Week 8: citizens and the colonial state Flashcards
Describe how gender and sexuality map onto states efforts to enforce national identity.
The state actively shape national identity by the construction of gender and sexuality norms.
ex: women are often portrayed as “cultural carriers,” embodying national identity through their dress, behavior, and roles in society. In many contexts, such as Greek Cyprus, women are expected to display their nationality through specific cultural expressions. The state utilizes these gendered expectations to define who belongs to the national community, often leading to the marginalization of groups deemed “undesirable
Identify ways that gendered language/image Is applied to states.
symbolism of the motherland: the nation if often gendered as feminine symbolizing nurturing and protection.
Cultural expectations: women’s behaviour, dress, and speech are scrutinized and regulated as they relate to national identity. States enforce cultural norms through campaigns that dictate how women should represent the nation, such as in dress codes or acceptable public conduct.
legal framework: Laws and policies often reflect gendered language that delineates roles within families and society. For instance, marriage laws may emphasize heterosexual norms, while regulations surrounding reproductive rights are often framed in gendered terms that prioritize motherhood and domesticity.
analyze how colonial states has created and enforced particular norms around gender and sexuality to advance their agendas
Indigenous Erasure and Control: Colonial powers often imposed their gender norms onto colonized societies, erasing indigenous practices. For example, in the Navajo Nation, traditional matrilineal structures were supplanted by Euro-American patriarchal family models, stripping indigenous women of their status and authority.
Sexual Control: In Dutch-controlled Indonesia, the colonial state used sexual control as a means of maintaining racial hierarchies. Policies restricted European women’s migration, encouraging local concubinage among European men to prevent same-sex relationships, reflecting anxieties about masculinity and social order.
analyze how post-colonial states has created and enforced particular norms around gender and sexuality to advance their agendas
Gendered Development Policies: Postcolonial states often draw on Western paradigms of development that reinforce traditional gender roles. In Indonesia, for example, women were positioned as central to domestic life, promoting a narrative of women’s domesticity that conflicted with actual practices in communities like the Minangkabau, where matrilineally was significant.
Singapore’s Heteronormative Family Models: Singapore’s policies have sought to reinforce nuclear family structures, framing them as progress. Initiatives like housing policies and family planning campaigns prioritize heterosexual family models while marginalizing LGBTQ+ individuals and non-traditional family forms, reflecting broader themes of control over personal and family life in the name of national development.
what is a state?
a state is an autonomous political entity characterized by a centralized government that has the authority to create and enforce laws, manage resources, and maintain order within a defined territory
ex: USA, france, india
what is a nation-state?
A nation-state is a specific type of state where the population shares a common identity, culture, language, and often ethnicity. It combines the political entity of a state with the cultural and social unity of a nation.
ex:japan, Iceland - strong cultural identity
what is Teo’s main argument in their article?
Teo argues that traditional gender norms often disarm individuals by limiting their roles and contributions in security and conflict situations. This disarming effect is particularly pronounced for women, who may be marginalized in peace processes and security discussions.
