The Emergence and Persistence of Queerness: Conversing Through Visual Culture Within a Generation

ABSTRACT

In this article, the authors explore the work of becoming queer within the Millennial generation. Collaborative in nature, their investigation turns to three key popular-culture texts of the 1990s—Will & Grace, Rent, and MTV’s Spring Break—that were central to their then-emerging sense of self. Staged as an intragenerational conversation, the authors look to create space to unpack the connections, anecdotal by design, between popular texts and changing ideas of queer identity and community. Since neither author grew up within the confines of a gay ghetto—Boystown of Chicago, the Castro of San Francisco, the East Village of New York City—where they may have encountered and been enamored by the avant-garde queer subcultures so often praised in queer scholarship (for important reasons), they turn instead to experiences with popular culture that opened up lessons in becoming gay, in rural and Midwestern locales where queerness operated and emerged differently.     

(Un-)becoming Chinese creatives: transnational mobility of creative labour in a ‘global’ Beijing

ABSTRACT

Drawing on qualitative research conducted on transnational creative workers in Beijing, this article shows how the vibrant interaction between global cultural industries and the local Chinese economy propels transnational labour mobility and affects the subjectification of transnational creative workers. Having come to China to enhance their careers, these professionals have been incorporated into the Chinese creative workforce, contributing to the Party State’s aspiration to use creativity as a growth engine for the economy and as a form of soft power. In terms of these workers’ everyday experience, however, China’s aspiration to ‘foreign creativity’ does not necessarily guarantee a privileged life. The State’s restrictions on migration and the insecure working circumstances within the Chinese creative workplace discourage these transnationals from fully integrating in Chinese society and the Chinese labour market. At the same time, this research shows that the precarious lives led by transnational creative workers in Beijing are also productive and generate the conditions for a situated cosmopolitan subjectivity. Such a cosmopolitan subjectivity fosters respect for cultural difference and relations of mutual understanding and care among both international and local subjects.     

Implementing midwifery continuity of care models in regional Australia: A constructivist grounded theory study

Problem/backgroundStrong international evidence demonstrates significantly improved outcomes for women and their babies when supported by midwifery continuity of care models. Despite this, widespread implementation has not been achieved, especially in regional settings.AimTo develop a theoretical understanding of the factors that facilitate or inhibit the implementation of midwifery continuity models within regional settings.MethodsA Constructivist Grounded Theory approach was used to collect and analyse data from 34 interviews with regional public hospital key informants.ResultsThree concepts of theory emerged: ‘engaging the gatekeepers’, ‘midwives lacking confidence’ and ‘women rallying together’. The concepts of theory and sub-categories generated a substantive theory: A partnership between midwives and women is required to build confidence and enable the promotion of current evidence; this is essential for engaging key hospital stakeholders to invest in the implementation of midwifery continuity of care models.DiscussionThe findings from this research suggest that midwives and women can significantly influence the implementation of midwifery continuity models within their local maternity services, particularly in regional settings. Midwives’ reluctance to transition is based on a lack of confidence and knowledge of what it is really like to work in midwifery continuity models. Similarly, women require education to increase awareness of continuity of care benefits, and a partnership between women and midwives can be a strong political force to overcome many of the barriers.ConclusionImplementation of midwifery continuity of care needs a coordinated ground up approach in which midwives partner with women and promote widespread dissemination of evidence for this model, directed towards consumers, midwives, and hospital management to increase awareness of the benefits.     

