Elena Kim
Biographic Data
| ID | 3799411 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Elena Kim |
| GIVEN NAMES | Elena |
| FAMILY NAME | Kim |
| SIGNATURE | KIM E |
| AFFILIATIONS | American University of Central Asia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9612-3499 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 19 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 15 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Nationalizing Body Image
In this article, we explore body image in contemporary Kazakhstan by analytically situating it at the intersection of post-socialist neoliberal transformation and retraditionalized gender regimes. Drawing on feminist body scholarship, we examine how women negotiate ethnic and gender identities through everyday beauty practices of aesthetic labor. Analyzing women’s narratives through reflexive thematic analysis approach, we understood body image a…
Institutional ethnography for exploring psychological practice in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan
Bargaining with Virginity
This article explores systems of social control over women’s bodies demonstrated by discourses and practices which regulate women’s virginity in Kyrgyzstan. Emergence of these discourses are shaped by Kyrgyzstan’s continued post-independence nation-building processes and economic instability. In this context, women’s bodies are at the center of political contestation, ethnic nationalism, and collective power. Findings suggest that women have lear…
Competing Discourses in the Child Protection System in Kyrgyzstan
Anxiety and depression among women living with HIV in Kazakhstan
An increase in new HIV infections among women in Kazakhstan has motivated efforts to improve access to comprehensive health services. This study estimates anxiety and depression frequency among women seeking HIV services. A cross-sectional survey was administered to women seen at the Almaty AIDS Center. Bivariable analyses (e.g., Chi-square, means with 95% confidence intervals) were performed to assess the relationship between anxiety (score of 1…
The Global Ruling of Local Crisis Intervention
This article analyzes contradictory practices carried out in Kyrgyzstani crisis centers for victims of gender violence resulting in women-clients failing to obtain the protection they seek. These problematic dynamics are shaped by a global apparatus on women's human rights protection and international standards of practice. Crisis center professionals perform the final activation of this ruling apparatus through textual work driven not by the wom…
Bound to be grooms
This article explores intersections among gender, violence and socio-economic insecurities through examining the practice of women’s abduction for forced marriage in rural Kyrgyzstan. In the post-Soviet period, bride-kidnapping has been discussed as an expression of reviving 'traditional' ethnic culture and as a system of social rules that constrain actors in a variety of ways. Understanding of this practice requires a more nuanced analysis of th…
Re-feminizing the post-soviet women
This paper analyses complex linkages between gender, nationalism and body politics in post-socialist Kyrgyzstan through an exploration of social practices centred on female virginity. Drawing on ethnographic material, I illustrate how virginity is glorified and fetishised in ceremonies and rituals within practices recognised as re-constituted national traditions. I problematise such performances for their desexualising and dehumanising features a…
Empowered by electricity? The political economy of gender and energy in rural Naryn
This article examines if and how access to electricity has contributed to women’s empowerment in the broader context of the political economy of gender and energy in rural Naryn, Kyrgyzstan. Earlier literature has pointed to how electricity provided through development interventions has facilitated a range of desirable services, conditional for children’s education, communication technologies and economic growth. Access to electricity has been li…
Making the ‘empowered woman’
This article examines the complexities of women’s increasing participation in international development programming for gender equality. Taking a specific setting in rural Kyrgyzstan where one such project has been operating, the researchers discover adverse effects on the local women’s livelihoods, status and health. Women’s contradictions are attributed to the women’s own failures and lacks, creating confusion and frustration among them. Adopti…
Bride kidnapping in post-Soviet Eurasia
Throughout Eurasia, bride kidnapping continues to be a fairly common way to get married. The practice is becoming increasingly controversial. Some local actors argue the practice is a cultural tradition, while others question its acceptability, particularly when a woman is forced to marry against her will. Many scholars, journalists and non-governmental organization workers view non-consensual variations of bride kidnapping as a form of gender-ba…
Hybridized Indigenous Healing in the Kyrgyz Republic
Harmful consequences of civil unrest in 2010, in the Southern region of the Kyrgyz Republic in Osh, continue to have an impact on communities to the present day. One of the most significant effects has been numerous undiagnosed cases of rape and other types of gender-based violence (GBV) that occurred during the interethnic conflict. The true prevalence rate of GBV cases is still unknown. For example, according to official data from the Ministry …
