Why aren't you girls serving the groomsmen their cake?

Abstract

For decades, women from rural communities have been leaving their homes for various reasons, and in the process, have likely been exposed to ideas that challenged their ideas about gender, and gender relations. This study focuses on women like myself who were born and raised in rural Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), and have since moved to more urban spaces. My aim is to find out whether or not other rural women find themselves questioning and challenging the traditional and patriarchal gendered culture of our hometowns and our province. While there is ample existing literature on the construction of gender, and the historical connections between gender roles and rurality, there is little research done on why and how women who grow up in rural communities come to challenge or question patriarchal gender ideologies, and if they experience a difference when they move to urban centers to pursue higher education and/or employment opportunities. Moreover, even less is known about the social consequences of adopting more critical and feminist ideas about gender and rurality. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the prevalence of traditional gender roles and expectations of women in the province, and how their experiences vary from those of women in more progressive, urban locations.