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Integration, Clarification, Substantiation: Sex, Gender, Ethnicity And Migration As Social Determinants Of Women’S Health, Bilkis Vissandjee, Ilene Hyman, Denise L. Spitzer, Alisha Apale, Nahar Kamrun

Journal of International Women's Studies

The aim of this paper was to examine, via a scoping review, how the literature focusing on immigrant women’s health, based on selected criteria, has been able to capture not only sex and gender differences but also the other socially grounded determinants of health. Using selected health databases as well as a diversity of keywords, a final sample of 59 was obtained after a number of steps to increase validity and credibility of the process were taken. Since “women” was one of the main keywords, all of the studies included women either by themselves (n=20/59) or along with men (n=39/59). …

Gender In The Bamako Polycentric World Social Forum (2006): Is Another World Possible?, Aurelie Latoures

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper explores a gender analysis of the Bamako Polycentric World Social Forum, 2006. Thus far, gender has been marginalized in the World Social Forum process, despite the progressive tone of the project for “another world,” indirectly alluding to gender equality. The Bamako WSF 2006 is an interesting case study to assess gender institutionalisation, as for the first time African women activists were massively integrated into the discussions. Additionally, national organizers dedicated a specific venue for gender issues, the Women’s World. What was the impact of these two features for the “engendering” of the WSF?

Parallel Or Integrated ‘Other Worlds’: Possibilities For Alliance-Building For Sexual And Reproductive Rights, Barbara Klugman

Journal of International Women's Studies

The author proposes that the paradigms within which struggles for reproductive and sexual rights are waged fail to engage with those dimensions of sexuality and reproduction that are inscribed into the broader organization of social and economic life nationally and globally. In the case of reproductive rights she argues that the possibility of delivering quality reproductive health services is determined not only by ideological struggles regarding people’s right to control their sexual and reproductive selves but also by the extent of the state’s commitment to delivery of services as well as global factors influencing state capacity, such as debt, or …

Feminism And The Politics Of Representation: Towards A Critical And Ethical Encounter With “Others”, Amy Hinterberger

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay begins from the position that a speaking subject in feminism occupies a place of power and authority which requires a commitment to an ethical involvement in the representation of ‘others.’ Specifically, this essay will address feminist concerns of speaking for others and the concerns raised by the dangers of representing across differences of race, sexuality, gender and cultures. First, it will critique feminist claims to political effectivity as a solution to ethical representation. Second, it will look at how hierarchies of oppression and privileged ontological positions are inconsistently represented in feminist discussions. Lastly, it will briefly examine how …

The Lady In The Looking-Glass: Reflections On The Self In Virginia Woolf, Stephen Howard

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay addresses Virginia Woolf’s exploration of the concept of the self through reference to a range of her prose writings. In these writings, Woolf questions whether the self is unitary, constant and finally knowable, or fragmented, unstable and inscrutable; whether the self is merged with other people, and constructed from interactions with the world; and whether or not a durable and fixed self-image is a necessary prerequisite for successful social interaction. Woolf’s engagement with the conventions of biography is examined primarily through the lens of two short stories: ‘The Lady in the Looking-Glass’ and ‘An Unwritten Novel.’ I argue …

The Missing Rhetoric Of Gender In Responses To Abu Ghraib, Alexandra Murphy

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper explores Western responses to the torture inflicted upon Iraqi detainees by U.S. soldiers at the Abu Ghraib facility near Baghdad. More specifically, however, this paper examines responses to photographic representations of this torture, which began to surface in the April of 2004. The analysis that follows engages closely with the status of the photographs as images, arguing that existing critical interpretations fail to account for the particular issues and problems that the visual image presents. Through detailed reference work by Judith Butler and Susan Sontag, this paper will also interrogate the limitations of recent theoretical approaches to the …

Unbending Gender Narratives In African Literature, Charles C. Fonchingong

Journal of International Women's Studies

The last century has witnessed an upsurge in literature triggered by the feminist movement. This unprecedented event has transformed the various literary genres that are being deconstructed to suit the changing times. African literature has not been spared by the universalized world order. The paper attempts a re-analysis of gender inequality from the pre-colonial to post-colonial period from the lenses of literary narratives. Male writers like Chinua Achebe, Elechi Amadi, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, and Cyprain Ekwensi in their literary mass are accused of condoning patriarchy, are deeply entrenched in a macho conviviality and a one dimensional and minimalised …

A Gender-Based Analysis Of Performance Of Small And Medium Printing Firms In Metro Manila, Milagros F. Malaya

