The "good girls" of Sri Lankan modernity: Moral orders of nationalism and capitalism

In the Sri Lankan garment industry the term "good girls" refers to moral ch aracter and industrial productivity: a good girl both embodies Sinhala Budd hist traditions and is an efficient and productive factory worker. The "goo d girl" concept symbolizes a conjuncture of nationalist and capitalist gend er ideals during this time of ethnic conflict and industrial development in the country. Although the women workers agree with many of the gendered ch aracterizations implied by the term "good girls," they do not uncritically follow nationalist and capitalist moral scripts. Rather, they mobilize the good girl identity for advantages inside and outside the factory. This essa y brings together an account of the ways in which gender is configured in r elation to discourses of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism and practices of capi talism in Sri Lanka with an analysis of how female village garment workers make these discourses and practices meaningful in their own lives.