Read more about her Peace Corps experience at her blog "Let the Wild Rumpus Start."
Kinsey Spears teaching during Pre-service training practicum
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Being a woman in Peace Corps has it’s own unique set of challenges in every country, but worldwide we face many of the same difficulties. Most female Peace Corps volunteers will experience some level of sexual harassment, and some level of discrimination. We will have to prove ourselves in ways that male volunteers won’t always have to. Explaining why we want to be here working, and not at home poppin’ out babes can be a daily occurrence. That’s not to say that men don’t have their unique set of problems, but I can’t speak for them. That’s not to say that I can speak for all women either.
Despite all these boundaries we have to overcome, we are granted something special, something exceptional. We get invited with open arms into the land of women. The land of women in a developing country is a magical place. Whether it’s behind the Hijabs, or in the kitchen while women while away, we get to be invited freely and without doubt or reserve. Men can break into these realms but it takes perseverance and trust.
We, as female peace corps volunteers, are swept away into this realm and we get to see something that is entirely different than what the public might perceive it to be. I get to go sit with the women who do my nails a few times a month and it’s like all men in the market disappear. They are no longer part of the conversation. These women and girls let down their barriers ingrained in them from patriarchy and discuss everything. From the simplest of conversations – which color will go the best with my white skin – to more difficult ones – the differences between marrying a western man versus a Khmer man and what it means for their future. These girls, that I have gotten to know over the past year, talk about things with me that would never be appropriate in front of a man.
Being able to see women open up in the private sphere is a treat. It allows you to see past the clearly defined gender roles of a country deeply steeped in patriarchy. Male volunteers can sit around with the yay’s (grandmothers) and mings (older women 40s-50s) and it can be completely natural and enjoyable, but they will still be treated as a male for the most part. They can develop meaningful and informative friendships with women their own age, but there will always be a gender divide.
However, as a foreign female, I am allowed a bit more lee-way in terms of interactions with men in my community. Most of the people I work with on a professional basis are males and it would not be overly frowned upon for me to sit down and have a beer with them. Many female volunteers do cross that gender divide and are glad to share a beer on a hot afternoon. I tend to err on the side of caution here, only drinking when the women around me partake or when I’m lost in an anonymous crowd of westerners. But, I could. Male counterparts are quick to ask me about politics or discuss which I like more Angkor or Anchor (types of beer).
This ability to float between the two worlds is why I love being a female Peace Corps volunteer. I get to talk politics with the men and discuss relationships with girls my age in my neighborhood. I get to take cooking lessons with my host mom and talk about campaigning with my host dad. I get to sit with the women from my school and talk about their children and why I don’t have any, and enjoy a beer with the men talking about the popularity of sports in America. But my favorite is being invited into the land of women.
By Kinsey Spears, K6 volunteer
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