Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Insurrectionary Womanliness: Gender And The (Boxing) Ring, Melanie J. Mcnaughton

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Integrating sociological theory on sport with Judith Butler’s concept of insurrectionary speech, the author explores why and how womanliness is produced and problematized. In particular, this article investigates how participating in combat sport violates conventional womanliness by foregrounding physical capability and aggression. Using her identity as a female fighter as a starting point to engage the cultural construction of womanliness, the author connects a critical/cultural look at gender and sport with autoethnography.

A Call To Prayer: A Cross-Cultural Examination Of Religious Faith, Modesty, And Body Image, Heidi Woofenden

Undergraduate Review

Body image, a multidimensional construct encompassing the perception and evaluation of appearance, was examined in connection with religious faith and modesty of dress in a sample of 291 Jordanian and 189 American women university students. Participants completed the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire-Appearance Scales, the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire, and a modesty scale. As hypothesized, Jordanians reported more favorable body image evaluations, greater religious faith, and greater modesty than Americans. Also, religious faith was positively correlated with better body image for both groups. Although religious faith and modesty were weak predictors of better body image, culture was found …

Wounded Women, Varied Voice, Kathryn Johnston

Undergraduate Review

Daphne du Maurier and Sylvia Plath both use voice as a tool in their respective pieces, “La Sainte-Vierge” and “Lesbos.” Through the implementation of varied voices, these women convey female interiors. Du Maurier’s use of a third-person narrative voice in her short story “La Sainte-Vierge” allows her to comment on the lives of the main characters through the eyes of an outsider. Du Maurier’s outsider reveals a naïve and delusional housewife, unhealthy in her denial within a failing relationship. Contrasting with du Maurier’s Marie is Plath’s first-person voice of a scorned, dissatisfied housewife in her poem, “Lesbos.” Plath’s use of …

Teaching Aberrance: Cinema As A Site For African Feminism, Corinna Mcleod

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article examines the influence of colonialist instructional cinema on modern African cinema production. The four films – Neria, Everyone’s Child, Wend Kuuni, and Taafe Fanga – differ in national origin, thematic approaches, and cinematic technique, but they share in displaying an element of instructional cinema. The instructional nature of the films asserts the value of women in post-colonial African societies, who, in the space of the films as in real life, are the double-colonized subject.

Women And Post-Conflict Society In Sierra Leone, Hazel M. Mcferson

Journal of International Women's Studies

Gender inequality in Sierra Leone, after colonialism among the worst in Sub-Saharan Africa, has been heightened further by the civil war of 1992-2002--which was related in part to the struggle for control of “blood diamonds” but also to long-standing social and regional disparities, and to collapse of formal institutions and widespread corruption. Sierra Leonean women are today among the most marginalized in the world, socially, economically and politically. However, there are differences among three groups: the better educated, comparatively richer “Krios” (descendants of the original freed slaves); relatively enlightened tribes; and the more traditional patriarchal tribes. The main route to …

Book Review: Gender And The Economic Crisis, Betty C. Mubangizi

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Gender and the Economic Crisis, edited by Ruth Pearson and Caroline Sweetman

Book Review: Jackie Cochran: Pilot In The Fastest Lane, Zitha Mokomane

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Jackie Cochran: Pilot in the Fastest Lane by Doris L. Rich

Relations Of Feminization Of Agriculture And Women’S Occupational Health: The Case Of Women Farmers In The Philippines, Jinky Leilanie Lu

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study on women in the Philippines, particularly in Benguet which is the largest vegetable producer in the country, was undertaken in order to provide a wider interpretation of the contribution of women farmers to agricultural productivity, as well as to look into the relations between feminization of agriculture, and women’s occupational health. Methods employed in this study included personal interviews to look into the knowledge, involvement, and contribution of women in agricultural farming as well as a survey to look into women’s perceived occupational health issues and healthcare provision by the local government. The study showed that women play …

Security Through Solidarity: Honduran Women’S Post-Coup Strategies Of Support And Survival, Christine Gervais, Betsy Estevez

Journal of International Women's Studies

As a follow up to the article “From Discovery to Dissidence: Honduran Women’s Conceptions and Claims of Human Rights,” published in this journal in May 2010 (Vol. 11, #4), this paper examines forty-eight Honduran women’s experiences of state-based insecurity and feminist-based solidarity following the June 2009 coup d’État. The authors reflect on the ethical implications of the participant-centered and solidarity-oriented qualitative methodological approaches constrained by state repression. The women’s testimonies shed light on the potential of a solidarity-security symbiosis.

