“Feeling frumpy”: The relationships between body image and sexual response changes in midlife women

This study investigated the relationships between self‐rated attractiveness and self‐reported sexual response changes (over the past decade) and current sexual satisfaction in 307 heterosexual, midlife women. Results indicated that regardless of the woman's specific age, she was more likely to consider herself more attractive when she was 10 years younger, and her self‐perceived attractiveness did not significantly differ based on her menopausal status. The more a woman perceived herself as less attractive than before, the more likely she was to report a decline in sexual desire or frequency of sexual activity. The more she perceived herself as attractive, the more likely she was to experience an increase in sexual desire, orgasm, enjoyment, or frequency of sexual activity. There were no significant statistical relationships between a woman's perception of her own attractiveness as she aged and her current sexual satisfaction.     

The Origins of Charisma as Process: A Case Study of Hildegard of Bingen

A case study of the twelfth‐century visionary Hildegard of Bingen is presented to examine the process through which a charismatic relationship is constructed in interaction between an individual and significant others and more distant followers. Hildegard's identity as a charismatic prophet developed over a number of years through a process of interaction with various ecclesiastical authorities; alterations occurred in both the prophet's self‐identity and the way others viewed her, leading finally to her authorization as a prophet and visionary. The cultural context provided plausibility structures, relevant symbols, and limitations that influenced the form of Hildegard's charismatic status. This status led to unprecedented achievements for a woman of her time, but her efforts mainly supported and strengthened the institutional tradition in which she served.     

Passion,Intimacy, and Commitment in Casual Sexual Relationships in a Canadian Sample of Emerging Adults

Research on casual sexual relationships (CSRs) among emerging adults is prevalent, yet our empirical and theoretical knowledge of relationship processes involved in these relationships is limited. The present study’s objective was to compare four CSR partner types (acquaintance, friend, non-dating partner, ex-romantic partner) on passion, intimacy, and commitment, the components of Sternberg’s triangular theory of love. A total of 441 Canadians aged 18–25 years who were not in a romantic relationship, and who reported having had more than one sexual contact with their last CSR partner, completed an online survey. Across all partner types, passion was highest, followed by intimacy and commitment. Levels of passion, intimacy, and commitment generally increased with partner familiarity. However, CSR partner type differences on the three components were partially explained by CSR components (i.e., frequency of sexual activity, frequency of social activity, whether partners saw each other with the main goal of having sex, sexual exclusivity agreement, and hopes about the relationship). Results are consistent with CSRs’ emphasis on sexuality, and, to a lesser extent, emotions. However, they challenge the mainstream and scientific conflation of CSRs with an absence of emotional bond, commitment, or love.     

Does Movie Viewing Cultivate Young People's Unrealistic Expectations About Love and Marriage?

The current study examines the association between consumption of media messages by way of movie viewing and genre preference and endorsement of ideals and expectations concerning romantic relationships. A survey of young adults found that viewing preference for both romantic comedies and dramas was significantly and positively correlated with idealized notions of faith that love conquers all, greater expectations for intimacy, and endorsement of the eros love style. However, participants who frequently watched romantic movies did not endorse beliefs in sexual perfection, mindreading, or disagreement disallowance. Results suggest that more mythic romantic ideals may tend to supersede other relational demands.     

Happy Memories of Muriel Dimen and Her Ethos of Meta-Practice

ABSTRACT

In Muriel Dimen’s way of living, the realms of love, friendship, thought, politics, work, and play were all interrelated in her personal ethos. Drawing on every aspect of her experience, she developed a kind of meta-practice that could well serve as a model for the psychoanalytic profession.     

Katabasis,adult betrayals and liminal identities in China Keitetsi’s Child Soldier: Fighting for My Life

In Child Soldier, China Keitetsi recounts her experiences as a child and a soldier during Yoweri Museveni’s guerrilla war against then Ugandan president, Milton Obote. Drawing on key debates on literary representations of katabasis, this paper examines Keitetsi’s portrait of adult betrayal and parental abuse of children at home, and as child soldiers. I argue that Child Soldier is a text that lends itself to a katabatic analysis, and that Keitetsi is a katabasist who frames her experiences as a child and a soldier “within the narrative structure of a descent into Hell and return” . I argue that “hellish” elements in the memoir are more than just incidental: they point to a world where tenderness and love have long given way to cruelty and cynicism, and where madness and violence and despair are the order of the day. I also draw on Sigmund Freud and Homi Bhabha’s notions of the unhomely, to suggest that the memoir introduces interesting parallels between the unhomeliness in the home and that brought on by the civil war. Subconsciously, then, examining the memoir under the tropes of katabasis and the unhomely allows us to view her life as floating in-between the child she wishes she should have been and the abused and rejected young woman she becomes.     

