Gender Nonconformity and Butch–Femme Identity Among Lesbians in China

Previous studies have indicated that the butch–femme identities of lesbian women are related to gender roles (e.g., instrumentality and expressiveness). This study examined the association between butch and femme lesbian identities and gender nonconformity in both childhood (Study 1: 434 lesbian women and 230 heterosexual women) and adulthood (Study 2: 207 lesbian women and 342 heterosexual women) among women in China. In Study 1 (97 femmes, 76 androgynous women, and 264 butches), butches recalled more childhood gender nonconformity (CGN) than did femmes, androgynous, and heterosexual women, and androgynous women recalled more CGN than did heterosexual women. In Study 2 (43 femmes, 44 androgynous women, and 120 butches), butches reported more adulthood gender nonconformity (AGN) based on a “people–thing” dimension of interests than did femmes and heterosexual women, and androgynous women reported preferring more masculine hobbies than did femmes or heterosexual women. There was no significant difference in CGN and AGN between femmes and heterosexual women. These results indicate that femmes are quite similar to heterosexual women with regard to CGN and AGN, thus providing an important extension of previous studies based on a Chinese sample.     

Preventive Care's Forgotten Women: Life Course,Sexuality, and Sexual Health among Homosexually and Bisexually Active Women in France

Although studies show that women who have sex with women (WSW) have poorer sexual health and more limited access to health care for gynecological problems than other women, the social processes giving rise to such health differences have not, so far, been explored. These processes may be formed in response to a dominant social norm, which assigns women to a heterosexual and monogamous sexuality. Based on data from a national random survey of sexuality (N = 6,824), enriched by qualitative interviews with WSW (n = 40), this analysis shows that bisexually active women had similar socio-demographic profiles to heterosexually active women, whereas homosexually active women appeared to be more highly educated than other women and less likely to live as couples than bisexually active women. Bisexually active women had more diversified sexual trajectories and sexual networks than other women. Chlamydia prevalence was found to be higher among bisexually active women, and homosexually active women reported fewer medical consultations for gynecological reasons. These analyses highlight the need to deconstruct the binary classification of homosexual versus heterosexual women. Because of constraint by the monogamous heterosexual norm, bisexually active women were less likely to be tested for sexually transmitted infections, and homosexually active women were less likely to have had gynecological follow-ups.     

Joining the Dark Side: Women in Management in the Dominican Republic

This article presents evidence of the challenges faced by women in management in their interactions with men and other women, contesting the idea that men organizationally oppress women and suggesting instead that both men and women can be organizational oppressors of women. Using empirical evidence, this article provides new insights into the working lives and challenges of women in a Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean context. The article highlights struggles of power and credibility in women in management's relationships with men and other women. It draws on findings of research conducted in the public sector in the Dominican Republic, where in‐depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted with professional men and women. This article has significant implications for advancing understanding of the dynamics of gender and organizations in developing countries, in particular, the experiences of women in management.     

Mapping Right-Wing Women’s Policy Priorities in Latin America

ABSTRACT

Do right-wing women hold unique policy priorities from that of left-wing women and right-wing men? And do right-wing women legislators represent the priorities of right-wing citizens? Right-wing women share unique gendered socialization experiences with left-wing women, but their ideology informs values and attitudes critical to policy preference formation. Political representation theories suggest that women legislators should hold distinct incentives to represent female constituents. However, institutional theories suggest right-wing women legislators may face different incentives that limit the extent to which they represent right-wing female constituents. To evaluate our expectations, we leverage survey data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project and the Parliamentary Elites of Latin America. We demonstrate how right-wing women citizens differ from left-wing women citizens across a range of policy priorities. Then, we evaluate elite priorities for these same policy issues. We find little evidence for policy priority congruency between women citizens and women legislators on the right.     

Women bankers in black and white: exploring raced,classed and gendered coalitions

ABSTRACT

Black women constitute the majority of the population but they lag significantly behind white women and other groups in their participation in the labour market. Intersectionality requires that we recognise the differences in experience between black women and white women. This is not for the purposes of what some have called the “oppression Olympics” but to research the stratifications of social asymmetries in a manner that allows for an understanding of the complexity of inequality. Based on interview data and observations, we use employment equity discourses to explore the differential positions of black women and white women managers in a major bank’s headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa. A historical analysis of black women and white women’s experience illustrates the systemic and institutional aspects of intersectionality as well as the difficulties in forming coalitions between black women and white women. In the final analysis we argue that the mutual advancement of women requires historicisation and renewed commitment to partnerships to eradicate sexism and racism.     

