The Allocation of Housework: Extending the Gender Display Approach

The current study attempts a simultaneous testing of economic models, the gender display perspective, and gender-deviance neutralization hypothesis that attempt to explain present housework arrangements between men and women. The study uses fixed effects models that can produce more robust coefficients than the standard regression models generally used in cross-sectional designs. The findings in the study reveal the inadequacy of economic models and the gender display theory to account for men’s housework behavior. The study introduces the marital contract hypothesis as an alternative theoretical framework for explaining men’s housework behavior. According to the study, what is crucial for achieving housework parity is changes in women’s gender related attitudes and their economic and labor market standing and orientation to paid work. The study suggests that attempting to change men’s gender beliefs can do little to achieve the goal of housework parity.     

Women journalists in the Chinese enlightenment, 1915–1923

May Fourth women journalists appropriated the discourse of women’s emancipation advocated by New Culturalists to shape their discussions of women’s suffrage, labor movement, and legal rights. The rhetoric of emancipation enabled women writers to redefine gender norms and legitimized women’s presence in coeducational schools, modern professions, and public spaces. The interplay between the discourse and practices associated with new women enabled women activists to embrace the subject positions opened by the ideal of the “new woman” and to appropriate the rhetoric of human rights to advocate the sharing of male power and privilege, while seriously exploring how to be women in the political and social landscape of an emerging modern China. She has authored “Cross Dressing in Modern Japan” (Japan Studies Review, 2002), “Male Feminism and Women's Subjectivities: Zhang Xichen, Chen Xuezhao, and The New Woman” (Twentieth-Century China, 2003), and “Constructing Manchukuo Womanhood to Serve Japanese Imperialism” (The Journal of Georgia Association of Historian, 2005).     

The Cost of Doing Femininity: Gendered Disparities in Pricing of Personal Care Products and Services

Economic discrimination has been a major focus of gender research for the past several decades and such studies reveal a persistent gender wage gap. This study examines another aspect of the interaction between gender and the economy that has been largely ignored by social scientists—gender-based disparities in the cost of goods and services in the personal care industry. We examine prices charged for personal care products and services that are targeted toward women or men and find that women pay more than men for certain items and services. Our research suggests that although the differences are not uniform across types of services or products, women do tend to pay more than men for items such as deodorant, haircuts, and dry-cleaning. We suggest that such practices contribute to gender inequality by increasing women’s economic burden and reinforcing essentialist thinking about gender (i.e., that women and men are biologically different).     

Women,age, and the managerial career in postwar Britain: Exploring the roots of the barriers to women’s opportunities in management

This essay explores how the assumption that hierarchical position should be linked to a position-holder’s age acted as a barrier to women advancing into management positions. The close and unquestioned association between an individual’s age and what was considered an appropriate place on a bureaucratic hierarchy is one of the less often acknowledged barriers to women’s upward mobility. The study focuses on Britain in the years following the Second World War, because the increased participation of women in the workforce during the war had engendered optimism about women’s opportunities for long-term gains and advancement. Many women came out of the Second World War with a high degree of organizational capital that should have seen them advance into managerial positions. But as this study shows, through evidence gathered from archival as well as published historical documents, in the reality of the postwar world being the wrong age for the job constituted a significant barrier to women’s advancement. She holds an MA, MPhil, and PhD in Modern European History from Columbia University. Her current research focuses on changes in office work in the second half of the twentieth century.     

“I Can Provide for My Children”: Korean Immigrant Women’s Changing Perspectives on Work Outside the Home

Whether immigrant women’s introduction to paid labor empowers them with greater autonomy or exacerbates their oppression has been debated variously in the scholarship on gender and migration. In this paper, the author examines Korean immigrant women’s perspectives on work outside the home after migration. Based on in-depth interview data, the paper emphasizes Korean women’s own interpretations of work and motherhood, and highlights the ways in which they define and redefine work in relation to other aspects of their post-migration experiences. The analysis finds that income producing work is not empowering in and of itself, but contingent upon other post-migration challenges such as economic downward mobility and women’s changed roles as working mothers. Furthermore, women’s perception of work fluctuates over time. The findings suggest that paid work should not be simply interpreted as an empowering change, but the linkage between work and other aspects of immigrant women’s post-migration realities needs to be more closely examined.

