Incorporating Feminist Political Ecology (FPE) and SocioEcological Systems (SES) Frameworks for Fostering Resilience: An Example of Family Farmers and Ranchers in the Southern Great Plains (SGP).

Abstract

Agricultural communities in the U.S. Southern Great Plains have long navigated environmental and economic change, particularly in the face of recurring drought. This study integrates Feminist Political Ecology (FPE) into SocioEcological Systems (SES) frameworks to examine how gender mediates access, participation, roles, and knowledge, impacting resilience in agricultural systems. Drawing on 57 oral histories with 76 individuals—stratified by gender—from Cimarron County, Oklahoma and Union County, New Mexico, we explore gendered experiences of drought resilience and adaptation. Of the 1273 pages of oral history transcripts, a total of 12,835 observations were coded into four main FPE themes: access (∼38.91%), participation (17.28%), roles and responsibilities (23.36%), and gendered knowledge systems (20.45%). Overall, access was coded most frequently, suggesting that issues surrounding access are a particularly important entry point for fostering SES resilience. Results reveal that while women emphasize household resilience, informal labor, and community cohesion, men often frame community and resilience within agricultural labor and environmental management. Although women face barriers to land access and production leadership, they demonstrate adaptive capacity through intrahousehold production, local economic participation, and civic engagement. These findings suggest that resilience is gendered in both expression and outcome, shaped by formal and informal institutions, social expectations, and access to resources. Integrating FPE into SES resilience frameworks enables a deeper understanding of how gendered power relations influence adaptive capacity and long-term sustainability in rural agricultural systems.