Doing Biopolitics Differently? Radical Potential in the Post-2015 MDG and SDG Debates

Abstract

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been critiqued as an ambitious project which sought to produce entrepreneurial neo-liberal subjects. From this perspective, the opportunities and dangers of the post-2015 debates acquire a more urgent importance than the cynical dismissal of the MDGs as ‘minimum development goals’. This article identifies two potentially radical shifts in development discourse offered by the proposals for global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): first, that they might be genuinely global and hence destabilise long-standing divisions between ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ societies; and second, that they might challenge existing growth paths of resource-intensive development. Two scenarios are offered through which these potential shifts are manifesting: first, a status-quo and growth-orientated outcome to the post-2015 agenda, and second, a more radical revisioning of development as a transformative project of global sustainability. However, even such an apparently attractive prospect as the latter has potential dangers, whether or not it is possible, which this article highlights. Whatever the outcome of the negotiations over the post-2015 SDGs, therefore, the process can tell us something about the opportunities and limits of processes of reform. The stakes could not be higher: whether a renewed and reshaped development project can drive future developmental governmentalities in radically new directions.     

Gender Stereotypes and Perceptions of Men,Women, and ‘Persons’ in the Workforce

No abstract available for this article.     

Are Men and Women Equal in Employment?

EQUALITY was one of the themes of the Fourth World Conference on Women. The motto of the Conference was "Action for Equality, Development and Peace." But is there a real possibility for equality between men and women? Equality in employment remains an important concern. Recently, Zheng Yefu, research worker of the Beijing Academy of Social     

Gender Differences in Alcohol Use and Alcohol-Related Problems: Do They Hold for Lesbians and Gay Men?

ABSTRACT

Research regarding gender differences in alcohol use and alcohol-related problems finds that men drink more and suffer higher rates of alcohol-related problems compared with women. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether these differences also exist between lesbians and gay men. A sample of 335 lesbians and gay men were recruited through lesbian and gay events, Listservs, and friendship networks. Items from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2000 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 2000. National household survey on drug abuse: Main findings 1998, Rockville, MD: Author.  [Google Scholar]) measured alcohol consumption. The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (Selzer, 1971 Selzer, M. L. 1971. The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test: The quest for a new diagnostic instrument. American Journal of Psychiatry, 127: 89–94. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and the Drinker Inventory of Consequences (Miller, Tonigan, & Longabaugh, 1995 Miller, W. R., Tonigan, J. S. and Longabaugh, R. 1995. “The drinker inventory of consequences (DrInC): An instrument for assessing adverse consequences of alcohol abuse test manual”. In National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Project Match, Monograph Series, 4, Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  [Google Scholar]) measured alcohol-related problems. Gay men tended to drink more often than lesbians, but there were no significant gender differences regarding alcohol-related problems. Research, theoretical, and clinical implications are discussed.     

Do Schooling and Work Empower Women in Developing Countries? Gender and Domestic Decisions in Sri Lanka

Our work challenges and points out the limitations of the theoretical presumptions underlying the relationship between empowerment, education, and employment that have been emphasized in both the exiting literature and the current rhetoric to empower women in developing countries. We use survey, life history, and focus group data to empirically examine the relationship between schooling, paid work, and power in domestic decision making for young, married women in Sri Lanka. We argue that the relationship between education, work, and women's control of household decisions is conditioned by the larger social context, and as such, it is likely to reflect the extent to which the division of labor and access to information and economic resources are the bases of domestic power in the society under consideration. Our results make a strong case for the need to move away from broad-based conceptualizations of women's empowerment to a consideration of the specific arenas and dimensions along which women can have power. In focusing on the domestic arena alone, we find that there are important differences in both the nature and determinants of the financial as opposed to the social and organizational dimension of power in Sri Lankan households. Women who control one of these aspects of family decisions do not necessarily control the other, and while education and employment play an important role in determining women's input in financial decisions, they are largely immaterial in determining household decisions related to social and organizational matters. Our results also demonstrate the importance of going beyong simplistic and limited measures of schooling and work to consider more fundamental structural factors involving family, social, and economic organization.     

