Can Women Dance?

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  • 女たちは踊ることができるか？
  • 女たちは踊ることができるか? : カンパラのバーガールのシティズンシップとその「主体性」への再考
  • オンナ タチ ワ オドル コト ガ デキル カ? : カンパラ ノ バーガール ノ シティズンシップ ト ソノ 「 シュタイセイ 」 エ ノ サイコウ
  • カンパラのバーガールのシティズンシップとその「主体性」への再考
  • Rethinking Citizenships and Subjectivity of Bar Girls in Kampala, Uganda

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<p>This paper examines the question of "Can women dance?" relating it to the sexual behavior and practices of bar girls in Kampala, Uganda. To explore that question more theoretically, two kinds of citizenship are considered: （1） women's social status and their marginality in the urban settings of Africa, and （2） the theme of subjectivity and agency, to be discussed with reference to Gayatri C. Spivak and Judith Butler. As case studies, this paper presents an ethnographic descriptions of bar girls' activities in nightclubs in Kabalagara, Kampala—the bulk of research for which was done in 2016 and 2017—though the basic fieldwork on citizenship in Uganda had been conducted since 2006.</p> <p>The first kind of citizenship in African urban settings is the familial （and inclusive） one, which basically covers women's security and life insurance, in which women play the role of wives, daughters and mothers serving as primary pillars of their families. In Uganda, such familial citizenship is linked deeply to clan lineage systems. In poor circumstances, such as in the suburbs and slums of Kampala, it may force girls—particularly those who have dropped out of primary school—to work for the family under paternal control. The distinction between being married and single also matters for women insofar as their economic independence is concerned. Although married women are quite relational in their status, they do become more stable economically by running personal businesses at local markets. Single and divorced women, on the other hand, generally find it difficult to maintain their own businesses as they do not have the financial support of a husband.</p> <p>(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)</p>

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