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Perspectives on womanhood in rural America: A qualitative exploration of female identity within a Christian and republican context

Ekblom, Jonna LU (2023) SOCK07 20231
Sociology
Abstract
Equality between men and women in American society has been an ongoing struggle and debate
for centuries. In some ways, the societal position of women has improved, e.g., in terms of
gaining access to the labor market. Yet, despite significant changes regarding gender roles and
norms, along with an increased necessity of double-income households, old ideals of gender
roles and family structures still linger, particularly amongst more conservative parts of the
population. The purpose of this investigation was to explore how conceptions of gender roles,
both traditional and modern, are produced and negotiated by women, and to examine the
connection between notions of femininity and womanhood, and the economic, sociopolitical,
... (More)
Equality between men and women in American society has been an ongoing struggle and debate
for centuries. In some ways, the societal position of women has improved, e.g., in terms of
gaining access to the labor market. Yet, despite significant changes regarding gender roles and
norms, along with an increased necessity of double-income households, old ideals of gender
roles and family structures still linger, particularly amongst more conservative parts of the
population. The purpose of this investigation was to explore how conceptions of gender roles,
both traditional and modern, are produced and negotiated by women, and to examine the
connection between notions of femininity and womanhood, and the economic, sociopolitical,
and religious context of the women’s geographical locations. For this, a qualitative method has
been used, in which five semi-structured interviews were conducted with Caucasian, American
women in the ages 46-63 who resided in predominantly republican areas which have a high
concentration of white, Christian identity. The results demonstrate a rather traditional view of
womanhood, with value being placed on the woman’s role as a mother, in conjunction with the
perspective that men and women enjoy equal opportunities in today’s society. Furthermore, the
results pointed to an overlap between egalitarian and conservative values amongst the
participants and displays of conflict between reality and ideals were in some cases found. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Ekblom, Jonna LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOCK07 20231
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
gender roles, womanhood, motherhood, feminism, conservatism, religion, modern and traditional women.
language
English
id
9129813
date added to LUP
2023-08-11 13:53:16
date last changed
2023-08-11 13:53:16
@misc{9129813,
  abstract     = {{Equality between men and women in American society has been an ongoing struggle and debate
for centuries. In some ways, the societal position of women has improved, e.g., in terms of 
gaining access to the labor market. Yet, despite significant changes regarding gender roles and 
norms, along with an increased necessity of double-income households, old ideals of gender 
roles and family structures still linger, particularly amongst more conservative parts of the 
population. The purpose of this investigation was to explore how conceptions of gender roles, 
both traditional and modern, are produced and negotiated by women, and to examine the 
connection between notions of femininity and womanhood, and the economic, sociopolitical,
and religious context of the women’s geographical locations. For this, a qualitative method has 
been used, in which five semi-structured interviews were conducted with Caucasian, American 
women in the ages 46-63 who resided in predominantly republican areas which have a high 
concentration of white, Christian identity. The results demonstrate a rather traditional view of 
womanhood, with value being placed on the woman’s role as a mother, in conjunction with the 
perspective that men and women enjoy equal opportunities in today’s society. Furthermore, the 
results pointed to an overlap between egalitarian and conservative values amongst the 
participants and displays of conflict between reality and ideals were in some cases found.}},
  author       = {{Ekblom, Jonna}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Perspectives on womanhood in rural America: A qualitative exploration of female identity within a Christian and republican context}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}