Homing Desire, Cultural Citizenship, And Diasporic Imaginings, Anh Hua

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article examines the relationship between homing desire, cultural citizenship and diaspora communities. I begin by examining how citizenship is a deeply gendered concept. From there, I will explore how citizenship practices, although promising enfranchisement and equality, sometimes socially exclude certain gendered and racialized individuals and communities as inauthentic citizens, non-citizens, or denizens. Finally, I will analyze the concept of cultural citizenship and how it is being used in various diaspora communities as ways to imagine multiple modes of belonging within and beyond the coherence of national boundaries. I argue that to fully comprehend the lived experience of migratory and …

Gender Imbalance: The Case Of Women’S Political Participation In Turkey, Aytül Kasapoglu, Necmettin Özerkmen

Journal of International Women's Studies

The primary aim of this paper is to show the links between women’s demographic characteristics and their political participation. Focusing on low female participation in politics, we carried out a survey with 408 women living in Ankara, Turkey. The paper attempts to answer the following questions: What is the level of female political participation? What are the obstacles preventing female political participation? What is the level of female participation in political parties and Non-Governmental Organizations? What kind of links can be made between women’s demographic characteristics and their political attitudes and behaviors? What suggestions could be made to increase female …

Gender Dimensions Of The Global Crises And Their Impact On Poverty, Santosh Nandal

Journal of International Women's Studies

The crisis in the global economy continues to affect many men and women living in poverty, but it brings different meaning for both men and women. However, the concept of gender equality gives women and men the same entitlement to all aspects of human development including economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights; the same level of respect, the same opportunities to make choices; and the same level of power to shape the outcome of these choices. But the ground realities are totally different. Pre-existing inequalities, which include under representation of women at all level of property rights, economic decision …

Shifts In Treatment Of Women’S Rights In Egyptian Media, Aliaa Dawoud

Journal of International Women's Studies

Egyptian media’s treatment of introducing the khula law which gave Egyptian women unprecedented divorce rights was overwhelmingly negative. However, the treatment of other more recent legal changes that granted women more rights has on the contrary been overwhelmingly positive. This paper analyzes this change and considers whether it can be explained using the theory that media’s criticism of government policy is in reality a consequence of and reflects divisions within the political elite regarding the issue at stake. It also analyzes the discourse utilized by feminists to call for women’s rights and argues that Egyptian feminists are drastically shifting the …

Book Review: Refiguring Women, Colonialism, And Modernity In Burma, Maurice Oscar Dassah

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Refiguring women, colonialism, and modernity in Burma by Chie Ikeya

Book Review: Understanding South Korean Economic Growth Through The Eyes Of Militarism, Sex Work And Migrant Labour, George Opendjuru

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Understanding South Korean Economic Growth through the eyes of Militarism, Sex Work and Migrant Labour by Jin-Kyung Lee

Book Review: Recognizing Transsexuals: Personal, Political And Medicolegal Embodiment, Desire Chilwane

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Recognizing Transsexuals: Personal, Political and Medicolegal Embodiment by Zowie Davy

Book Review: Women In Leadership: Contextual Dynamics And Boundaries, Faith Rakate

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Women in Leadership: Contextual Dynamics and Boundaries, edited by Karin Klenke

Book Review: Tanu Women: Gender And Culture In The Making Of Tanganyikan Nationalism, 1955- 1965, Estella Musiiwa

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of TANU Women: Gender and Culture in the Making of Tanganyikan Nationalism, 1955- 1965 by Susan Geiger

Book Review: Citizen, Invert, Queer: Lesbianism And War In Early Twentieth Century Britain, Sanya Osha

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Citizen, Invert, Queer: Lesbianism and War in Early Twentieth Century Britain by Deborah Cohler

Book Review: Just A Dropped Stitch, Stafford Osuri Osuri

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Just a Dropped Stitch by Laurie Levinger

Oral History And “Girls’ Voices”: The Young Women’S Studies Club As A Site Of Empowerment, Susan Cayleff, Melissann Herron, Chelsea Cormier, Sarah Wheeler, Alicia Chávez-Arteaga, Jessica Spain, Cristina Dominguez

Journal of International Women's Studies

Girls’ Voices is a collaborative research project involving multi-tiered community-and university-based mentorship and a Young Women’s Studies Club (YWSC) at Hoover High School in San Diego, California. Since its inception 15 years ago, the Club meets weekly and engages in activities that address the life circumstances and coming-of-age issues faced by its membership. Thirty-five to 45 students (95% female) attend weekly. They are a widely diverse population: new immigrants from various parts of the globe, and mostly lower-socioeconomic status Southern Californians of color (Mexican, Asian, and African-American). English is not the first language for several of the members.