Conceptual Practice of “Rural Wellbeing” in Uzbekistan
Conceptual practice of ‘rural wellbeing’ in Uzbekistan
This article presents an empirical analysis of inherent contradictions in theoretical understandings of the concept of ‘rural wellbeing.’ In Uzbekistan, a theory-based conceptualisation of rural wellbeing became the basis for a water management project intended to mitigate threats to the economy of a rural village. In 2011–2012, the author inquired into concrete work processes which constituted and expressed rural wellbeing policies there. It was…
Working across Boundaries
The authors reflect on their own experience of international research collaboration to draw analytic attention to its social organization. Using institutional ethnography (Smith, 1987, 2005) they explicate the social relations of inequality into which they were drawn in spite of their best intentions. This analysis makes visible what was otherwise not recognized or recognizable, suggesting that feminists working across borders must learn how to t…
Bound to be grooms
This article explores intersections among gender, violence and socio-economic insecurities through examining the practice of women’s abduction for forced marriage in rural Kyrgyzstan. In the post-Soviet period, bride-kidnapping has been discussed as an expression of reviving 'traditional' ethnic culture and as a system of social rules that constrain actors in a variety of ways. Understanding of this practice requires a more nuanced analysis of th…
Empowered by electricity? The political economy of gender and energy in rural Naryn
This article examines if and how access to electricity has contributed to women’s empowerment in the broader context of the political economy of gender and energy in rural Naryn, Kyrgyzstan. Earlier literature has pointed to how electricity provided through development interventions has facilitated a range of desirable services, conditional for children’s education, communication technologies and economic growth. Access to electricity has been li…
Making the ‘empowered woman’
This article examines the complexities of women’s increasing participation in international development programming for gender equality. Taking a specific setting in rural Kyrgyzstan where one such project has been operating, the researchers discover adverse effects on the local women’s livelihoods, status and health. Women’s contradictions are attributed to the women’s own failures and lacks, creating confusion and frustration among them. Adopti…
Bride kidnapping in post-Soviet Eurasia
Throughout Eurasia, bride kidnapping continues to be a fairly common way to get married. The practice is becoming increasingly controversial. Some local actors argue the practice is a cultural tradition, while others question its acceptability, particularly when a woman is forced to marry against her will. Many scholars, journalists and non-governmental organization workers view non-consensual variations of bride kidnapping as a form of gender-ba…
Bargaining with Virginity
This article explores systems of social control over women’s bodies demonstrated by discourses and practices which regulate women’s virginity in Kyrgyzstan. Emergence of these discourses are shaped by Kyrgyzstan’s continued post-independence nation-building processes and economic instability. In this context, women’s bodies are at the center of political contestation, ethnic nationalism, and collective power. Findings suggest that women have lear…
Hybridized Indigenous Healing in the Kyrgyz Republic
Harmful consequences of civil unrest in 2010, in the Southern region of the Kyrgyz Republic in Osh, continue to have an impact on communities to the present day. One of the most significant effects has been numerous undiagnosed cases of rape and other types of gender-based violence (GBV) that occurred during the interethnic conflict. The true prevalence rate of GBV cases is still unknown. For example, according to official data from the Ministry …
Working across Boundaries
The authors reflect on their own experience of international research collaboration to draw analytic attention to its social organization. Using institutional ethnography (Smith, 1987, 2005) they explicate the social relations of inequality into which they were drawn in spite of their best intentions. This analysis makes visible what was otherwise not recognized or recognizable, suggesting that feminists working across borders must learn how to t…
Working across Boundaries
The authors reflect on their own experience of international research collaboration to draw analytic attention to its social organization. Using institutional ethnography (Smith, 1987, 2005) they explicate the social relations of inequality into which they were drawn in spite of their best intentions. This analysis makes visible what was otherwise not recognized or recognizable, suggesting that feminists working across borders must learn how to t…
Conceptual Practice of “Rural Wellbeing” in Uzbekistan
Conceptual practice of ‘rural wellbeing’ in Uzbekistan
This article presents an empirical analysis of inherent contradictions in theoretical understandings of the concept of ‘rural wellbeing.’ In Uzbekistan, a theory-based conceptualisation of rural wellbeing became the basis for a water management project intended to mitigate threats to the economy of a rural village. In 2011–2012, the author inquired into concrete work processes which constituted and expressed rural wellbeing policies there. It was…
