Contested Communities

The Refuge Movement and Cultural Identities in Wales

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3408499
AutoresN Charles (0000-0003-4242-017X, Swansea University), Charlotte Aull Davies (0000-0003-4388-6676, University of Wales, Swansea)
Año1997
Volumen45
Número3
Páginas416-436
Fecha de publicación1997-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Sociological Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0038-0261 • E-ISSN: 1467-954X
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/1467-954x.00071
OpenAlexW2051224172
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas14

This paper explores different meanings of community and cultural identity. Women involved in the refuge movement in rural Wales belong to overlapping communities: geographically located rural communities; linguistic and ethnic communities; and the gendered and occupationally based community of Welsh Women's Aid. Language is an important marker of belonging to Welsh rural communities which are under threat from an influx of non-Welsh speakers. Incoming women who are homeless as a result of domestic violence may be perceived as part of this threat. This creates a potential conflict for refuge workers, some of whom are also Welsh speakers, who represent the interests of this group of women but also belong to Welsh-speaking, rural communities. We explore the interrelation between these refuge workers, the various communities to which they belong, and how belonging or not belonging shapes their identities. We conclude that these women, in spite of the conflicting rights and interests of their various communities, negotiate a shared collective identity which owes something to all three

Destinations · Ethnic group · Geography · Identity (music) · Negotiation · Social science · Sociology · Welsh · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Irish and British Studies · Migration, Health and Trauma · Migration, Refugees, and Integration