Female Masculinity and Power Relation in Patriarchic System: Case Study Tomboyism of Bacha Posh in Afghanistan
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Published:
Dec 31, 2018
Keywords:
Gender Relations, Female, Masculinity, Bacha Posh, Patriarchy, Tomboyism
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Abstract
The biological/essentialist theory of gender assumes that biological sexes determine the behavior patterns and roles of males and associates them with masculinity and females and associates them with femininity. However, there is debate to determine whether genders are biological or socially and culturally constructed. Feminist critique of the power relation between masculinity and femininity defined as the power to give privilege to the position of masculinity and men, and acknowledge the subordination of femininity and women. People also guided to conform to gender norms in society as identity. Female masculinity emerged as part of a resistance to the gender norms where females should adopt and perform feminine values and ways of life. This paper analyze the position of female masculinity, which is distinct from masculinity in patriarchic systems. This paper also analyze the early stage of female masculinity, tomboyism called Bacha Posh as experienced by many girls in Afghanistan. This paper showed to us that the phenomena of Bacha Posh reflect the gender trait was not flexible. It was decided by the need to fulfill patriarchy system in Afghan society.
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Padmi, M. F. M. (2018) “Female Masculinity and Power Relation in Patriarchic System: Case Study Tomboyism of Bacha Posh in Afghanistan”, Nation State: Journal of International Studies, 1(1), pp. 45-60. doi: 10.24076/NSJIS.2018v1i1.89.
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Perspective
References
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Cassano, M.C. and Zeman, J.L. (2010) “Parental Socialization of Sadness Regulation in Middle Childhood: The Role of Expectations and Gender”. Developmental Psychology, 46(5), pp. 1214–1226 (Online). Available at: http://ovidstx.ovid.com (Accessed: 8 May 2017).
Claire, C.A. and Alderson, K.G. (2013) “Living Outside the Gender Binary: A Phenomenological Exploration into the Lived Experience of Female Masculinity”. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 47(1), pp. 49-70 (Online). Available at: http://cjc- rcc.ucalgary.ca/cjc/index.php/rcc/article/view/2657 (Accessed: 20 March 2018).
Connell, R.W. (2005) Masculinities 2nd Edition. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Cooper, B. (2002) “Boys Don't Cry and Female Masculinity: Reclaiming a Life & Dismantling the Politics of Normative Heterosexuality”. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 19 (1), p 44-63 (Online). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07393180216 552 (Accessed: 30 March 2017).
Diamond, M., (2000) “Sex and gender: Same or different?”. Feminism & Psychology, 10 (1), p 46–54 (Online). Available at: http://ccsagepub.com/content/7/3/320.full.pdf+html (Accessed 5 May 2017).
Dragowski, E.A., Scharron-Del Rio, M.R., Sandigorsky, A.L. (2011) “Childhood Gender Identity...Disorder? Developmental, Cultural, and Diagnostic Concerns”.
Journal of Counseling & Development, 89(3), 360-366 (Online). Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.10 02/j.1556-6678.2011.tb00100.x/epdf (Accessed: 8 May 2017).
Edley, N. and Wetherell, M. (1996) Masculinity, Power and Identity. In: M. Mac An Ghaill, ed. 1996. Understanding Masculinities. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Gardiner, J. K.. (2002) Introduction. In: J. K. Gardiner, ed. 2002. Masculinity Studies and Feminist Theory: New Directions. New York: Columbia University Press.
Halberstam, J. (1998) Female Masculinities. Durham N.C.: Duke University Press.
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Hashimi, N. (2015) Afghanistan's Female Sons: The Tradition of Bacha Posh (Online), in: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2015-04-13/afghanistans- female-sons (Accessed: 20 March 2018).
Hooper, C. (2001) Manly States: Masculinities, International Relations, and Gender Politics. New York Chichester: Columbia University Press.
Kabeer, N. and Khan, A. (2014) “Cultural Values or Universal Rights? Women's Narratives of Compliance and Contestation in Urban Afghanistan”. Feminist Economics, 20 (3), pp. 1-24 (Online). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13545701.20 14.926558 (Accessed 8 May 2017).
Lebrun, S. (2013) Preface. In: Manoori, U. and Lebrun, S. I Am a Bacha Posh: My Life as A Woman Living as A Man in Afghanistan. Translated from France by E. Chianchiano Jr. New York: Skyhorse Publishing.
Levitt, H. M., & Hiestand, R. (2004) “A Quest for Authenticity: Contemporary Butch Gender”. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 50(9–10), 605–622. (Online). Available at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B%3ASERS.0000027565.59109.80 (Accessed: 30 March 2017).
Manoori, U. and Lebrun, S. (2014) I Am a Bacha Posh: My Life as A Woman Living as A Man in Afghanistan. Translated from France by E. Chianchiano Jr. New York: Skyhorse Publishing.
Nguyen, A. (2008) Patriarchy, Power, and Female Masculinity. Journal of Homosexuality, 55 (4), pp. 665-683 (Online). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00918360802 498625 (Accessed: 30 March 2017).
Nordberg, J. (2010) Afghan Boys Are Prized, So Girls Live the Part (Online). Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/ world/asia/21gender.html (Accessed: 20 March 2018).
RFERL (Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty). (2012) Baby Girls Seen as Mixed Blessing in Afghanistan (Online). Available at: http://www.rferl.org/content/baby_girls_seen_as_mixed_blessing_in_afghanistan/24476659.html (Accessed: 8 May 2017).
Riphenburg, C.J. (2003) “Gender Relations and Development in a Weak State: The Rebuilding of Afghanistan”. Central Asian Survey, 22 (2), pp. 187–207 (Online). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02634930320 00157726 (Accessed: 8 May 2017).
Schütte, S. (2014) “Living with Patriarchy and Poverty: Women's Agency and the Spatialities of Gender Relations in Afghanistan”. Gender, Place & Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography, 21 (9), pp. 1176-1192 (Online). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.20 13.832661 (Accessed: 5 May 2017).
The Guardian. (2014) The Afghan Girls Raised as Boys (Online). Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl e/2014/sep/22/girls-boys-afghanistan- daughters-raised-as-sons-puberty-bacha- posh (Accessed: 20 march 2017).
What is Bacha Posh?. (2014) (Online). Available at: http://bachaposh.com/bacha-posh-2/ (Accessed: 5 May 2017).
Wickman, J. (2003) “Masculinity and Female Bodies”. NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 11(1), pp. 40-54 (Online). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08038740307 272 (Accessed: 5 May 2017).
Wiegman, R. (2002) Unmaking: Men and Masculinity in Feminist Theory. In: J. K. Gardiner, ed. 2002. Masculinity Studies and Feminist Theory: New Directions. New York: Columbia University Press.
Buttler, J. (1990) Gender Trouble. New York: Routledge.
Carr, C. L. (2007) “Where Have All the Tomboys Gone? Women’s Accounts of Gender in Adolescence”, Sex Roles, 56 (7–8), p 439–448 (Online). Available at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-007-9183-7 (Accessed: 8 May 2017).
Carr, C.L. (1998) Tomboy Resistance and Conformity: Agency in Social Psychological Gender Theory. Gender and Society, 12 (5), pp.528-553. (Online). Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/190119 (Accessed 5 May 2017).
Cassano, M.C. and Zeman, J.L. (2010) “Parental Socialization of Sadness Regulation in Middle Childhood: The Role of Expectations and Gender”. Developmental Psychology, 46(5), pp. 1214–1226 (Online). Available at: http://ovidstx.ovid.com (Accessed: 8 May 2017).
Claire, C.A. and Alderson, K.G. (2013) “Living Outside the Gender Binary: A Phenomenological Exploration into the Lived Experience of Female Masculinity”. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 47(1), pp. 49-70 (Online). Available at: http://cjc- rcc.ucalgary.ca/cjc/index.php/rcc/article/view/2657 (Accessed: 20 March 2018).
Connell, R.W. (2005) Masculinities 2nd Edition. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Cooper, B. (2002) “Boys Don't Cry and Female Masculinity: Reclaiming a Life & Dismantling the Politics of Normative Heterosexuality”. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 19 (1), p 44-63 (Online). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07393180216 552 (Accessed: 30 March 2017).
Diamond, M., (2000) “Sex and gender: Same or different?”. Feminism & Psychology, 10 (1), p 46–54 (Online). Available at: http://ccsagepub.com/content/7/3/320.full.pdf+html (Accessed 5 May 2017).
Dragowski, E.A., Scharron-Del Rio, M.R., Sandigorsky, A.L. (2011) “Childhood Gender Identity...Disorder? Developmental, Cultural, and Diagnostic Concerns”.
Journal of Counseling & Development, 89(3), 360-366 (Online). Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.10 02/j.1556-6678.2011.tb00100.x/epdf (Accessed: 8 May 2017).
Edley, N. and Wetherell, M. (1996) Masculinity, Power and Identity. In: M. Mac An Ghaill, ed. 1996. Understanding Masculinities. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Gardiner, J. K.. (2002) Introduction. In: J. K. Gardiner, ed. 2002. Masculinity Studies and Feminist Theory: New Directions. New York: Columbia University Press.
Halberstam, J. (1998) Female Masculinities. Durham N.C.: Duke University Press.
Halberstam, J. (2012) “Global Female Masculinities”. Sexualities, 15(3/4), p 336- 354 (Online). Available at: http://sex.sagepub.com/content/15/3- 4/336.full.pdf+html (Accessed: 5 May 2017).
Hashimi, N. (2015) Afghanistan's Female Sons: The Tradition of Bacha Posh (Online), in: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2015-04-13/afghanistans- female-sons (Accessed: 20 March 2018).
Hooper, C. (2001) Manly States: Masculinities, International Relations, and Gender Politics. New York Chichester: Columbia University Press.
Kabeer, N. and Khan, A. (2014) “Cultural Values or Universal Rights? Women's Narratives of Compliance and Contestation in Urban Afghanistan”. Feminist Economics, 20 (3), pp. 1-24 (Online). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13545701.20 14.926558 (Accessed 8 May 2017).
Lebrun, S. (2013) Preface. In: Manoori, U. and Lebrun, S. I Am a Bacha Posh: My Life as A Woman Living as A Man in Afghanistan. Translated from France by E. Chianchiano Jr. New York: Skyhorse Publishing.
Levitt, H. M., & Hiestand, R. (2004) “A Quest for Authenticity: Contemporary Butch Gender”. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 50(9–10), 605–622. (Online). Available at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B%3ASERS.0000027565.59109.80 (Accessed: 30 March 2017).
Manoori, U. and Lebrun, S. (2014) I Am a Bacha Posh: My Life as A Woman Living as A Man in Afghanistan. Translated from France by E. Chianchiano Jr. New York: Skyhorse Publishing.
Nguyen, A. (2008) Patriarchy, Power, and Female Masculinity. Journal of Homosexuality, 55 (4), pp. 665-683 (Online). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00918360802 498625 (Accessed: 30 March 2017).
Nordberg, J. (2010) Afghan Boys Are Prized, So Girls Live the Part (Online). Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/ world/asia/21gender.html (Accessed: 20 March 2018).
RFERL (Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty). (2012) Baby Girls Seen as Mixed Blessing in Afghanistan (Online). Available at: http://www.rferl.org/content/baby_girls_seen_as_mixed_blessing_in_afghanistan/24476659.html (Accessed: 8 May 2017).
Riphenburg, C.J. (2003) “Gender Relations and Development in a Weak State: The Rebuilding of Afghanistan”. Central Asian Survey, 22 (2), pp. 187–207 (Online). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02634930320 00157726 (Accessed: 8 May 2017).
Schütte, S. (2014) “Living with Patriarchy and Poverty: Women's Agency and the Spatialities of Gender Relations in Afghanistan”. Gender, Place & Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography, 21 (9), pp. 1176-1192 (Online). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.20 13.832661 (Accessed: 5 May 2017).
The Guardian. (2014) The Afghan Girls Raised as Boys (Online). Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl e/2014/sep/22/girls-boys-afghanistan- daughters-raised-as-sons-puberty-bacha- posh (Accessed: 20 march 2017).
What is Bacha Posh?. (2014) (Online). Available at: http://bachaposh.com/bacha-posh-2/ (Accessed: 5 May 2017).
Wickman, J. (2003) “Masculinity and Female Bodies”. NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 11(1), pp. 40-54 (Online). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08038740307 272 (Accessed: 5 May 2017).
Wiegman, R. (2002) Unmaking: Men and Masculinity in Feminist Theory. In: J. K. Gardiner, ed. 2002. Masculinity Studies and Feminist Theory: New Directions. New York: Columbia University Press.