Journal of International Women's Studies

The objective of the paper is to present a comparative analysis of the performance of men-owned and women-owned businesses. The study uses a multidimensional framework of entrepreneurial success, where the indicators refer to the financial, non-financial and personal goals indicated in literature as being important to entrepreneurs. Economic performance was measured as change in sales and profitability for a period of one year and over three years. Data were obtained from printing firms based in Metro Manila, Philippines, a country in Southeast Asia. That no variations attributed to gender were found in firm performance on the short-term scale further support …

Male Identity And Female Space In The Fiction Of Ugandan Women Writers, Abasi Kiyimba

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article focuses on the voices of protest by Uganda women writers against age-old discriminative habits, and on the rebuttal made by women on questions of social and political power. The article particularly assesses the way women writers approach generally assumed positions on the power relations between men and women, a theme that runs through all the writing by Ugandan women. As part of the discussion, the paper inevitably pays particular attention to the presentation of male characters, and on the prominence given to issues of male dominance, injustice and discrimination against women, which take place at several levels of …

The Sita Syndrome: Examining The Communicative Aspects Of Domestic Violence From A South Asian Perspective, Archana Pathak Bhatt

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay explores the communicative aspects of domestic violence by articulating the Eurocentric components of domestic violence research. Utilizing a post-colonial ethnography, this essay reconceptualizes domestic violence from a South Asian perspective, articulating the ways in which relational violence, its acceptance and its social function are gendered.

Effects Of Protégé-Mentor Gender Mix On Organisational Commitment, David E. Okurame

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study examined the interaction effects of protégé and mentor gender on organisational commitment in the Nigerian work setting. Data was collected from one hundred and sixty-one dyads in four gender combinations through a survey of a large government owned health institution. Results revealed that mean scores of all-male, all female, and the female protégé-male mentor dyads were comparable while that of male protégé-female mentor was significantly low. Whereas organisational commitment was better for male protégés when their mentors were males, it was better for females when mentors were females. The study narrows the gap created by the dearth of …

Gender Discrimination: Beliefs And Experiences: A Comparative Perspective Of Women And Men In The Delhi Police, Punam Sahgal

Journal of International Women's Studies

Gender roles are learnt through the socialization process and subsequently extend to the work context where women and men are believed to have different characteristics and are therefore treated differently. The pervasiveness of workplace gender differences influence hiring practices, salaries and career growth opportunities for women. Gender-based work behavior differences are perceived to be much greater in male dominated professions like the police. While research suggests that there is no evidence that policewomen perform differently from their male counterparts in their day-to-day activities of police, negative male attitudes towards women in police significantly obstruct the advancement of policewomen. Induction of …

Virginia Woolf’S Answer To “Women Can’T Paint, Women Can’T Write” In To The Lighthouse, Daniela Munca

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay addresses Virginia Woolf’s personal stand in her answer to “women can’t paint, women can’t write”, a reflection on the Victorian prejudice of the role of women in the family and society shared by both her parents, Leslie and Julia Stephen. By bridging a close textual analysis with the most recent psychological critical analysis, I argue that apart from the political, social and artistic implications, Woolf’s attitude to the Victorian stereotypes related to gender roles carry a deeply personal message, being undeniably influenced and determined by the relationship with her parents and her need to lie to rest some …

Empowering, Degrading Or A ‘Mutually Exploitative’ Exchange For Women?: Characterising The Power Relations Of The Strip Club, Katy Pilcher

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper seeks to characterise the gendered and sexualised power relations of both female and male strip clubs, and to signal what this means for establishing positive definitions of female desire. It is argued that while it is not useful to present female strippers, or female patrons of male strip clubs as purely passive victims of male heterosexism within these venues, it is equally damaging to assume that these venues represent a whole-scale challenge to conventional oppressive gender and sexual relations for women. Some research has even suggested that both strippers and their patrons are engaged in a ‘mutually exploitative’ …

Fighting For Subjectivity: Articulations Of Physicality In Girlfight, Katharina Lindner

Journal of International Women's Studies

The analysis of Girlfight (Karyn Kusama, 2000) in this paper is framed by critical discourses surrounding physically active female characters in the action genre, the conventions of the boxing film ‘genre’, the relationship between bodily spectacle and narrative structure, as well as the more general significance of the female boxer’s challenge to normative and binary notions of bodily existence and subjectivity. With a particular focus on the interrelationship between narrative structure and boxing sequences (‘numbers’), this paper explores notions of the (gendered) subjectivity constructed around the film’s female boxing character, Diana (Michelle Rodriguez). I will argue that the boxing ‘numbers’ …

Deconstructing Masculinity In A ‘Female Bastion’: Ambiguities, Contradictions And Insights, Charles C. Fonchingong

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article is informed by my experiences teaching women’s studies and specifically feminist theory to predominantly female and male students offering Women’s studies. As a mainstream academic discipline at the University of Buea, housing the only such Department in Cameroon’s Higher Education system, this study uncovers the broader polemics regarding gender and women’s studies.

