Are Women Really More ”Ameteur” in Politics Than Men?

This paper examines political style among male and female party elites. Previous research primarily from convention delegates to the 1972 nominating conventions has indicated that women tend to be more "amateur" in style than men, while studies drawn from other years have produced null findings. We attempt to reconcile this literature by examining data from party elites in office in 1980 and comparing two alternative explanations of a more amateur style among women. No consistent differences were found in amateur and professional styles, suggesting that the 1972 findings were a function of the particular circumstances of that year.     

Doing Gender in the Conference Hall: Do Men and Women Behave Differently in Engineering Scientific Environments?

The literature on women in STEM areas displays the barriers that women face at scientific workplaces, showing important interaction where they do and undo gender. However, there is a lack of research about the extent men and women do and undo gender in networking environments. This is a participant observation at Human-Computer Interactions annual conferences in a mainly male-dominated environment. It explored how researchers are ‘doing’ and ‘undoing’ gender focusing on two main dimensions: the gender roles adopted by men and women during the presentations and social activities, and the gender contents exposed in their research talks. A first result shows that sex and gender issues are trivialized in research contents by both men and women researchers. A second result reveals that men and women unintentionally and successively ‘do’ and ‘undo’ gender as a strategy to fit into a neutral and accepted identity of engineering and computer scientists.     

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.     

More Than a Piece of Paper? Protection Orders as a Resource for Battered Women

Nearly 2 million women are assaulted by a partner or ex‐partner each year in the United States ( Tjaden and Thoennes 2000 ). Intimate partner violence is a complex social problem rooted in structural gender inequality, but that affects individual women in different ways (e.g. Crenshaw, 1991 ; Stark 2008 ). Battered women actively seek help in ending the violence from both formal and informal sources (e.g. Campbell et al. 1998 ; Stark 2008 ; Sullivan and Bybee 1999 ). As part of this process, many battered women will apply for a protection order against their batterer; nearly 1 million such orders are issued every year ( Tjaden and Thoennes 2000 ). This article reviews the research on the effectiveness of such orders, including access and enforcement, and provides suggestions for further research and policy improvements.     

How Do Women in Developing Countries Increase Political Representation in National Assemblies? A Longitudinal Analysis of South Korea

Previous studies have found that political, socioeconomic, and ideological factors are critical determinants of gender equality in political representation. However, these studies have not explained the combined effects of these factors over time in each country. Furthermore, because they focus primarily on Western, developed countries, the experiences of non-Western developing countries have been overlooked. To fill this gap, this article uses data on South Korea from 1948 to 2008 to examine the effects of political, socioeconomic, and ideological factors on the level of women’s political representation. Results indicate that, compared to socioeconomic factors, political and ideological factors are more critical determinants of gender equality in political leadership.     

Labor Force Participation of Immigrant Women in the Netherlands: Do Traditional Partners Hold Them Back?

Female labor force participation (FLFP) rates often vary across ethnic groups. This study examined the role of the partner's labor market resources and gender role attitudes for FLFP in different ethnic groups. Cross‐sectional data of women in partnerships from the four biggest immigrant groups in the Netherlands and from a native Dutch control group were analyzed. Traditional gender role attitudes of partners were negatively related to FLFP and partly explained ethnic differences therein. Moreover, across all groups, the relation between partners’ labor market resources and FLFP was more negative for traditional women and rather absent for egalitarian women.     

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.     

Do Alcohol and Marijuana Use Decrease the Probability of Condom Use for College Women?

Alcohol and marijuana use are thought to increase sexual risk taking, but event-level studies conflict in their findings and often depend on reports from a limited number of people or on a limited number of sexual events per person. With event-level data from 1,856 sexual intercourse events provided by 297 college women (M _age = 18 years; 71% White), we used multilevel modeling to examine associations between alcohol and marijuana use and condom use as well as interactions involving sexual partner type and alcohol-sexual risk expectancies. Controlling for alternative contraception use, partner type, regular levels of substance use, impulsivity and sensation seeking, and demographics, women were no more or less likely to use condoms during events involving drinking or heavy episodic drinking than during those without drinking. However, for drinking events, there was a negative association between number of drinks consumed and condom use; in addition, women with stronger alcohol-sexual risk expectancies were marginally less likely to use condoms when drinking. Although there was no main effect of marijuana use on condom use, these data suggest marijuana use with established romantic partners may increase risk of unprotected sex. Intervention efforts should target expectancies and emphasize the dose-response relationship of drinks to condom use.     

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

No abstract available for this article.     

Is Pornography Really about “Making Hate to Women”? Pornography Users Hold More Gender Egalitarian Attitudes Than Nonusers in a Representative American Sample

According to radical feminist theory, pornography serves to further the subordination of women by training its users, males and females alike, to view women as little more than sex objects over whom men should have complete control. Composite variables from the General Social Survey were used to test the hypothesis that pornography users would hold attitudes that were more supportive of gender nonegalitarianism than nonusers of pornography. Results did not support hypotheses derived from radical feminist theory. Pornography users held more egalitarian attitudes—toward women in positions of power, toward women working outside the home, and toward abortion—than nonusers of pornography. Further, pornography users and pornography nonusers did not differ significantly in their attitudes toward the traditional family and in their self-identification as feminist. The results of this study suggest that pornography use may not be associated with gender nonegalitarian attitudes in a manner that is consistent with radical feminist theory.     

