Book description
Queen bee. Worker bees. Busy as a bee. These phrases have shaped
perceptions of women for centuries, but how did these stereotypes begin?
Who are the women who keep bees and what can we learn from them?
Beeconomy examines the fascinating evolution of the relationship between
women and bees around the world. From Africa to Australia to Asia, women
have participated in the pragmatic aspects of honey hunting and in the
more advanced skills associated with beekeeping as hive technology has
advanced through the centuries. Synthesizing the various aspects of
hive-related products, such as beewax and cosmetics, as well as the more
specialized skills of queen production and knowledge-based economies of
research and science, noted bee expert Tammy Horn documents how and why
women should consider being beekeepers. The women profiled in the book
suggest ways of managing careers, gender discrimination, motherhood,
marriage, and single-parenting-all while enjoying the community created
by women who work with honey bees. Horn finds in beekeeping an
opportunity for a new sustainable economy, one that takes into
consideration environment, children, and family needs. Beeconomy not
only explores globalization, food history, gender studies, and politics;
it is a collective call to action. Tammy Horn was raised with
beekeepers on both sides of her family. She is the director of Coal
Country Beeworks, a multi-service project in which surface mine sites
are reclaimed with pollinator habitat in eastern Kentucky. She lives in
Lexington, Kentucky.
