Women's Studies Commons^™

A South African Perspective On The Clash Between Culture And Human Rights, With Particular Reference To Gender-Related Cultural Practices And Traditions, John Cantius Mubangizi

Journal of International Women's Studies

South Africa is infamous for its history of disenfranchising most of its population under the dehumanizing policy of apartheid. A country of almost 50 million people, South Africa has a diverse array of languages, races, religions and ethnic communities, and has faced significant challenges - political, cultural and socio-economic – since the advent of democracy in 1994. The writers of the 1996 Constitution faced the unenviable task of accommodating the diverse viewpoints that inevitably derived from South Africa’s fractured history and society. The Constitution is one of the most progressive in the world, and notably includes a Bill of Rights, …

Between Global Fears And Local Bodies: Toward A Transnational Feminist Analysis Of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, Susan Dewey, Tonia St. Germain

Journal of International Women's Studies

Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) knows no borders. The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have witnessed historically unprecedented levels of violence against non-combatants as well as a concomitant rise in international and local efforts to assist survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. Yet the diversity of cultural contexts in which SGBV occurs challenges us to ask a timely question: what might a transnational feminist analysis of conflict-related sexual violence look like? This is particularly salient because feminist scholar-activists increasingly help shape policy designed to both address sexual violence as a weapon or by-product of war and services to assist its survivors. This …

Doing Science Within A Culture Of Machismo And Marianismo, Karen Englander, Carmen Yáñez, Xochitl Barney

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women have been joining the ranks of professional scientists in increasing numbers although international statistics indicate that women‘s participation varies substantially in different regions. Variation in rates of participation can be explained in part by cultural contexts, and in Mexico, dominant cultural ideologies of machismo and marianismo prevail. To understand the impact, if any, of these ideologies on the lives of women scientists in their professional interactions, a case study was conducted at one research institute. The results indicate that the women scientists report different interactions with men and with other women, and interactions vary with the status of the …

‘You’D Stand In Line To Buy Potato Peelings’: German Women's Memories Of World War Ii, Gail Hickey

Journal of International Women's Studies

How do U.S. women immigrants remember their experiences of World War II? In what ways do these women choose to transmit their memories to the next generation? These are the questions explored in this study.

Women immigrants have been treated as if they were insignificant actors in history and socialization (Kelson & DeLaet, 1999). Feminist scholarship challenges this portrait of women as insignificant actors, arguing against gender-biased perspectives on the immigration experience. Yet scholarly sources provide little information about the “real life problems” of women immigrants (Barber, 2005).

Immigration research historically has tended toward historical and demographical data compilations, resulting …

Occupational Health And Safety In Small Scale Mining: Focus On Women Workers In The Philippines, Jinky Leilanie Lu

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study highlights women’s participation in small scale mining, and their occupational safety and health conditions. Small scale mining is a significant source of income in many developing countries such as the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Bolivia, Colombia, Indonesia, Mali, and Zimbabwe. In the Philippines, small-scale mining has been the leading occupational group among all mineral industries. However, data show that women face many issues in mining such as double burden of work-home responsibilities, chemical exposure to either cyanide or mercury used in extracting gold, dust from manganese and other minerals, and respiratory and systemic diseases from toxic chemical exposures. …

Dilma Rousseff And The Challenge Of Fighting Patriarchy Through Political Representation In Brazil, Sabrina Fernandes

Journal of International Women's Studies

Dilma Rousseff is the first woman elected head of state of Brazil. Although her election carries symbolism for Brazilian women, claims of women's emancipation through representation must be questioned through an analysis of the Brazilian patriarchal state. This paper examines the claim that Rousseff’s election opens doors for all Brazilian women. The research involves analysis of electoral statistics, media frames, and government documents, which show that, in spite of a woman president, women's representation in Brazilian government is still low in numbers and in the state agenda. The literature suggests that masculine gender hegemony and the presence of a patriarchal …

“We All Like To Think We’Ve Saved Somebody:” Sex Trafficking In Literature, Donna M. Bickford

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay considers the potential impact of sex trafficking narratives and their relationship to public perception and social change efforts. It fuses literary criticism and cultural analysis to discuss multiple genres of texts, including mainstream news media reports and two categories of novels about sex trafficking. Finally, it argues for the power of narrative to catalyze and influence actions designed to eradicate sex trafficking.

