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This chapter explores how traditional femininity as a form of emphasized femininity influences single mothers’ decisions to be involved in romantic relationships. It explores how women negotiate the boundaries of emphasized femininity in making their choices related to involvement in romantic relationships.

The data for this study were collected by conducting in-depth interviews with 30 Malaysian Tamil women. They were selected using a purposive sampling method. The main criterion of selection was that participants were Malaysian Indian single mothers identifying Tamil as their mother tongue. Latent and manifest content analyses were used to scrutinize the interviews.

Single mothers identified their responsibilities qua mothers as the most important part of their life. Many have remained single because they were concerned about the well-being of their children. Other than that, many single mothers chose not to be involved in a romantic relationship because it may be stigmatized by their family or community. Involvement in a romantic relationship is seen as a transgression from the notion of traditional femininity, which is a form of emphasized femininity in Tamil society. Motherhood and karpu (chastity) are seen as central to the traditional notion of femininity in Tamil society.

This study contributes to the understanding of how emphasized femininity in a minority group in Malaysia influences single mothers’ decisions about romantic relationships. Furthermore, there are very few studies in Malaysia focusing on the experiences of single mothers from minority ethnic communities.

Poverty and stress associated with it have been identified as key contributors to intimate partner violence. This chapter explores intimate partner violence experienced by Malaysian Indian women living in poverty in Penang. Data for this study come from in-depth interviews of 12 women who were categorized as hard-core poor, ordinary poor and vulnerable poor. Most participants experienced some form of violence from their husband; some experienced physical, emotional and verbal abuse, while some experienced only verbal abuse. Low income was the main reason for material deprivation in these households which became worse with substance abuse and extra marital affairs by male partners. Both violence and poverty is part of a vicious cycle, and some male children are following in their father’s ‘footsteps’. Violence is closely tied to patriarchal values and gender relations in family relationships showing how notions of hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity play out in everyday life.

This chapter explores the presentation of women's violence in Tamil mega serials. Tamil mega serials are produced in India and aired six days a week on satellite television channels. The story revolves around households with extended families living together and issues affecting women such as family well-being, motherhood and fertility. Women mostly take the role of the main protagonist and antagonist in Tamil serials. This chapter analyses the presentation of violence in 10 episodes of Chandralekha, a Tamil mega serial. Perpetrators of violence in Tamil serials are mainly female antagonists and other characters supporting the antagonists. The rivalry between the protagonist and antagonist centres around the struggle for property or the love of or marriage with a man. The type of violence ranges from mild to severe kinds of physical violence, and non-physical violence. The presentation of violence in Tamil serials reflects gender inequality in society. The meaning of some forms of violence in mega serials is closely related to the traditional gender roles and notion of traditional femininity in society.

This chapter provides the introduction of the book and argues why gender and feminism matter in theory and praxis in the 21st century. It includes the conceptual interrogation of the meaning of gender and feminism and its practice in western and non-western contexts; global currents in feminist struggles; thematic organization of the book; and the future under ‘feminist eyes’. The thread of shared struggles among diverse groups of women based on selected themes — movements, spaces and rights; inclusion, equity and policies; reproductive labour, work and economy; health, culture and violence; and sports and bodies — situates Canada as a western society with avowed egalitarian ideals favouring gender equality and social justice, but with its own issues and concerns like women in other countries facing their own challenges.