Joanna Liddle and Rama Joshi explore the connection in India between gender and caste, and gender and class. They ask whether the subordination of women has diminished as India moves from a caste to a class structure, and what effect colonization had on the status of women in India. Focusing on educated, professional women, the authors look at the particular experiences of 120 women they interviewed, and also interpret the larger patterns of social relations that emerge from the interviews. These sensitive stories are told with an eloquence that is often moving and inspiring.For thousands of years Indian women have had a cultural tradition of resisting male domination. At the same time, the control of female sexuality has always been central to social hierarchies in India. Women are constrained in both class and caste hierarchies, to help distinguish the men at the top of the hierarchy from men at the bottom, where women are less constrained. In class society the seclusion of women allowed men to have sexual control over women and to retain the property that was transferred in marriage.In contemporary India, professional women have had success entering the professions as the social groups to which they belong move increasingly to class rather than caste structures. But men continue to control the type of education they receive and the type of employment open to them, and to participate in the sexual harassment of women in the workplace. The concept that women are inferior to men--a concept that is not part of the Indian cultural heritage--is growing. In a sense, working professional women strengthen male control. The class structure is no more egalitarian than the caste structure, as oppression simply takes other forms.

Daughters of Independence

Politics & Social Sciences

Liddle, Joanna

Sociology

Rutgers University Press

Joanna Liddle and Rama Joshi explore the connection in India between gender and caste, and gender and class. They ask whether the subordination of women has diminished as India moves from a caste to a class structure, and what effect colonization had on the status of women in India. Focusing on educated, professional women, the authors look at the particular experiences of 120 women they interviewed, and also interpret the larger patterns of social relations that emerge from the interviews. These sensitive stories are told with an eloquence that is often moving and inspiring.
For thousands of years Indian women have had a cultural tradition of resisting male domination. At the same time, the control of female sexuality has always been central to social hierarchies in India. Women are constrained in both class and caste hierarchies, to help distinguish the men at the top of the hierarchy from men at the bottom, where women are less constrained. In class society the seclusion of women allowed men to have sexual control over women and to retain the property that was transferred in marriage.
In contemporary India, professional women have had success entering the professions as the social groups to which they belong move increasingly to class rather than caste structures. But men continue to control the type of education they receive and the type of employment open to them, and to participate in the sexual harassment of women in the workplace. The concept that women are inferior to men--a concept that is not part of the Indian cultural heritage--is growing. In a sense, working professional women strengthen male control. The class structure is no more egalitarian than the caste structure, as oppression simply takes other forms.

History

Asia

Joanna Liddle and Rama Joshi explore the connection in India between  gender and caste, and gender and class. They ask whether the  subordination of women has diminished as India moves from a caste to a  class structure, and what effect colonization had on the status of women  in India. Focusing on educated, professional women, the authors look at  the particular experiences of 120 women they interviewed, and also  interpret the larger patterns of social relations that emerge from the  interviews. These sensitive stories are told with an eloquence that is  often moving and inspiring.For thousands of years Indian women have  had a cultural tradition of resisting male domination. At the same time,  the control of female sexuality has always been central to social  hierarchies in India. Women are constrained in both class and caste  hierarchies, to help distinguish the men at the top of the hierarchy  from men at the bottom, where women are less constrained. In class  society the seclusion of women allowed men to have sexual control over  women and to retain the property that was transferred in marriage.In  contemporary India, professional women have had success entering the  professions as the social groups to which they belong move increasingly  to class rather than caste structures. But men continue to control the  type of education they receive and the type of employment open to them,  and to participate in the sexual harassment of women in the workplace.  The concept that women are inferior to men--a concept that is not part  of the Indian cultural heritage--is growing. In a sense, working  professional women strengthen male control. The class structure is no  more egalitarian than the caste structure, as oppression simply takes  other forms.

Daughters of independence: Gender, caste, and class in India (Third World books)

US distributor, Biblio Distribution Center

Surprisingly little is known in the West about Japanese women. Exploring themes of gender and class, this book traces the changing position of women through history and into the present. Repudiating the cliché of the submissive Japanese woman, the authors show women as active agents in both family and public life. The women's liberation movement of recent years resonates with echoes of struggle and resistance from earlier times. The broader movements of history and culture are brought into focus within the experiences of individual women.

Rising Suns, Rising Daughters: Gender, Class and Power in Japan

Nakajima, Sachiko

Social Sciences

Zed Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Liddle, Joanna. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Liddle, Joanna

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Liddle, Joanna. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Daughters of Independence

Daughters of Independence

Daughters of independence: Gender, caste, and class in India (Third World books)

Rising Suns, Rising Daughters: Gender, Class and Power in Japan

Rising Suns, Rising Daughters: Gender, Class and Power in Japan