“Relinquish the reins”: Persuasion and consensus in the discourse of pregnancy and childbirth advice literature

BackgroundPopular pregnancy and childbirth advice books constitute an important source of information for pregnant women. These texts shape women's perceptions of pregnancy, childbirth and the medical care they will receive during this time.AimsThis article reports on a study of the enactment of power relations between pregnant women and their medical caregivers in the discourse of pregnancy and childbirth advice literature and its implications for practice.MethodsThe study focuses on the discursive positioning of women in relation to medical personnel through a critical discourse analysis of two popular advice books, one in English and one in French.FindingsThe article suggests that through the use of a number of key discursive strategies, pregnant women are constructed as under the control of the medical institution in these texts. However, this control is not achieved by an overt oppressive discourse, instead it is achieved through persuasion and consensus by generating the consent of pregnant women to comply with medical norms.ConclusionsThe medical institution is represented in these texts as a dominant force while women are constructed as powerless recipients of medical care. Medical professionals should firstly consider whether the power relations represented in these texts correspond to those enacted in clinics and delivery rooms. Secondly, caregivers should be cautious about recommending popular pregnancy and childbirth advice books to women as the relationship between pregnant women and their caregivers may be undermined by the negative power asymmetry enacted in these texts.     

Discovering the knowledge creation process of an expert group in women-friendly policy: The policy case of Seoul City

ABSTRACT

This research explores how expert knowledge is created in the process of women-friendly policy making, based on actor network theory (ANT). To address this purpose, this study uses the “Women’s Happiness in the City of Seoul” policy initiated by the local government of Seoul as one example of policy development. Research findings demonstrate that knowledge creation in expert groups followed the four stages suggested by ANT. In addition, this study found that various types of knowledge emerged from individual experts. This research elucidates the process of knowledge creation and its meanings for women-friendly policy.     

Ecological analysis of adolescent birth rates in Brazil: Association with Human Development Index

BackgroundAdolescent pregnancy is a multidimensional public health problem. It is known that every year in Brazil approximately 1.1 million adolescents become pregnant and around 20% of all newborns are born to teenage mothers.AimThis ecological study describes the spatio-temporal patterns of the percentages of live births to adolescent mothers between the years of 2010 and 2016 in Brazil and their associations with human development indexes in the meso-regions where they reside.MethodsPercentages of live births to adolescent mothers are the ratio between the number of live births to women aged 10–19 years old and total number of live births in each Brazilian meso-regions during the study period. A spatio-temporal Bayesian model was used to associate the percentages of live births to adolescent mothers with the human development index of each meso-region. Moran’s index was used to measure the spatial autocorrelation between the meso-regions at an aggregate level, whereas the local indicator of spatial auto-correlation measured local correlation.FindingsPercentages of live births to adolescent mothers for the whole country were 19.3% in 2010 and 17.5% in 2016. There is a heterogeneous spatial distribution pattern for these percentages, being the highest percentages in the North region (24.8% in 2016) and the lowest percentages in the Southeast region of the country (14.3% in 2016). The Bayesian model showed that meso-regions with lower human development index values have higher percentages of live births to adolescent mothers.ConclusionOur findings suggest that adolescent pregnancy is deeply associated with environmental characteristics.     

Aging and political decision making on public pensions

In this paper decision making on public pensions in a representative democracy is modeled within the framework of the well-known two-overlapping-generations (OLG) general-equilibrium model with rational expectations. The model is used to analyze the effects of aging on the economy in general and on the evolution of public pension schemes in particular, where aging is interpreted as a combination of a decrease in the rate of population growth and an increase in the political influence of pensioners. Analytical results are derived for the long run as well as for the short run by the method of comparative statics and comparative dynamics respectively. It appears that an increase in transfers to the old is not guaranteed if due to aging their political power increases. JEL classification: J14, H55 Received April 5, 1995 / Accepted September 4, 1995     

Midwives’ views of traditional birth attendants within formal healthcare in Nigeria

