Liberated and Inclusive? An Analysis of Self-Representation in a Popular Lesbian Magazine

Comparisons of a popular lesbian lifestyle magazine to a popular heterosexual women's magazine show that lesbian-controlled media do indeed expand representation when it comes to weight, age, and degree of femininity/masculinity, but not in terms of racial representation. An examination of the textual material and visual images also shows that the lesbian publication gives women a more active role, while the heterosexual magazine depicts females as more passive. However, the evidence also shows that the lesbian and heterosexual magazines have similar rates of objectification, but substantively, the lesbian magazine is less severe in degree of objectification.     

Defining the lesbian/gay community? Market research and the lesbian/gay press

The development of marketing information on the readership of the lesbian/gay press attests to the press's success as a medium and its attraction to advertisers. Yet such marketing data, highly skewed towards affluent, urban, white-anglo gay males, raise some serious problems. Such data has been misused by opponents of lesbian/gay rights as representing the entire lesbian/gay community. They also reflect the change of the lesbian/gay press from a medium representing a minority community to one representing an important niche market. An examination of readership data from five major urban lesbian/gay newspapers illustrates these problems.     

How does leaving home affect marital timing? An event-history analysis of migration and marriage in Nang Rong, Thailand

This study examines the effects of migration on marital timing in Thailand between 1984 and 2000 using prospective and retrospective survey data from Nang Rong. In contrast to previous results in the literature, event-history analysis of the longitudinal data reveals a positive, not a negative, effect of lagged migration experience on the likelihood of marriage. The findings also indicate gender differences. Migration's positive impact is independent of other life events for women but is completely "explained" by employment for men.     

Can consumers detect lemons? An empirical analysis of information asymmetry in the market for child care

This paper tests adverse selection in the market for child care. A unique data set containing quality measures of various characteristics of child care provided by 746 rooms in 400 centers, as well as the evaluation of the same attributes by 3,490 affiliated consumers (parents) in the U.S., is employed. Comparisons of consumer evaluations of quality to actual quality show that after adjusting for scale effects, parents are weakly rational. The hypothesis of strong rationality is rejected, indicating that parents do not utilize all available information in forming their assessment of quality. The results demonstrate the existence of information asymmetry and adverse selection in the market, which provide an explanation for low average quality in the U.S. child care market.

Has the reciprocal relationship between employment and marriage changed for men? An analysis of the life histories of men born in The Netherlands between 1930 and 1970

The study presented here analyses the reciprocal relationship for men between employment career and union formation and examines whether this relationship changed across twentieth-century birth cohorts. Competing hypotheses about trends are described, using notions of role-specialization, spouse support, and uncertainty. The study is based on an investigation of the life histories of 2,795 men in the Netherlands who were born between the 1930s and the 1960s, and confirms earlier findings by showing that employment fosters marriage while marriage protects men from becoming unemployed. There is also a relationship between employment and cohabitation but it is weaker in both directions. However, the relationship between marriage or cohabitation and occupational mobility is less clear, suggesting that the economic benefits of marriage cannot be generalized to the occupational domain. Although it is commonly believed that the link for men between career and marriage has weakened over time, our comparison of birth cohorts shows that in fact this is not the case.     

Is Inequality a Latent Construct? An Assessment of Economic Inequality Indicators and Their Relation with Social Cohesion in Europe

In this article, we analyse the relation between different economic inequality indicators and social cohesion. Previous research usually narrows down economic inequality to income inequality, or distinguishes several types of economic inequality. Little attention has until now been given to how different aspects of economic inequality might be related to each other and can have an effect on social cohesion. This article analyses several indicators of economic inequality and makes a distinction between indicators measuring income inequality, poverty, economic strain and unequal distributions of wealth. Arguing that these indicators represent different aspects of inequality, we hypothesise that they cannot be reduced to one latent concept of inequality and have specific relations with social cohesion. In order to test this hypothesis, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis. This resulted in two different factors: one associated with economic hardship, and one associated with imbalances in market outcomes. This would imply that inequality indicators can be classified into two underlying concepts. Secondly, we related the factor scores of the two latent concepts to the social cohesion indicators via regression analyses. This paper focuses on European countries and uses pooled data from the European Social Survey (period 2006–2012), in combination with macro-level data drawn from the OECD, Eurostat and the World Bank. The results demonstrate that the strength of the link between inequality and citizens’ attitudes depends on the type of inequality indicator we analyse: only the factor economic deprivation can be significantly linked to social cohesion.     

