Translocal livelihoods research and the household in the Global South – A gendered perspective
Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt
Abstract
This article combines perspectives from feminist agricultural economics and agrarian feminist Marxism to conceptualize the spatial process of translocality from a gender perspective arguing for the resurrection of the household as a unit of study in the context of translocality. Engendering the emerging field of translocal livelihoods research requires understanding the household both as a process, but also as an institution that upholds patriarchal control over resources and gender based norms, in relation to its members as well as the broader community. Gender roles may be renegotiated as a result of translocality but they occur in contexts that uphold broader patriarchal norms. The material, social and emotional bases for engaging in processes of translocal householding and re-negotiating gender roles differ, in relation to the livelihood options of particular households, but also with respect to broader social and economic processes.