The women and men of the ‘new economy’: United by divisions - the Introduction

The era of postmodernism has presented a plethora of opportunities and issues to explore. Many of those are concerned with the influences of globalisation on the levelling of gender disparities.

Due to the spread of ‘democratic’, free-market Western theories, gender is no longer a precise dichotomy; it has expanded into a broad range of roles, identifications and orientations. Globalisation, or the interconnectedness in processes and human behaviour, has become endemic within the first-world. The time-space continuum with which we were all familiar with has been eroded as a result of immense social and technological diffusion. But is globalisation altering gender regimes in a constructive manner?
 

The consequences of globalisation and free-market reforms have drastically altered the identities and habitats of everyday people. Industrialisation has led to urbanisation. And because urban environments tend to lack space and security, citizens no longer have the means to be self-sufficient. Ultimately, people need money to support their lifestyles. The demand for financial stability creates the need to engage in paid work on a regular basis.
 

One would argue that visual media plays a integral role in identity-forming in the postmodern context. Constant exposure to the various forms of advertising has fundamentally altered the ways in which the concept and definitions of gender are represented: sometimes in a positive light, and at other times with a negative or biased slant, but frequently sensationalist in its outlook. Advertising begets consumerism, and consumerism forms an ongoing cycle of supply and demand – one that is deeply ingrained into the psyche and reinforced frequently. “This engages a process through which states reduce social protection and increase the flexibility of their workforces, in order to follow prevailing theories…in a global market place.” (Walby 2002:3)

Whether or not the reshaping of gender regimes and thus work patterns is a noteworthy achievement will be discussed in the following posts.