This paper examines the beliefs and practices that constitute gender among Gypsy-Traveller women ... more This paper examines the beliefs and practices that constitute gender among Gypsy-Traveller women and then attempts to discern the consequences that flow from these. It analyses gender ideology and expectations among women and the shared investment in the moral identity attached to being a good Gypsy-Traveller wife. The paper argues that 'Gypsy-Traveller woman' cannot be understood as an identity that stands apart from gender and racial oppression. It is within this context that the tension between change and permanence in gender relations is played out. It argues that the maintenance of cultural taboos embodied and symbolised in the surveillance of womens' bodies is an important issue that problematises the construction of Gypsy-Traveller women. It posits that the appeal to morality may represent as much an avoidance of anxiety as a defence of marked gendered divisions within Gypsy-Traveller society. The paper suggests that the demands of cultural survival play a signifi...
Rionach Casey is a Research Associate at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sh... more Rionach Casey is a Research Associate at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University, Unit 10, Science Park, City Campus, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB; email: r.casey@shu.ac.uk; Sarah Coward is a Research Associate at the ...
There is a growing body of research in racial and ethnic studies on the processes of identity con... more There is a growing body of research in racial and ethnic studies on the processes of identity construction within minority ethnic populations. This article seeks to build on this work by analysing emerging collective identity formations in an ‘invisible’ minority ethnic group. Based upon focus groups and in-depth interviews with Irish people in Sheffield, the article aims to advance three key arguments. First, the concept of community is central to an Irish collective identity, but is negotiated in a multiplicity of ways. Second, Irish collective identity has been shaped not only by demographic differences but by shared experiences of non-recognition and stereotyping. Third, there is a simultaneous assertion of an Irish identity running parallel with a perception that the ‘traditional’ Irish community may have to re-invent itself in response to changing demographics at the local level. The paper concludes by considering the implications of these arguments for an understanding of Irish ethnicity in multicultural Britain.
Social housing in Britain is managed by a large grouping of 'housing managers', an occu... more Social housing in Britain is managed by a large grouping of 'housing managers', an occupational label which is viewed as unproblematic by most housing academics, and therefore, is largely taken for granted. Urban sociologists posit that a collective identity is crucial to ...
This paper explores homeless women's use of public spaces and buildings in England. In doing... more This paper explores homeless women's use of public spaces and buildings in England. In doing so it problematises the spatial boundaries typically presented in the literature and research which suggest homeless women are largely confined to institutional or private spaces of ...
This paper examines the beliefs and practices that constitute gender among Gypsy-Traveller women ... more This paper examines the beliefs and practices that constitute gender among Gypsy-Traveller women and then attempts to discern the consequences that flow from these. It analyses gender ideology and expectations among women and the shared investment in the moral identity attached to being a good Gypsy-Traveller wife. The paper argues that 'Gypsy-Traveller woman' cannot be understood as an identity that stands apart from gender and racial oppression. It is within this context that the tension between change and permanence in gender relations is played out. It argues that the maintenance of cultural taboos embodied and symbolised in the surveillance of womens' bodies is an important issue that problematises the construction of Gypsy-Traveller women. It posits that the appeal to morality may represent as much an avoidance of anxiety as a defence of marked gendered divisions within Gypsy-Traveller society. The paper suggests that the demands of cultural survival play a signifi...
Rionach Casey is a Research Associate at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sh... more Rionach Casey is a Research Associate at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University, Unit 10, Science Park, City Campus, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB; email: r.casey@shu.ac.uk; Sarah Coward is a Research Associate at the ...
There is a growing body of research in racial and ethnic studies on the processes of identity con... more There is a growing body of research in racial and ethnic studies on the processes of identity construction within minority ethnic populations. This article seeks to build on this work by analysing emerging collective identity formations in an ‘invisible’ minority ethnic group. Based upon focus groups and in-depth interviews with Irish people in Sheffield, the article aims to advance three key arguments. First, the concept of community is central to an Irish collective identity, but is negotiated in a multiplicity of ways. Second, Irish collective identity has been shaped not only by demographic differences but by shared experiences of non-recognition and stereotyping. Third, there is a simultaneous assertion of an Irish identity running parallel with a perception that the ‘traditional’ Irish community may have to re-invent itself in response to changing demographics at the local level. The paper concludes by considering the implications of these arguments for an understanding of Irish ethnicity in multicultural Britain.
Social housing in Britain is managed by a large grouping of 'housing managers', an occu... more Social housing in Britain is managed by a large grouping of 'housing managers', an occupational label which is viewed as unproblematic by most housing academics, and therefore, is largely taken for granted. Urban sociologists posit that a collective identity is crucial to ...
This paper explores homeless women's use of public spaces and buildings in England. In doing... more This paper explores homeless women's use of public spaces and buildings in England. In doing so it problematises the spatial boundaries typically presented in the literature and research which suggest homeless women are largely confined to institutional or private spaces of ...
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