Gender, Sex and Gossip in Ambridge

Cara Courage is Head of Tate Exchange, UK, the Tate's platform dedicated to socially engaged art, and an arts, society and place curator, researcher, writer and practitioner.Nicola Headlam is the Head of the Northern Powerhouse within the Cities and Local Growth Unit, currently on secondment from her Research Fellowship at The University of Oxford, UK.

• Preface: What are the Women of Ambridge Telling us?; Nicola Headlam and Cara Courage Section One - Inside Ambridge Chapter 1. In Conversation with Alison Hindell; Nicola Headlam and Cara Courage Chapter 2. 'I'm Not One to Gossip': Roots, Rumour and Mental Well-Being in Ambridge; Charlotte Connor, The University of Warwick, Aka Charlotte Martin, Actor, Susan Carter in BBC Radio 4 The Archers Section Two - Women's Talk: Informal Information Networks that Sustain the Village Chapter 3. Neighbourhood Watch: Gossip, Power and the Working-Class Matriarch in The Archers; Claire MortimerChapter 4. In Praise of Gossip - Why Tongue-Wagging and the Rumour Mill are Important in Ambridge; Louise GilliesChapter 5. 'Almost Without Exception they are Shown in their Relation to Men': Ambridge Women and their Conversations; Sarah Kate MerryChapter 6. Foucault, Freda Fry and the Power of Silent Characters on the Radio; Rebecca WoodSection Three - Gendered Expectations: Within the HomeChapter 7. 'This Isn't About Curry, Alistair': Shula Hebden-Lloyd and Iris Murdoch on Love; Hannah Marije AltorfChapter 8. Oh Baby! Unplanned Pregnancy and a Woman's Right to Choose; Carolynne Henshaw Chapter 9. Women's Work?: Civil Society Networks for Social Stability or Social Change in Ambridge; Nicola HeadlamChapter 10. Strong or Silenced? The Under-Representation of Mental Health Problems in Ambridge's Women; Elizabeth CampionSection Four - Gendered Expectations: Beyond the Home Chapter 11. 'What Would the Neighbours Say?': Gender and Sexual Diversity in The Archers; William PittChapter 12. Ambridge: Keeping The Pipeline of Uk Female Scientists Flowing; Jane Turner and Clare Warren  Chapter 13. I Am Woman Hear Me Roar - And Now Watch Me Play Cricket; Katharine HoskynChapter 14 - Sow's Ears and Silk Purses: Upcycling and The Archers; Madeleine Lefebvre

Researchers working in areas ranging from philosophy to psychology to education in the UK, New Zealand, and Canada provide 14 essays that examine social, political, economic, and cultural issues in the radio show The Archers and its characters and how they support or challenge tropes of feminist or post-feminist lives. They discuss the informal networks of the women characters’ talk and gossip as sites of power and resistance when men are in charge of more formal arenas; the gendered implications of the home in the show, including decisions about unexpected pregnancies and the underrepresentation of mental health problems; and gendered implications beyond the home as women in the show participate in the workforce, including in science, sports, and entrepreneurship, as well as whether the show reflects contemporary values on gender and sexuality diversity. Other essays share insights into the making of the show.