Wayward Women

Sexuality and Agency in a New Guinea Society

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology, Gender Studies
Cover of the book Wayward Women by Holly Wardlow, University of California Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Holly Wardlow ISBN: 9780520938977
Publisher: University of California Press Publication: May 8, 2006
Imprint: University of California Press Language: English
Author: Holly Wardlow
ISBN: 9780520938977
Publisher: University of California Press
Publication: May 8, 2006
Imprint: University of California Press
Language: English

Written with uncommon grace and clarity, this extremely engaging ethnography analyzes female agency, gendered violence, and transactional sex in contemporary Papua New Guinea. Focusing on Huli "passenger women," (women who accept money for sex) Wayward Women explores the socio-economic factors that push women into the practice of transactional sex, and asks how these transactions might be an expression of resistance, or even revenge. Challenging conventional understandings of "prostitution" and "sex work," Holly Wardlow contextualizes the actions and intentions of passenger women in a rich analysis of kinship, bridewealth, marriage, and exchange, revealing the ways in which these robust social institutions are transformed by an encompassing capitalist economy. Many passenger women assert that they have been treated "olsem maket" (like market goods) by their husbands and natal kin, and they respond by fleeing home and defiantly appropriating their sexuality for their own purposes. Experiences of rape, violence, and the failure of kin to redress such wrongs figure prominently in their own stories about becoming "wayward." Drawing on village court cases, hospital records, and women’s own raw, caustic , and darkly funny narratives, Wayward Women provides a riveting portrait of the way modernity engages with gender to produce new and contested subjectivities.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Written with uncommon grace and clarity, this extremely engaging ethnography analyzes female agency, gendered violence, and transactional sex in contemporary Papua New Guinea. Focusing on Huli "passenger women," (women who accept money for sex) Wayward Women explores the socio-economic factors that push women into the practice of transactional sex, and asks how these transactions might be an expression of resistance, or even revenge. Challenging conventional understandings of "prostitution" and "sex work," Holly Wardlow contextualizes the actions and intentions of passenger women in a rich analysis of kinship, bridewealth, marriage, and exchange, revealing the ways in which these robust social institutions are transformed by an encompassing capitalist economy. Many passenger women assert that they have been treated "olsem maket" (like market goods) by their husbands and natal kin, and they respond by fleeing home and defiantly appropriating their sexuality for their own purposes. Experiences of rape, violence, and the failure of kin to redress such wrongs figure prominently in their own stories about becoming "wayward." Drawing on village court cases, hospital records, and women’s own raw, caustic , and darkly funny narratives, Wayward Women provides a riveting portrait of the way modernity engages with gender to produce new and contested subjectivities.

More books from University of California Press

Cover of the book Control and Protect by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Arbitraging Japan by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book To Overcome Oneself by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Laughter in Ancient Rome by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Imperial Heights by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Kendo by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Dynamics of the Contemporary University by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Performing Ethnomusicology by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Nothing About Us Without Us by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Why Calories Count by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Reproducing Race by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Contested Illnesses by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Dangerous Games by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Born in the USA by Holly Wardlow
Cover of the book Possessing Nature by Holly Wardlow
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy