Agriculture as Carework: The Contradictions of Performing Femininity in a Male-Dominated Occupation

ABSTARCT

Women in the US have farmed for centuries, but have infrequently had the farmer title. Rural sociologists have explored women’s on-farm roles, as well as rural conceptualizations of gender that influence who can be a farmer. As the proportion of women claiming the farmer title increases, it is important to explore women farmers’ experiences. This article focuses on sixteen farmers in Colorado across the conventional-alternative spectrum. Through engagement with feminist and rural sociological theory, and based on analysis of semi-structured interviews, we contend that women in this study expand what it means to be a farmer by performing femininity through carework within their farming practice. This study demonstrates how some women farmers adapt a variety of predominantly feminine-coded work—such as education, customer support, and feeding work—to make agriculture a space of carework, and farming a role expanded beyond a masculine ideal.

Keywords:

• Carework
• gender
• performativity
• rural sociology
• sociology of food
• women farmers

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the farmers who shared their experiences, as well as faculty and staff from Colorado State University, market managers, and the farmers themselves who made connecting with these farmers possible. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the anonymous reviewers, the editors of Society and Natural Resources, and to the special issue editors, Issac Leslie, Jaclyn Wypler, and Michael Meyerfeld-Bell for their many helpful comments and suggestions.

Notes

Notes

1 Joint-operated farms account for 44% of all farms, female secondary operators account for two-thirds of those farms (USDA 2012).

2 The current #MeToo Movement suggests the power (and peril) of speaking out.

3 The Front Range refers to the populous Colorado region east of the Rocky Mountains, and includes the counties under study.