Imperfect Love,Imperfect Lives: Making Love,Making Sex,Making Moral Judgments

Psychoanalysis' judgments about patients' decentered sexual lives are often influenced by analytic ideals that are based on long-cherished cultural values and/or theoretical constructs. These analytic value judgments sometimes assume that all or most individuals are optimally fulfilled in the context of deeply intimate and sexually monogamous long-term relationships, where attachment love and sexual passion coexist in equal intensity. Such analytic aims may not at all correspond to the wishes of any given patient, nor do such aims consider the literature that suggests that what may be called attachment love is often difficult to integrate with intense erotic desire. As well, there is risk that analysts' aims for patients may be hypocritically more idealistic than the values that analysts themselves adhere to in their own personal lives. Analysts' acknowledgment and acceptance of their own imperfect sex lives and love lives may leave more room to respect the idiosyncratic compromises and adaptations of each uniquely individual patient.     

The Resistible Rise of Sarah Palin: Continuity and Paradox in the American Right Wing1

Sarah Palin clearly holds a powerful appeal for a right‐wing constituency although even her most fervent followers may doubt that she is electable. This article examines the basis of her appeal. We argue that it can be summed up as an appeal to American authenticity, which consists of several elements: the valorization of small town ordinary life takes second place to faith and religious commitment; an equal faith in American exceptionality implies that Americans should never be apologetic about their country and never waver in their belief in its special greatness; the final elements are a foundational libertarian creed and a peculiar brand of right‐wing populism. However, for all her affinities with classical right‐wing sentiment, Sarah Palin, we argue, brings something new to the mix: a genuinely maverick right‐wing feminism. That is why in the end, we call the Palin phenomenon a paradoxical one.     

Efficacy of group therapy for problems with postmastectomy self‐perception,body image,and sexuality

Until very recently, the sexual and body image problems of women treated for breast cancer by surgical removal of the breast were ignored by physicians and therapists. Postmastectomy women (N = 62) and non‐mastectomy women (N = 51) were compared on self‐image and sexuality, positive affect, autonomy, self‐sacrifice, and body touching. Additionally, mastectomees were tested three times over 12 months to evaluate the efficacy of group therapy for postmastectomy women. Prior to group therapy, baseline data indicated that, compared to nonmastec‐tomy women, mastectomees had a significantly different body image and lower sexual adjustment. Specifically there was marked dislike for the amputated breast region and diminished pleasure in self‐touching of the remaining breast. Positive affect and sexual receptivity for both the mastectomee and her partner were perceived to be adversely affected. These effects were not related to age, marital status, or elapsed time since mastectomy. Treatment significantly improved positive affect and sexual adjustment but did not improve attitude toward the amputated breast region or increase the range or frequency of sexual activity and sexual receptivity.     

Love and Alcohol: Performance in the Fiction and Life of Writer-Singer Nataliia Medvedeva

Abstract

The multifaceted Russian author, singer, and actress Nataliia Medvedeva’s (1958–2003) creative output was synonymous with performance. Her image became iconic in worldwide popular culture as the carefree, smiling young woman on the cover of the New Wave rock group “The Cars”’s eponymous 1978 album. Then Medvedeva was twenty years old and had been living in the United States for about three years; she returned to Russia in 1994 after nineteen years abroad, mainly in the US and France, and died at the age of forty-four, possibly of a fatal mixture of alcohol and tranquilizers. By the time of her death, Medvedeva—author, poet, journalist, singer, musician, model, and designer—was, and remains, an enigmatic yet colourful figure of the Russian émigré and post-Soviet literary, music, and cultural scenes.

