Kinship, Ethnicity and Gender Module - Undergraduate Poster Exhibition 2024

DRYSDALE, YUHAN

QIANG, ALICE COLLINS, DONGYING CAO

KINSHIP AND GENDER PATTERNS IN

SYRIAN COMMUNITIES

MAIN ARGUMENT

THE CONFLICT IN SYRIA HAS CHANGED THE STRUCTURE OF SYRIAN FAMILIES DUE TO A SHIFT IN KINSHIP AND GENDER PATTERNS. THESE CHANGES CAN BE EXAMINED THROUGH THE LENS OF THREE KEY ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORIES.

CONTEXT

CONFLICT BEGAN MARCH 2011 WITH ANTIGOVERNMENT PROTESTS AND IS STILL ONGOING PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD RESPONDED VIOLENTLY, WHICH ESCALATED THE CONFLICT CONFLICT CAUSED MASS DESTRUCTION, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC INSTABILITY AND MASS DISPLACEMENT - SYRIAN PEOPLE PAYING THE PRICE (EL-MASRI, HARVEY AND GARWOOD, 2013) LINKS TO

CHANGES TO FAMILY STRUCTURE

INCREASED DIVORCE RATE, POLYGAMY RATE, WOMEN HEADING REFUGEE FAMILIES (KARASPAN, 2017)

CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT, MILITARY INVOLVEMENT AND TRAUMA (WILLIAMS, 1990)

WOMEN FEEL LOSS OF FEMININITY AS CAN’T LOOK AFTER FAMILY (EL-MASRI, 2013)

EARLY MARRIAGE SEEN AS PROTECTION FOR WOMEN/GIRLS. (EL-MASRI, 2013)

MEN FEEL POWERLESS AND USELESS AS WOMEN’S WORKLOAD HAS INCREASED AND MEN’S HAS DECREASED (EL-MASRI, 2013) 2023 REFUGEE NUMBERS

IRDR0031: Kinship, Ethnicity, and Gender

Taiwanese Kinship: Quiet Resistance

History of Colonisation

Colonised by the Portoguese, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese since 1600s

‘White Terror’ Dictatorship 1949-1992

Foucault:

Power, Resistance, Institutionalisation and Habitus: Kinship as national identity

Acceptance of multiple truths allow for resistance to power structures

Bourdieu: Power and institutionalisation create and reinforce a new habitus of multiple truths

Scott:

Ciel Sheridan, Hiba Ishtiyaq, Josephine Lee, Kathryn McNichol, Tasnia Uddin

Instead of an open revolt, resistance is expressed through daily practices

Image source: https://media.tacdn.com/media/attractions-content-1x-1/0b/f8/91/22.jpg

Image source: https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/taiwandesigners-guide-explore-taipei/ References:

Taiwan

Independence vs. Unification

Figure 1: Data from Election Study Center, National Chengchi University (2023) Election Study Center, NCCU (2023). Taiwan Independence vs. Unification with the Mainland. [online] esc.nccu.edu.tw. Available at: https://esc.nccu.edu.tw/PageDoc/Detail?fid=7801&id=6963 [Accessed 1 Mar. 2024].

Defying the “Singular Truth”

The Taiwanese identity is made up of multiple truths and understandings Rejection of a homogeneous collective identity resists repeating the ‘singular truth’ imposed by colonial powers Reinforces kinship ties. Normalising indigenous and colonial legacies creates an identity based on social inclusion over exclusionary forms of nationalism Symbols

Institutionalisation Spatial

Image source: Hu, C. Y. (2014), Taiwanese Aboriginal Art and Artifacts: Entangled Images of Colonization and Modernization

Identity Politics and Labelling: The Ethnic Exclusion of the Rohingya People

Consequences of the ‘Self-Other’ Dichotomy

The Rohingya People are an ethnic minority group originating from region of Rakhine State, Northern Myanmar.

Primarily Muslim, their lineage can be traced back to the 8th century.

