Power, Privilege, and "Playing in the Dirt": An Intersectional Exploration of Women's Agricultural Experiences in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Open Access
- Author:
- Whitley, Hannah Terese
- Graduate Program:
- Rural Sociology
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- August 21, 2019
- Committee Members:
- Kathryn J. Brasier, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Elizabeth Ransom, Committee Member
Kathleen J D Sexsmith, Committee Member
Kathryn Jo Brasier, Program Head/Chair
Kathryn J. Brasier, Committee Member - Keywords:
- historically marginalized agriculturalists
intersectionality
participatory action research
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh
social sustainability
urban agriculture
women farmers
critical food systems scholarship
qualitative research - Abstract:
- As cities across the United States increasingly recognize urban agriculture as an integral component of local economies, neighborhood culture, city infrastructure, and zoning ordinances, municipal governments have been tasked with implementing and regulating agriculture operations that are unique to metropolitan areas. Past scholarship on urban agriculture has typically existed in a single-variable, linear vacuum, mostly emphasizing the social, economic, and community benefits of sustainable production and the challenges related to its practice in urban contexts. Social sustainability literature, however, has shown that deeper issues such as structural racism, gender inequity, and economic disparities disproportionately affect opportunities for historically marginalized farmers and gardeners. A growing body of research strives to recognize how socially constructed identities such as race, class, and gender complicate the barriers and opportunities for urban growers and connect to broader institutional inequities that perpetuate these problems. This thesis seeks to address this gap in the literature. Using a mixed-method qualitative design, my thesis seeks to embed urban agriculture within critical, feminist, anti-racist, intersectional frameworks that elevate marginalized voices to the forefront of social sustainability and encourage broader dialogues related to agricultural policy, landownership, capital acquisition, and institutional structural inequity. To fill this gap in critical food systems scholarship, this thesis is guided by the following research questions: (1) What are the motivations for historically marginalized urban growers to farm and garden in urban spaces? (2) What challenges do historically marginalized urban growers experience while farming, gardening, and organizing around food activism?(3) What are the strategies historically marginalized growers use to develop and maintain sustainable operations? To what extent do these strategies lead to positive community development, improved business networks, and enhanced local leadership?(4) How do historically marginalized urban farmers and gardeners work with non-profit organizations, extension services, government programs, and fellow agriculturalists to create and sustain their operations? (5) How are historically marginalized urban farmers and gardeners’ experiences connected to broader structural inequities that perpetuate socio-cultural problems for urban growers? How can institutions such as non-governmental organizations, extension, academic research, and federal programs better support historically marginalized urban farmers and growers? To collect data, I utilized a unique research method called “photovoice” in combination with 30 semi-structured interviews and 15 weeks of participant observation. Photovoice is a tool that asks participants to use photography to represent and reflect on lived experiences and use their images to document needs, promote dialogue, and influence policymakers. This method is frequently used to facilitate conversation about sensitive topics such as race, class, and gender among research participants with diverse identities. All data for this research was collected in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – a city regularly ranked within the top cities for progressive urban agriculture policy in the United States Findings reveal five main motivations for participants’ involvement within urban agriculture: community, education, healing, self-fulfillment, and suitability. Comparisons of participant demographic characteristics suggest that women urban agriculturalists of color are motivated by aspects of community, education, and self-fulfillment. White urban growers, on the other hand, are typically drawn to agriculture because of its lifestyle suitability and healing qualities. Bureaucratic red tape, communication, community support, finances, inconsistent volunteers, isolation, lack of mentorship, lack of (relevant) information, and land access and/or tenure were all seen as constraints for sustainable urban agriculture operations in the city. Comparisons of participant demographic characteristics show that women growers ages 18-34, regardless of race, are more likely to struggle with navigating bureaucracy, finding mentors, accessing relevant information, and experience feelings of isolation. This finding suggests that new and beginning urban growers struggle to navigate the systems of non-profit, extension, and federal support programs and organizations in place to support Pittsburgh’s agriculturalists. Still, respondents agree that Pittsburgh’s enthusiasm for and support of agricultural activities has increased over the past five years, which is marked by a high prevalence of women, particularly women of color, at the forefront of Pittsburgh’s urban agriculture scene. This study contributes to the literature on intersectional theory in its unique application to women farmers and gardeners in urban settings. In this process, growers show that although one’s gender remains consistently active in the matrix of one’s identities, it may not be the most relevant barrier in a given moment or context. The manifestations of white privilege essential to critical food studies and Critical Race Theory are best exemplified within Pittsburgh’s heavily segregated landscape, which provides an excellent illustration of how long-standing policies have isolated the city’s communities of color, resulting in limited access to land and its tenure. Land access, tenure, and environmental quality influences a grower’s capacity to produce and affects the conditions under which they grow; and although there are organizations that provide education, financial, and social support to Pittsburgh’s agriculturalists, this support is not enough to overcome these institutional barriers. In response to these barriers, women growers have taken up feminist organization strategies outlined by the Feminist Agri-Food Systems Theory. Unlike findings described by FAST scholarship (Sachs et al. 2016) though, this sample of respondents have not yet formed new women-focused networking organizations to respond to their needs. It is possible that this is due to the geographic layout of and systematic segregation existing within their location, that existing organizations are already meeting the needs for growers, or that, the women in this study feel greater confidence in solidarity with networks of individuals identifying as their same race rather than gender. This may also be due in part to findings related to a grower’s intersecting identities: there may be situations in which one’s racial identity is foregrounded and considered a more pressing challenge to operation sustainability. Regardless, intersecting issues within the realm of U.S. agricultural systems are at play and are affecting land access, tenure, education, network organizations, and opportunities for mentorship. In conclusion, I argue that Pittsburgh has implemented advanced urban agriculture policy and programs in comparison to other urban centers in the United States, which explains the city’s consistent ranking amongst areas with progressive UA ordinances. This said, there are several policy and practice changes that might be updated to create more equitable spaces for historically underserved farmers and gardeners. These changes include: improved workshops and trainings; the use of accessible venues and appropriate scheduling; reduced and/or free soil testing vouchers; transitioning to online, standardized application systems; and increased advertisement for resource, finance, and leadership opportunities through community communication channels.