Against the backdrop of a patriarchal society, this study attempts to account for the shifting strands on masculinity and femininity and gender transgressions as played out by students taking women’s studies. It also analyses the notions, misconceptions and stereotypes that characterise the discipline of women’s studies, …

The Role Of Gender, Self-Efficacy, Age And Extroversion On Smoking Behaviour Among Ambrose Alli University Students, Ekpoma, Nigeria, S. O. Momoh, H. O. Imhonde, E. Omagbe

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study examined the role of gender, self-efficacy, age and extroversion on smoking behavior among Ambrose Alli University Students. Two hundred and fifty (250) undergraduates participated in the study (males 160 and females 90). Questionnaire was used in collecting data that were analyzed in this study. The questionnaire consisted of 4 sections: the demographic variables, extroversion scale, self-efficacy scale and attitude toward smoking scale. Two out of the four hypotheses tested were supported. Results of the independent t-test indicated that there was a significant difference in the onset of smoking between females and males (t = 2.354, df = 248, …

Combating Violence Against Women (Vaw) In South Kivu: A Critical Analysis, Giulia D’Odorico, Nathalie Holvoet

Journal of International Women's Studies

During the on-going civil conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo or DRC), which has raged on and off since 1996 and throughout the post-2002 transition period, thousands of cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence against women have been reported. Drawing on secondary data and evidence from our own field research, this article describes and assesses aid delivery to victims of sexual violence. Aid practices on the ground, as well as the underlying policy framework are critically analysed through a gender lens. It is argued that the lack of a gender perspective in the relevant …

Polygamy Talk And The Politics Of Feminism: Contestations Over Masculinity In A New Muslim Indonesia, Sonja Van Wichelen

Journal of International Women's Studies

The political downfall of the Suharto administration in 1998 marked the end of the “New Order,” which was characterized by a 32-year period of authoritarian rule. Opening the way for democracy, it included the unlocking of Indonesian politics for the influence and participation of political Islam, which the New Order discouraged or banned. This shift led to a proliferation of Islamic issues in the public and political sphere. Many of them concerned issues of gender and have triggered profound debates about women’s rights and gender equality. This article examines one of these public concerns over “Islam and gender,” namely polygamy. …

Visible Under The Veil: Dissimulation, Performance And Agency In An Islamic Public Space, Julie Billaud

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper seeks to characterize new meanings attached to women’s veiling in an Islamic public space, drawing from observations, interviews and field notes collected among various women’s groups in Afghanistan. It is argued that while the chadari – or burqa, as the Western press miscalled it, using the Urdu denomination – has become the ultimate symbol of women’s oppression for Western audiences, it is necessary to take a closer look at its multiple and often contradictory uses and to contextualise the reasons for its maintenance, despite the downfall of the Taliban regime. Ethnographic research demonstrates that women who are attempting …

(Not) Higher, Stronger Or Swifter: Representation Of Female Olympic Athletes In The Israeli Press, Yair Galily, Nadav Cohen, Moshe Levy

Journal of International Women's Studies

Despite the IOC declaration of intent for gender equality in sport and in light of the fact that a greater number of women are participating in the Olympic Games covert connotations are hidden behind the distorted and biased image presented of female athletes in the press. The current study asks whether the size and extent of coverage really matter; does more extensive coverage necessarily mean equal and true representation of women in sport, or are we getting more of the same? The findings in this study indicate two parallel processes in terms of article content: First, the greater the number …

Palestinian Women’S Everyday Resistance: Between Normality And Normalisation, Sophie Richter-Devroe

Journal of International Women's Studies

The paper traces Palestinian women’s understandings, practices and framings of everyday resistance. Women’s resistance acts consist of both materially-based survival strategies and various coping strategies at the ideational level. Focusing on the latter, this study investigates women’s practices of travelling to create (a sense of) normal joyful life for themselves, their families, friends and community with the aim of shedding light upon the complex and mutually constitutive interplay between women’s agency and the various social and political power structures. It is argued that Palestinian women, although framing their acts of crossing Israeli-imposed physical restriction as acts of resistance against the …

Gender Empowerment And Equality In Rural India: Are Women’S Community-Based Enterprises The Way Forward?, Maria Costanza Torri, Andrea Martinez

