Professional women “rebalancing” in retirement: Time,relationships, and body

ABSTRACT

This is an interview-based study focused on how professional baby boomer women negotiate and narrate postretirement lives. This group came of age in the 1960s and represents a socially privileged segment of the baby boomer generation, a cohort that created new gendered pathways in employment. Today, these retired professional women are attempting to make sense of their multilayered complex and changing realities. In their accounts, the most salient themes are shifting identity, embodiment, and relationships. By using what we call a relational lens, we will show how many aspects of postretirement life, for these professional women, are mediated by changing relationships—relationships to time, work identity, friends and family, and body. Through these individual and relational contexts we see how female professional baby boomer retirees grapple with liberation and loss, autonomy and control, ongoing gendered work, and rebalancing in a new chapter of life. Perhaps most importantly, we see how learning about self in this stage of life, and perhaps across the life course, takes place largely in the context of relationships.     

Socioeconomic status, sexual behavior, and differential AIDS mortality: evidence from Côte d’Ivoire

Lack of knowledge about differential AIDS mortality seriously hampers the study of the economic impact of AIDS in developing countries. We derive HIV infection risk differentials by age, education, and other microeconomic characteristics using the Ivorian Demographic and Health Survey. Our model is based on econometrically estimated equations using commonly available variables, therefore it can be used whenever such a survey is available but there is no representative information about HIV infection by socioeconomic group. For instance, we found that educated people have a higher risk of HIV infection, because they are more likely to have several sexual partners. However, this effect is partly offset by a higher probability of condom use relative to less educated people. The identification of the socioeconomic characteristics of low and high risk groups seems indispensable to set up adequate AIDS prevention and therapy policies in developing countries.

Do children stabilize relationships in Denmark?

In this paper, we study the relationship between fertility behavior and the process of relationship duration. The potential endogeneity of fertility on dissolution risk is taken into account by modeling fertility and dissolution jointly. We apply the timing-of-event method (Abbring and van den Berg, Econometrica 71(5):1491–1517, 2003) to identify the causal effect of births on the dissolution hazard. We show that couples who are less prone to split up are more prone to invest in children, and therefore, one might (mistakenly) conclude that children stabilize relationships. However, when correcting for the selectivity bias arising from the fertility decision, we conclude that children themselves have a negative effect on relationship duration.      

Why are cohabiting relationships more violent than marriages?

In response to increases in cohabitation in the United States, researchers have recently focused on differences between cohabiting and marital unions. One consistent finding is a higher rate of domestic violence among cohabiting couples as compared with married couples. A prominent explanation for this finding is that cohabitation is governed by a different set of institutionalized controls than marriage. This article explores an alternative explanation, namely, that differences in selection out of cohabitation and marriage, including selection of the least-violent cohabiting couples into marriage and the most-violent married couples into divorce, lead to higher observed rates of violence among cohabiting couples in cross-sectional samples. Our results suggest that researchers should be cautious when making comparisons between married and cohabiting couples in which the dependent variable of interest is related to selection into and out of relationship status.     

Laws and sexual identities: closing or opening the circle?

This essay considers, in comparative perspective, the articles in this volume to see what lessons might be learned with respect to the effectiveness of human rights norms in the struggle for GLBT rights and how these lessons might be used for successful activism. It notes that the concept of "GLBT" is itself not uniform, so that "GLBT rights" must also be contextual. It argues that successful change has been wrought when GLBT rights, however perceived, have been built onto the earlier successes of other movements, such as those for racial and gender equality. This in turn requires, and is assisted by, throwing off parochialism which prevents or hampers the building on the successes that may have occurred in other jurisdictions. Activism needs to be fitted to context, so that a "critical mass" is achieved, allowing sufficient acceptance of change. Once this is translated into law, a "halo" effect is produced. However, this is not the end of the problem, but the beginning of a new set of problems.     

Pathways to pleasure: Older adult women’s reflections on being sexual beings

Older adult women make up a growing part of the population, and yet literature on the sexual activity over their life spans is lacking. This qualitative interview study explored the experience of 16 women aged 57–91 to better understand sexual pleasure over a lifetime. The participants described having to challenge cultural rules to create a supportive environment for sexual expression. Having access to Novel contexts in which to learn, cultivating Intimacy with partners and with oneself, being Creative with sexual activities, and Extending one’s sense of sexual possibility into advanced age (NICE) supported sexual pleasure as women aged.     

Shall we marry? Legal marriage as a commitment event in same-sex relationships

This study is a part of an exploratory study of 50 married and unmarried same-sex couples in Massachusetts conducted by the Wellesley Centers for Women following legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts in 2004. This article examines whether and how legalization of same-sex marriage impacted same-sex partners' commitment to one another, presentation to others as a couple, and treatment as a couple by others. Roughly one-quarter of the couples studied chose not to mark their commitment with ceremonies of any kind, while nearly three-fourths of the couples had either commitment (non-legal) ceremonies, legal weddings, or both. While decisions to legally marry largely were based on gaining legal protections, unforeseen impacts on self and relationships with family, friends, and the larger society revealed multiple layers of meaning. Implications of the study for public policy and social change are discussed.     

