Women's Studies Commons^™

Book Review: Dealing In Desire: Asian Ascendency, Western Decline, And The Hidden Currency Of Global Sex Work, Lara L. Watkins

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Dealing in Desire: Asian Ascendency, Western Decline, and the Hidden Currency of Global Sex Work, by Kimberly Kay Hoang. University of California Press, 2015.

Book Review: The Case Of Rose Bird: Gender, Politics, And The California Courts, Megan M. Connerly

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of The Case of Rose Bird: Gender, Politics, and the California Courts, by Kathleen A. Cairns. University of Nebraska Press, 2016.

Book Review: Beyond Headscarf Culture In Turkey’S Retail Sector, Deniz Zeynep Leuenberger

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Beyond Headscarf Culture in Turkey’s Retail Sector, by Feyda Sayan-Cengiz. Palgrave MacMillan, 2016

Make America Wait Again, Kim Petrovic

Journal of International Women's Studies

As a means of redirecting my own personal grief that stemmed from Hillary Rodham Clinton's loss to Donald J. Trump in the most recent presidential election, I penned the following prose during the early morning hours of November 9, 2016 as Trump gave his victory speech. Like many Americans who voted in the 2016 Presidential Election, I support the right to vote for one's choice of presidential candidate; however, I am not alone in my concerns about the current presidential administration. Not only are Trump's attempts to silence the media and the right to freedom of speech cause for alarm, …

A Syrian Woman’S Story: Her Journey From Damascus To The United States, Jehan Sayed Issa

Journal of International Women's Studies

This is a story of a Syrian woman who was compelled to leave her home in the disastrous wake of the war and to travel to the USA, pregnant and with her wounded son, leaving behind her husband and remaining children, to seek medical care. She describes her struggles, suffering and triumphs, amidst feelings of loneliness and despair.

Drinking Coffee In Bosnia: Listening To Stories Of Wartime Violence And Rape, Olivera Simic

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Sex Wars Revisited: A Rhetorical Economy Of Sex Industry Opposition, Alison Phipps

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper attempts to sketch a ‘rhetorical economy’ of feminist opposition to the sex industry, via the case study of debates around Amnesty International’s 2016 policy supporting decriminalisation as the best way to ensure sex workers’ human rights and safety. Drawing on Ahmed’s concept of ‘affective economies’ in which emotions circulate as capital, I explore an emotionally loaded discursive field which is also characterised by specific and calculated rhetorical manoeuvres for political gain. My analysis is situated in what Rentschler and Thrift call the ‘discursive publics’ of contemporary Western feminism, which encompass academic, activist, and public/media discussions. I argue that …

Eating Disorders And Constitutive Absence In Contemporary Women’S Writing, Mónica Calvo-Pascual

Journal of International Women's Studies

Anorexic narratives share the thesis that compulsive behaviours like eating disorders are determined by a strong existential component fuelled by women’s paradoxical position in present day capitalist western culture. After a review of social and psychological factors that play a significant role in the development of the disorders, this essay explores the representation of anorexia nervosa in three different first-person narratives. By portraying the psychological intricacies of the illness, these texts provide valuable information regarding its aetiology and cure in the line of recent bio-medical research on eating disorders that stresses the need to treat the disease as a symptom …

Beauty And The Internet: Old Wine In A New Bottle, Piyali Sur

Journal of International Women's Studies

In the consumer culture of late modernity, young women are obsessed with their physical appearance and attempt to conform to socially constructed beauty standards. Adolescent girls are surrounded by images of beauty through advertising, television, films, magazines and the recent beauty blogs that have burst forth on the worldwide web. This paper is on the use of beauty blogs by adolescent girls of the age group 15 to 19 years living in Kolkata, whereby depicting that there is no escape from feminine embodiment even in the digital world. The researcher has compiled the beauty/fashion blogs that adolescent girls regularly visit …

Gender And Education In Guinea: Increasing Accessibility And Maintaining Girls In School, Rebecca Coleman

Journal of International Women's Studies

In West Africa, girls’ enrollment in primary and secondary schools has significantly increased since the 1980’s; however, there is still a great disparity between male and female enrollment and participation. This paper will cover the lasting influences of the gap between male and female education accessibility in the country of Guinea. Issues such as teen marriage, gender based violence, funding, and infrastructure will be discussed. Alternatives to address these issues will be compared, focusing heavily on what the Guinean population can accomplish themselves, without generous help from the outside. Solutions to this problem include addressing the cultural bias against putting …

Convicted Without Evidence: Elderly Women And Witchcraft Accusations In Contemporary Nigeria, Friday A. Eboiyehi

Journal of International Women's Studies

Concern about persecution of person(s) accused of witchcraft practices has long been recognized as a major issue in sub-Saharan Africa. In Nigeria, the persecution of elderly women suspected to be witches is predominantly widespread, and has been identified as one of the most important obstacle to the attainment of the December, 1993 Declaration of the UN General Assembly on elimination of violence against women on the continent. Torturing and various forms of violence against elderly women accused of witchcraft without evidence against them implies major infringements of their fundamental Human Rights as enshrined in Article 5 of the Universal Declaration …

The Exploitation Of Women And Social Change In The Writing Of Nawal El-Saadawi, Muhammad Youssef Suwaed