From an early age in Leningrad, she showed an aptitude for constructing performance and (re)presenting herself. This article suggests that Medvedeva used her early autobiographical writing as a method of thinking through her ideas and beliefs about the nature of performance, especially as it related to perceptions of the sexual, sexuality, and shocking-ness, as well as to the relationship between the audience and herself, indeed, between society and the self. To support my thesis, I focus, in particular, on her autobiographical novel Liubov’ s alkogolem [Drunk Love, 1987?, 1995, 2001], as well as foundational ideas from the field of performance studies.     

Extradyadic Activity in a Random Sample of Norwegian Couples

The purpose of this study was to explore extradyadic sexual activity (ESA) in Norwegian heterosexual couples and to identify factors connected to each of the parties that may predict ESA. The study comprised a representative sample of 399 couples (798 individuals) between 22 to 67 years of age. The data were collected by means of self-administered postal questionnaires. In 6% of couples the female partner had had a concurrent sex partner, in 13% of couples the male partner had had a parallel sex partner and in 4% of couples both had engaged in ESA. A man with experience of ESA experienced negative work-to-home interference, was preoccupied with sex, and frequently thought of others during sex with his wife. The male partner of a woman with experience of ESA was reported being self-confident and she perceived him as easy to talk to about sex. Furthermore, his attitude was that two persons who love each other should not have secrets from each other. The woman with experience of ESA, on the other hand, reported having secrets from her partner and to think of others during intercourse.     

Extradyadic activity in a random sample of Norwegian couples

The purpose of this study was to explore extradyadic sexual activity (ESA) in Norwegian heterosexual couples and to identify factors connected to each of the parties that may predict ESA. The study comprised a representative sample of 399 couples (798 individuals) between 22 to 67 years of age. The data were collected by means of self-administered postal questionnaires. In 6% of couples the female partner had had a concurrent sex partner, in 13% of couples the male partner had had a parallel sex partner and in 4% of couples both had engaged in ESA. A man with experience of ESA experienced negative work-to-home interference, was preoccupied with sex, and frequently thought of others during sex with his wife. The male partner of a woman with experience of ESA was reported being self-confident and she perceived him as easy to talk to about sex. Furthermore, his attitude was that two persons who love each other should not have secrets from each other. The woman with experience of ESA, on the other hand, reported having secrets from her partner and to think of others during intercourse.     

DOING IT WHEN OTHERS DO: A STRATEGIC MODEL OF PROCRASTINATION

This paper develops a strategic model of procrastination in which present‐biased agents prefer to perform an onerous task with someone else. This turns their decision of when to perform the task into a procrastination game—a dynamic coordination game between present‐biased players. The model characterizes the conditions under which interaction mitigates or exacerbates procrastination. A procrastinator matched with a worse procrastinator may perform her task earlier than she otherwise would: she wants to avoid the increased temptation that her peer's company would generate. Procrastinators can thus use bad company as a commitment device to mitigate their self‐control problem. (JEL C72, C73, D03, D91)     

Bisexuals Making Out with Cyborgs: Politics, Pleasure, Con/fusion

This article considers the appeal of the figure of the cyborg for bisexuals, offering bisexual readings of both Donna Haraway's cyborg, and of the cyborg self created within text-based virtual reality. The writer argues that understanding bisexuality as part of a web of meanings and material realities can lead to a new political awareness, and suggests ways to make some of these connections. Through her analysis, she emphasises the role of technology in creating and developing contemporary bisexuality.     

Body size,physical attractiveness,and body image among young adult women: Relationships to sexual experience and sexual esteem

Although links between women's sexuality and body size, attractiveness, and body image may seem apparent, little empirical work has been conducted on this topic. In the current study, young adult women (N = 192) completed questionnaires and were weighed and rated for facial attractiveness. In general, current body size, experimenter‐rated facial attractiveness, and self‐rated facial and bodily attractiveness were related in some ways to current relationship status and sexual experience. General body dissatisfaction, avoidance of social settings due to appearance concerns, and degree of investment in one's physical appearance were unrelated to relationship status and sexual experience. Higher sexual esteem was related to subjective views of attractiveness, but not to actual body size or experimenter ratings of facial attractiveness.     

