External publications

Normative, agitated, and rebellious femininities among East and Central African refugees

Jaji, Rose
External Publications (2015)

in: Gender, Place & Culture 22 (4), 494-509

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2014.885886
Information

This article discusses femininities among East and Central African refugee women self-settled in Nairobi, Kenya. It argues that while normative approaches to refugee studies depict a homogeneous refugee femininity inherently synonymous with vulnerability and ‘victimhood,’ femininity among refugee women in Nairobi is heterogeneous, fluid, and complex. It is premised on individual refugee women's marital statuses in relation to economic situation. The article argues that femininity is a constraint in some instances and a resource in others, such that what exists among the refugee women is not a single femininity but a continuum of femininities. Specifically, the article conceptualizes femininity under three categories, namely: normative, agitated, and rebellious femininities.