Girls’ Voices …

(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 …

Book Review: Classed Intersections: Spaces, Selves, Knowledges, Josephine Kiamba

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Classed Intersections: Spaces, Selves, Knowledges, edited by Yvette Taylor

Women’S Empowerment In Bahrain, Fakir Al Gharaibeh

Journal of International Women's Studies

In Bahrain, the role of women can be determined by examining their activities in all sectors of society. Traditions and laws primarily hold women back from their full participation in the economy and politics of the nation. Discrimination that has carried forward into the constitution of the land was caused by adherence to historical remnants of a society that does not really exist anymore. This study presents the social, economic, and political reality of Bahraini women in light of applicable legislation, and the barriers women face in achieving equality. The objective is to examine these realities within the context of …

Factors Associated With Contraceptive Use Among Jordanian Muslim Women: Implications For Health And Social Policy, Muntaha K. Gharaibeh, Arwa Oweis, Farouk M. N. Shakhatreh, Erika Sivarajan Froelicher

Journal of International Women's Studies

The objectives of this quantitative study were to identify factors associated with contraceptive use by Jordanian Muslim women; to estimate factors that predict the variance in contraceptive use; and recommend appropriate health and social policies to enhance quality of life of Jordanian women. A cross -sectional design was used to collect data from 487 married non-pregnant women aged 18 to 49 years who resided in three southern governorates in Jordan using a structured interview guide. Results showed that 63.2% of women used some form of contraceptive method; IUD was the most frequently used method (44.2%). The percentage of women exposed …

Introduction: Winning And Short-Listed Entries From The 2009 Feminist And Women’S Studies Association Annual Student Essay Competition, Michelle Addison, Srila Roy

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

‘Giving Memory A Future’: Confronting The Legacy Of Mass Rape In Post-Conflict Bosnia-Herzegovina, Teodora Todorova

Journal of International Women's Studies

Responses to the prevalence of wartime rape in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the 1990s civil war has been characterised by a conflicting paradox between the international legal attempts by the ICTY to prosecute perpetrators, and Bosnian society’s silence, marginalisation of individual victims, and the pronounced desire to “forget” about certain aspects of wartime victimisation. Given that the contemporary prospects of retributive justice and inter-ethnic reconciliation in Bosnia-Herzegovina remain a distant prospect, the question of what can be done to reassert the ethical value of the victims of mass rape and violence continues to be of great importance. Minow’s response to this question …

Visual Violations: The Ban On Extreme Pornography, Politics Of Representation, And The Discursive Creation Of ‘Docile Bodies’, Mika Pasanen

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper focuses on a law that came into force in January 2009 in the United Kingdom prohibiting the viewing and possessing of ‘extreme pornography.’ This law will be approached through Foucaultian notions of discursive power and ‘docile body.’ This will be used to create a framework for understanding the production of sexuality in/through the family, and pornography’s relationship with the family. The paper then moves on to the problematic nature of the politics of representation and the realm of the imagination. The argument here suggests that the law aims to create ‘docile bodies’ through the control and regulation of …

Re-Articulating The New Mestiza, Zalfa Feghali

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay provides an overview, critique, and the beginning of a refiguration of Gloria Anzaldúa’s theorization of the new mestiza as set out in her seminal 1987 book Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. By examining both Anzaldúa’s precursors and the articulations of hybrid identities of her contemporaries, this essay depicts the complex dynamic that characterizes the mestiza’s need to develop, beyond borders and attempts to fashion a more contemporary, transnational mestiza. Using the writing and criticism of Françoise Lionnet alongside Anzaldúa’s and other critics, and utilizing postcolonial and feminist theories, this essay hopes to provide an alternative articulation to …

‘What Happens, Or Rather Doesn’T Happen’: Death And Possibility In Alice James And Christina Rossetti, Erika Kvistad

Journal of International Women's Studies

The idea of the dying Victorian woman as passive victim or object of desire has justly received critical attention, but this has meant a comparative neglect of the dying Victorian woman as an active, speaking, writing subject. In response, this article focuses on the death writing of Alice James and Christina Rossetti, reading the central role of death in their work as a way of articulating a space of possibility beyond what life has to offer. In Rossetti’s death poetry and James’s Diary, death is what gives form to the text, and represents the possibility for the text and its …