WOMEN AND THE RURAL IDYLL

The existence of a 'rural idyll' has been widely accepted by social sc ientists working within the rural field. Yet the term itself has recei ved relatively little critical attention. In particular, the variable characteristics and impacts of the rural idyll amongst different group s within the rural population has been largely overlooked. The cultura l turn in rural geography and the emphasis which has recently been pla ced on identifying and studying the rural 'other provides an important opportunity for the notion of a rural idyll to be unpacked from the p erspective of different rural dwellers. This paper investigates the ro le of the rural idyll in maintaining rural gender relations. It examin es women's attitudes towards and experiences of two key elements of th e rural idyll; the family and the community. Drawing on material from interviews with women in rural Avon in the south west of England, the paper shows how women's identity as 'rural women' is closely tied in t o their images and understanding of rural society It is argued, in par ticular, that the opportunities available and acceptable to women are built on very strong assumptions and expectations about motherhood and belonging within a rural community. Some of the more practical implic ations of these expectations are explored in the context of women's in volvement in the community and in the labour market. Copyright (C) 199 6 Elsevier Science Ltd