Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Book Review: The Symbolic Representation Of Gender: A Discursive Approach, Lindiwe D. Makhunga

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of The Symbolic Representation of Gender: A Discursive Approach, by Emanuela Lombardo and Petra Meier. Ashgate, 2014

Book Review: 'Honour' Killing And Violence: Theory, Policy & Practice, Wendy Aujla

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of ‘Honour’ Killing and Violence: Theory, Policy & Practice, edited by Aisha K. Gill, Carolyn Strange, & Karl Roberts. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

Book Review: Gender Responsive Investment Handbook Addressing The Barriers To Financial Access For Women's Enterprise, Nitasha Moothoo-Padayachie

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Gender Responsive Investment Handbook Addressing the Barriers to Financial Access for Women’s Enterprise by Vanessa Erogbogbo, Esther Eghobamien and Elizabeth Pimentel. Commonwealth Secretariat, 2013.

Book Review: Complex Inequality And 'Working Mothers', Megan M. Connerly

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Complex Inequality and ‘Working Mothers’ by Clare O’Hagan. Cork University Press, 2015.

Book Review: Ada English: Patriot And Psychiatrist, Megan M. Connerly

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Ada English: Patriot and Psychiatrist by Brendan Kelly. Irish Academic Press, 2014.

My Mother, The Doctor - A Memoir, Mimi S. Daitz

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Women's Rights Movements In The 'Arab Spring': Major Victories Or Failures For Human Rights?, Hayat Alvi

Journal of International Women's Studies

With the 2011 “Arab Spring”, the issue of women’s empowerment has emerged as a parallel movement in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). What are the implications of the women’s empowerment movements in the MENA for improved political representation and rights? Do these developments contribute to long-term socio-political, legal, judicial, and economic reforms that would improve overall human rights, and especially women’s rights in the MENA? This paper is a comparative survey of women’s empowerment and rights, especially in terms of general human rights principles, as well as in terms of political representation in post-revolution Tunisia and Egypt. The …

Love Experiences Of Older African Americans: A Qualitative Study, Rashmi Gupta, Vijayan Pillai, Deepa Punetha, Andrea Monah

Journal of International Women's Studies

The purpose of this study was to explore the romantic love experiences of African American older adults. Popular views on love among older African Americans remain highly subjective, open to the imaginations of other individuals and groups. This study attempts to challenge the popular descriptions of the nature of love among African American elderly by gathering narratives on various aspects of love as told by a sample of African-American elderly. A qualitative design is used to sample, gather and analyze data on love among African-American elderly. Our findings reveal that African American older adults value emotional intimacy. Cultural and historical …

Issues In Women's Liberation Struggles In Contemporary Nigeria: A Study Of Ezeigbo's Hands That Crush Stone (2010), Osita C. Ezenwanebe

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper evaluates some contentious issues in women’s liberation struggles in Nigeria as recreated in Ezeigbo’s play, Hands that Crush Stone. The particularities of gender are neglected in the anti-colonial struggle for Nigerian independence, and women’s issues are subsumed within the nationalist literatures of cultural regeneration. With the influence of feminism, many Nigerian women embark on the identification of women’s personhood by controverting the representations of Nigerian women in male-centered works. African theatre, in particular, is very skeptical about the feminist ideology aimed at changing the status of women in society. Similarly, many people are suspicious of women’s liberation struggle …

Gender Parity In Media Coverage Of Athletes Wıth Disabilities In Turkey, Nalan R. Ayvazoglu

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study examines the portrayal of female athletes with disabilities in a Turkish daily sports newspaper. A content analysis was conducted on 486 articles published in a popular sports newspaper between the years of 2007 and 2011. Female athletes with disabilities had less media coverage than male athletes with disabilities in Turkish sports media. While male athletes with disabilities were depicted more in team sports, female athletes were depicted mostly in individual sports. However, the individual sports female athletes participated in this study were sports that are considered ‘masculine’. Female athletes with disabilities were depicted as passive in most of …

Women's Human Capital And Economic Growth In The Middle East And North Africa, Fatemeh Torabi, Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi

Journal of International Women's Studies

The process of demographic transition has increased the share of the working-age population in Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This situation has created an opportunity for economic growth, called the demographic dividend. Global comparisons show that a favorable age structure has not always resulted in a boost in economic growth. In order to take a full advantage of the MENA’s demographic dividend, it is important to identify different factors contributing to economic growth in this region. Investment in women’s human capital is expected to have important implications for the region’s economic growth and for maximizing the benefits created …

Women Councilors For Women's Empowerment In Pakistan, Iqtidar Ali Shah, Arshad Aziz, M. Shakil Ahmad

Journal of International Women's Studies

There are considerable disparities between the status of men and women in Pakistan. In Global Gender Gap Report 2014, Pakistan is ranked at 141 among 142 countries of the world and the overall gender gap calculated is 44.78%. Pakistan occupies the last place in the regional ranking of gender gap. In order to reduce this gap, empower women and reduce poverty, the government of Pakistan has adopted various social, economic, legal and political strategies and policies. The reservation of 33% seats for women at union council (village level), tehsil council (sub-district level) and district council level under the new local …

