TY - JOUR
T1 - Rebel Girls? Unplanned pregnancy and colonialism in highlands Papua, Indonesia
AU - Butt, Leslie
AU - Munro, Jenny
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - In highlands Papua, Indonesia, rapid social change under a colonial system of governance has created novel sexual opportunities for young indigenous women. Recent scholarship has viewed similar youthful sexual practices that challenge the status quo as expressions of personal agency. By looking at how young women and their families cope with unplanned pregnancies, we suggest that a more viable analytic approach would be to view sexuality, pregnancy and childbirth as a single unit of analysis. From this perspective, young women's experiences are primarily ones of constraint. Case studies offer insights into the ways a political context of colonial domination limits options and choices for young women who have children born out of wedlock. In particular, this paper describes how the 'settler gaze' - omnipresent colonial norms and judgments - creates regulatory effects in the realm of reproduction.
AB - In highlands Papua, Indonesia, rapid social change under a colonial system of governance has created novel sexual opportunities for young indigenous women. Recent scholarship has viewed similar youthful sexual practices that challenge the status quo as expressions of personal agency. By looking at how young women and their families cope with unplanned pregnancies, we suggest that a more viable analytic approach would be to view sexuality, pregnancy and childbirth as a single unit of analysis. From this perspective, young women's experiences are primarily ones of constraint. Case studies offer insights into the ways a political context of colonial domination limits options and choices for young women who have children born out of wedlock. In particular, this paper describes how the 'settler gaze' - omnipresent colonial norms and judgments - creates regulatory effects in the realm of reproduction.
U2 - 10.1080/13691050701515324
DO - 10.1080/13691050701515324
M3 - Article
VL - 9
SP - 585
EP - 598
JO - Culture, Health and Sexuality
JF - Culture, Health and Sexuality
SN - 1369-1058
IS - 6
ER -