Electing Women of Color: The Role of Campaign Trainings

The increasing racial diversity of women in the United States makes the underrepresentation of women of color in politics an important area for research. To better understand the reasons for the underrepresentation of women of color and how more women of color might be elected in the future, this article presents a case study of a unique campaign training program designed for women of color. The program is the Center for American Women and Politics’ (CAWP) New Jersey Ready to Run® Diversity Initiative. Campaign trainings have proliferated in recent years and seem to play a disproportionate role in women’s election to office. By examining perceptions of the barriers facing women of color and by identifying the mechanisms by which the Diversity Initiative seeks to help women, this article sheds light on the status of women candidates of color and the role of campaign trainings more generally. For political practitioners, this article suggests the utility of creating programs for women of color.     

Drinking patterns, problems, and motivations among collegiate bisexual women

OBJECTIVE AND PARTICIPANTS: The authors compared the drinking behaviors, motivations, and problems of collegiate bisexual women with those of heterosexual women (N = 2,788; n = 86 bisexual women). METHODS: Data came from the 2003 Student Life Survey, a random population-based survey at a large midwestern university. The authors explored the hypothesis that bisexual women would be more likely than heterosexual women to report drinking motivations related to stress and coping as a result of sexual identity stigma. RESULTS: They found that bisexual women drank significantly less than did heterosexual women. There were few differences between the 2 groups in drinking motivations and problems. Bisexual women reported a comparable number of problems related to their drinking but were significantly more likely to report contemplating suicide after drinking than were heterosexual women. CONCLUSIONS: More research is needed to understand the finding that despite lower levels of alcohol consumption, bisexual women reported a comparable number of drinking problems. College health educators and health care providers need to be aware of findings related to heightened suicidal risk among bisexual women.     

Girls' education and their change of attitudes: a case from Sudan

This study examines the association of girls' education and changes in attitudes and other socioeconomic changes in Sudan. Data were obtained from in-depth interviews, structured questionnaires, and secondary data among 810 educated Sudanese women who lived in the Central and Eastern Regions. Women responded to 10 opinions about the status of women. Findings show a significant association between level of education, even at the lowest levels, and the attitudes held by women. Women held relatively positive attitudes toward social change and economic development. Level of education was highly significantly associated with holding a view of educated women working. 54.1% of secondary school leavers agreed and 92% of well educated women disagreed with a family's objection to women having a job. 57% of secondary school leavers agreed that it is essential to give up work in order to care for family; however, 96% of postgraduates disagreed. 74% of respondents were indecisive, of which 44% were secondary school leavers and 2% had postgraduate degrees. Decisiveness increased with level of education. Only 32.6% of secondary school leavers agreed that most of a woman's time should be spent on family responsibilities. 100% of the highest educated women and 40% of secondary school leavers disagreed that women should take part-time work. 96% of postgraduate women disagreed and 73.6% of secondary school leavers agreed that women should not feel obligated to work after training. Employment was highly influenced by level of education. 83% of single women and 76% of married women agreed with using contraception. Rural women tended not to support women working and using contraceptives. Younger women were less traditional in their attitudes. Postgraduates came from families with high levels of income.     

Acculturation and Post-Migration Stress in Middle-Aged Chinese Immigrant Women in Philadelphia: Variation between the Fujianese and the non-Fujianese women

The experience of acculturation in Chinese immigrant women from the rural coastal province of Fujian has not been well studied despite of their growing numbers in American cities. This exploratory study is an attempt to examine the experience of acculturation and post-migration stress in Fujianese immigrant women as compared to those from other parts of China. The study is based on a convenience sample 240 Fujianese and 162 non-Fujianese Chinese immigrant women living in Philadelphia.Results from bivariate analyses showed that the variation in demographic characteristics between Fujianese and non-Fujianese women was marginal; that all Chinese women in this study reported experiencing a unidimensional process of acculturation and a domain-generic model of acculturation; and that the Fujianese women showed a higher level of post-migration stress than the non-Fujianese women. In multiple regression controlling for demographic characteristics and including all the women in our sample, more acculturated women reported a higher level of post-migration stress. However, separate multiple regression analyses for Fujianese and non-Fujianese women revealed a different pattern of post-migration stress models. The findings suggest the importance of further research to understand acculturation and post-migration stress among Fujianese immigrant women.     