A Serious Researcher or Just Another Nice Girl?: Doing Gender in a Male-Dominated Scientific Community

This paper explores how we as female researchers are constructing our professional identities in a male-dominated scientific world. In particular, we focus on the extent to which patriarchal articulations of professional identities influence female academics' self-concept and consciousness of their own abilities. We believe that the business school in which we work reproduces certain inequalities systematically, if unintentionally. We are especially interested in the way in which we, as part of the scientific community, are ourselves discursively producing and reproducing the gender division based on differences of sex. In other words, how we ‘do gender’ in a particular organizational setting and when assuming a particular organizational role. The argument of this paper rests on the belief that the social construction of gender identities is not taking place only in the interaction of persons but also in the discourses within which those interactions occur. Identity and the meaning it implies are located here especially in language use. Discourses not only constitute meanings for terms and practices, but they also engender personal identities. Identity is not seen as fixed but rather as actively negotiated and transformed in discourse.     

Why Do Men Report More Opposite-Sex Sexual Partners Than Women? Analysis of the Gender Discrepancy in a British National Probability Survey

In a closed population and defined time period, the mean number of opposite-sex partners reported by men and women should be equal. However, in all surveys, men report more partners. This inconsistency is pivotal to debate about the reliability of self-reported sexual behavior. We used data from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3), a probability sample survey of the British population, to investigate the extent to which survey sampling, accounting strategies (e.g., estimating versus counting), and (mis)reporting due to social norms might explain the inconsistency. Men reported a mean of 14.14 lifetime partners; women reported 7.12. The gender gap of 7.02 reduced to 5.47 after capping the lifetime partner number at the 99th percentile. In addition, adjusting for counting versus estimation reduced the gender gap to 3.24, and further adjusting for sexual attitudes narrowed it to 2.63. Together, these may account for almost two-thirds of the gender disparity. Sampling explanations (e.g., non-U.K.-resident partners included in counts; sex workers underrepresented) had modest effects. The findings underscore the need for survey methods that facilitate candid reporting and suggest that approaches to encourage counting rather than estimating may be helpful. This study is novel in interrogating a range of potential explanations within the same nationally representative data set.     

Disparities in Healthcare Utilization in China: Do Gender and Migration Status Matter?

Using a multi-stage cluster sampling approach, we collected healthcare and demographic data from 531 migrants and 529 local urban residents aged 16–64 in Shanghai, China. Logistic regressions were used to analyze the relationship between gender-migration status and healthcare utilization while controlling for predisposing, enabling and needs factors. Other things equal, female migrants and male locals had significantly lower actual healthcare utilization rates, compared to female locals. Female migrants were more likely to report “no money” as a reason for not seeking care, while male locals were more likely to report “self-medication” as a reason. Considering established gender differences in healthcare utilization, we conclude that female migrants as a group face the most healthcare access barriers among all groups.     

Orphanhood and School Attendance in Nigeria: Do Gender and Household Income Matter?

Using the 2010 Nigeria Education Data Survey, this research examines the interaction of paternal and maternal/double orphanhood with gender and household income on school attendance; we ascertain whether the relationship varies by age and urban-rural residence. The research employs an economic explanation and the sociocultural construction of the gender division of labor in sub-Saharan Africa as theoretical frameworks. Findings show that the combination of being a maternal/double orphan and being female or living in a poor household leads to the lowest probability of attending school. The results also indicate that female maternal/double orphans who live in rural areas and whose age is eleven or older have the lowest probability of attending school. Both results are statistically significant. The findings support the economic explanation and the theory of sociocultural construction of the gender division of labor. Future policies should focus on subsidizing the costs of schooling for orphans.     

Rising Rates of Cohabitation and the Odds of Repartnering: Does the Gap Between Men and Women Disappear?

Men are more likely to repartner than women. This pattern might reflect gender disparities in barriers to repartnering. When rates of cohabitation increase, the gender disparity might shrink, as cohabitation is a less institutionalized form of coresidential partnership and therefore has lower entry barriers in comparison to marriage. Using event-history models applied to Czech data from the Generations and Gender Survey, we show that the odds of repartnering were indeed higher among men than among women in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. No significant change in the gender effect, however, was found. Similarly, the analysis revealed no change in the effect of gender on the odds of entering cohabitation rather than marriage.     

Electorally Threatening Women? Understanding Gender Quotas in the French Socialist Party

ABSTRACT

Almost three decades ago, the French Socialist Party (PS) adopted a quota for women in the party leadership and for female candidates, and in the ensuing 25 years, the quota was increased and implemented at various times. The history of the PS' s gender-based quota raises the following questions: Why do party leaders adopt gender quotas at one time, increase quotas at another, and implement them in some elections, but not in others? In other words, how can we account for the decisions of political actors? This work seeks to answer these questions by examining the demands and actions of PS feminists. It shows that party women demanded gender quotas and frequently backed up their demands with ideational and electoral arguments that often appealed to male party officials. However, the success of these proposals did not depend on the ability of Socialist women to make convincing arguments; rather it depended on the presence of male party officials who had electoral incentives to support them. This work thus underscores the importance of taking party officials' electoral incentives into consideration when analyzing women's political representation.     

