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A Kaleidoscope of Malaysian Indian Women’s Lived ExperiencesNegotiating Femininity and Empowerment: Experiences of Professional Malaysian Tamil Women

A Kaleidoscope of Malaysian Indian Women’s Lived Experiences: Negotiating Femininity and... [Higher education and a professional career are often seen as catalysts of women’s empowerment. However, in society, disempowerment may be seen as an important part of femininity, and this may challenge the process of empowerment of women. This study explores how professional women construct the meaning of empowerment and negotiate the notion of femininity in everyday life. This study focuses on the lived experiences of twelve professional, Tamil women and analyses the complexities in the way they negotiate and construct the meaning of femininity and empowerment. The analysis shows that there is a constant struggle between the need to be feminine and empowered in their daily routine. The participants identified higher education and career, mobility, and decision-making as important aspects of empowerment. The women pointed out that they negotiate the decision-making process differently at work and at home. These women still chose to adhere to traditional gender values and roles by shouldering most of the caring tasks and household chores. They also chose to act docile at times while indirectly using various strategies to have their thoughts and voices heard. Professional women in this study not only masked their empowerment but chose to show passive resistance to maintain peace and harmony at home. This was identified as the most important goal for women in the process of bargaining with patriarchy which they actively participated in. While this gives them some agency and allows them to achieve their goals, it does not challenge or change the inequality that persists in their households.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Kaleidoscope of Malaysian Indian Women’s Lived ExperiencesNegotiating Femininity and Empowerment: Experiences of Professional Malaysian Tamil Women

Editors: Karupiah, Premalatha; Fernandez, Jacqueline Liza
Karupiah, Premalatha; Fernandez, Jacqueline Liza
Springer Journals — Oct 23, 2022
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14 pages

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Publisher
Springer Nature Singapore
Copyright
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022
ISBN
978-981-19-5875-5
Pages
127 –141
DOI
10.1007/978-981-19-5876-2_7
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[Higher education and a professional career are often seen as catalysts of women’s empowerment. However, in society, disempowerment may be seen as an important part of femininity, and this may challenge the process of empowerment of women. This study explores how professional women construct the meaning of empowerment and negotiate the notion of femininity in everyday life. This study focuses on the lived experiences of twelve professional, Tamil women and analyses the complexities in the way they negotiate and construct the meaning of femininity and empowerment. The analysis shows that there is a constant struggle between the need to be feminine and empowered in their daily routine. The participants identified higher education and career, mobility, and decision-making as important aspects of empowerment. The women pointed out that they negotiate the decision-making process differently at work and at home. These women still chose to adhere to traditional gender values and roles by shouldering most of the caring tasks and household chores. They also chose to act docile at times while indirectly using various strategies to have their thoughts and voices heard. Professional women in this study not only masked their empowerment but chose to show passive resistance to maintain peace and harmony at home. This was identified as the most important goal for women in the process of bargaining with patriarchy which they actively participated in. While this gives them some agency and allows them to achieve their goals, it does not challenge or change the inequality that persists in their households.]

Published: Oct 23, 2022

Keywords: Gender inequality; Malaysian Indian; Femininity; Empowerment

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