What it means to be a Bosnian woman
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Danijela Majstorović
Abstract
Presuming discourse to be both socially determined and socially determinative when it comes to attitudes, opinions and perceptions about the world, we wanted to explore to what extent the ways in which women in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) speak about themselves are determined by the patriarchal Balkan tradition, post-WWII modernity, and/or the current postwar and transitional context. This paper is based on a small sample of a large discourse and body of gender research in BiH including six different focus groups of women assembled on the basis of social class. In order to provide some indications and guidance for the entire project, this pilot study was meant to isolate relevant discursive elements of the speech of women belonging to two different classes: the working class (boutique workers) and the professional class (doctors, lawyers, journalists), some with children and some without. In the analysis, we critically examined the obtained transcripts by looking into recurrent argumentative and rhetoric strategies, topoi and lexical and syntactic structures. Most specifically, we wanted to find out why feminism appeared to be unpopular among Bosnian women and how a successful woman was constructed with respect to patriarchal and non-patriarchal social values. We did this by looking at what discursive elements the relations of patriarchy (status quo) rested upon and what emancipatory potentials (resistance) were used to challenge it.
Abstract
Presuming discourse to be both socially determined and socially determinative when it comes to attitudes, opinions and perceptions about the world, we wanted to explore to what extent the ways in which women in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) speak about themselves are determined by the patriarchal Balkan tradition, post-WWII modernity, and/or the current postwar and transitional context. This paper is based on a small sample of a large discourse and body of gender research in BiH including six different focus groups of women assembled on the basis of social class. In order to provide some indications and guidance for the entire project, this pilot study was meant to isolate relevant discursive elements of the speech of women belonging to two different classes: the working class (boutique workers) and the professional class (doctors, lawyers, journalists), some with children and some without. In the analysis, we critically examined the obtained transcripts by looking into recurrent argumentative and rhetoric strategies, topoi and lexical and syntactic structures. Most specifically, we wanted to find out why feminism appeared to be unpopular among Bosnian women and how a successful woman was constructed with respect to patriarchal and non-patriarchal social values. We did this by looking at what discursive elements the relations of patriarchy (status quo) rested upon and what emancipatory potentials (resistance) were used to challenge it.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Gender imbalances revisited 1
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Part I. Patriarchy and emancipation in private spaces
- “He beat her so hard she fell head over heels” 17
- The discursive construction of gender among Dholuo speakers in Kenya 49
- Snippa – a new word for girls’ genitals in Swedish 69
- What it means to be a Bosnian woman 81
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Part II. Mediating gender in public spaces
- Greek men’s and women’s magazines as codes of gender conduct 113
- Representation of desire and femininity 145
- Gendered discourse(s) 169
- Gender ideologies in the Vietnamese printed media 195
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Part III. Trajectories of patriarchy and emancipation across professions
- Constructing masculine work identity through narrative 219
- Stereotyping gender 249
- Living in therapeutic culture 273
- Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Gender imbalances revisited 1
-
Part I. Patriarchy and emancipation in private spaces
- “He beat her so hard she fell head over heels” 17
- The discursive construction of gender among Dholuo speakers in Kenya 49
- Snippa – a new word for girls’ genitals in Swedish 69
- What it means to be a Bosnian woman 81
-
Part II. Mediating gender in public spaces
- Greek men’s and women’s magazines as codes of gender conduct 113
- Representation of desire and femininity 145
- Gendered discourse(s) 169
- Gender ideologies in the Vietnamese printed media 195
-
Part III. Trajectories of patriarchy and emancipation across professions
- Constructing masculine work identity through narrative 219
- Stereotyping gender 249
- Living in therapeutic culture 273
- Index 303