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 …

Economic Status, Education And Risky Sexual Behavior For Urban Botswana Women, Kakanyo Fani Dintwa

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study investigated the relationship between economic status, education and risky sexual behavior for urban Botswana women. The data used are a nationally representative sample from the Botswana AIDS Impact Survey conducted in 2004. An un-weighted sample of 2215 women aged 15-49, who have had sexual intercourse was considered for analysis. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses are used to gain insights into the potential linkages between economic status, education and risky sexual behavior. The bivariate analysis shows that there is a significant relationship between dependent variable (number of sexual partners) and economic status. However, with the introduction of controls the …

Reintegrating Self: Theorizing Women’S Self-Transformations In Cross-Cultural Contexts, Dongxiao Qin

Journal of International Women's Studies

A grounded theory is developed to explore the processes of Chinese immigrant women’s self-transformations in cross-cultural contexts. A series of psychological processes, “integrating self,” “fragmenting self,” and “reintegrating self” are identified from interviews with ten Chines women who immigrated to the United States in the last two decades of the twentieth century. Women’s senses of self-transformations are interpreted from phenomenological, cultural, anthropological, and critical feminist perspectives. The implications of this research are theoretical and practical. It contributes to critical feminist theories of women’s self-transformation within the context of cultural mobility from their culture of origin to the host culture. It …

Why George Eliot Was Not A Political Activist, June Skye Szirotny

Journal of International Women's Studies

It is often thought that George Eliot’s refusal to campaign actively for feminist goals indicates that she was no feminist. But there were several reasons that make the charge mute. She disliked dealing with practical matters, especially legislative ones. Proselytizing was particularly repugnant to her because she knew that her scandalous liaison with Lewes could only make her discussion of controversial matters a liability. Furthermore, she thought that the factors facilitating success were so complicated that one could say little that would be helpful to the aspiring woman. Actually, she thought of herself as an activist, “teaching the world through …

Book Review: Professional Men, Professional Women: The European Professions From The 19th Century Until Today, Sharonrose Sefora

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Professional Men, Professional Women: The European Professions from the 19th Century until Today by Maria Malatesta.

Book Review: Population Policy And Reproduction In Singapore: Making Future Citizens, Monde Makiwane

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Population Policy and Reproduction in Singapore: Making Future citizens by Pop Shirley Hsiao-Li Sun.

Book Review: “Neoliberalization” As Betrayal: State, Feminism, And A Women’S Education Program In India, Haigen Huang

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of “Neoliberalization” as Betrayal: State, Feminism, and a Women’s Education Program in India by Shubhra Sharma.

Book Review: Displaced At Home: Ethnicity And Gender Among Palestinians In Israel, Elmé Vivier

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of “Displaced at Home: Ethnicity and Gender among Palestinians in Israel” edited by Rhoda Ann Kanaaneh & Isis Nusair.

Book Review: Luci Xi: Prostitution And Venereal Disease In Colonial Hanoi, Sanya Osha

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Luci Xi: Prostitution and Venereal Disease in Colonial Hanoi by Vu Trong Phung.

Chess Queen, Etta James (1938-2012), Olusanya Osha

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Can You Hear Her Now? Changing The Discourse On Women's Rights In Jordan, Jessica L. Anderson

Kaleidoscope

No abstract provided.

Women's Political Representation In Europe: An Analysis Of Structural And Attitudinal Factors, Jenna Elaine Mcculloch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this mixed methods study, I explore the reasons for the low level of women in elected office in Europe. I analyze the impact of three structural factors (number of years since women's suffrage was enacted, type of electoral system, and presence of legal gender quotas) and three attitudinal factors (level of gender equality, percentage of female professionals, and level of religiosity) on the percentage of women in national legislatures in each of the European countries. Specifically, I pose the following research question: Which structural and/or attitudinal factors are more influential for women's political representation in European countries?

In order …

The Heroine's Journey, Catherine Bailey

The Hilltop Review

My current research focuses on representations of gender in contemporary literature and visual culture, with a particular emphasis on feminist criticism. Furthermore, I am interested in the ways in which ancient mythology, fairy tales, and folklore have shaped--and continue to shape--societal ideals about normative gender behavior. While some myth critics profess the benefits of framing one's life in terms of a grand narrative--an archetypal "hero's journey"--feminist critics and queer theorists argue that these sweeping narratives can be damaging to people of all genders by forcing them into limiting social scripts. Much of my recent research has explored the question of …

Imagining Women In U.S. Politics: The Problem Of Sisterhood In The Long 1960s, Sara Bijani