Unveiling The Mysteries Of Aceh, Indonesia: Local And Global Intersections Of Women's Agency, Siti Kusujiarti, Elizabeth W. Miano, Annie L. Pryor, Breanna R. Ryan

Journal of International Women's Studies

Forces of globalization, local culture, and Islam continuously inform one another and dynamically manifest in cultures across the world. Scholars often assume that these influences may have distinct and independent effects. However, we argue that these global forces occur simultaneously and they may contradict or complement each other along a spectrum within Aceh, Indonesia. The manifestations and responses vary depending on the nature of the interactions of global and local factors. This spectrum represents various ways in which women negotiate identity and agency, specifically within the context of the implementation of Shari’ah Law. This research investigates the specific ways in …

East Indian Women And Leadership Roles During Indentured Servitude In British Guiana 1838-1920, Lomarsh Roopnarine

Journal of International Women's Studies

The following article examines leadership roles among indentured East Indian women in British Guiana (now Guyana). The research shows that leadership roles among indentured East Indian women were not as broad as those among indentured East Indian men. The main reasons for this are that Indian women were recruited from the lower ranks of Indian society, which stymied leadership roles, and the authoritarian structure of the plantation system, which supported patriarchal trends. Moreover, the colonial records do not reveal leadership roles among Indian women because the records are based on imperial domination and exploitation, reflecting anecdotal rather than analytical evidence. …

An Assessment Of The Constitutional, Legislative And Judicial Measures Against Harmful Cultural Practices That Violate Sexual And Reproductive Rights Of Women In South Africa, John Cantius Mubangizi

Journal of International Women's Studies

Sexual and reproductive rights of women are widely violated and abused in Africa, partly because of numerous gender-based cultural and traditional practices. All these practices exist to varying extents in many African countries—including South Africa. The Bill of Rights in the South African Constitution has several provisions that relate to the protection of sexual and reproductive rights of women, but the Constitution also provides for the right to culture, which allows for traditional and cultural practices—some of which violate certain human rights norms including the sexual and reproductive rights of women. International and constitutional protection notwithstanding, such rights can only …

Textually Mediated Labour Activism: An Examination Of The Ladies Auxiliary Of The Canadian Mine Mill & Smelter Workers Union, 1940s-1960s, Elizabeth Quinlan, Andrea Quinlan

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper examines the activism of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Mine Mill and Smelter Workers Union – Canada (MMSW) in the 1940s and 1950s. Drawing on Institutional Ethnography (IE), this paper examines the work of individual MMSW Auxiliary locals across Canada and the ways in which localized political action was coordinated through texts. The paper focuses on how Ladies Auxiliary locals activated two kinds of texts, the MMSW Ladies Auxiliary (LA) Constitution and the district and national Auxiliary newsletters, and examines how these texts coordinated Ladies Auxiliary members’ union work. The paper reveals the political organizing efforts of the …

Addressing The Safety And Trauma Issues Of Abused Women: A Cross-Canada Study Of Ywca Shelters, Leslie M. Tutty

Journal of International Women's Studies

Shelters for women are often seen as the major resource for intimate partner violence, yet few evaluations have been published. This study describes the needs, trauma symptoms and safety issues of 368 women as they enter and leave emergency shelters in ten Canadian violence against women emergency shelters; nine operated by the YWCA and a private shelter in Nova Scotia. The results capture the nature of the abuse, what the women wanted from shelter residence, the services they received, and their plans for afterwards. On shelter entry, on the Danger Assessment over 75% of women residents fell in the range …

Reducing Poverty Among Arab And Muslim Women: The Case Of Arab Women In Israel, Yosef Jabareen

Journal of International Women's Studies

The international experience suggests that work is the best way of lifting families out of poverty. Thus, this paper assumes that one crucial policy, among many others, aimed at poverty reduction is to increase the women’s participation in the labour market and their access to decent work. This issue is critical among Arab and Muslim women around the world in general and among Arab women in Israel since the participation rate of women in the labour market is quite low and about 55% of the Arab families live under the poverty line. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the reasons …

Prostitution In Thailand: Representations In Fiction And Narrative Non-Fiction, Lisa Lines

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper explores problematic Western approaches to women working as prostitutes within the ‘sex tourism’ industry in Thailand through an examination of how their situation is portrayed in the various English-language fiction and non-fiction narratives written on this topic. The first half of this study focuses on the context, practices and working conditions of the Thai sex tourism industry. This is then used as the lens through which to analyse the approaches to Thai sex tourism in Western mainstream literature.