BackgroundDiscourses around the journey to motherhood in many poorly-resourced countries, particularly in the sub-Saharan African region, with no link to death and danger are limited. The custodians of traditional practices – the traditional birth attendants – are often blamed for the high maternal deaths in this region. Conventional institutional and international thinking about traditional birth attendants is that they are dangerous and therefore should no longer be allowed to practice.AimTo explore midwives’ views of traditional birth attendants’ place within formal healthcare settings in Nigeria.MethodsHermeneutic phenomenological and poststructural feminist approaches were used. Seven midwives volunteered for semi-structured individual face to face interviews.FindingsThe responses of the midwives were diverse and conflicting. Some midwives believe that the traditional birth attendants should be banned, arguing that they are responsible for low uptake of hospital-based maternity care by women which in turn leads to an increase in maternal deaths. Contrastingly, other midwives expressed a view that the traditional birth attendants ‘cannot be phased out’ due to their valid contributions, particularly in the rural areas where access to formal maternity care is limited by intractable structural problems.ConclusionPolicy makers need to reconsider the role of traditional birth attendants. This should involve not only their integration into formal healthcare to work alongside formally trained maternity care providers, but also fostering a healthcare atmosphere where respect and recognition of each practitioner’s skill is paramount.     

Women’s experiences of their maternity care: A principle- based concept analysis

BackgroundDespite many countries employing the use of national and large scale regional surveys to explore women’s experiences of their maternity care, with the results informing national maternity policy and practice, the concept itself is ambiguous and ill-defined having not been subject of a structured concept development endeavour.AimThe aim of this review is to report on an in-depth analysis conducted on the concept of ‘women’s experiences of their maternity care’.MethodsUsing the principle-based method of concept analysis by Penrod and Hupcey (2005), the concept of ‘women’s experiences of their maternity care’ was analysed under the epistemological, pragmatic, linguistic and logical principles. The final dataset included 87 items of literature published between 1990 and 2017 retrieved from a systematic search of the MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and PSYCinfo databases.FindingsThe epistemological principle identified that a theoretical definition of the concept is elusive with a variety of implicit meanings. The pragmatic principle supports the utility of the concept in scientific literature, however the lack of a theoretical definition has led to inconsistent use of the concept, as highlighted by the linguistic principle. Furthermore, the logical principle highlighted that as the concept lacks definition blurring is identifiable when theoretically positioned with related concepts.ConclusionThe outcome of this concept analysis is a theoretical definition of a previously undefined concept. This definition highlights the subjective nature of the concept, its dependency upon a woman’s individual needs, expectations and circumstances and the influence of the organisation and delivery of maternity care.     

Evaluation of a regional midwifery caseload model of care integrated across five birthing sites in South Australia: Women’s experiences and birth outcomes

IntroductionThe ongoing closure of regional maternity services in Australia has significant consequences for women and communities. In South Australia, a regional midwifery model of care servicing five birthing sites was piloted with the aim of bringing sustainable birthing services to the area. An independent evaluation was undertaken. This paper reports on women’s experiences and birth outcomes.AimTo evaluate the effectiveness, acceptability, continuity of care and birth outcomes of women utilising the new midwifery model of care.MethodAn anonymous questionnaire incorporating validated surveys and key questions from the Quality Maternal and Newborn Care (QMNC) Framework was used to assess care across the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal period. Selected key labour and birth outcome indicators as reported by the sites to government perinatal data collections were included.FindingsThe response rate was 52.6% (205/390). Women were overwhelmingly positive about the care they received during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. About half of women had caseload midwives as their main antenatal care provider; the other half experienced shared care with local general practitioners and caseload midwives. Most women (81.4%) had a known midwife at their birth. Women averaged 4 post-natal home visits with their midwife and 77.5% were breastfeeding at 6–8 weeks. Ninety-five percent of women would seek this model again and recommend it to a friend. Maternity indicators demonstrated a lower induction rate compared to state averages, a high primiparous normal birth rate (73.8%) and good clinical outcomes.ConclusionThis innovative model of care was embraced by women in regional SA and labour and birth outcomes were good as compared with state-wide indicators.     

