Ultra-Intensity Patriarchy : Care and Gender Violence on the Paraná Tri-Border Area

This book analyzes the experiences of women living and working across the busiest and most transited frontier in South America, the Paraná Tri-Border Area (TBA), between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. From a feminist approach, it shows how, in these territories, the gender violence is intensified, configuring an expression of ultra-intensity patriarchy. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted for two years along with Paraguayan women living and working between Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), and Foz de Iguazú (Brazil), the authors analyze, on the one hand, the intricate connection between gender violence and ethnicity on these borders; and, on the other hand, the persistence of a female care that appears to offer a fundamental tool of resistance, of vital female drive. The work is divided into three parts. The first is intended to read like a trip to this complex and fascinating corner of South America through a visual and ethnohistoric journey of the region, as well asa theoretical debate that defines gender violence and its particular condensation on border territories. The second part explores the women’s stories in-depth and follow the narrative thread of their biographies, rebuilding their experiences from their families of origin to their productive insertion on the TBA. Finally, the third part takes an in-depth look at the complex links between the social reproduction obligations that fall on women, and the gender violence on the TBA, stressing how they develop strategies to change their life conditions by establishing transborder circuits of care. Ultra-Intensity Patriarchy: Care and Gender Violence on the Paraná Tri-Border Area will be a valuable tool for researchers from different disciplines, such as anthropology, sociology, population studies and gender studies, interested in the growing field of studies of feminism, borders, and migration from an intersectional perspective. Acknowledgments Contents List of Figures List of Maps List of Table Contributors Part I: The Tri-Border Area Chapter 1: The Tangled Borders: Female Experiences of Violence and Care The Issues Care on the Border: A Case Study The Frameworks Ultra-intensity Patriarchy The Volume References Chapter 2: The Tri-Border Area in Images Border Enclaves Between the Iguazú and Paraná Rivers Puerto Iguazú and Tourism Foz de Iguazú: The Hydro-Military Infrastructure Ciudad del Este: The Commercial Zone References Chapter 3: Breaking Women, Conquering Nations Introduction Feminisms, Historiographies, and Border Territories “Native” Women and Colonial Processes in the Paraná River Basin The War of Paraguay (1864––1870) Closing Remarks References Chapter 4: The Situated Theory Introduction Analytical Keys Gender Violence Border Areas Gender and Violence in the Paraná Tri-Border Area Trafficking for Sexual Purposes Cross-Border Mobility and Female Overload Intersectional Discriminations and Territorial Appropriations Synthesis References Part II: Female Border Trajectories Chapter 5: Embodying Family Care Life Histories Female Profiles Trajectories and Capitals The Family of Origin Rural Origins, and Mobility Strategies Female Overload, Gender Mandates, and the Sexual Division of Labor Reflection Axes References Chapter 6: “I Was that Dream” Introduction Access to Education Labor Market Insertion Work on the Border Access to Education for their Children (Trans)Generational Expectations Chapter 7: Engendering Border Trade Circuits Introduction The Sacoleiro’s Circuit Commerce as a Female Work Solution Commerce on a Street Stall in Ciudad del Este Commercial Activities in Foz de Iguazú Transborder Commerce Rethinking Border Circuits References Chapter 8: Displays of Violence in Public Space Introduction On the Paraguayan Side Mobility as a Female Response On the Border Crossings On the Brazilian Side In Street and Itinerant Commerce In Established Commerce Domestic Workers Public Articulations of Violence References Part III: The Dialectics of Care Chapter 9: Caught Between Care and Violence In the Families of Origin The Fathers The Mothers In Relationships Male Control Male Absenteeism The Dialectic between Reproduction and Rupture References Chapter 10: The Ambivalence of Sexuality: The Dialogic Taboo Around Pregnancy Introduction Inhabiting Intersectionality Couple Relationships Sexuality Pregnancies and Births Five Axes of Reflection References Chapter 11: The Dialectics of Opportunity Introduction Social Protection: Transnational or Transborder? Social Protection between Ciudad del Este and Foz de Iguazú Overload and Overspecialization Specialized Agencies Community Care Networks Increasing Social, Educational, and Health Protection Dialectics of Opportunity References Chapter 12: Closing Remarks: Transborder Care Circuits Conclusive Ethnographic Statements Theoretical Contributions “Care Barometer” and Ultra-Intensity Patriarchy References Index This book analyzes the experiences of women living and working across the busiest and most transited frontier in South America, the Paraná Tri-Border Area (TBA), between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. From a feminist approach, it shows how, in these territories, the gender violence is intensified, configuring an expression of ultra-intensity patriarchy. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted for two years along with Paraguayan women living and working between Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), and Foz de Iguazú (Brazil), the authors analyze, on the one hand, the intricate connection between gender violence and ethnicity on these borders; and, on the other hand, the persistence of a female care that appears to offer a fundamental tool of resistance, of vital female drive. The work is divided into three parts. The first is intended to read like a trip to this complex and fascinating corner of South America through a visual and ethnohistoric journey of the region, as well as a theoretical debate that defines gender violence and its particular condensation on border territories. The second part explores the women's stories in-depth and follow the narrative thread of their biographies, rebuilding their experiences from their families of origin to their productive insertion on the TBA. Finally, the third part takes an in-depth look at the complex links between the social reproduction obligations that fall on women, and the gender violence on the TBA, stressing how they develop strategies to change their life conditions by establishing transborder circuits of care. Ultra-Intensity Patriarchy: Care and Gender Violence on the Paraná Tri-Border Area will be a valuable tool for researchers from different disciplines, such as anthropology, sociology, population studies and gender studies, interested in the growing field of studies of feminism, borders, and migration from an intersectional perspective This book analyzes the experiences of women living and working across the busiest and most transited frontier in South America, the Parana Tri-Border Area (TBA), between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. From a feminist approach, it shows how, in these territories, the gender violence is intensified, configuring an expression of ultra-intensity patriarchy. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted for two years along with Paraguayan women living and working between Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), and Foz de Iguazu (Brazil), the authors analyze, on the one hand, the intricate connection between gender violence and ethnicity on these borders; and, on the other hand, the persistence of a female care that appears to offer a fundamental tool of resistance, of vital female drive. The work is divided into three parts. The first is intended to read like a trip to this complex and fascinating corner of South America through a visual and ethnohistoric journey of the region, as well as a theoretical debate that defines gender violence and its particular condensation on border territories. The second part explores the womens stories in-depth and follow the narrative thread of their biographies, rebuilding their experiences from their families of origin to their productive insertion on the TBA. Finally, the third part takes an in-depth look at the complex links between the social reproduction obligations that fall on women, and the gender violence on the TBA, stressing how they develop strategies to change their life conditions by establishing transborder circuits of care. Ultra-Intensity Patriarchy: Care and Gender Violence on the Parana Tri-Border Area will be a valuable tool for researchers from different disciplines, such as anthropology, sociology, population studies and gender studies, interested in the growing field of studies of feminism, borders, and migration from an intersectional perspective