Women,islam, and the state in Pakistan

In this paper, I outline the history of Pakistan’s experience with “Islamic” laws and their impact on women. I also trace the links between the state, nationalism, religion, and women’s organizations, and demonstrate how they have shaped women's lives in Pakistan. I focus mainly on General Zia ul-Haq’s influence in fostering and reinforcing certain detrimental ideologies and policies regarding women. I argue that a close examination of the state, nationalism, the search for cultural authenticity in post-colonial nations, and the struggles and dilemmas of women's activism in Muslim cultures are all central to advancing the discussion of women in islam. With chains of matrimony and modesty You can shackle my feet The fear will still haunt you That crippled, unable to walk I shall continue to think. (Kishwar Naheed, a contemporary poet, quoted in Mumtaz and Shaheed 1987: 77) Her current research interests include gender and development in third-world countries and transnational feminist movements. Her dissertation examines the role of women's non-governmental organizations in Pakistan.     

Female police officers in Israel: Patterns of integration and discrimination

This article analyzes the history of the employment of women in the Israel Police and explores the status of women in the force in terms of their number, rank, and assignment. It indicates the social, personal and organizational factors that explain women’s entrance and integration into the police. It suggests that the simultaneous processes of progression and retrogression regarding women’s integration are operating in the work environment as well as in the society at large. The article also considers conservative and feminist interpretations of this state of affairs. Erella Shadmi has a Ph.D. in criminology from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and an M.A. in industrial relations from the University of Minnesota. Formerly a senior police officer in the Israel Police, she is currently a lecturer in women’s studies and criminal justice at Beit Berl College and Ben Gurion University. Dr. Shadmi is the author of a book on the history of the Israel Police (forthcoming). Her main theoretical and research interests include feminist critique of the Israeli society and the development of and relations between feminist theory and practice in Israel.     

Doing technology, doing gender: Teaching gendered technoculture

This article explores the intersection between gender and technology in a Women's and Gender Studies course. It explores the pedagogical methodologies of the course, as well as the ways in which students engage in the process of learning how society genders technology and then uses these gender roles to create a technological hierarchy. where she holds a joint appointment in the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and the History Department. She teaches courses in women’s history, gay and lesbian history, feminist theories, sexual politics, gender and popular culture, and gender and technology. Her current research interests include study of the uses of image, the body, and the media in the first and second waves of the feminist movements. Her essays have appeared in NWSA Journal and Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship and Pedagogy.     

Women and crime the world over

This article examines female crime rates in twenty-seven countries over the past thirtyfive years. The results show that there has been an overall increase in total crime rates for all of the countries, and that the more economically advanced and industrialized countries have higher crime rates than the less developed nations. All countries also experienced an increase in the percent of all crimes committed by women. The percentages of violent crimes committed by women—specifically homicide and robbery—were consistently low across countries and increased only slightly over time. The percentages of property and financial crimes committed by women—specifically theft and fraud—were consistently higher than the percentages for violent crimes, and have increased more substantially over time. In addition, an analysis of the most recent data revealed a positive and significant relationship between women's overall crime rates and the countries' economic development. In those countries in which women occupy a higher status, as measured by formal years of schooling and representation in the labor force, we found some positive and significant correlations with the arrest rates for theft and fraud. There were also some strong negative relationships between female arrest rates for homicide and their status in society.     