Speculating with human rights: two South Asian women writers and utopian mobilities

ABSTRACT

Utopian and dystopian fiction are classifiable under the umbrella term speculative fiction, which speculates with or takes risks with the reality it creates in the fiction. My paper investigates speculative writing which is also utopian by South Asian feminist and activist women, comparing creative texts by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, from the first half of the 20^th century, and Vandana Singh, from contemporary times. A selection of their published short fiction are focused on, in particular Hossain’s ‘Sultana’s Dream’ (1905) and Padmarag and the short story ‘Delhi’ by Singh. The article pulls together analysis of different kinds of mobility to argue that both writers, in their imagination of mobile utopia, also further creative speculations round human rights, with special reference to gender and the city. The article analyses how South Asian metropolises, notably Calcutta and Delhi, get reimagined in their writing. Both Hossain and Singh were/are educators in real life. How do their educative and speculative voices come together (or not) in their mobile utopia reimagining human rights? My answer is that the speculative reality-bending mode offers an articulation of the educative in a very different key to the conventionally pedagogic.     

Looking back moving forward: The history of midwifery in Western Australia

ProblemTo date there is has been very little research into midwifery in Western Australia (WA), therefore this paper addresses a significant gap in the literature. The aim of this paper was to gain insight into the history of midwifery in WA.BackgroundSince the beginning of recorded history midwives have assisted women in childbirth. Midwifery is recognised as one of the oldest professions; midwives are mentioned in ancient Hindu texts, featured on Egyptian papyrus and in The Bible. Up until the seventeenth century childbirth was the responsibility of midwives, but the gradual emergence of barber-surgeons, then man-midwives and obstetricians heralded a shift from women-led and community-supported birth to a patriarchal and medical model. Throughout the twentieth century childbirth practices in the Western World have continued to change, leading to a move from midwifery-led care at home to doctor-led care in the hospital.DiscussionThe first non-Indigenous Australian midwives were not formally trained; they came on ships bringing convicts to Australia and are described as ‘accidental’ midwives, as assistance in childbirth came from whoever was available at the time. This period was followed by what was called the ‘Aunt Rubina’ period where older married women helped younger women in childbirth. Throughout the early 1800s untrained or ‘lay’ midwifery care continued alongside the more formally trained midwives who had arrived with the colonists.From the early 20th century, when birth moved into the hospital, midwives in WA have been incorporated into the hierarchy of the professions with obstetrics as the lead profession and midwifery considered a speciality of nursing. The role of the midwife has been subordinated, initially controlled by medicine and then incorporated into the institutions and nursing. The increase in legislative and training requirements for midwives throughout Australia and the move from home to the hospital, gradually led to the decrease in autonomous midwives working within the community, impacting women’s choice of birth attendant and place of birth.ConclusionThe historical suppression of midwifery in Australia has impacted the understanding of the role of the midwife in the contemporary setting. Understanding the development and evolution of the midwifery profession in Australia can help future directions of the profession.     

Performing the “quing of berlin”: transnational digital interfaces in queer feminist protest culture

Abstract

This paper employs the figure of the “interface” to explore the work of German feminist rapper and spoken-word performer Sookee (Nora Hantzsch), who constitutes an ideal case-study for examining the interface between digital technologies, transnational feminisms, and local activism. Sookee is an underground hip-hop artist and queer political activist in Berlin, a location which features in her work as a site of subcultural dissent and contested identities. Sookee is also an academic; a youth outreach worker; a significant online presence; and an international creative collaborator. As such, she navigates the interfaces between multiple social groups, media, discourses, and cultural contexts—regional, national, and transnational. This article focuses on the digital circulations of Sookee’s material against the backdrop of her local performative and activist work. Her transnational collaborations with women MCs and poets from South Africa and America, as well as Europe, celebrate cultural, linguistic, racial, and ethnic difference by bringing in a diverse range of feminist voices to the German context.     

Rape,storytelling and social media: how Twitter interrupted the news media’s ability to construct collective memory

Abstract

This study, using the Mary Kay LeTourneau interview on ABC’s 20/20 television program, investigates how social media coupled with citizens’ voices interact with mainstream media in the telling of a story and the construction of collective memory. Grounded in discourse analysis, this research examines the 20/20 story and accompanying Twitter conversations to understand how dominant and feminist ideologies about gender, rape, sexual violence, sexuality, and love are presented and (re)articulated in these texts. In doing so, this study considers how a newly opened public sphere via social media may have the capabilities to influence our collective memories and remove some of this long-held power away from traditional mainstream media.     

