Ethnographic Feminisms: Essays in Anthropology

Shelley Butler teaches anthropology at York University.

This collection of essays by Canadian anthropologists will be of
interest to readers involved in feminist anthropology, women’s
studies, and women and development. The editors set the tone of the
volume by stressing their commitment to linking feminist research to
concrete political goals. The collection is organized into three broad
themes: fields of difference and unity between women; gendered work; and
experiments in ethnographic writing. The essays make reference to a wide
range of subjects, including the political and economic conditions of
women in Ecuador, Costa Rica, China, Kenya, Burkina Faso, the United
States, and Canada.

Section 1 examines the challenges of articulating a global feminism.
Offering personal reflections, Phillips, Ellen Judd, and Marie-Andree
Couillard discuss how anthropological fieldwork motivated them to
rethink Western notions of feminism. Collectively, these essays stress
the importance of understanding the historical and political contexts of
women’s lives. The authors also recognize the danger of romanticizing
women’s resistance and global solidarity.

In Section 2, Belinda Leach’s discussion of industrial homework in
Ontario and Kathy M’Closkey’s essay on Navajo women’s weaving in
the southwestern United States are particularly successful at
demonstrating how feminism can challenge the ways in which dominant
society defines and devalues women’s work and cultural productions. In
a similar vein, Penny Van Esterik’s essay on breast-feeding raises
important questions about whether dominant analytical categories such as
production and reproduction are adequate for understanding
breast-feeding as a feminist issue.

Section 3 focuses on the difficulties of translating fieldwork into
academic language. The authors stress the necessity of respecting the
voices, agendas, and agency of the women with whom they work. Rae
Anderson’s essay on engendering masks offers an example of
experimental writing.

Although this collection is hardly representative of Canadian feminist
anthropology—the contributors are largely from Ontario and Quebec, and
the editors stress the political economy tradition as opposed to
symbolic anthropology—it is an engaging introduction to global
feminist politics. A thematic bibliography and a list of questions for
discussion are also included.