‘Risky’ representation: the portrayal of women with mobility impairment in twenty-first-century advertising

Representations of disability and gender in advertising have been traditionally confined by narrow ideals surrounding body image. Recently, portrayals of disabled women in advertising have substantially grown in volume and variety. This research applies a feminist disability studies critique to the exploration of women with mobility impairments as ‘risky’ in twenty-first-century advertising. Feminist disability studies recognises culture as a key site in which disabled women have been historically misrepresented. While existing research dominantly focuses on textual analyses of advertisements, this study presents empirical data collected via semi-structured interviews with disabled women. Some women believe that the link between disabled women and riskiness sustains stereotypical attitudes and suggest that women with mobility impairments are included in advertisements as a form of ‘safe quirkiness’. However, others welcome provocative portrayals of women with mobility impairment and suggest that such representations challenge presumptions of disabled women as passive. The results of this research show how disabled women use their life experiences and personal beliefs to explore advertisements that supposedly represent them.     

Sexual Risk Behavior Among Women with Injected Drug Use Histories

This study documents the sexual risk, behavior for HIV infection and transmission in inner-city women with a history of injected drug use (IDU). The sample consists of N = 38 HIV+ and N = 37 HIV- women who were demographically comparable. A surprisingly high number of women in both. groups reported both male and female sex partners during their lifetime, and significantly more HIV+ women currently identified as bisexual and lesbian. Overall, HIV+ women had had more lifetime male and female sex partners, although the two groups did not differ in their current sexual behavior regarding numbers of partners and sex occasions. Both groups of women had little information about risk characteristics of their male sex partners, except for a history of IDU that was common among partners of both HIV+ and HIV- women. Sex for money was practiced by a subgroup of women in both groups and sex in exchange for drugs by very few women. A disturbingly high number of HIV+ and HIV- women reported occasions of unprotected sex during the past six months (86% vs. 97%), a finding that suggests that educational efforts for behavior change in IDU women need to be intensified.     

Institutional,Subcultural, and Individual Determinants of Same-Sex Sexual Contact Among College Women

While the collegiate hookup literature identifies the prevalence and conditions under which women engage in same-sex sexual behaviors, less is understood about the macro- and mesolevel features of universities predictive of women’s engagement in these behaviors. How do predictors of same-sex contact differ for women who report engagement in nongenital versus genital sexual acts? Using the Online College Social Life Survey (OCSLS), this study examined 5,069 women from 21 U.S. colleges and universities who reported at least one same-sex encounter in their lifetime to empirically evaluate how same-sex sexual histories are predicted by university structure and membership in student subcultures. Results find subcultural participation to have a regulative effect on what types of sexual behaviors women engaged in with other women. While Greek-affiliated women were significantly more likely to have engaged in solely nongenital sexual behavior, women in team-based athletics were more likely to report a genital sexual history with women. This study’s focus on women’s sexual behaviors as opposed to sexual identity affirms the influence of institutional contexts, subcultural dynamics, and their variability across U.S. campuses in producing the conditions and opportunities for varied forms of sexual interactions among college women.     

Early 20th-Century Career Counseling for Women: Contemporary Practice and Research Implications

The authors critically examine the development of career counseling for women during the early 20th century. The development of career counseling for women lagged behind career counseling for men. Challenges, such as feminization of occupations, restricted occupational opportunities, and societal norms, stunted the development of career counseling for women. Furthermore, career counseling for women varied based on racial groups. Early writings discussed opportunities specifically geared toward White, college-educated, nonimmigrant women. Although these beginning opportunities provided formal guidance to White women, many other women were excluded from formal career counseling and are not represented in these writings. Implications include training practitioners to recognize their own biases when working with women, how gender bias influences career counseling inventories and career theories, and how counselors can challenge these biases and stereotypes to provide the full range of career opportunities to women. Future research should address the impact of career counseling on women of color.     

Why rural African-American women who use cocaine mistrust women

Little is known about the social networks of rural African-American women who use drugs, although the social networks of their urban counterparts have been characterized as small, mixed gendered, and distrustful of other women. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the characteristics of the social networks of rural African-American women, both users and non-users of drugs. Thirty rural women who used cocaine participated in in-depth qualitative interviews. Rural women who used drugs gave several reasons for their mistrust of other women and tended to have small social networks, which included family members and men to the exclusion of non-familial women. The findings of this study have implications for both research and practice.     

