Gender, culture, and the sea: Contemporary theoretical approaches

Abstract

Abstract Social science studies of fishing communities have tended to be highly focused on male activities and to regard women's work as domestic or as merely supplemental to that of men. This review article is intended to update the material presented in an earlier, more comprehensive essay on gender in the maritime literature. It examines some contemporary exceptions to this androcentric tendency, suggesting that understanding of local fisheries can be greatly enhanced by reexamining the role of gender in fishing communities and in fisheries production.