Decolonizing Gender Roles in Pacific Women’s Writing

Indigenous Feminist Theories and the Reconceptualization of Women’s Authority

Bibliographic Data

ID12920180
AuthorsMichaela Moura–Koçoğlu (Florida International University, corresponding author), Michaela Moura-Koçoğlu
Year2017
Volume11
Issue2
Pages239-258
Publication date2017-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueContemporary Women s Writing (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1754-1476 • E-ISSN: 1754-1484
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/cww/vpx015
OpenAlexW2740071621
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited27

This article sets the critical analysis of gender dynamics in Pacific women’s literature in a decolonizing context of trans-Indigenous feminist theories. Māori author Patricia Grace, and Indigenous Australian writer and scholar Melissa Lucashenko center storytelling as a critical methodology in establishing Aboriginality as the central knowledge regime in their writing. Within the framework of a trans-Indigenous methodology, the present study is grounded on and engages with Indigenous feminist theories from the Pacific and beyond: A recognition of multiply situated knowledge and “herstories” establishes female connection to land, spirituality, and community, alongside experiences of colonial invasion and oppression, as key commonalities in Indigenous writing. Through storytelling, Grace and Lucashenko envision gender regimes that reflect Indigenous women’s complexity, as well as authority, positioning Indigenous Pacific women as active agents in confronting sexist patriarchal hegemony, and instrumental for creating balance in gender relations, family, community, and nation, amid complex processes of decolonization

Feminism · Feminist theory · Indigenous · Sociology · Anthropology · Asian American and Pacific Histories · Ecology · Gender Studies · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Philippine History and Culture

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