What do adolescents think and feel about the different female subtypes? An application of the stereotype content model (SCM) / ¿Qué sienten y piensan los/las adolescentes acerca de diferentes subtipos de mujer? Una aplicación del modelo del contenido de los estereotipos

Women continue to face discrimination due to stereotypes that place them at a disadvantage compared to men. However, not all women are stereotyped alike; instead, they are categorized into three main subtypes: traditional women (e.g., housewives), non-traditional women (e.g., career women) and sexy women. This study applies the stereotype content model (SCM) to examine how a sample of adolescents perceives the three subtypes of women in terms of status and competition, the content of the stereotypes and the emotions they feel towards the subtypes. The sample consisted of 221 adolescents, which was reduced to 163 participants (53.7% girls) between the ages of 12 and 18. Results show that sexy women are the most undervalued of the three. Likewise, housewives and career women are perceived more positively than in previous research with the adult population.     

Drinking Patterns,Problems, and Motivations Among Collegiate Bisexual Women

Objective and Participants: The authors compared the drinking behaviors, motivations, and problems of collegiate bisexual women with those of heterosexual women (N = 2,788; n = 86 bisexual women). Methods: Data came from the 2003 Student Life Survey, a random population-based survey at a large midwestern university. The authors explored the hypothesis that bisexual women would be more likely than heterosexual women to report drinking motivations related to stress and coping as a result of sexual identity stigma. Results: They found that bisexual women drank significantly less than did heterosexual women. There were few differences between the 2 groups in drinking motivations and problems. Bisexual women reported a comparable number of problems related to their drinking but were significantly more likely to report contemplating suicide after drinking than were heterosexual women. Conclusions: More research is needed to understand the finding that despite lower levels of alcohol consumption, bisexual women reported a comparable number of drinking problems. College health educators and health care providers need to be aware of findings related to heightened suicidal risk among bisexual women.     

Challenging Misconceptions about Organizing Women into Unions

In many countries, women are the fastest growing group of unionized workers. As unions scramble to restore their flagging membership, women become central to the process of union membership renewal. Yet survey data collected from union organizers in Canada show that unions are only partially meeting women’s demand for union representation, in large part because of gender bias in union organizing practices. To develop this argument, this article offers data analysis that challenges four popular misconceptions about women and unions which contribute to gender bias in union organizing practices. These misconceptions are: women are less likely to support unions than men; high rates of unionization in the public sector rather than women themselves explain the high rates of union growth amongst women; small workplaces are a particular barrier to organizing women and women are more passive and avoid conflict, therefore reducing their likelihood of withstanding a hostile organizing drive. Having challenged these misconceptions, the article concludes with a discussion of the many ways in which union organizing practices are gender biased. Issues discussed range from the limited number of women hired as organizers to the tendency of unions to target small male‐dominated workplaces for organizing, over women‐dominated workplaces, in spite of the latter’s greater likelihood of success.     

Guaranteed Seats for Political Representation of Women:

Egypt adopted in 1979 a guaranteed representation formula reserving 30 seats for women in Egypt's parliament. In late 1986, however, this quota for women was cancelled in a general revision of the electoral laws. This paper examines the experiment with guaranteed representation for women from the perspective of women political activists, both in government and outside. The data are from interviews with 45 women political activists, both inside and outside the government, conducted in the spring of 1987 and supplemented by 15 years of research in Egypt on the role of women in public life.     

筑梦“半边天”——记百位中国“女性第一人”

从新中国建立初期,到改革开放的新时代,中国大地涌现出的“女性第一人”遍布各行各业,她们不仅集合了中国亿万妇女在艰辛求索中积累创造的优异成绩,也为当代妇女运动实现创新发展留下了弥足珍贵的历史财富,为广大妇女实现“中国梦”树立了光辉的典范。     

Single Mothers and Family Values

SUMMARY

In recent years the federal government has made marriage promotion a central part of its welfare reform initiatives. These promotion efforts are based on the assumption that poor women, particularly women of color, have family attitudes that differ from those of other women. This article tests that assumption using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a nationally representative sample of births to single mothers in urban areas. Results show significant differences in family attitudes between married and unmarried White women, but few differences for women of color. In fact, unmarried women of color tend to be more traditional than White women. In addition, welfare recipients are similar to non-recipients in gender traditionalism and attitudes towards marriage, and low-income women often express the most support for traditional gender roles. Implications for marriage promotion policies are discussed.