Effects of Sex,Sexual Orientation,Infidelity Expectations,and Love on Distress related to Emotional and Sexual Infidelity

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of participant sex, sexual orientation, infidelity expectations, and love on emotional responses to emotional and sexual infidelity. Participants (72 lesbian women, 114 heterosexual women, 53 gay men, and 57 heterosexual men) completed a demographic form, continuous emotion ratings in response to hypothetical infidelity scenarios, the Infidelity Expectations Questionnaire (IEQ), and the Triangular Love Scale. Sex, sexual orientation, and commitment and intimacy among partners were significant predictors of various emotional responses to sexual and emotional infidelity. Alternatively, passion among partners and expectations about a partner's likelihood of committing infidelity were not significant predictors of emotional reactions to infidelity. Across participants, sexual infidelity elicited more distressing feelings than emotional infidelity. Group differences were also found, with women responding with stronger emotions to emotional and sexual infidelity than men, and heterosexuals rating emotional and sexual infidelity as more emotionally distressing than lesbian and gay individuals. Sex and sexual orientation differences emerged regarding the degree to which specific emotions were reported in response to sexual and emotional infidelity. Clinical implications are offered, including how mental health professionals might use these findings to help clients cope with the negative effects of infidelity on romantic relationships.     

Sexual Frequency and the Stability of Marital and Cohabiting Unions

Prior research found that lower sexual frequency and satisfaction were associated with higher rates of divorce, but little research had examined the role of sexual activity in the dissolution of cohabiting unions. We drew upon social exchange theory to hypothesize why sexual frequency is more important in cohabitation: (a) cohabitors' lower costs of finding sexual alternatives, (b) cohabitors' lower barriers to ending the relationship in the form of union‐specific economic and noneconomic capital, and (c) cohabitors' higher expectations for sexual activity. Using the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 5,902), we examined the relationship between sexual frequency and union dissolution. Results indicated that low sexual frequency was associated with significantly higher rates of union dissolution among cohabitors than married couples.     

Of Sex and Romance: Late Adolescent Relationships and Young Adult Union Formation

To better understand the social factors that influence the diverse pathways to family formation young adults experience today, this research investigates the association between opposite‐gender relationships during late adolescence and union formation in early adulthood. Using data from the first and third waves of the Add Health (n= 4,911), we show that, for both men and women, there is continuity between adolescent and adult relationship experiences. Those involved in adolescent romantic relationships at the end of high school are more likely to marry and to cohabit in early adulthood. Moreover, involvement in a nonromantic sexual relationship is positively associated with cohabitation, but not marriage. We conclude that the precursors to union formation patterns in adulthood are observable in adolescence.     

Gender relations,development practice and "culture"

Most development practitioners have the following preconceived notions about gender and culture: 1) that gender relations are equated with the most intimate aspects of society; 2) that culture and tradition are immutable; 3) that there is no independent resistance to subordination within the culture; and 4) that religion is culture. These notions interfere with work on developing equitable gender relations and complicate efforts to allocate resources in ways that redress the imbalance of power between men and women. The validity of these notions can be tested by analyzing an experience the author had in 1984 when she published a book on women and development in India. On a publicity tour in Liverpool, England, she addressed an audience composed largely of men from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. This audience attacked her book and defended an idealized version of the position of women in the culture of South Asia. They accused the author of being a traitor to her own culture and of being Westernized. A Pakistani woman member of the audience, however, thanked the author for her presentation and reported that she was working with Asian women facing domestic violence. The men understood the cultural identity of South Asia as being composed of identical families dedicated to mutual interest, love, and cooperation. However, this family unit requires the subsuming of women's interests. This myth of the family ignores real life experiences of women who suffer abuse and ignores the fact that the notion of "family" is constantly undergoing change. Development practitioners should use culture as a way of opening up intractable areas of gender relations rather than regarding it as a dead-end which prevents work towards equitable gender relations. A new definition of "cultural sensitivity" would be to acknowledge that contests surround the significance attached by a society to different aspects of social constraints and that these contests often represent challenges to hierarchical social relations.     

Resolving Identity Conflict: Gay,Lesbian, and Queer Individuals with a Christian Upbringing

Gay, lesbian, and queer individuals with a Christian upbringing often experience conflict between religion and sexual identity. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand how gay, lesbian, and queer-identified individuals with a Christian upbringing resolve conflict between sexual identity and religious beliefs. Analysis of in-depth interviews with 15 participants led to 3 conclusions. First, resolving the discord between sexual identity and religious beliefs is a five-stage process of internal conflict resolution. Second, personal and contextual factors affect every aspect of the resolution process. Finally, faith development and sexual identity development are intertwined and fluid constructions.