Gender and social economies of dried fish synthesis paper draft key points

Theoretical reference  points for the gender and social economies of dried fish synthesis paper

• Gender is a core facet of identity in social economies of dried fish
• The study of dried fish brings attention to the full range of economic activities related to fish as food
• A relational perspective that encompasses broad political economic, social, and cultural dynamics may be coupled with the more personal social wellbeing perspective to understand how gender and intersectional identities constrain and give agency to people working in dried fish value chains
• The household is a key site of productive and reproductive work linked to the ‘public’ economic sphere
• Kinship, sexuality, marginalization, space, and negotiation are entry points into the analysis of intersectional gendered work in dried fish value chains
• Given DFM's interest in the vertical and horizontal dimensions of value chains, space is a particularly useful way of situating gendered work and lives in dried fish social economies (see notes for February 23, 2023 meeting)
• Change and adaptation must be considered, including ‘dream capital’, or the possibility to imagine alternatives of greater social justice and wellbeing and solidarities
• A comparative perspective within a broad framing like this should strengthen substantially our understanding of the importance of women’s and men’s work in fisheries
• Holly recommended focusing on key research questions to guide our discussions on gender and social economies of dried fish; identifying a focus research question for the synthesis paper makes sense as well
  • e.g., what does the vantage point of dried fish social economies add to our understanding of gender and change in fisheries/agrarian economies? (just to get the discussion flowing)