Their status became contentious postindependence of Myanmar - despite recognition during colonial rule. Since, they have been refused citizenship, facing genocide, persecution, restriction and exclusion.

Over a million forced to flee to Bangladesh 25,000 killed since 2018.

Context Rohingyas’ Self-Reinforcement of Social Categorisation

Explicit othering is the oppressive process of creating a conscious and unconscious categorisation of a social group as ethically inferior. This is enabled via preferential political accommodation, social exclusion narratives and even targeted geographical division.

Examples of Explicit Othering

The idea of Categorisation 1982 Citizenship Act: the codification of ethnic exclusion

Bureaucratic labelling as a tool for alienation: Three categories of citizenship (the 1962 military regime) full, associate, naturalised and foreigners

The power of ‘Ethnocracy’ demonstrated by urban planning: the placement of migrant camps are divided from central Myanmar.

Rohingya Resilience & Resistance

The Rohingya Identity has endured despite decades of violence, discrimination and persecution. This has often been understood through the community’s use of resistance - refusing victimhood and ensuring survival. Many forms of resistance have often remained informal, embedded within every day actions.

This can be seen through:

The use of Taranas: Rohingya Music, Art and Songs - holding and preserving identity

Burying of the dead without authority permission

Women displaying pregnancy to avoid sexual abuse, and ensure the continuation of bloodline

It can be argued that the strongest form of daily resistance has been surviving in the face of genocide.

The Looping Effect by Ian Hacking:

The Looping Effect can be used to explore the impact of labelling as a tool for social alienation

This looks at the reinforcement of ‘other’ - reducing and transforming Rohingya self-identification

The ‘self and other’ dichotomy is used as a vehicle for the creation of a Buddhist ethnostate

Socially constructed classifications shape and influence individuals social, political and economic interactions

Arabella Liu, Iman Chaudhry, Robert Parlett, Oliver Peters & Naomi Gill

Kinship, Ethnicity & Gender

Photo by Mohammed Salim Khan for NPR, 2023

The De-Colonial Reality of a Matriarchy: The

case of Mosuo Society

Introduction

The Mosuo, an ethnic group found in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China, practice a matriarchal structure where women, particularly mothers, hold a central role in society, though they embody a genuine sense of gender equality Matriarchal societies are distinct from patriarchal ones; they live in a truly gender-egalitarian way. GoettnerAbendroth (2018) points out that misunderstandings about these societies often stem from Western perspectives on societal organization, leading to misconceptions and biases.

Backround on Mosuoso society structure

Walking marriage is not binding

You remain with your maternal family throughout your entire life

Uncles and brothers take on paternal role

Fathers can choose to be involved in their child’s life

Women hold significant authority within the household and community

The grandma is the most powerful in the family

Women take care of the household, while men earn money outside

Deconstructing Colonial/Western lens

The discipline of matriarchal studies is a relatively modern field, matriarchy is mentioned throughout anthropology, but often through a Colonial, Western, male lens. Recent matriarchal studies describe matriarchy as being characterised by matrilineality, matrilocality, and women as keepers of the land and distributors of food, based on a structured gift economy (Mann and Goettner-Abendroth, 2015).

Western ideas of matriarchy are often informed through Orientalist ideology. Edward Said describes Orientalism being pervasive and reiterating stereotypes and Orientalist ideas (Said, 1978). Western perceptions of matriarchy as being exotic and sexualised come from these ideologies.

The external gaze tends to exoticize the walking marriage practice through the way it is viewed and labelled, misrepresenting how Mosuo construct their society, perpetuating and projecting patriarchal and colonial ideals Although Mosuo people are organised in a mother-centered and matrilineal structure, there is no prominent social hierarchy. This can be reflected in men ’ s unrestricted position in the household and within society. The fact that there is no word or conception of issues such as rape or domestic violence, reflecting how mother-centered it is and how valued women are

Exploring gender and kinship literature and theories helps deconstruct the colonial and western lense, and allows us to see Mosuo society without projecting Orientalism rhetoric.

Source: BBC,2005

Source:

Source: Imagechina 2010