Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology (Jan 2011)
Women’s struggle for emancipation through their dealings with money
Abstract
Our study explores women’s appropriation of the democratic ideal of equality and autonomy as revealed through their handling of money within a couple relationship. We based our study on 30 in-depth interviews with partners of heterosexual couples in [country]. Our results show that women problematize themselves in terms of their autonomy and equality between the sexes through their relationship with money. They are rooting a core issue concerning their emancipation in ordinary, everyday, and apparently insignificant gestures which are often invisible to a casual onlooker. What is being witnessed, therefore, is the gendered personalisation of a social issue, with women working towards their emancipation individually rather than collectively. Gender relations are thus being reshaped, integrating two contemporary values: women’s emancipation and the emphasis on the individual.