Women’s childbirth experience emphasizing own capacity and safety: A cross-sectional Rwandan study

Problem and aimWomen’s childbirth experience is central when assessing intrapartum care quality. This study accordingly measures women’s childbirth experience in Rwandan health facilities, focusing on own capacity and perceived safety.MethodsA cross-sectional health facility-based study was conducted December 2014 to January 2015 in Kigali City and the Northern Province. Childbirth experience was assessed before discharge using an overall assessment and two subscales, Own capacity and Perceived safety, of the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire, with high scores reflecting a good experience. The questionnaire was translated from English into Kinyarwanda. Reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha; and mean scores between groups were compared using Mann–Whitney U test.FindingsAll invited women (n = 817) agreed to participate after informed consent. Mean age was 27.8 years and 63.6% were multiparous. A majority of women (82.3%) reported an overall positive childbirth experience (≥8 out of 10). Cronbach’s alpha indicated good reliability for Own capacity (0.78) and Perceived safety (0.76). In both subscales multiparous women had higher mean scores than primiparous, married women scored higher than unmarried, older women (>35) scored higher than younger (<35), and women with higher level of education scored higher than those with lower level. Women with HIV scored lower on perceived safety.ConclusionA majority of the women reported a positive overall childbirth experience. Own capacity and perceived safety are important dimensions of childbirth experience and should be addressed in building high-quality intrapartum care. Further research is needed and should include exploration of specific groups.     

‘Walking out’: the mobilities of love

ABSTRACT

In this article, I propose that mobility performs a crucial role in the production and sustenance of intimate relationships and focus, in particular, on courtship practices and their modern-day equivalents. I pursue this discussion through close readings of literary and autobiographical texts from the nineteenth century through to the millennium, and by means of a framework that triangulates the work of Tim Ingold, David Seamon and Henri Bergson. My focus here is on how the mobilities we practice during the everyday routines of courtship – i.e. the paths we make, the routes we take, the roads we travel, the journeys we repeat, the transport we use – come to characterise the relationship concerned and impact upon its progress. Both Ingold’s work on ‘lines’ and Seamon’s on ‘place-ballet’ are conceptually suggestive in this regard and speak to recent work in mobilities/cultural geography on the significance of patterns of movement in the praxis of relationships.     

Place and Lifestyle Migration: The Discursive Construction of ‘Glocal’ Place-Identity

Abstract

International lifestyle migration is a rapidly growing worldwide phenomenon. Within Europe, increasingly large numbers of northern Europeans are moving south in search of what they perceive as a better quality of life. The typical representation of this form of migration suggests that it is consumption-led, tourism-related and leisure-based; it is to be located within late modern, global, elitist, borderless and highly mobile social practices. The question arises as to the role of local place in this type of migration process and in the construction of individual and collective social identities. Using data from advertising texts produced by a residential-tourism resort and from indepth interviews with British residents in the Golden Triangle area of the Algarve, Portugal, this article explores the relationships between discourse, identity, g/local place and lifestyle migration.     

Mapping the Super‐Whale: Towards a Mobile Ethnography of Situated Globalities

Abstract

In empirical discussion on global connections, frequent allusions are made to Michael Burawoy’s ‘global’ and George Marcus’ ‘multi‐sited’ ethnographies. While both have inspired transnational fieldwork, neither methodological approach has sufficiently analysed the local‐global dichotomy embedded at their core. Drawing on actor‐network theory (ANT), this article suggests an alternative framework for mobile ethnography, better suited to a social world conceived in network‐relational terms. Employing metaphors of mobility, scale‐making, and cartography, an empirically driven approach to situated and plural ‘globalities’ is outlined. These claims are developed drawing on the author’s inquiries into Japanese whaling practices, showing how ‘ethno‐socio‐cartography’ can contribute to the mapping of global‐scale micro‐cosmoses.