The detraditionalization of occupational identities in farming in south Australia

This paper uses grounded theory to uncover the occupational identities of men and women who farm, and to build an empirically constructed typology of occupational identities in farming. The narratives of 22 men and 22 women from diverse farm types and two regions of South Australia are used to explore subjective meanings associated with work, the farm and self. The typology shows a shift in meanings associated with work,'the farm' and gender characteristics across time and the typology. Globalizing influences are identified which have detraditionalized identities in farming and these are: changing relations between men and women and changing expectations about how producers should engage and orientate themselves toward the general market. A reflexivity about gender and a reflexivity about farming practice were identified as the two most important recurring features in the formation of identities that were non-traditional. The paper therefore investigates why some individuals are more likely than others to be reflexive about gender and gender relations and/or farming practice. It explores the inter-relationship between 'self-reflexivity' and the structural environment in which the construction and reconstruction of identity occurs.