Beschreibung
Women from the Pacific Islands are often perceived by
Europeans as passive beauties dancing the hula with a flower
in their hair, as docile companions of European or local
men or as naive personalities surrounded by an endangered
environment. But far from that male Western reception of
women’s status, which can be found in documentaries, motion
pictures as well as travel and adventure literature, women
are active and resolute agents who self-confidently shape
their societies through their courageous and determined
acting in public as well as in their communities. The
current volume of Novara – Contributions to Research on the
Pacific wants to deliver insights into the lives of women
from the Pacific Islands and shows how they deal with
shifting gender relations in changing societies. Traditions
and adjustment processes to changing living conditions of
women and men in Papua New Guinea, Palau and New Zealand
present fascinating research fields, which open up the view
to new living models apart from Western gender concepts.
Contributors: Christine Binder-Fritz – Helene Connor –
Gerit Gönitzer – Berit Gustafsson – Gabriele Habinger –
Claudia Lauterbach – Gabriele Stuerzenhofecker