Transition in Gender Ideology and Women Migrant’s Empowerment in Germany and Sweden: Inclusion of ‘Gender’ and ‘Integration’ Needs in Relevant Policies/Legislation

This study reviews the inclusion of ‘gender’ and ‘integration’ in the policies and legislation designed to facilitate the integration of women migrants and their impacts on migrant’s gender ideology in two European legislative regimes: Germany and Sweden. The study is conducted in four steps; (1) a thematic analysis of twenty conventions and recommendations of the UN, ILO, and EU, (2) latent analysis of ten policies/pieces of legislation, (3) survey with women migrants, and (4) in-depth interviews with experts. This study finds that existing legal frameworks do not fully comply with the international legal frame to meet women migrant’s ‘gender’ and ‘integration’ needs, although the situation seems relatively better in Germany than in Sweden. It is found that migration has brought positive changes in gender ideology for migrants in many arenas, except one. Migrant’s satisfaction with legal measures also contributes to this transition. The study summarizes three groups of barriers to the transformation of gender ideology for both countries. These are; agency-specific, institution-specific, and state-specific.     

With this Ring, I Thee Wed: Relating Gender Roles and Love Styles to Attitudes towards Engagement Rings and Weddings

Gender differences in and related correlates of attitudes toward engagement rings and weddings are considered. College students (193 women, 112 men) completed a questionnaire assessing attitudes toward engagement rings and weddings, eros and pragma love styles, and an assessment of traditional versus egalitarian gender roles. Although predicted gender differences and hypothesized love style links were not found, gender stereotypical attitudes regarding male/female roles was positively correlated with pragma, a rational, love-planning love style; with wanting a traditional wedding; and with preferring diamonds in engagement rings. Gender transcendence was significantly correlated with an eros love style as well as with four of ten engagement ring and wedding attitude factors. Rather than indicating less interest in romantic relationships per se, a gender transcendent approach to male/female roles may be associated with egalitarian attitudes towards commitment indicators and with less of a desire for expensive engagement rings or weddings.     

The changing family and women’s issues in the 1990s

Since the early 1800s when the work place and the home first experienced a clear-cut separation, causing women and men to be perceived as workers and nonworkers, no other period in American history has altered women’s and families’ role so radically as the recent three decades. There is a structural and spiritual difference between the family of the 1950s and that of the 1980s and 1990s. The American family today ranges from the conventional Ozzie and Harriet type to the single parent, working couple, lesbian or gay, blended, unconnected, teen parent or grandparent-led, and homeless family. The attendant challenges for caregivers and providers, particularly women, vary immensely, as was clearly indicated by a group of testifiers at a public forum convened by a women’s body in San Mateo County, California. Drawing from those testimonies, this article examines the various configurations of the American family and assesses the public policy implications of the impact on women of the changing American family. The principal inference is that as the changing family trend gathers further momentum in the 1990s, it will be imperative for policy makers and the American socioeconomy to respond creatively and constructively to the new American family and to women’s changing role in the family and economy.     

The Congruence Between Adolescents and Their Parents’ Gender-Role Attitudes in Urban Slums of Allahabad,India

Gender role differentiation intensifies during adolescence. The current study explores gender-role attitudes among unmarried young men and women aged 15–21 residing in the slums of Allahabad, India. The survey asked a series of questions about gender role attitudes to young men and women and to their parents (relating to work and educational attainment for girls, marriage and husband–wife relations). Since either the father or mother responded to the parent questionnaire, data analyses are based on subsets of mother–daughter pairs (n = 2124), mother–son pairs (n = 2135), father–son pairs (n = 788), and father–daughter pairs (n = 452). No significant differences emerged in terms of adolescent background characteristics of the four groups and the adolescent population of the study. A fair amount of congruence in gender role attitudes was found in the mother–daughter and father–son pairs for most items. However, a similar pattern was not visible in the father–daughter or mother–son pairs. Multivariate regression analysis indicated strong influence of parental attitudes on the adolescent’s attitudes. While education led to a shift in girls’ attitudes to gender egalitarian ones, it did not impact the attitudes of adolescent boys.     