Stereotype or success? Prime-time television's portrayals of gay male, lesbian, and bisexual characters

The current content analysis of prime-time network television during the fall of 2001 seeks to identify the representation of Gay male, Lesbian, and Bisexual characters in shows known to have one reoccurring homosexual character based on the theories of Clark and Berry. Clark (1969) established four stages of media representation for minority groups: non-representation, ridicule, regulation, and respect. The findings of the study support the premise that Gay males and Lesbians have passed Clark's stage of non-representation and have progressed into the stage of ridicule and some are moving into the stages of regulation and respect. Berry (1980) devised three periods based on the television portrayal of Blacks: The Stereotypic Age, The New Awareness, and Stabilization. Results were mixed, with only a partial support of the hypothesis that Gay males and Lesbians had advanced beyond The Stereotypic Age.     

Future low fertility prospects in Mongolia? An evaluation of the factors that support having a child

With 2.59 children per woman in 2008, Mongolia appears today as an exception in East Asia where fertility rates are far below the replacement level. Moreover, from its historical nadir of 1.95 children per women in 2005, fertility is on the rise. This paper first presents recent fertility development in Mongolia. Second, based on the experiences of European and East Asian countries, factors contributing to the development of low fertility are discussed in reference to the Mongolian context. Most of these factors are indeed found in Mongolia and could probably contribute to reducing fertility in the future. However, the country also presents cultural-family practices and recently-adopted fertility-family incentives which may support and stabilize fertility rates. These recent fertility-incentives factors and policies adopted by the Government of Mongolia are discussed in the final part from the perspective of equity, efficiency, and efficacy proposed by McDonald (2006b, “An assessment of policies that support having children from the perspectives of equity, efficiency and efficacy”, Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2006, Special issue on ‘Postponement of childbearing on Europe’, 213–234). The aim is to determine if these measures are efficient to counterbalance and cancel out the depressing fertility effects.     

Did fertility go up after the oklahoma city bombing? An analysis of births in metropolitan counties in Oklahoma, 1990–1999

Political and sociocultural events (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 and the German reunification in 1989) and natural disasters (e.g., Hurricane Hugo in 1989) can affect fertility. In our research, we addressed the question of whether the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995, a man-made disaster, influenced fertility patterns in Oklahoma. We defined three theoretical orientations--replacement theory, community influence theory, and terror management theory--that motivate a general expectation of birth increases, with different predictions emerging from time and geographic considerations. We used two different empirical methodologies. First, we fitted dummy-variable regression models to monthly birth data from 1990 to 1999 in metropolitan counties. We used birth counts to frame the problem and general fertility rates to address the problem formally. These analyses were organized within two design structures: a control-group interrupted time-series design and a difference-in-differences design. In these analyses, Oklahoma County showed an interpretable, consistent, and significant increase in births. Second, we used graphical smoothing models to display these effects visually. In combination, these methods provide compelling support for a fertility response to the Oklahoma City bombing. Certain parts of each theory helped us organize and understand the pattern of results.     

An analysis of factors affecting attitudes toward same-sex marriage: do the media matter?

Using a survey of more than 5,000 American consumers, this study examines connections between attitudes toward same-sex marriage and media consumption. A positive attitude is predicted by being liberal and less religious, supporting gender and racial equality, willing to try anything once, considering television the primary form of entertainment, watching political talk shows, and reading blogs. The theoretical and methodological contributions and real-world implications of these findings are discussed.     

More Than a Feeling? An Empirical Analysis of the Dual-Continua Model on a National Sample of Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Identified Canadians

The goal of the study is to investigate whether positive mental health complements mental illness within a theoretically informed (the dual-continua model) and psychometrically tested (the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form) framework. National-level, population-based data from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey on Mental Health (CCHS-MH) was used, with comparisons between sexual minority and heterosexual adults. Results show that gay, lesbian, and bisexual Canadians have substantially lower rates of positive mental health and are more likely to have been diagnosed with a mental illness, with the disparities between health and illness being the most pronounced among lesbians and bisexual females. Results show considerable support for the dual-continua model, which posits that the absence of health does not automatically translate into the presence of illness, and vice versa. Suggestions are made for practitioners and researchers toward the use of the dual-continua model as a surveillance tool, especially among sexual minority individuals.     