Gender in Political Sex Scandals in Contemporary Turkey: Women’s Agency and the Public Sphere

Sex scandals in politics lead to intense public debates about fundamental issues, such as morality, publicity, and privacy, rendering gender inequalities more visible than ever. This article aims to reveal the complex gendered dynamics of the political culture by looking at sex scandals in contemporary Turkey. The ways in which these scandals have been narrated, negotiated, and resolved among the public and political actors provide grounds for analysis about the nature of patriarchal dynamics regarding women’s agency and public credibility communicated through their sexuality in contemporary Turkey.     

The Self-Employment of Men and Women: What are their Motivations?

Do men and women carry different motivations for entering self-employment? Earlier researchers have suggested that, as primary care givers for children and families, women face a more stringent time constraint relative to men. Thus, where men see self-employment as a chance for greater financial opportunity, women see a chance to take work that allows more time at home. This paper investigates this hypothesis using unique data that allow analysis of individual self-employment as a function of traditional economic and demographic variables as well as variables that partially capture individuals’ opinions and perceptions of pecuniary and nonpecuniary aspects of entrepreneurism. Results suggest that men who choose self-employment are influenced principally by pecuniary concerns, while women are influenced principally by family concerns and by the opinions of their family, friends, and peers.     

Why Do Older Adults Have Sex? Approach and Avoidance Sexual Motives Among Older Women and Men

Although many older adults reportedly maintain an active sex life, limited research has focused on the reasons they engage in sex. The present study identified and described sexual motives in the second half of life reported by 47 older adults. Twenty-four men (51%) and 23 women (49%) aged 60–91 (M = 66, SD = 8.1) were interviewed. In-depth interviews were thematically analyzed using the theory of motivational approach-avoidance and personal-interpersonal motivational framework. Five main themes were identified: (a) to maintain overall functioning, (b) to feel young again, (c) to feel attractive and desirable, (d) from lust to love, and (e) from “getting sex” to “giving sex.” Investigating sexual motives in the second half of life can improve the understanding of older adults’ sexual behavior, function, and satisfaction.     

Do Therapists Address Gender and Power in Infidelity? A Feminist Analysis of the Treatment Literature

Sociocontextual factors such as gender and power play an important role in the etiology of affairs and in recovery from them, yet it is unclear how current treatment models address these issues. Drawing on feminist epistemology, this study utilized a grounded theory analysis of 29 scholarly articles and books on infidelity treatment published between 2000 and 2010 to identify the circumstances under which gender and power issues were or were not part of treatment. We found five conditions that limit attention to gender and power: (a) speaking (or assuming) as though partners are equal, (b) reframing infidelity as a relationship problem, (c) limiting discussion of societal context to background, (d) not considering how societal gender and power patterns impact relationship dynamics, and (e) limiting discussion of ethics on how to position around infidelity. Analysis explored how each occurred across three phases of couple therapy. The findings provide a useful foundation for a sociocontextual framework for infidelity treatment.     

Men and Masculinities in International Development: ‘Men‐streaming’ Gender and Development?

The inclusion of men and masculinities in gender and development policies and practices has emerged in the last decade as a critical component for achieving gender equality and women's empowerment. This article analyses the contemporary character and progress towards ‘men‐streaming’ of gender and development, and argues that implicit in any action towards gender equality and working with men is the requirement to base action on a clear understanding of the politics of masculinities and the relational aspects of gender equity and equality.     

“Women's Work”? Women Partners of Transgender Men Doing Housework and Emotion Work

Despite increasing family studies research on same‐sex cohabiters and families, the literature is virtually devoid of transgender and transsexual families. To bridge this gap, I present qualitative research narratives on household labor and emotion work from 50 women partners of transgender and transsexual men. Contrary to much literature on “same‐sex” couples, the division of household labor and emotion work within these contemporary families cannot simply be described as egalitarian. Further, although the forms of emotion work and “gender strategies,”“family myths,” and “accounts” with which women partners of trans men engage resonate with those from women in (non‐trans) heterosexual and lesbian couples, they are also distinct, highlighting tensions among personal agency, politics, and structural inequalities in family life.