Four books were analysed for their depiction of Thai prostitutes, with a focus on the plots, themes and characterisations of …

Professional Female Bodybuilding: Self-Determination Theory Approach, Mark T. Suffolk

Journal of International Women's Studies

Female professional bodybuilders have received a substantial amount of scholarly and media attention. However, investigations have largely been conducted from a pathologizing perspective. This exploratory research investigated the female bodybuilding community from a positive development perspective. Thematic analysis was applied to twenty four publicly available online video interviews of female professional bodybuilders ranging in age from 29-49 years to understand the reasons as to why females take up the sport of bodybuilding, and to identify factors that contribute towards continued participation. Identified themes were framed within Self-Determination Theory. The findings indicate that pursuing bodybuilding can provide mechanisms that link the …

Femininities And Masculinities In Brazilian Women's Football: Resistance And Compliance, Jorge Knijnik

Journal of International Women's Studies

Football is not only one of the major cultural manifestations of Brazilian society; it is also the pinnacle of the country’s hegemonic masculinity, a bastion into which women should not be allowed. Despite some progress and several international sporting successes achieved over the last few decades, Brazilian female footballers still endure extreme gender prejudice when playing football in Brazil. Gender discrimination blocks their access to minimal conditions of football training and playing at recreational and competitive levels. This paper aims to discuss gender issues that pervade Brazilian football. The paper applies a multifaceted theoretical background, combining a psychoanalytical view of …

Social Media And The Spiral Of Silence: The Case Of Kuwaiti Female Students Political Discourse On Twitter, Ali A. Dashti, Hamed H. Al-Abdullah, Hasan A. Johar

Journal of International Women's Studies

The theory of the Spiral of Silence (Noelle-Neumann, 1984), explained why the view of a minority is not presented when the majority view dominates the public sphere. For years the theory of the spiral of silence was used to describe the isolation of minority opinions when seeking help from traditional media, which play a significant role in increasing the isolation. The fear of isolation makes many people afraid of exchanging their views face-to-face with others. The main fear comes from identifying the people who hold a minority opinion. However, with the proliferation of social networks people have moved online to …

An Empirical Study Of The Perception Of Undergraduates Of Nigerian Females' Participation In Science, Technology And Mathematics, Lucy Eraikhuemen, I. K. Oteze

Journal of International Women's Studies

Science, Technology and Mathematics (STM) have been identified as the bed rock or foundation of wealth and consequently an imperative for national development. It has also been argued that in this era of globalization only persons with appreciable knowledge, skills and abilities in STM are required in the job market. Female gender discrimination is also said to be evident in the school system of many developing countries. This study was design to investigate the perception of undergraduates of Nigerian females’ participation in STM. The study focused on subjects’ awareness of the problem of under representation of females in STM, expected …

Gender Representation In English And Arabic Foreign Language Textbooks In Iran: A Comparative Approach, Mitra Baghdadi, Ali Rezaei

Journal of International Women's Studies

Female educational attainment in Iran has been increasing since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran. This study investigated whether this female superiority is reflected or supported in Iranian textbooks. The study investigated how gender roles are represented in Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and AFL (Arabic as a Foreign Language) textbooks. “Criteria for Analysis of the Equality of Gender Representation” by Rifkin, was used for content analysis. These criteria are grouped into two main categories of ‘pictorial’ and ‘verbal’. The results showed that with no exception and in all criteria, males were represented significantly more than …

Exploring The Contribution Of Teaching And Learning Processes: Constructing Students’ Gender Identity In An Early Years Classroom Of A Government Girls Primary School In Pakistan, Amina Bibi Baig

Journal of International Women's Studies

The construction of gender identity is a complex process which begins at a very early formative age. In these formative years, children begin making sense of how men and women are positioned in society. Schools as important institutions play a significant role in this process particularly with reference to students’ understanding of the gender relationships around them. This article reports on a study which explored how gender identity construction takes place in a single sex (girls) classroom for early years. The study investigated the teacher-student interactions and student-student interactions in the real environment of the classroom. Qualitative research guided the …

Book Review: Water, Earth, Air, Fire, And Picket Fences, Eleanor Lerman

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Water, Earth, Air, Fire, and Picket Fences by Carol Smallwood. Lamar University Press. 2014.

Book Review: Governing The Female Body: Gender, Health, And Networks Of Power, Ina Christiane Seethaler

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Governing the Female Body: Gender, Health, and Networks of Power, edited by Lori Reed and Paula Saukko. SUNY Press, 2010.

Book Review: Mirror Of Dew: A Collection Of Poems By Alam-Taj Zhale Qa'em-Maquami (1883-1946), Ahmed Abdelal

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Mirror of Dew: A Collection of Poems by Alam-Taj Zhale Qa’em-Maquami (1883-1946), translated with an introduction by Asghar Sayed-Ghorab. Harvard University Press, 2014.

Book Review: Wombs In Labor: Transnational Commercial Surrogacy In India, Sarah Thomas

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Wombs in Labor: Transnational Commercial Surrogacy in India by Amrita Pande. Columbia University Press, 2014.

Book Review: Modest Fashion: Styling Bodies, Mediating Faith, Katherine Bullock

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Modest Fashion: Styling Bodies, Mediating Faith, edited by Reina Lewis. IB Tauris, 2013.