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On the side of women: a dotted line civilising process
Sex, gender and gender relations have long been considered minor issues in the historical sociology of Norbert Elias. Yet the sociologist seemed more concerned with gender relations and inequalities than many of his contemporaries were. His work is now increasingly recognised as relevant to gender issues, particularly through the lens of established–outsiders relations, and for Elias’s readers gender relations and their transformations represent a rather crucial aspect of the civilising process(es) as a whole. Starting not from gender studies but from a situated reading of a selection of Elias’s texts, this chapter underlines how male domination and women’s emancipation are linked to transformations of sensibilities but also to a critical discussion of the role of state law and rights, an issue rather underdeveloped in the work. On the other hand, the thesis of the increasing integration and individualisation of contemporary societies in Elias resonates with the contemporary questioning of the gender divide. These elements confirm the topicality of the work on women and gender issues, and point to avenues that remain to be explored in order to better understand the work itself in return.
Delmotte, F. (2025). On the side of women: a dotted line civilising process. In Stephanie Ernst, Valerie Dahl, Marta Bucholc (eds) (ed.), Dynamics of Gender Relations. Process-Sociological Perspectives (pp. 307-339). Palgrave Macmillan. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/258624