Journal of International Women's Studies

Despite the renewed commitment of the international community to provide economic opportunities for poor women, most observers suggest that the majority of the past and current experience of community enterprise programmes for women has failed to make any significant impact on women’s incomes and social empowerment. Based on ethnographic research methods, this paper presents a feminist analysis of a singular women’s community enterprise promoted by local NGOs in the state of Tamil Nadu in India, usually known as GMCL (Gram Mooligai Company Limited). GMCL has been promoted by local NGOs in the state of Tamil Nadu and is an example …

Gender And Increased Access To Schooling In Cameroon: A Marginal Benefit Incidence Analysis, Tabi Atemnkeng Johannes, Armand Gilbert Noula

Journal of International Women's Studies

Of great importance to policy makers is to know if females and poor households benefit more or less than the males or rich households from an expansion in access to public education. This is marginal benefit incidence of public spending which is rarely determined. In this paper, we determine the extent to which an expansion in public education is effective in reducing gender gaps in enrollments and thus, poverty in Cameroon. Government subsidies directed towards higher education are poorly targeted and the poorest income groups receive less than the richest income groups and indeed favor those who are better off. …

Women And Peace Talks In Africa, Akin Iwilade

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper interrogates the role of women in peace talks in Africa. It addresses the exclusion of women and their peculiar interests from deliberations aimed at constructing a post conflict state framework that resolves the contradictions that incite violent conflict and provides safeguards against recurrence. The paper argues that the failure of peace talks to deliberately incorporate women interests detracts from their potential to effectively confront the questions of post conflict rebuilding. It notes the increasing inclusion of women but argues that this does not amount to gender representation. This is because at the heart of the inclusion is the …

Gendered Performance Performing Gender In The Diy Punk And Hardcore Music Scene, Naomi Griffin

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article considers the relevance of geographical theories about gender roles and how gender is performed, to the situated context of a local DIY (‘Do It Yourself) punk scene. It draws on an auto-ethnographic study carried out by the author between September 2008 and May 2009, which explored the themes of the body, gendered performativity and gendered spatialities. The study was based on the author’s observations, reflections and conversations with other participants at live music events (‘shows’) in a particular region of the UK, but also revealed how DIY punk offers an example of an imagined community, crossing temporal, spatial …

Healthy Choices And Heavy Burdens: Race, Citizenship And Gender In The ‘Obesity Epidemic’, Jeanne Firth

Journal of International Women's Studies

The ‘obesity epidemic’ is widely accepted as a major public health threat in the United States. This paper provides a critical examination of the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity’s action plan that is foundational to First Lady Michelle Obama’s ‘Let’s Move!’ campaign. The report reveals ideological anxieties about race, American citizenship, changing gender roles and women’s bodies. The framing of obesity as a personal problem and individual failing reflects the merger of American individualism and neoliberalism. Self-regulation and responsibility (and the mother’s responsibility for her children) are key in prescriptions to manage obesity, reflecting biopolitical techniques of governance …

Imagined Subjects: Polygamy, Gender And Nation In Nia Dinata’S Love For Share, Grace V. S. Chin

Journal of International Women's Studies

In this paper, I explore polygamy in Nia Dinata’s Indonesian film, Love for Share, and how it can be used as a key signifier to analyze the construction of gendered subjects, identities and relations in the phallocentric discourses of family and nation. In Indonesia, the family structure is inherently patriarchal and hierarchical in nature, one which exhorts wives to stay at home while husbands are seen as breadwinners and whose roles are non-domestic. However, women are doubly marginalized in Indonesia as their subordinate status in the domestic space is reified at the national level through the state ideology of the …

The Struggle Over Boundary And Memory: Nation, Borders, And Gender In Jewish Israel, Tamar Mayer

Journal of International Women's Studies

The attachment of a nation to its ancestral homeland is indisputable. Yet, when the nation does not have a clear idea of the geographical parameters of its territory, the boundaries often get defined by others and through war. In the case of Israel, however, especially since 1967, the Jewish homeland has been defined and shaped not simply by war but by government policies that support the Settlement Project in the occupied territories of the West Bank. While Jewish men and women historically have had different roles in defining Israel’s boundaries – men as defenders of borders and women as enablers …

A New Feminism? Gender Dynamics In Morocco’S February 20th Movement, Zakia Salime

Journal of International Women's Studies

The February 20th movement shows new modes of engagement with feminism, despite a striking absence of feminist organizations from the protest movement. Nevertheless, and in sharp contrast with most accounts that posit the irrelevance of feminism for Moroccan youth’s identifications and political subjectivities, I argue that feminism has not only penetrated the social imaginary of a new generation of activists, but has also informed their practices. What kind of tension does this appropriation of feminism by the youth of February 20th bring about with traditional feminist circles? Does this high visibility of women in February 20th indicate the rise of …