A typology of rural femininity and identity among women coffee producers – A qualitative case study from Costa Rica

Abstract

Gender programing is now a major pillar in combating gender inequality and promoting female empowerment. However, interfering with local gender systems and altering gender norms may be ineffective, perhaps triggering severe consequences for women if it neglects female realities and needs. Nascent research on agricultural femininities is still underdeveloped regarding rural women in the Global South. Investigating coffee cultivation, this study contributes to fill this gap by asking 1) which traits compose the agricultural femininity embodied by female coffee producers, and 2) in how far these entail traditional and/or alternative elements with the potential to transform prevailing gender norms and relations. We apply a qualitative case study, with a participatory community-based approach, in the Zona de Los Santos, Costa Rica. Data comprises semi-structured interviews with women coffee producers participating in the women-supporting program of Bean Voyage, four sequential community workshops, and a reflective Photo Voice project. Data analysis follows a twofold deductive-inductive approach for 1) type-building content analysis and 2) evaluative content analysis. We identify the Cafetalera as the main agricultural femininity embodied by female coffee farmers and three traits of it: Social Caregiver, Female Survivor, and Female Innovator and Entrepreneur. Beyond this, findings show that survivorship (of oppression and crisis) plays a major role in female identity construction, that care is an overarching element of all femininity traits, and that femininities always comprise a mixture of alternative and traditional characteristics.