Damaging and daunting: female journalists’ experiences of sexual harassment in the newsroom

Female journalists’ experiences of sexual harassment are barely documented in the literature about Australian news journalism despite evidence of its ongoing prevalence. There have been some stories of harassment detailed in autobiographies by female journalists and the occasional article in the mainstream media about individual incidents, but it wasn’t until 1996 that a union survey provided statistical evidence of an industry-wide problem. That Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance survey found that more than half of the 368 female participants had experienced sexual harassment at work. In 2012, I conducted the largest survey of female journalists in Australia finding that there was an increased number of respondents who had experienced sexual harassment in their workplaces. In a bid to better understand female journalists’ experiences of sexual harassment, this paper analyses written comments made by survey participants in relation to key questions about harassment. It finds that most downplay its seriousness and do not make formal reports because they fear victimisation or retaliation. As a consequence, a culture of secrecy hides a major industry problem where many women believe they should work it out themselves and that harassment is the price they have to pay for working in a male-dominated industry.     

Minority stress in same-sex male relationships: when does it impact relationship satisfaction?

The minority stress model (Meyer, 2003) has been proposed to explain higher rates of psychopathology in lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. However, studies of minority stress have rarely taken into account the interface between minority stress and same-sex relationship processes. In the current study, 142 gay men in romantic relationships completed an online survey assessing minority stress constructs, relationship features, and relationship satisfaction. Minority stress was not directly related to relationship satisfaction, while commitment, trust, and support from one's partner were related to relationship satisfaction. Significant moderation effects emerged between discrimination and trust and between internalized heterosexism and commitment, indicating that trust was related to satisfaction for those who had experienced frequent discrimination, while commitment was related to satisfaction for those low in internalized heterosexism.     

The sexual politics of veggies: Beyoncé’s “commodity veg*ism”

This article explores the way vegan and vegetarian diets have been articulated within neo-liberal post-feminist culture. While these diets have an important role for vegetarian eco-feminists, as signs of resistance against the patriarchal and capitalist exploitative system, in post-feminism they have become sexy and business oriented. This shift is analyzed through the case study of Beyoncé’s involvement with the commercial enterprise “22 days,” a dietary regime that involves the elimination of any animal product for 22 days. Our argument is that while eco-feminists have embraced vegetarian and vegan regimes as ethical and political choices, post-feminism depoliticizes and deradicalizes them. In this way, they become part of an individualistic project that emphasizes empowerment and meritocracy; choice, agency, and responsibilization; and the focus on a healthy, sexy body. Ultimately, the post-feminist articulation of vegan diets promotes a form of “commodity veg*ism,” that is not only devoid of any critical force, but also reproduces existing patterns of discrimination and inequality. We use the term veg*ism to indicate the fluid uptake of vegan and vegetarian diets, whereby the avoidance of animal products relies more on an individual than on ethical and/or political choice.     

"Maricón," "pájaro," and "loca": Cuban and Puerto Rican linguistic practices, and sexual minority participation, in U.S. Santería

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the United States are, to varying degrees, practitioners of the Afro-Cuban religion popularly known as Santería. Cuban and Puerto Rican forms of referencing LGBT populations are illustrated in this article, which is drawing from interviews and participant observation conducted in the United States, with close to 30 practitioners, many of whom were Cuban, Cuban American, and Puerto Rican. I discuss the ways in which Santería gatherings produce an alternative use of otherwise stigmatized language for "gay" practitioners. Through the use of distinctive language to reference all of these populations, we may rethink the relationship between identities and practices, and within that, gender presentations vis a vis identities.     

Lost in translation? The hazards of applying social constructionism to quantitative research on sexual orientation development

This article explores the hazards faced by social constructionists who attempt to conduct quantitative research on sexual orientation development. By critically reviewing two quantitative research studies, this article explores the ways in which the very nature of social constructionist arguments may be incongruous with the methodological requirements of quantitative studies. I suggest this conflict is a result of the differing natures of these two modes of scholarly inquiry. While research requires the acceptance of certain analytical categories, the strength of social constructionism comes from its reflexive scrutiny and problematization of those very categories. Ultimately, social constructionists who try to apply their theories/perspectives must necessarily conform to the methodological constraints of quantitative research. The intent of this article is not to suggest that it is futile or self-contradictory for social constructionists to attempt empirical research, but that these are two distinct modes of scholarly inquiry which can, and should, co-exist in a dialectical relationship to each other.     

Does schooling protect sexual health? The association between three measures of education and STIs among adolescents in Malawi

While multiple studies have documented shifting educational gradients in HIV prevalence, less attention has been given to the effect of school participation and academic skills on infection during adolescence. Using the Malawi Schooling and Adolescent Study, a longitudinal survey that followed 2,649 young people aged 14–17 at baseline from 2007 to 2013, we estimate the effect of three education variables: school enrolment, grade attainment, and academic skills—numeracy and Chichewa literacy—on herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and HIV incidence using interval-censored survival analysis. We find that grade attainment is significantly associated with lower rates of both HSV-2 and HIV among girls, and is negatively associated with HSV-2 but not HIV among boys. School enrolment and academic skills are not significantly associated with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for boys or girls in our final models. Efforts to encourage school progression in high-prevalence settings in sub-Saharan Africa could well reduce, or at least postpone, acquisition of STIs.     