Is Gender Mainstreaming Viable? Empirical Analysis of the Practicality of Policies for Agriculture-Based Gendered Development in Ethiopia

Gender mainstreaming is a global strategy to ensure gender-equality in agriculture and other economic sectors. However, the operationalization of gender mainstreaming is often contested in the global south. Using a concurrent mixed method design, this study investigates if the gender mainstreaming narratives embedded in agricultural extension and food security policies in Ethiopia are practical for improving agriculture-based gendered development among smallholder users of climate-smart agricultural technologies. Results demonstrate that women smallholders’ needs that are essential to the use of agricultural technologies are overlooked. Despite they are “users” of agricultural technologies; women’s access to agricultural inputs and extension services is restricted. There is a lack of synchronized activities and strategies to guide the implementation of gender mainstreaming, as well as separate gender budgets to address gendered agricultural problems. Increasing agricultural production is a national policy goal, although gender equality in production growth is not a key priority in the implementations of agricultural policies. Although improvement in the institutionalization and implementation of the GAD approach for addressing strategic gender needs is a priority in gender mainstreaming, an interchangeable and concurrent institutionalization and implementation of the Women in Development approach for addressing practical gender needs and the Women Culture and Development approach for addressing constraints that emanate from the multiple realities and identities of women are also required. Identifying and addressing the practical gender needs of women and problems that emanate from their multiple identities and realities are essential prerequisites for the practicality of gender mainstreaming for gender equality in agricultural development. Furthermore, there is a need to design and implement locally specific gender-mainstreaming strategies that address the distinct needs of women smallholders, as well as separate gender budgets to reach local contexts.     

Female Status and Infant and Child Homicide Victimization in Rural and Urban Counties in the U.S.

Studies consistently show that female labor force participation is a correlate of infant and child homicide victimization. Research and theory supports the notion that as women’s economic status improves, children are safer. Yet few existing studies make use of feminist perspectives to explain child homicide. Further, homicide studies have focused heavily on urban areas leaving a lacuna of understanding in the literature regarding rural areas. This study explores the connection between absolute and relative female economic status and infant and child homicide victimization in both rural and urban U.S. counties. Results show that absolute female economic status is positively associated with infant and child homicide in urban areas, but not in rural areas. I argue that in rural areas, stronger collective sentiment and less differentiation diminishes the effect of women’s status on child homicide. While rural areas are characterized by harsh economic realities, these realities are nevertheless shared among men and women, decentering the link between child victimization and women status.

An Exploration of Psychosocial Factors Associated with Female Genital Self-Image

Negative genital self-perceptions or female genital self-image (FGSI) is a prevalent concern for women. This is a significant problem in and of itself but also because it is associated with a variety of negative outcomes including less frequent sexual behavior, more negative cognitive-affective sexual responses, and poorer decision-making about genital health. This study examined the extent to which various psychosocial factors are associated with more negative FGSI. Two hundred cisgender women with diverse ages and relationship statuses completed an online survey that included measures of sexual health education (quality of school-based sexual health education (SHE), female genital knowledge), pornography use, sexual experiences (positive and negative partner genital feedback, frequency of sexual activity), and cognitive-affect appraisals (body image, sexual comfort). Social desirability, cognitive-affective appraisals, sexual experiences, and SHE were associated with FGSI at the bivariate level. The results of a multiple regression analysis indicated that only sexual comfort, body image, and positive genital feedback contributed uniquely to the prediction of FGSI. The results are interpreted in terms of the importance of the psychosocial context for understanding women’s genital self-perceptions as well as their implications for prevention and intervention strategies aimed at addressing the problem.     

