Read all posts for ‘gender’

Gertrude is my neighbor. She’s 50 years old but when you see her, you’d think she was 60. She came to Kampala which is the capital of Uganda about 30 years ago in search of a better life, as is the case with most African capital cities. She started out […]

The urban environment presents unique challenges as well as opportunities for its residents. Cities often have diverse populations with varying income levels and backgrounds, yet these individuals must coexist in a finite space, often with differential access to everything from cultural goods to public transportation and basic sustenance. We want […]

Man, Woman, and Muxe. In the region of the Mexican Istmo de Tehuantepec, women’s strong role in society has led to a quite peculiar structure which includes a “third gender”. Neither a man, nor a woman, Muxe is the name given by the Zapotecos to males assuming the social roles, […]

The first time I had to explain my nationality to  a stranger was back in 1996. I was a 15 year old high school student then, hundreds of miles away from home. My Keralite school mate had never heard of a country by the name of “Nepal”, she thought I […]

The musical genre forró is particularly popular in the states of Northeast Brazil, with themes that range from enduring the harsh semiarid land to praising the “playboy lifestyle” through its more recent electronic beat. Relations between men and women in the region arise from the lyrics, and one song in particular has been critical to stress the value of independent working women.