Browsing by Author "Vasconcelos, Pedro"
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- Broken promises? Trans recognition and the gender orderPublication . Vasconcelos, Pedro; Aboim, Sofia
- Differential and cumulative effects of life course events in an intergenerational perspective : social trajectories of three-generation family lineagesPublication . Aboim, Sofia; Vasconcelos, Pedro
- Displacement and subalternity: masculinities, racialization and the feminization of the otherPublication . Aboim, Sofia; Vasconcelos, PedroIn different historical and cultural contexts it is important to examine the ways in which diasporic and transnational relations are a key process of societal change, which may involve complex forms of dislocation and integration. Drawing on a qualitative research project on immigrant men in Portugal, we aim at disentangling the ways in which community identities are constructed in a gendered manner, with differences pertaining to the constitution of specific diasporic communities (Brazilians, Cape Verdeans and Mozambicans), hailing from diverse Portuguese colonial and post-colonial histories. We contend that for a deeper understanding of the overall consequences of migration and transnationalism, a gender perspective, which is often neglected when tackling cultural encounters and multiple modernities, is mandatory. For immigrant men, the experience of otherness, even if permeated by cultural entanglements, hibridity and social inclusion, is marked, in most cases, by subalternity. This subordinate condition, of being a discriminated stranger, a categorized other often experiencing feelings of frustration and disenchantment with the ‘European dream’, is reinforced by racialized/ethnic otherness vis-à-vis the dominance of whiteness. The ways of dealing with discrimination lead to the construction of identities, along national lines of origin, in a highly gendered form, namely in terms of masculinities. As a consequence, Portuguese and European men are strongly devaluated and viewed as feminine and emasculated. Simultaneously, Portuguese women tend to be perceived as strongly masculinized. Conversely, immigrant men tend to stress self-definitions of identity that give priority to a virile sexuality and bodily performances as a way to compensate for the lack of other capitals of masculinity (e.g. financial and public power). However, these strategies can be quite paradoxical. On the one hand, there is a reinforcement of a defensive communitarist sense of belonging that ultimately leads to ghettoization. On the other hand, there are also aspirational processes operating through the mimicry of the dominant other, even if these are often conflicting and contradictory. In sum, at the same time, immigrant men do aspire to power in many-sided ways (namely by reinventing multiple forms of male bodily performativity) and tend to shut themselves to inclusion in the dominant Portuguese gender order, frequently being complicit with their own fetichization as Other.
- Displacement and Subalternity: Masculinities, Racialization and the Feminization of the OtherPublication . Aboim, Sofia; Vasconcelos, PedroIn different historical and cultural contexts it is important to examine the ways in which diasporic and transnational relations are a key process of societal change, which may involve complex forms of dislocation and integration. Drawing on a qualitative research project on immigrant men in Portugal, we aim at disentangling the ways in which community identities are constructed in a gendered manner, with differences pertaining to the constitution of specific diasporic communities (Brazilians, Cape Verdeans and Mozambicans), hailing from diverse Portuguese colonial and post-colonial histories. We contend that for a deeper understanding of the overall consequences of migration and transnationalism, a gender perspective, which is often neglected when tackling cultural encounters and multiple modernities, is mandatory. For immigrant men, the experience of otherness, even if permeated by cultural entanglements, hybridity and social inclusion, is marked, in most cases, by subalternity. This subordinate condition, of being a discriminated stranger, a categorised other, often experiencing feelings of frustration and disenchantment with the ‘European dream,’ is reinforced by racialised/ethnic otherness vis-à-vis the dominance of whiteness. The ways of dealing with discrimination lead to the construction of identities along national lines of origin, in a highly gendered form, in terms of masculinities. As a consequence, Portuguese and European men are strongly devaluated and viewed as feminine and emasculated. Simultaneously, Portuguese women tend to be perceived as strongly masculinised. Conversely, immigrant men tend to stress self-definitions of identity that give priority to a virile sexuality and bodily performances as a way to compensate for the lack of other capitals of masculinity (e.g. financial and public power). However, these strategies can be quite paradoxical. On the one hand, there is a reinforcement of a defensive communitarian sense of belonging that ultimately leads to ghettoisation. On the other hand, there are also aspirational processes operating through the mimicry of the dominant other, even if these are often conflicting and contradictory. In sum, at the same time, immigrant men aspire to power in many-sided ways (namely by reinventing multiple forms of male bodily performativity), and tend to shut themselves to inclusion in the dominant Portuguese gender order, frequently being complicit with their own fetishisation as Other.
- From political to social generations: A critical reappraisal of Mannheim's classical approachPublication . Aboim, Sofia; Vasconcelos, PedroFaced with the confused meanings of the concept of generation, this article defends the need to move from Karl Mannheim’s excessive emphasis on political and intellectual self-awareness as a pre-condition for generation formation to an enlarged social and cultural definition of generations. By developing the concept of social generations, we argue that rather than concrete groups, generations are better conceived as discourses with which individuals relate in order to build self-identification. Individuals living in similar historical contexts may share mental and practical dispositions, but must always position themselves in face of the narratives that have come to be dominant to describe a given generational location. Such a contention implies redressing Mannheim’s culturalist view through a reformulation of his hierarchical view of the scheme of generations. By replacing generation-units by dominant ideas, we contend that generations are better conceived as discursive formations in the Foucauldian sense.
