Women's Studies Commons^™

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 …

Domestic Violence Against Women In Ghana: The Attitudes Of Men Toward Wife-Beating, Ellen Mabel Osei-Tutu, Ernest Ampadu

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study examines the issue of domestic violence against women; specifically, men’s attitudes toward wife beating. The data used was obtained from the 2011 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). The results presented in this study come from a total 3,052 males from across all the 10 regions in Ghana. It is interesting to note that, although majority of the participants do not endorse wife beating, there was a significant number of these men who thought wife beating was justified for various reasons. That is, the attitude of men toward wife beating is complex to explain as the participants had divergent …

Ecowas And Free Movement Of Persons: African Women As Cross-Border Victims, Ayodeji Anthony Aduloju

Journal of International Women's Studies

Existing literature has investigated the challenges of interstate border dispute, border conflict and their security and developmental implications for the West African sub-region. ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol of Persons was instituted to enhance economic development of West Africa’s citizens. However, studies have shown that the protocol has relatively aided trans-border trafficking in persons, drugs, Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). However, vulnerability of trans-border women traders in the sub-region have received little attention. This study utilized both primary and secondary sources of data gathering in order to interrogate the provisions of ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons vis-à-vis its …

Gender Dimensions And Women’S Vulnerability In Disaster Situations: A Case Study Of Flood Prone Areas Impacting Women In Malabon City, Metro Manila, Daniella Dominique Reyes, Jinky Leilanie Lu

Journal of International Women's Studies

Disasters are common in the Philippines, the effects of which are more adverse in the metropolis, characterized by population crowding and presence of geophysical hazards. Malabon City in Metro Manila is characterized by such risk factors to disasters. The target population of this study were women as they frequently remain at home while their husbands are out for work. The methodologies were both qualitative and quantitative through the use of key expert and subject interviews, and a survey questionnaire respectively. The objectives of the study were to look into the structure of Philippine disaster management, to investigate the role of …

"Der Sozialismus Siegt": Women’S Ordinary Lives In An East German Factory, Susanne Kranz

Journal of International Women's Studies

Socialism Triumphs adorned the roof of the office equipment factory (BWS) in the Thuringian town of Sömmerda until 1990. The factory became a driving economic force in the GDR. The city, called “the capital of computers,” represents a unique case of urban development and governmental support, showcasing the state’s anticipated unity of economic and social policy. This article explores the everyday lives of women working in the factory (1946 and 1991) and examines the state-sanctioned women’s policies, how they were implemented and how women perceived these policies and the officially accomplished emancipation of men and women. Sömmerda had roughly 23,000 …

Urban Nowhere: Loss Of Self In Lydia Davis’ Stories And Wang Anyi’S Brothers, Xue Wei, Kate Rose

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper focuses on how contemporary literary works by women authors in China and the U.S. reverse the individualist West/collectivist China assumption. It mainly compares the works of Lydia Davis and Wang Anyi with regards to urban women’s identities. Under the inspiration of revolutionary ideologies that characterize 20th century China, female characters are striving for meaning in their lives as individuals. In U.S.-American writings, however, the individual is becoming more anonymous and interchangeable, particularly in urban spaces. This article traces possible reasons and implications for this contrast.

Tracing The Development Of The Tunisian 1956 Code Of Personal Status, Rayed Khedher

Journal of International Women's Studies

Tunisia has a unique set of family law codes that continue to operate from 1956 to the present day. The 1956 Code of Personal Status deals with crucial issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, alimony, child custody and adoption. The enactment of this code and Tunisian women’s emancipation and its uniqueness in the Arab Muslim world can be attributed to a combination of various historical, political and social factors: the country’s ‘so-called’ homogeneity, its particular colonial experience, and above all the country's modernization policy implemented by Tunisia’s first president Habib Bourguiba. This article focuses on the early years of independence …

Farming Cooperatives: Opportunities And Challenges For Women Farmers In Jamaica, Amani Ishemo, Brenda Bushell

Journal of International Women's Studies

In many respects it is Jamaican women who play a pivotal role in small-scale farming, particularly in marketing farm produce. More highly educated than men, and gender-wise, women farmers are highly self-reliant; however, their socio-economic strength is not fully capitalized through cooperative endeavors to foster productivity on their farms. This research examines women’s cooperatives and the operations of women farmers in two remote rural communities using focus group discussion and targeted on-site investigation approaches. We find that over the years, small farming cooperatives are unsustainable because of their land-tenure problem, and lack of decision-making power at the grassroots level. The …