Journal of International Women's Studies

Nawal El-Saadawi is an Egyptian writer, a physician by education, who dedicated her life to promote gender equality. She is an activist writer, and the only one in Egypt who point out the connection of women’s sexual oppression to women’s social and political oppression. She boldly pursues women rights, and demands to change the status and image of the Arabic woman. Her writings include novels, studies and educated scholastic articles, focusing on the oppression and exploitation of the Arabic women, particularly customary rules imposed on women in rural Egypt relying on religion, tradition and the regime. Her writings keep the …

Uncertainty And Resistance In Jordanian Women's Perceptions Of Their Positionings In Society, Oraib Mango

Journal of International Women's Studies

In many parts of the world, women continue to face issues of inequality and discrimination. While the plight of Arab women for gender equality has gained media attention, fewer studies have investigated the perceptions of Arab women themselves on this issue. In this study, through discourse and content analysis of face to face interviews, I investigated the meanings that Jordanian women made of how the society viewed and positioned them. While the participants were aware of the dominant Discourse that limited women and positioned them as inferior to men, their talk also expressed their resistance to this discourse. A post-structuralist …

Women In Political Positions And Countries’ Level Of Happiness, Stefane Kabene, Said Baadel, Zahra Jiwani, Vanessa Lobo

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study discusses the relationship between a country’s happiness, and relevant country characteristics including gender inequality, levels of corruption, and the percentage of women in parliamentary positions. The aim of the study is to understand how these variables change according to female representation in political leadership. Secondary source data was collected and correlation analyses were performed between the variables using the SPSS statistical program. Results show that the lower the Gender Inequality Index, the higher the percentage of Women in Parliament Positions and the higher the Happiness Index. Furthermore, the results indicate that a higher number of women in leadership …

Nepal Himalaya: Women, Politics, And Administration, Tulasi Acharya

Journal of International Women's Studies

The paper is a qualitative analysis of the status of women and women in politics and administration in Nepal Himalaya. The paper reviews data on women in civil service and in administrative levels. Looking at women in Nepali politics, policy on women, and women in administration, the paper highlights some social and cultural issues that have “othered” women as the “second sex.” As the country is heading towards modernity, gender friendly approaches are being instituted. Although some data reflects the progress of women’s status and their increasing political and administrative participation, the data is insufficient to predict if there is …

Eating Burnt Toast: The Lived Experiences Of Female Breadwinners In South Africa, Bianca Rochelle Parry, Puleng Segalo

Journal of International Women's Studies

In South African society, many women have overcome traditional notions of gender by becoming primary breadwinners in their homes and providing primary financial support for their families. Employing a Phenomenological viewpoint, this paper contextualises the individual lived experiences of South African female breadwinners, utilising data collected from ten female breadwinners from the Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces respectively using in-depth, semi structured interviews. Taking into consideration their intersectional experiences of gender, race, as well as cultural, traditional and patriarchal societal pressures, the study represents voices that have for a long time been silenced and marginalised, to understand how these women make …

Indigenous Communication: Socio-Economic Characteristics Influencing Contemporary Female Political Participation, Kehinde Oyesomi, Abiodun Salawu, Bankole Olorunyomi

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper takes into account the exceptionality of the socio-economic characteristics (age, income, education, marital status, occupation) of female participation in politics through the use of indigenous communication. The theory was laid on democratic-participant theory. Four communities were selected in Lagos and Ogun states. Survey design, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and in-depth interviews (IDI) were adopted to generate both quantitative and qualitative data for the study. Structured and semi structured copies of the questionnaire were administered on 800 purposively selected respondents but only 775 copies of the questionnaire were used for analysis. Four (4) focus group discussions, made up of …

A 'Derailed' Agenda?: Black Women’S Voices On Workplace Transformation, Claude-Hélène Mayer

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study assesses the experiences of workplace transformation of eleven Black women leaders working in South African higher education institutions (HEIs). The theoretical background is based in intersectional theories, also providing contextual information. The study uses a research paradigm based in Dilthey's modern hermeneutics, using qualitative methods, such as semi-structured interviews, as well as observations within HEIs. Interviews were analysed through content analysis. Findings show a strong commitment of women leaders to transforming their workplaces.

Their testimonies point in to the prevalence of gendered and racially biased experiences of Black women leaders in past and present. Their narratives include an …

Lived Experiences And Consequences Of Unemployment On Women: An Empirical Study Of Unemployed Young Women In Mahalapye, Botswana, Kabo Diraditsile, Mosetsanagape Alice Ontetse

Journal of International Women's Studies

Studies have shown that the experience and consequences of unemployment affect people differently depending on, for example, age and gender. The purpose of the present study was to identify factors that contribute to unemployment among young women aged 20-35 in Mahalapye village, investigate the effects of being unemployed, determine sources of support available to unemployed young women, and identify the gaps in state assistance in this regard. The study utilized a survey research method and adopted a descriptive research design. Cluster sampling was used with the sample size being one hundred (100) unemployed young women in Mahalapye. A face-to-face questionnaire …

Contextualising African Women’S Empowerment In Agriculture: Challenges From Climate Change And Mineral Extraction Perspectives, Lere Amusan, Oluwole Olutola

Journal of International Women's Studies

Most cultures in Africa view women’s role as subordinate to that of men. The patriarchal nature of human and social systems that are more or less an enduring feature of a typical African society, dictates that women are inferior and less powerful when compared to their male counterpart. Hence, their role should naturally be of a domestic calling. In addition to being relegated to the background of domestic affairs, most women function as food producers, at least, at the subsistence level. These dual roles are mostly unpaid, under-valued and, therefore, hardly accounted for in monetary terms. Rather than being beneficiaries …