- Gender (trans)formations in Europe and beyond: Trans lives and politics from a transnational perspectivePublication . Aboim, Sofia; Vasconcelos, PedroFocusing on trans and gender-diverse people in five European countries (Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Sweden), the Transrights research addressed one of the most challenging transformations of the institutional order of gender that thus far still reproduces the normative opposition between male and female. Rather than proposing a descriptive monograph, our angle of analysis emphasized the workings of gender through the ‘voices’ of trans people (within and beyond Europe) and their complex forms of self-identification vis-àvis the institutional apparatus (whether legal, medical, political or even socialscientific). Drawing on an extensive empirical research that combined document analysis of legal and medical developments, multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews, we investigated the doings of gender and gender politics. Three major findings are highlighted and summarized through a comparative strategy: trans/gender identifications, creative agency and embodiments; institutional and legal recognition vis-à-vis the medical apparatus and the “marketization” of trans-related healthcare; and discrimination, oppression and violence.
- Gender fields. The social organisation of gender identityPublication . Aboim, Sofia; Vasconcelos, PedroExploring gender through the lens of field theory, Gender Fields proposes a new framework for understanding the social organisation of gender identity. In conversation with Pierre Bourdieu's field theory, the book conceptualises under-theorised situated dimensions of gender, bridging the gap between macro and micro theories of gender. Drawing on extensive fieldwork conducted over five years in several countries in Europe and beyond, the authors situate gender as a critical site of autonomous socio-political struggle and highlight the centrality of the transgender experience in redefining gendered personhood and freedom. Increased trans visibility catalysed new social and political arenas of contestation that expanded the potential for reimagining gender norms and identities. The authors examine political and legal arenas, the medical field and health markets, gender naming, individual practices, and material-discursive embodiments, offering new insights into gender change. While numerous explanations have been proposed, this book offers a fresh perspective on these revolutionary developments. Gender Fields characterises gender as a field of struggle through a set of basic tools that can be usefully applied to studies in diverse settings. As such, it will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with an interest in issues of gender, social theory and identity.
- Gender, Sexuality and the Body: critical perspectives (collection of papers).Publication . Aboim, Sofia; Vasconcelos, PedroContents: Introduction (Sofia Aboim & Pedro Vasconcelos); Crises of Masculinity and Narratives of Decay: Historical Reflections on Gender, Embodiment, and Decline (Christopher E. Forth); The dynamics of displacement: diasporic masculinities and otherness in postcolonial modernity (Sofia Aboim & Pedro Vasconcelos); The role of gender in online dating profiles: empirical evidence from the Portuguese context (Cláudia Casimiro); Gender and individual life courses. Between reproduction and defiance (Diana Maciel); From Women’s emancipation model to Fetishism of the law – gender equality in communist and post-communist Albania (Ermira Danaj); Body quarrel: feminine aesthetics in Portuguese poetry of the first quarter of the XX century (Isabel Maria Alves Sousa Pinto); Sexuality, gender and confined bodies: Female prisoners experiences of intimate visits in a Portuguese Prison (Rafaela Granja, Manuela P. da Cunha & Helena Machado); Women’s marital expectations and feminist activism in Morocco: Is this the same road? (Raquel Gil Carvalheira); BDSM in Italy: analyzing stereotypes about gender, sexuality and the body (Laura Zambelli); To be a ‘Travesti’ is Questioning the (almost) Unquestionable: Gender as a social Construction Process (Nélson Ramalho)
- O lugar do corpo: masculinidades trans e a materialidade corporal do géneroPublication . Aboim, Sofia; Vasconcelos, PedroAs histórias de vida de pessoas trans-masculinas, embora diversificadas, demonstram que a construção da masculinidade não pode ser entendida fora dos efeitos materiais produzidos no e pelo corpo, dentro de uma ordem de género erigida sobre a masculinidade hegemónica. Confrontados com a centralidade dada ao corpo por indivíduos trans-masculinos em Portugal e no Reino Unido, exploramos as ligações entre masculinidade, incorporação e a materialidade corporal do género. Seguindo Raewyn Connell (1995, p. 56), quando afirma a inevitabilidade do corpo na construção da masculinidade, desenvolvemos duas linhas de argumentação. Primeiro, sugerimos que a reconfiguração das premissas conceptuais da masculinidade, como lugar, prática e efeito, é um passo fundamental para entender as possibilidades de se fazer masculinidade. Segundo, defendemos que a masculinidade é, sobretudo, um efeito de práticas corporais reflexivas.
- Masculinidades e Diáspora: classe, racializações e feminização do OutroPublication . Aboim, Sofia; Vasconcelos, PedroDrawing on a qualitative research project on immigrant men in Portugal, we aim at disentangling the ways in which migrant identities are constructed in a gendered manner, with differences pertaining to the constitution of specific diasporic communities (Brazilians, Cape Verdeans and Mozambicans), hailing from diverse colonial and post-colonial histories. For mmigrant men, the experience of otherness, even if permeated by cultural entanglements, hibridity and social inclusion, is marked, in most cases, by subalternity. The ways of dealing with discrimination lead to the construction of migrant identities, along national lines of origin, in a highly gendered form, namely in terms of masculinities. At the same time that migrant men aspire to power in many-sided ways (namely by reinventing multiple forms of male bodily ans sexual performativity), they also tend to shut themselves to inclusion in the dominant Portuguese gender order, frequently being, unwittingly, complicit with their own fetichization as Other.