Eye of the Beholder? Sociocultural Factors in the Body Image and Sexual Well-Being of Heterosexual Women

ABSTRACT. Participants (124 heterosexual women) completed measures of thin-ideal internalization, discrepancy between perceptions of actual and ideal figure (DISC_SELF), perceptions of the discrepancy between estimates of partner's view of actual and ideal female figure (DISC_PART), body image, and sexual well-being. We found support for the proposed perception-of-partner pathway in that greater DISC_PART was associated with poorer body image, which in turn was associated with poorer sexual well-being. However, we found little support for a link between thin-ideal internalization or DISC_SELF and sexual well-being. The results suggest that heterosexual women's beliefs about how their partners view them are important to their sexual well-being.     

The Last Bastion of Sexual and Gender Prejudice? Sexualities,Race, Gender,Religiosity, and Spirituality in the Examination of Prejudice Toward Sexual and Gender Minorities

Prior research has reported that many Americans hold prejudicial attitudes toward sexual and gender minorities. Most of this research analyzed attitudes toward target categories in isolation and not in relation to attitudes toward heterosexuals. In addition, most previous research has not examined attitudes of members of sexual and gender minority categories toward other categories. While some research has examined the influence of religiosity on attitudes toward sexual and gender minorities, none of these studies has examined religiosity while also examining the influence of spirituality. In this article we drew on insights from queer theory to examine attitudes toward heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals, as well as individuals who practice polygamy, among college students. Three samples gathered over a four-year period (2009, 2011, 2013) at a private, nonsectarian, midsized urban university in the Southeastern United States were used. We found that heterosexuals had the most positive rating, followed in order of rating by gay/lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals, and then those who practice polygamy. Regression analyses revealed gender and race were significant predictors of attitudes toward various sexual and gender categories. Holding a literalistic view of the Bible and self-identifying as more religious were related to more negative views toward sexual minorities, while self-identifying as more spiritual was related to more positive views.     

“Who Better to Do It Than Me!:” Race,Gender & the Deciding to Run Accounts of Political Women in Texas

Women remain underrepresented in electoral politics at every level. Much has been written about how dominant gender values shape political women’s decisions to run for office, how the media portrays women on the campaign trail, and how voters respond to women candidates. Yet, research on women in politics has too often assumed a monolithic standard of femininity, overlooking the ways in which gender values are varied and deeply racialized. Drawing from data gathered through 46 interviews I conducted with women leaders and political activists in Texas, I explore the narratives politically active women cultivate to account for their decisions whether or not to run for public office. I illuminate how these “deciding to run” narratives reflect racialized standards of femininity and how these discourses are mediated by the political context and by political and activist organizations.     

Any Difference? An Analysis of Gender and Divisional Management Styles in a Large Airline

There has been much debate as to whether women manage differently from men and whether this may constitute a reason for women's lack of progress to the top echelons of organizations (Tanton 1994; Coyle 1993; Still 1994; Wajcman 1998). This article locates the sameness/difference debate in a wider analysis of management styles, with particular attention paid to the business function. It is also suggested that any debate on styles must take place within a feminist theoretical framework which acknowledges inequalities of power, economic and patriarchal interests. Management skills are socially constructed (Phillips and Taylor 1980) and change according to social and economic conditions. The article shows that business function is the most important influence on management style. The author contends, like others, that even in times of great change, men seem to be able to hold on to the most powerful positions in organizations (Cockburn 1986; Savage and Witz 1992; Collinson et al. 1990). The convergence of patriarchal interests with business interests ultimately determines what style is valued. The much vaunted feminization of management (Rosener 1990) does not mean that more women are to be found in senior positions in organizations. Nor do large numbers of women managers necessarily lead to a more feminized management style (Kanter 1977). Stereotypes of women still act against their acceptance into positions of power while men's ability to adopt some of traditionally feminine skills of communication means that women's supposed advantage (Rosener 1990) may have been leapfrogged.     

What Women Do,Believe in,and Financially Contribute—What Matters More in Couples' Decision Making? Gender Inequality in Ghana's Small-Scale Fisheries☆

Studies of couple's decision-making power consistently show that women disproportionately occupy subordinate positions. Using survey data (N = 400) from an ethnographic study on Ghanaian female fisherfolk, we examine the influences of women's financial contributions, ownership of production assets and gender role attitudes, and how they interact with the bodily capacities required to perform different fishery tasks to shape women's decision-making power. Findings show that financial contributions and ownership of production assets remain salient determinants of women's fishery decision-making power. However, their participation in strenuous tasks dampens the positive relationship between their financial contributions, gender role attitudes and decision-making power, such that financial contributions become insignificant. Women's decision-making power varies according to the sex-typed division of labor in small-scale fishing, and those who violate it are ‘punished’—as evident in their decreased decision-making power. Attention to the co-implications of socio-economic forces and material factors such as women's embodied experiences highlights (1) the specificities of occupational sex segregation and decision-making in agricultural sectors of developing economies and (2) how such entanglements can be reconfigured to enhance women's decision-making power in such contexts.     

Do Foster Parents and Care Workers Recognize the Needs of Youth in Family Foster Care with a History of Sexual Abuse?

Children in family foster care have the right to participate in decisions regarding their life, however, adults often advocate on behalf of children. This Q methodological study explored whether shared perspectives among foster parents and care workers resemble shared perspectives of youth regarding the psychosocial needs experienced by youth with a history of sexual abuse. Participants sorted a set of statement cards according to what they thought was most important for youth. By-person factor analyses examined how the Q sorts of foster parents and care workers related to those of youth. The results showed that foster parents mostly recognized the group of youth who value an instrumental relationship with their carers, while care workers mostly recognized the group of youth who value support of both foster and birth parents with regard to their preparation for independent living. The two youth groups characterized by ambivalence and autonomy were barely recognized. Results are discussed in light of the expected roles of foster parents and care workers, and youth’s contact with birth parents. Lastly, this study highlights the importance of youth participation, because youth offer unique and varying perspectives about their needs.