Power, Gender, and Identity in the Irish Free State

Valiulis, Maryann Gialanella

doi:10.1353/jowh.2010.0308

Cited by 42 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…For example, Kennedy (2000Kennedy ( , 2001, McAvoy (1999), Finnane (2001) and Smith (2004) have explored the 1931 Report of the Committee on the Criminal Law Amendment Acts (1880 -1885) 3 and Howell (2003) has examined the 1927 Report of the Committee on Venereal Disease. Gray and Ryan (1998), Gray (1999), Ryan (1999Ryan ( , 2002, Valiulis (1995a) and Daly (1995) have explored the connections between control of women's sexuality, gender, identity and nation building, and Luddy (2001) and Earner-Bryne (2004) have examined issues concerning illegitimacy, unmarried mothers and emigration. These studies, however, tend to focus on one particular report, piece of legislation or form of sexual practice (such as prostitution or illegitimate births), rather than construct a genealogy of how these various reports and Acts worked together to produce a particular moral terrain.…”

Section: -34 Report Of the Department Of Local Government And Pubmentioning

confidence: 99%

Producing ‘decent girls’: governmentality and the moral geographies of sexual conduct in Ireland (1922–1937)

Crowley

Kitchin

2008

Gender, Place & Culture

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In this article we examine the mode of governmentality constructed in Ireland with regard to the regulation and disciplining of sexuality in the post-independence era up to the writing of the Constitution (1922)(1923)(1924)(1925)(1926)(1927)(1928)(1929)(1930)(1931)(1932)(1933)(1934)(1935)(1936)(1937). Drawing on the writings of Michel Foucault, we document how Ireland became an intense site of applied, national bio-politics with a panoply of government commissions and legislation, accompanied by new sites of reform (Magdalene Asylums and Mother and Baby Homes), which together were designed to mould and police the sexual practices of its citizens and create a sanitised moral landscape. Whilst a thoroughly gendered project, with nearly all legislation and sites of reform targeting women, we contend it was also a highly spatialised endeavour. The modes and practices of governmentality produced a dense spatialised grid of discipline, reform and self-regulation, seeking to produce 'decent' women inhabiting virtuous spaces by limiting access to work and public spaces, confining women to an unsullied (marital) home, and threatening new sites of reformation, emigration or ostracisation.

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Section: -34 Report Of the Department Of Local Government And Pubmentioning

confidence: 99%

Producing ‘decent girls’: governmentality and the moral geographies of sexual conduct in Ireland (1922–1937)

Crowley

Kitchin

2008

Gender, Place & Culture

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“…Many analysts of Irish society have focused on the use of symbols of idealised womanhood within cultural nationalism (Boland, 1989;Meaney, 1991;Innes, 1993;Nash, 1993;Sharkey, 1994;Valiulis, 1995). Indeed, the use of such symbols has proved very powerful within nationalist discourses and policy making.…”

Section: Locating the Modern Girlmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…'One of the distinguishing features of the age is the tendency to open to women posts and privileges that were formerly reserved solely for men There are not now many further obstacles to surmount' (4 August 1925). However, such sentiments exaggerated the opportunities and freedom which really were available to young women and, in so doing, minimised need for the relaxation of legal restrictions on women's employment (Clancy, 1990;Valiulis, 1995).…”

Section: Woman's Ambitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Negotiating modernity and tradition: Newspaper debates on the ‘modern girl’ in the Irish free state[1]

Ryan

1998

Journal of Gender Studies

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In the newly created Irish Free State the role of women provoked concerns among politicians, priests and the press. In particular, the 'modern girl' with her knee-length dresses and shingled hair came to epitomise the extremes of modern living. This paper examines the debates about the Irish modern girl in the context of nation-building in the aftermath of colonialism. While nationalist discourses frequently represent women as symbols of idealised motherhood, I argue that it is equally important to consider nationalist representations of 'evil', 'deviant' women. Such negative representations necessitate male control and authority over women, not only to 'protect' the nation but also to 'protect' women from their own base instincts. Although locating my analysis within the specificity of the Irish context, I suggest that rather than merely seeing the Irish case as unique or idiosyncratic it may be useful to draw on feminist analyses cross culturally.My discussion focuses on a case study of the three main newspapers in the Irish Free State during the mid-1920s, the Irish Times, Irish Independent and Cork Examiner. These newspapers are useful in offering a 'narrative of the nation' and contributing to the definition of an appropriate postcolonial national identity.The 'modern girl' appears as a contested symbol. For some she represented freedom, independence and modern lifestyles, while for others the modern girl represented a threat to tradition, morality and the virtues of Irish women and the Irish nation. The Irish newspapers illustrate the various negotiations around this apparent dichotomy of modernity vs tradition.

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“…There is excellent work by historians on the status and oppression of women in the founding of the Saorstát . See for example Beaumont,27 McAvoy,28 Valiulis29 and Valiulis 30…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical arguments for access to abortion services in the Republic of Ireland: recent developments in the public discourse

et al. 2018

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The Republic of Ireland has some of the most restrictive abortion legislation in the world which grants to the 'unborn' an equal right to life to that of the pregnant woman. This article outlines recent developments in the public discourse on abortion in Ireland and explains the particular cultural and religious context that informs the ethical case for access to abortion services. Our perspective rests on respect for two very familiar moral principles - autonomy and justice - which are at the centre of social and democratic societies around the world. This article explains the context for the deployment of these concepts in order to support the claim that the current legislation and its operationalisation in clinical practice poses serious risks to the health, lives and well-being of pregnant women, tramples on their autonomy rights and requires of them a self-sacrifice that is unreasonable and unjust.

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Power, Gender, and Identity in the Irish Free State

Cited by 42 publications

References 9 publications

Producing ‘decent girls’: governmentality and the moral geographies of sexual conduct in Ireland (1922–1937)

Producing ‘decent girls’: governmentality and the moral geographies of sexual conduct in Ireland (1922–1937)

Negotiating modernity and tradition: Newspaper debates on the ‘modern girl’ in the Irish free state[1]

Ethical arguments for access to abortion services in the Republic of Ireland: recent developments in the public discourse

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