This collection brings together leading feminist thinkers whoexamine the struggles for interpretive power which underliesinternational development. Questions why the insights from years of feminist gender anddevelopment research are so often turned into ‘gendermyths’ and ‘feminist fables’: women are morelikely to care for the environment; are better at working together;are less corrupt; have a seemingly infinite capacity tosurvive Explores how bowdlerized and impoverished representations ofgender relations have simultaneously come to be embedded indevelopment policy and practice Traces the ways in which language and images of development arerelated to practice and provides a nuanced account of the politicsof knowledge production Argues that struggles for interpretive power are not onlyimportant for our own sake, but also for the implications they havefor women’s lives worldwide An informed analysis of how ‘gender’ has beentransformed in its transfer into development policy and how manyauthors are now revisiting and reflecting on their earlierwork

This collection brings together leading feminist thinkers who examine the struggles for interpretive power which underlies international development. Questions why the insights from years of feminist gender and development research are so often turned into ‘gender myths’ and ‘feminist fables’: women are more likely to care for the environment; are better at working together; are less corrupt; have a seemingly infinite capacity to survive Explores how bowdlerized and impoverished representations of gender relations have simultaneously come to be embedded in development policy and practice Traces the ways in which language and images of development are related to practice and provides a nuanced account of the politics of knowledge production Argues that struggles for interpretive power are not only important for our own sake, but also for the implications they have for women’s lives worldwide An informed analysis of how ‘gender’ has been transformed in its transfer into development policy and how many authors are now revisiting and reflecting on their earlier work

This collection of essays by leading feminist thinkers from North and South constitutes a major new attempt to reposition feminism within development studies. Feminism's emphasis on social transformation makes it fundamental to development studies. Yet the relationship between the two disciplines has frequently been a troubled one. At present, the way in which many development institutions function often undermines feminist intent through bureaucratic structures and unequal power quotients. Moreover, the seeming intractability of inequalities and injustice in developing countries have presented feminists with some enormous challenges. Here, emphasizing the importance of a plurality of approaches, the authors argue for the importance of what 'feminisms' have to say to development. Confronting the enormous challenges for feminisms in development studies, this book provides real hope for dialogue and exchange between feminisms and development.

“Articulations and expressions of gender can be destabilising, transgressive, revolutionary and radical, encompassing both a painful legacy of oppression and a joyous exploration of new experience.” Analysing key texts from the 19th to 21st centuries, this book explores a range of British and Anglophone authors to contextualise women’s writing and feminist theory with ongoing debates in consciousness studies. Discussing writers who strive to redefine the gendered world of “sexualized” space, whether internal or external, mental or physical, this book argues how the “delusion” of gender difference can be addressed and challenged. In literary theory and in representations of the female body in literature, identity has increasingly become a shifting, multiple, renegotiable—and controversial—concept. While acknowledging historical and cultural constructions of sexuality, “writing the body” must ultimately incorporate knowledge of human consciousness. Here, an understanding of consciousness from contemporary science (especially quantum theory)—as the fundamental building block of existence, beyond the body—allows unique insights into literary texts to elucidate the problem of subjectivity and what it means to be human. Including discussion of topics such as feminism and androgyny, agency and entrapment, masculinities and masquerade, insanity and emotion, and individual and social empowerment, this study also creates a lively engagement with the literary process as a means of fathoming the “enigma” of consciousness. Daphne Grace is Professor of English, specializing in postcolonial and transnational literature, gender and women’s studies, in addition to British literature of the 19th to 21st centuries. She currently teaches at the University of the Bahamas, and has also previously taught at Sussex University, England, and Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus.

Body Politics in Development sets out to define body politics as a key political and mobilizing force for human rights in the last two decades. This passionate and engaging book reveals how once-tabooed issues, such as rape, gender-based violence, and sexual and reproductive rights, have emerged into the public arena as critical grounds of contention and struggle. Engaging in the latest feminist thinking and action, the book describes the struggles around body politics for people living in economic and socially vulnerable communities and covers a broad range of gender and development issues, including fundamentalism, sexualities and new technologies, from diverse viewpoints. The book's originality comes through the author's rich experience and engagement in feminist activism and global body politics and was winner of the 2010 FWSA Book Prize.

It was on a sabbatical in England in the late seventies that Suniti Namjoshi discovered feminism—or rather, she discovered that other feminists existed, and many among them shared her thoughts and doubts, her questions and visions. Since then, she has been writing—fables, poetry, prose autobiography, children’s stories—about power, about inequality, about oppression, effectively using the power of language and the literary tradition to expose what she finds absurd and unacceptable. This new collection brings together in one volume a huge range of Namjoshi’s writings, starting with her classic collection, Feminist Fables, and coming right up to her latest work. Published by Zubaan.

Feminist Fables is a reworking of fairy tale s and mixes mythology with the author''s original material an d imagination to make this a feminist classic. '