中国视角下的生态女性主义

生态批评是对文学、文化与自然的关系的研究,而生态批评与女性主义批评的结合是文学研究在“向外转”的过程中找寻到的一条独特的道路。它可以涵盖的意义包括:“对将自然作为女性的父权式再现的批判、对女性在博物学史、科学研究、自然写作上扮演的重要角色的修正式再发现;针对开采或利用的伦理学提倡一种‘关心哲学’;对所谓存在于女性与自然间(在生物学或精神上)神秘的亲和关系的复原。”虽然在这场运动内部有众多持不同立场的派别,但生态女性主义批评家有如下基本共识,即对自然的占有和对女性的占有之间存在着重要的关联,对前者的理解必然有助于对后者的理解,反之亦然。换句话说,人类对自然的统治来自一种父权制的世界观,也正是这样的世界观确立了统治妇女的合法地位。在全球化的今天,中国学界也在迅速地响应国外的生态女性主义。一批重要的具有中国特色的研究成果正在显现出来。一批原本并不受特别重视的写作在生态女性主义的视角下能够赋予新的意义。生态女性主义与生态批评类似,在参与经典的重构中可以发挥重要的作用。中国的生态女性主义批评有着良好的前景,这恰恰因为中国的女性还同时背负着历史的负荷和现实的环境压力,而生态和女性运动的结合也特别成为中国妇女解放的合理选择。     

Gender and the propensity to enlist in the U.S. military

This article analyzes sex differences in high school seniors' propensity to enlist in the military, differences between military preferences and expectations, sex differences in the relationship between propensity and actual service, effects of background and educational characteristics, and post-high school activities of men and women who do not serve. Using data from the Monitoring the Future surveys, we find that young women's propensity to serve is lower than men's, but more women desire than expect to serve. The relationship between propensity and service is weaker for women than men and has not increased over time. Background characteristics and educational achievement and plans are less predictive of women's propensity and enlistment than men's, with the exception of higher race and ethnicity effects among women. Having children has a small negative effect on high propensity women's enlistment, but an even stronger positive effect on low propensity men's enlistment. More women desire and expect to serve than the military is enlisting. Mady Wechsler Segal is Professor of Sociology and Distinguished Scholar-Teacher at the University of Maryland, as well as a faculty affiliate of the Women's Studies Program and Associate Director of the Center for Research on Military Organization. Her recent research focuses on military personnel issues, with particular attention to military women and military families. His current research focuses on enlistment propensity, diversity in military forces, and peacekeeping operations. His most recent book is Smoking, Drinking, and Drug Use in Young Adulthood: The Impacts He has co-authored, with David R. Segal and Jeral G. Bachman, several forthcoming articles on military propensity and enlistment. His publications deal with alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use and related attitudes and beliefs.     

侵华文学中的“他者”和日本女作家的战争观——以林芙美子《运命之旅》为例

侵华战争时期,日本军部派出的"笔部队"作家创作了"他者"这一歪曲和丑化中国人的形象,妄想以此掩盖其侵略战争的罪行和美化日本军队."他者"是法西斯军国主义在意识形态领域对日本作家干预和渗透的社会集体想象物,有深刻的文化根源.其时,日本国内的女权主义者,在整个民族疯狂于国家主义的时空下变节、转向,以此获得政治、经济和社会地位的畸形提升,建立在狭隘的民族主义意念内的妇女解放观与军国主义达成了共谋.日本近代著名女作家林芙美子的人生经历代表了日本女权主义变异的缩影.侵华战争时期,林芙美子放弃了自由主义个人奋斗的思想转投军国主义,多次身负官方使命前往中国战场采访报导,成为侵华战争的积极协力者.文章以林芙美子寓华期间创作的描写南京沦陷的小说<运命之旅>为例,分析了侵华文学中"他者"形象的成因及日本女作家的战争观.     

Globalisation and Female Economic Participation in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study assesses the relationship between globalisation and the economic participation of women (EPW) in 47 Sub-Saharan African countries for the period 1990–2013. EPW is measured with the female labour force participation and employment rates. The empirical evidence is based on panel-corrected standard errors and fixed effects regressions. The findings show that the positive effect of the overall globalisation index on EPW is dampened by its political component and driven by its economic and social components, with a higher positive magnitude from the former or economic globalisation. For the most part, the findings are robust to the control for several structural and institutional characteristics. An extended analysis by unbundling globalisation shows that the positive incidence of social globalisation is driven by information flow (compared to personal contact and cultural proximity) while the positive effect of economic globalisation is driven by actual flows (relative to restrictions). Policy implications are discussed with some emphasis on how to elevate women’s social status and potentially reduce their victimisation to male dominance.