisms (GMO) (e.g.…”