Ethnic And Gender Diversity In Top Level Management And Firm Performance: Shareholder’S Perspectives, Rohail Hassan, Maran Marimuth, Eraj Tariq, Raja Aqeel

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study examines the relationship between demographic diversity in top management levels with a firms’ financial performance using 84 non-financial companies in Malaysia. Demographic diversity consists of ethnic diversity and gender diversity. The top management level includes both the top management team and the board of directors. This study uses data from 2008 to 2012. Return on assets measures the financial performance. Ethnic and gender diversity measured by the number of Non-Malays and the number of females in top management respectively. This study incorporates descriptive statistics, correlation testing, and regression analysis. The results show that ethnic diversity in the top …

Ahead Of Her Time: The Life And Work Of Nancy Hemenway Barton, University Of New England Art Gallery, Hemenway Foundation

Exhibition Catalogues

Ahead of Her Time: The Life and Work of Nancy Hemenway Barton is the catalogue from the Portland Campus UNE Art Gallery’s September 28, 2017 - December 20, 2017 exhibition of curated artwork by Nancy Hemenway Barton.

Curated by Anne B. Zill and members of the Barton family, the exhibition is a major retrospective of one of the 20th century’s most creative and multi-faceted artists, featuring Hemenway Barton’s early watercolors, portraits and oils as well as her textile designs, wall hangings and three-dimensional art forms. Also included are examples of her journals, poetry, videos, art materials and memorabilia. Honored with …

Ua12/2/89 Ceres Fraternity Advisor's Manual, Ceres Colony (Wku)

Student Organizations

Advisor's manual created by and for Ceres Colony.

The Orpheus Of Incest, Book Review Of Nickels And Interview With The Author Christine Stark, Carolyn Gage

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Of Stars And Solitude: Two Mexican Documentaries, Paul Julian Smith

Publications and Research

By happy coincidence, Mexico in 2016 yielded two expert and moving documentaries on women, sex, and aging: María José Cuevas’s Bellas de noche (Beauties of the Night) and Maya Goded’s Plaza de la Soledad (Solitude Square). Both are first-time features by female directors. And both are attempts to reclaim previously neglected subjects: showgirls of the 1970s and sex workers in their seventies, respectively. Moreover, lengthy production processes in which the filmmakers cohabitated with their subjects have resulted in films that are clearly love letters to their protagonists.

Gaining Ground On Equal Pay: Empowering Boston's Women Through Salary Negotiation Workshops, A Report On Year One Of Aauw Work Smart In Boston, Jecynta Azong, Ann Bookman, Christa Kelleher

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

This report is a case study, not an evaluation. Its focus is on a particular program, AAUW Work Smart in Boston, over a defined period of time (September 2015 – October 2016) in order to understand the program’s impact on the women who participated in it. This report explores several key questions: In what ways do AAUW Work Smart in Boston workshops have an impact on the women who complete them? What are the main barriers that prevent women from addressing their compensation level and/or achieving pay equity? What are primary factors that facilitate women’s capacity to achieve successful salary …

Genre, Representation, And Memory In Spanish Civil War Texts By Women From Spain And The United States, Jennifer Prince

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation seeks to addresses a lacuna in the androcentric Spanish Civil War literary canon by recovering women’s voices writing about the war from the 1930s to the present. It also examines the war stories women tell and how they represent themselves and others when writing about the Spanish Civil War. All of the seven authors examined here write through the lens of some distance—either as American citizens observing the war or as the descendants of the war’s survivors—but each with an intimate connection rooted in biology or ideology. The foundation of this dissertation is close reading and textual analysis …

Walking As Ontological Shifter: Thoughts In The Key Of Life, Bibi (Silvina) Calderaro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

With walking as ontological shifter I pursue an alternative to the dominant modernist episteme that offers either/or onto-epistemologies of opposition and their reifying engagements. I propose this type of walking is an intentional turning towards a set of radical positions that, as integrative aesthetic and therapeutic practice, brings multiplicity and synchronicity to experience and being in an expanded sociality. This practice facilitates the conditions of possibility for recurring points of contact between the interiority perceived as ‘body’ and the exteriority perceived as ‘world.’ While making evident the self’s at once incoherence with it-self, it opens to a space beyond the …