Pussy grabs back: bestialized sexual politics and intersectional failure in protest posters for the 2017 women’s march

The women’s march on Washington on January 21 2017 and its more than 600 sister marches across the world was characterized by its distinctly feline theme. Most notable were the pink pussy hats and a multitude of signs that played on the historical association between women and cats to resist the crude remarks made by US presidential nominee Donald Trump who bragged of grabbing women “by the pussy.” This article explores this feline counterframing from a vegan feminist perspective. A content analysis was performed on photographs that were published in Why I March (2017) and uploaded to the Women’s March on Washington Archives Project, the Georgia State University Women’s Marches 2017 Collection, and Instagram in Spring 2017. Results illustrate the persistent role that animality plays in feminist politics, but they also point to a critical intersectional failure exhibited by an ultimately anthropocentric collective.     

The use of survey data to study migration–environment relationships in developing countries: alternative approaches to data collection

Growing interest in the environmental aspects of migration is not matched by research on their interrelationships, due partly to the lack of adequate data sets on the two together. Focusing on the microlevel, we describe the data required to effectively investigate these interrelationships. Data sources are discussed, including information that should be collected, focusing on household surveys and remote sensing. The main section of the paper describes three alternative approaches to data collection: (a) using existing population and environmental data from different sources, illustrated by Burkina Faso; (b) adding questions to a survey developed for another purpose, illustrated for Guatemala using a DHS survey; and (c) designing a new survey specifically to collect both migration and environmental data to investigate interrelationships, illustrated by Ecuador. Methods used and summary findings are described, followed by a discussion of their advantages and limitations. We conclude with recommendations as to effective use of each approach as research on migration?Cenvironment linkages moves forward.     

抓住机遇,开拓进取,再创辉煌

一元复始,万象更新。在辞旧迎新之际,2006年全国人口和计划生育工作会议在北京召开,总结“十五”, 部署“十一五”,安排2006年的工作,奏响了进军“十一五”开局之年,再创事业辉煌的战斗号角。回眸“十五”,在党中央国务院的正确领导下,人口计生全系统抓大事,谋发展,事业取得新的发展,硕果累累,令人欣慰。中共中央国务院颁布了《关于加强人口与计划生育工作稳定低生育水平的决定》,为新时期人口计生工作指明了方向;《人口与计划生育法》及其配套法规的制定和地方条例的修订,使人口计生工作进入依法管理、优质服务的发展阶段;全系统机构更名和职能拓展,促进了人口问题的综合治理;人口发展战略研究取得阶段性重要成果,制定人口发展“十一五”和2020年规划,深化了对科学发展观统领人口发展全局的认识;组织实施“奖励扶助”和“少生快富”两项制度,完善了计划生育利益导向机制,初步实现了由“惩罚为主”向“奖惩并举”的     

Credit programs for the poor and reproductive behavior in low-income countries: Are the reported causal relationships the result of heterogeneity bias?

Group-based lending programs for the poor have drawn much attention recently. As many of these programs target women, an important research question is whether program participation significantly changes reproductive behavior and whether the gender of the participant matters. Using survey data from 87 Bangladeshi villages, we estimate the impact of female and male participation in group-based credit programs on reproductive behavior while attending to issues of self-selection and endogeneity. Wefind no evidence that women s participation in group-based credit programs increases contraceptive use or reduces fertility. Men So participation reduces fertility and may slightly increase contraceptive use.     

理性分析,认真总结,不断深化,推进关爱女孩行动

关爱女孩行动,是国家人口计生委更名和扩大职能后,在全国范围内开展的第一个活动。自2003年试点工作启动以来,在党中央、国务院领导同志关心下,在国家人口计生委党组和地方各级党委、政府的正确领导下,各级人口计生委积极发挥参谋助手作用,相关部门齐抓共管,关爱女孩行动在全国各省全面展开,试点县工作进展顺利,成效显著。一、关爱女孩行动取得阶段性成果1.各级党政领导重视,为关爱女孩行动顺利推进提供了组织保障。在2005年5月召开的研究《人口“十一五”规划和2020年发展思路》的中央政治局常委会议和国务院常务会议上,中央和国务院领导同…     

立足服务,注重实效,促进精神文明建设

我们青山区是随着武汉钢铁公司的兴建发展而发展起来的工业城区。全区有十条街,一百八十个居委会,五百一十四个中央、省、市和区属单位。总人口32万多人,其中育龄妇女95000多人。     

培训骨干,建立网点,服务群众,做好避孕药具发放工作

吴川县计划生育服务站在贯彻中央〔1984〕七号文件后,对避孕药具发放工作的重要性、必要性和迫切性的认识逐步提高,把这项工作真正列入服务站的主要任务之一来抓,思想上提高认识,组织上培训了骨干,机构上建立了发放网点,管理上健全了制度。