Abstract:This paper presents findings from my PhD research project titled "Exchange networks and parallel currencies: Theoretical approaches and the case of Greece", which aimed to investigate the initiatives and schemes whose members transact among themselves without the use of the official currency-in this case, the euro. Of course, we women receive training for and we also practice every day to be "economic agents" without official currency. The paper however, focuses on the participation of women in the non-officia… Show more
“… 5. The gender, income and education profiles of participants correspond with those of earlier studies of GENs in Greece (see, for example, Sotiropoulou, 2012, 2014, 2015). …”
This article discusses solidarity economy initiatives as instances of grassroots organizing, and explores how ‘values practices’ are performed collectively during times of crisis. In focusing on how power, discourse and subjectivities are negotiated in the everyday practices of grassroots exchange networks (GENs) in crisis-stricken Greece, the study unveils and discusses three performances of values practices, namely mobilization of values, re-articulation of social relations, and sustainable living. Based on these findings, and informed by theoretical analyses of performativity, we propose a framework for studying the production and reproduction of values in the context of GENs, and the role of values in organizing alternatives.
“… 5. The gender, income and education profiles of participants correspond with those of earlier studies of GENs in Greece (see, for example, Sotiropoulou, 2012, 2014, 2015). …”
This article discusses solidarity economy initiatives as instances of grassroots organizing, and explores how ‘values practices’ are performed collectively during times of crisis. In focusing on how power, discourse and subjectivities are negotiated in the everyday practices of grassroots exchange networks (GENs) in crisis-stricken Greece, the study unveils and discusses three performances of values practices, namely mobilization of values, re-articulation of social relations, and sustainable living. Based on these findings, and informed by theoretical analyses of performativity, we propose a framework for studying the production and reproduction of values in the context of GENs, and the role of values in organizing alternatives.
“…There are now more than 325 time banks and alternative currency systems in Spain involving tens of thousands of citizens. Collectively, these projects represent one of the largest experiments in social money in modern times In research from Greece, which experienced particularly harsh economic consequences, Sotiropoulou (2014) shows that women dominated alternative economic schemes and organization: Therefore, women develop new types of agency, individual and collective, through socio-economic transformations and struggle to be part of the process. Gibson-Graham (1996) argue that a more diverse economic landscape has the potential to address the discrimination faced by women in the mainstream economy.…”
Section: The Development Of Time Banks and Their Philosophiesmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In research from Greece, which experienced particularly harsh economic consequences, Sotiropoulou (2014) shows that women dominated alternative economic schemes and organization:Therefore, women develop new types of agency, individual and collective, through socio‐economic transformations and struggle to be part of the process.…”
Time banks are an alternative economic system proposed to address social problems by stimulating work and exchange through time‐based currency. They aim to redefine work and money, through building social capital to alleviate social problems. As women are disproportionately affected by these problems, it follows that membership is predominantly female, often poor. This article takes the position that time banks provide a lens through which to theorize the feminist potential of alternative forms of economic organization. It examines the ways in which feminists, and time banks, have sought to redefine the concepts of work and money, as well as the context of time banks within the Third Sector. “The reality” of these concepts in practice is then critically analyzed using empirical data from a year as an active participant within a time bank. The findings demonstrate the complex issues regarding how the time bank functioned in practice, particularly in relation to how members engaged with it, and articulated their participation. Further, the way in which the system co‐opted feminist potentials of alternative economic practices as part of the Third Sector, through a conception of social capital, is shown to be problematic in terms of exploiting the energies of already exploited women. This research shows the need for ongoing critical examination of initiatives targeted at social problems, particularly those mirroring feminist activism, in order to prevent the co‐option of energies and work.
“…However, various collectives and communities question some of these principles, for example the necessity of mapping out user and resource boundaries and imposing sanctions on those community members who violate the rules. The lack of boundaries applies to free exchange networks or time banks such as those described by Irene Sotiropoulou (2012) -the Greek Exchange Network of Chania (475 members (61 percent of women) in 2012) and the Charise-to Free network (601 members (52 percent women) in 2011) as well as the German Tauschringe (221 networks operating in the country) described by Michael Wünstel (2013). They exist online and serve as channels for handing over goods and services or exchanging them for other goods and services (barter) in the present or in the future.…”
This paper concentrates on the scientific work of Elinor Ostrom , who for more than forty years carried out theoretical and empirical research on common-pool resources.Ostrom theorizes that the commons often prevent resource exhaustion more effectively than the state, international institutions, or private owners. However, one of the foundations of commons, as an alternative program to the private-state dualism, ought to be the principle of equality that includes a gender perspective in theory and practice. The goal of this article is to provide thoughtful ways of incorporating gender in economic research from the viewpoint of feminist epistemology and to indicate the place of gender in Ostrom's work. The methodology of this study could be used for reading economic publications through a gender perspective as well as for inspiring economists to use both gender as a category of analysis and gender-sensitive language in their theoretical and empirical studies.
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