Hybridized Indigenous Healing in the Kyrgyz Republic
Harmful consequences of civil unrest in 2010, in the Southern region of the Kyrgyz Republic in Osh, continue to have an impact on communities to the present day. One of the most significant effects has been numerous undiagnosed cases of rape and other types of gender-based violence (GBV) that occurred during the interethnic conflict. The true prevalence rate of GBV cases is still unknown. For example, according to official data from the Ministry …
Making the ‘empowered woman’
This article examines the complexities of women’s increasing participation in international development programming for gender equality. Taking a specific setting in rural Kyrgyzstan where one such project has been operating, the researchers discover adverse effects on the local women’s livelihoods, status and health. Women’s contradictions are attributed to the women’s own failures and lacks, creating confusion and frustration among them. Adopti…
Bride kidnapping in post-Soviet Eurasia
Throughout Eurasia, bride kidnapping continues to be a fairly common way to get married. The practice is becoming increasingly controversial. Some local actors argue the practice is a cultural tradition, while others question its acceptability, particularly when a woman is forced to marry against her will. Many scholars, journalists and non-governmental organization workers view non-consensual variations of bride kidnapping as a form of gender-ba…
Empowered by electricity? The political economy of gender and energy in rural Naryn
This article examines if and how access to electricity has contributed to women’s empowerment in the broader context of the political economy of gender and energy in rural Naryn, Kyrgyzstan. Earlier literature has pointed to how electricity provided through development interventions has facilitated a range of desirable services, conditional for children’s education, communication technologies and economic growth. Access to electricity has been li…
Bound to be grooms
This article explores intersections among gender, violence and socio-economic insecurities through examining the practice of women’s abduction for forced marriage in rural Kyrgyzstan. In the post-Soviet period, bride-kidnapping has been discussed as an expression of reviving 'traditional' ethnic culture and as a system of social rules that constrain actors in a variety of ways. Understanding of this practice requires a more nuanced analysis of th…
Re-feminizing the post-soviet women
This paper analyses complex linkages between gender, nationalism and body politics in post-socialist Kyrgyzstan through an exploration of social practices centred on female virginity. Drawing on ethnographic material, I illustrate how virginity is glorified and fetishised in ceremonies and rituals within practices recognised as re-constituted national traditions. I problematise such performances for their desexualising and dehumanising features a…
Anxiety and depression among women living with HIV in Kazakhstan
An increase in new HIV infections among women in Kazakhstan has motivated efforts to improve access to comprehensive health services. This study estimates anxiety and depression frequency among women seeking HIV services. A cross-sectional survey was administered to women seen at the Almaty AIDS Center. Bivariable analyses (e.g., Chi-square, means with 95% confidence intervals) were performed to assess the relationship between anxiety (score of 1…
The Global Ruling of Local Crisis Intervention
This article analyzes contradictory practices carried out in Kyrgyzstani crisis centers for victims of gender violence resulting in women-clients failing to obtain the protection they seek. These problematic dynamics are shaped by a global apparatus on women's human rights protection and international standards of practice. Crisis center professionals perform the final activation of this ruling apparatus through textual work driven not by the wom…
Bargaining with Virginity
This article explores systems of social control over women’s bodies demonstrated by discourses and practices which regulate women’s virginity in Kyrgyzstan. Emergence of these discourses are shaped by Kyrgyzstan’s continued post-independence nation-building processes and economic instability. In this context, women’s bodies are at the center of political contestation, ethnic nationalism, and collective power. Findings suggest that women have lear…
Competing Discourses in the Child Protection System in Kyrgyzstan
Institutional ethnography for exploring psychological practice in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan
Nationalizing Body Image
In this article, we explore body image in contemporary Kazakhstan by analytically situating it at the intersection of post-socialist neoliberal transformation and retraditionalized gender regimes. Drawing on feminist body scholarship, we examine how women negotiate ethnic and gender identities through everyday beauty practices of aesthetic labor. Analyzing women’s narratives through reflexive thematic analysis approach, we understood body image a…
Political science (12 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Gender Studies (7 works) · Gender, Security, and Conflict (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Gender Studies (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Economics (5 works) · Ethnography (5 works) · Gender Politics and Representation (5 works)