Dingo media? The persistence of the “trial by media” frame in popular,media, and academic evaluations of the Azaria Chamberlain case

In the bulk of popular, media, and scholarly discourse on Azaria Chamberlain’s disappearance there is overwhelming consensus that the sensationalist reporting of the event convicted parents Michael and Lindy of their daughter’s murder outside official court processes. In feminist scholarship in particular, the infant’s disappearance in August 1980 has been read according to a “trial by media” frame. This frame persists despite altered perspectives about the role of the Australian public whose punitive and collectively hostile response to a media-driven hysteria has been replaced with the portrait of a kinder and more compassionate nation. The objectives of this article are threefold: to demonstrate the persistence of the trial by media frame in popular, media, and academic discourse; to consider assumptions of a monolithic and hostile media; and by examining a previously unanalysed archive to suggest that these arguments overlook the existence of sympathetic voices in mainstream media as well as the dialogic connection between media and counter-publics mutually supporting the Chamberlains’ bid for innocence. This research offers an alternative view to scholarship on a landmark event in Australian history and has broader implications for the way we view the media in trial by media situations.     

An Apathetic Generation? Cohorts’ Patterns of Political Participation in Italy

This article assesses the patterns of political participation of different cohorts in two forms of conventional political participation, attending political parties meetings and donating money to political parties, and in two forms of unconventional political participation, attending meetings of environmental, peace and civil rights associations and attending demonstrations, in Italy. To test the claim that the younger cohorts are less politically involved the article uses Bayesian cross-classified mixed models and repeated survey data collected by the Italian National Institute of Statistics between 1993 and 2012. It is found that the conventional forms of participation are more widespread among “baby-boomers” than among the younger cohorts. Conversely, unconventional forms are increasingly popular in the cohorts born after the 1950s, particularly in the younger ones. The results show that the idea of the Italian younger cohorts as being apathetic and detached from the political sphere may be incorrect.     

The institutional climate for lesbian,gay and bisexual education faculty: what is the pivotal frame of reference?

This article presents data gathered from a national sample (n = 104) of lesbian, gay, and bisexual education faculty members and researchers. Here, the author examines three general dimensions through which these respondents judge their institutional climate--characterized as gay affirming, gay tolerant, gay neutral, gay intolerant, or gay hostile--and four unique factors that distinguish their assessment. Four questions are addressed: (1) How do sexual minority faculty in schools, colleges, and departments of education characterize their institutional climate? (2) What institutional dimension is most salient in these faculty members' assessment of this climate? (3) What are the factors that differentiate sexual minority faculty members' perceptions in this study? (4) Which of these factors, if any, significantly contribute to their assessment of institutional climate? Using multivariate analyses, the author identifies one pivotal frame of reference that accounts for most of the variance in respondents' differing assessments of their institutional climate and explores differences between lesbian and gay male respondents as well as those working in public and private, independent institutions. Implications for those seeking to reduce institutional heterosexism and homophobia are discussed.     

Critical feminist hope: the encounter of neoliberalism and popular feminism in WWE 24: Women’s Evolution

Scholarship has pointed to contemporary feminism’s popularity and cultural “luminosity.” While this research has highlighted the limitations of feminist politics in a context of neoliberal individualism, this paper seeks to ask what possibilities for critiques and transformation of gender inequalities might be enabled by feminism’s visibility in neoliberalism. Using a framework of critical feminist hope, we highlight that capitalism’s embrace of feminism inarguably limits its political scope, but it may also open up opportunities for new forms of representation. To illustrate this, the paper analyses WWE 24: Women’s Evolution, a “brandcasting” documentary made to mark the rebrand of the sport entertainment promotion’s women’s division in 2016. While never naming it directly, the documentary draws heavily upon the signifiers of popular feminism. Although this mobilisation is often highly limited, a critically hopeful feminist reading allows us to move beyond dismissing this text as an example of feminism’s “co-optation” by neoliberalism. We highlight the documentary’s scathing critique of past failings in the representation and treatment of women performers, and, more importantly, the way feminism is used to make the case for corporate re-structure and change.