Victoria S. Lockwood
Heroy Hall, Room 403
(214)768-4022
vlockwoo@smu.edu
Economic Development, Globalization, and the Evolving Gender Relations
Economic development and changes related to globalization are
reshaping the lives of people in both the industrialized and developing worlds. This is
particularly true in the island nations of Oceania where greater global integration --
economically, politically, and socially -- may help to develop these island societies and
bring greater prosperity to rural communities. Like other major parts of the non-western
world on the periphery of the global economy, Pacific islands face issues of economic
development, nation-building, ethnic and racial conflict, and environmental
sustainability. Professor Lockwood's research and writing deal broadly with how these
issues play out in this part of the world, and what the future might look like for these
struggling, developing nations.
New opportunities across the Pacific are moving women in particular from more traditional roles into
wage work and commercial sectors, and are transforming cultural systems of gender relations, family, and
patriarchy. Lockwood investigates these impacts on women and rural economies, but focuses particularly
on rural Tahitian women in French Polynesia (South Pacific). French agendas for its overseas territory
of French Polynesia have led to the rapid development of commercial agriculture and craft export on
rural islands. Tahitian women have been major actors in these endeavors although women traditionally
focused on the domestic sphere. A three island comparative study has shown that where women earn
independent income and are defined as family "providers," their participation in familial
decision-making and authority increases. They are also associated with women assuming greater political
roles (i.e., mayor, council member) in their communities. These findings have important implications
for women's economic participation in both the western and non-western worlds. Lockwood compares
outcomes for women in these cultures with the less optimistic outcomes for rural women in some parts
of Africa , Asia , and Latin America . She has also examined issues of poverty and inequality in the
islands, and how economic development has generated greater class stratification in previously
egalitarian communities.
Most recently, Lockwood's research on gender has turned to issues of domestic violence in Tahitian
marriage and family. Recent research on domestic violence suggests that there are several distinct forms
of such violence and that they vary throughout the life cycle. One, "common couple
violence," is found frequently in the early years of Tahitian marriage, but then virtually
disappears. A different, more severe form, escalates over time and is chronic throughout the life
course in a small percentage of all marriages. Common couple violence is associated with high rates of
conflict particularly in young couples. These conflicts revolve around contested patterns of marital
authority, power, and decision making; once relative "power" is negotiated, violence between
the spouses declines dramatically. Economic factors -- relative spousal income earning and
productivity -- play a key role in marital power negotiations.
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