How Mechanization Created Social Change In General And Affected Views Of Gender Roles



How Mechanization Created Social Change In General And Affected Views Of Gender Roles

In times of abrupt and deepening changes in society, people --because of alienation-- desire absolute and unchanging qualities to define their worlds, their lives and their motives in reconnecting to others in unfamiliar situations. As technology becomes more automated, we have to become more intelligent and think systemically to prevail. Systemic thinking means we connect the dots of cause and effect to examine and evaluate the consequences of new technologies. As technology has minimized the disparity in skill between the genders, quite often the cultural insistence has provoked a widening between those jobs assigned to women and often higher paying jobs designated as "mans work," and reserved for men. (Bailey, 2013)

But caveats aside, the general consensus seems to be that the mechanization of agriculture created separate spaces for men and women on the farm, leaving the men to do the farmer's work, and women to do the farmwives' work. Although mechanization started after WWII, Nixon-era policies lead to a mad rush to “Get Big Or Get Out,” forcing farms to increase production in order to stay solvent. This boost in mechanization put paid to women in agriculture.

Mechanization removed women from agricultural public spaces in three important ways. Firstly, it minimized their direct involvement in the “business of farming” (i.e.: the economic production aspect of farming). Large agricultural machinery (tractors, for example), required minimal labor to operate, eliminating the need for women's labor on the farm. Mechanization thus contributed to the creation a “male arena,” where technology became inextricably linked to masculine identity. (Apple, 2012)

Secondly, by linking agricultural production and masculinity, mechanization cut women off from spaces where agricultural knowledge is disseminated and shared. The women in theTrauger study I cited last week, for example, report feeling ostracized at “feed mills, equipment dealerships, hay auctions, sale barns and farm shows.” Women farmers, therefore, are not just cut off from spaces where male farmers conduct business, but also from spaces where agricultural knowledge is shared.

Finally, as mechanization reduced the labor intensity of agriculture, young girls were also shut out from farming knowledge and experience. Not only is farming gendered, therefore, butlearning about farming is also gendered. Gendered spaces are reinforced over generations as farm boys learn the occupation from their fathers, and farm girls learn to perform more feminine farm-support tasks like record-keeping and errand running. So, from an early age, women are denied the farming expertise necessary to play the role of 'farmers.' (Albanesi, 2011)

The mechanization of agriculture, therefore, revolutionized the social structure of farming. Gender roles are continuous formed and reinforced at the both the familial and societal level, clearly demarcating separate spaces for women and men. Given the lack of space for women in traditional agriculture, it is hardly surprising that they seek the refuge of alternative, small-scale, sustainable agriculture, free from old boys networks and gendered expectations.

The main thrust of the green revolution of ...