The Hilltop Review

The gendered expectations of the masculinist political establishment of the long 1960s made it difficult for women to define their own unique terrain as politicians. Even with the guarantee of formal political rights firmly in place, women's status as second class citizens persisted throughout the long 1960s. Often, women were forced into frames that defined their political interests around their embodied sex, rather than the needs of their constituents. This imagined construction of women as a separate subject class established a fundamentally unequal platform for women's participation as first class citizens of the United States. While ideological differences between male …

Naming The Judicial Terrorist: An Exposé Of An Abuser's Successful Use Of A Judicial Proceeding For Continued Domestic Violence, Donna King

Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Equal Opportunity To Harass, Unequal Burdens Of Proof: Affirming The Equal Opportunity Defense, Todd J. Clark

Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

I'M The Same Me: Communication And Renegotiation Of Identity In The Weight-Loss Surgery Experiences Of Women, Heather D. Schild

Masters Theses

Adult obesity rates are on the rise in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control (2009) which has led to an increase in obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. Weight-loss surgery (WLS) has become accepted as a "cure" for obesity by the medical community. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of obese individuals electing to undergo WLS every year; 82% of these individuals are women (AHRQ, 2007). More women may be electing to undergo these procedures than men due to the pressures women face in American culture to achieve social standards of …

The Abaya: Fashion, Religion, And Identity In A Globalized World, Elizabeth D. Shimek

Lawrence University Honors Projects

The abaya is a traditional robe worn by women in the Arab Gulf states as both a symbol of national identity and as a part of Islamic veiling customs. Over the last twenty years, partly due to exposure to Western couture fashion, the abaya has changed from a plain, voluminous black robe to a unique signifier of personal taste through variations in fabrics, cuts, colors, and detailing. This study explores both the physical and symbolic changes the abaya (and the industry surrounding it) has undergone, as well as how these changes both reflect and provoke the conflicts in identity residents …

Conservative Feminism And Its Potential To Interact With, Influence, And Transform Traditional Feminist Identity, Aja Cacan

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The recent emergence of conservative female public figures has posed a challenge to the traditional notion of feminist thought. Although they define their particular form of success in terms of conservative ideology, many of these women operate according to feminist paradigms, and would not even have the opportunity to assume such a public role if it were not for the past feminist breakthroughs that have cleared the way. Their association with feminist logic and adoption of the feminist moniker notwithstanding, these conservative women most often speak out in reaction and opposition to traditional liberal feminist views and activism. Regardless of …

Women And Video Games: Pigeonholing The Past, Allison Perry

Scripps Senior Theses

Academic work dealing with the overlap between video games and female representation is limited in both volume and proper research. Most texts agree on three supposed flaws with video games: they alienate female participants, there are no games for female players, and female players cannot relate to female characters. This thesis sheds light on these points, not only citing specific counter-examples, but also showing how many of these issues reflect on a larger societal problems.

The Road To Gaining Acceptance And Status For Women In American Medicine, Terrie S. Ahn

Honors College Theses

For my honors thesis, I discuss the history of women in American medicine during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In particular, I focus on how the social and cultural time periods affected women’s efforts in pursuing further medical education, how these women were perceived and treated by not only their male colleagues, but also the outside world, how it affected their future career choices in medicine, and finally, how their efforts ended up changing the medical career path for future female generations.

It begins with a discussion of the variety of obstacles, both private and public, that hindered …

The Emergence Of Feminism During The Late Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries By Female Artists And Authors, Tracy S. Koubek

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

This thesis paper identifies the ways in which the painters Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun and Mary Cassatt and the writers Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Barrett Browning challenged the limitations of their sex by engaging in professions outside of the domestic sphere during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This essay first focuses on the negative effects that a separation between the private and public spheres had on women, how these changes came about, the expectations society imposed on women, and how many women learned to cope and step forward into the public sphere. The emphasis shifts to an examination of the lives …

Sassin' Through Sadhana': Learned Leadership Journeys Of Black Women In Holistic Practices, Rachel Panton

Communication, Media, and Arts Faculty Book and Book Chapters

Women of color, especially Black women, are underrepresented in the extant literature and research of adult development and mind, body, spirit leadership. This in-depth qualitative portraiture study explored the lives of three Black women who have been leading their communities as adult educators of mind, body, spirit practices. This examination seeks to extend the research on Black female adult development and learning to include those who are guiding their respective communities through Yoruba, Yoga, and Christian-based holistic practices by addressing these questions: How have their spiritual/religious practices changed from childhood? What was their preparation for their current teaching practice like? …