Redoing feminism: digital activism,body politics,and neoliberalism

Abstract

This article investigates the renewed feminist politics that emerge from the interface of digital platforms and activism today, examining the role of digital media in affecting the particular ways that contemporary feminist protests make meaning and are understood transnationally, nationally, and locally. I consider the political investments of digital feminisms in the context of what Angela McRobbie has termed the “undoing of feminism” in neoliberal societies, where discourses of choice, empowerment, and individualism have made feminism seem both second nature and unnecessary. Within this context, I describe a range of recent feminist protest actions that are in a sense redoing feminism for a neoliberal age. A key component of this redoing is the way recent protest actions play out central tensions within historical and contemporary feminist discourse; crucial here is the interrelationship between body politics experienced locally and feminist actions whose efficacy relies on their translocal and transnational articulation. My discussion focuses on three case studies: SlutWalk Berlin, Peaches’ “Free Pussy Riot!” video, and the Twitter campaigns #Aufschrei and #YesAllWomen. My analysis ultimately calls attention to the precarity of digital feminisms, which reflect both the oppressive nature of neoliberalism and the possibilities it offers for new subjectivities and social formations.     

Sexual violence at first intercourse against women in Moshi, northern Tanzania: prevalence, risk factors, and consequences

To explore the relationship between sexual violence at first intercourse and later sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Moshi, Tanzania, we analysed data from a representative household survey that comprised face-to-face interviews with 1,835 women and tests for six STIs on biological samples from 1,235 of these women. Overall, 10.9 per cent report forced first intercourse and 15.3 per cent report unwanted first intercourse. Unadjusted analysis shows a relationship between forced first intercourse and STIs (OR: 1.72, 95 per cent CI: 1.19-2.51). Life-course variables mediate this relationship. Significant predictors of having an STI include older age, more sexual partners, and a partner who has children with other women. Coerced first intercourse appears to be associated with changes in the life course of women and with a heightened risk of contracting an STI.     

Urban black women at midlife: a counseling perspective

Increasingly, the scientific community is publishing literature intended to conceptualize the experiences of women as they navigate through midlife development. Most of that literature is built around a Caucasian norm. In contrast, this naturalistic study explores the midlife experiences of Black women, some of whom identified as Caribbean emigrants and some as African American. An initial focus group of thirteen women met in New York City. Two subsequent meetings were each attended by seven of the original thirteen. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results were compared with those of three similar studies: one with rural Caucasian women, one with a group of women who identified as Lesbians, and one with a racially mixed group of urban women. Counseling implications of shared and differing experiences are discussed.     

Private violence/private transport: the role of means of transport in women’s mobility to escape from domestic violence in England and Wales

ABSTRACT

This article highlights a gendered and forced mobility which has been under-recognised in the literature on mobility. It explores the hidden relocations of women (often with children) due to intimate partner abuse; presenting findings from mixed methods research on women’s journeys to escape domestic violence, including analysis of over 80 journey segments made by 20 women within England and Wales, and from abroad. Focusing on means of transport, the research found that under a third of journey segments were made by public transport, and these tended to be longer distances; that journeys by disabled women were more likely to be by private transport, and that journeys from rural areas were more likely to be with the assistance of others. Thematic analysis of interviews at different stages of women’s journeys is used to explore their experiences of different means of transport in terms of degrees of control and agency, in terms of losing or retaining personal possessions on the move; and in highlighting the role of others’ assistance in compounding or counteracting the implications of abuse. Women’s domestic violence journeys are thereby contextualised within wider mobilities research, uncovering the inequalities and implications of this hidden internal displacement in the UK.     

Neighborhood context and the transition to sexual activity among young black women

Previous studies report that neighborhood characteristics influence pregnancy and childbearing risk among African-American adolescent women. These studies, however, leave unidentified the effects of many neighborhood properties on the proximate determinants of nonmarital fertility. In this study I examine the effects of neighborhood characteristics on the risk of nonmarital first intercourse and on contraceptive use among black female adolescents. The results suggest that neighborhood socioeconomic status, female employment and marital dissolution rates, and peers’ departure from mainstream lifecourse trajectories influence young black women’s sexual and contraceptive behavior. The effects of female employment and socioeconomic status are greater for teens in urban neighborhoods than for teens living elsewhere.     

Remarriage patterns of black and white women: Eeassessing the role of educational attainment

Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, this article illustrates the role of educational attainment in the remarriage patterns of black and white women. For whites, remarriage propensities do not differ significantly by schooling level. For blacks, on the other hand, remarriage and education are positively associated, net of the effects of other variables such as age at separation and the number of children. Very few black high school dropouts in the sample had remarried 10 years after separation. The results suggest that for blacks, those with the worst socioeconomic prospects are least likely to remarry.     

A call for action that cannot go to voicemail: Research activism to urgently improve Indigenous perinatal health and wellbeing

In this call to action, a coalition of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, United States and Canada argue for the urgent need for adequately funded Indigenous-led solutions to perinatal health inequities for Indigenous families in well-resourced settler-colonial countries. Authors describe examples of successful community-driven programs making a difference and call on all peoples to support and resource Indigenous-led perinatal health services by providing practical actions for individuals and different groups.     

Barriers to play: accounting for non-participation in digital game play

Playing a digital game is considered to be a leisure activity; therefore playing or not playing is typically viewed as an autonomous choice motivated by individual preferences for how one spends their time not occupied by other obligations. While a growing body of interventionist literature documents new entry points for girls and women into playing or making games, investigations are primarily focused on joining rather than why someone might ultimately leave. To address this gap whereby the study of former and non-players remains under explored, I bring together two disparate areas of academic investigation: leisure studies, specifically the study of barriers and access to leisure spaces, and critical feminist games scholarship. Taken together, these two areas of investigation provide a framework to account for why women might leave a game or never begin playing in the first place. Rather than assuming that playing or not playing is exclusively about choice or interest, I argue that there is much to be learned by asking women about what games they do not play and their reasons for quitting or never purchasing or downloading a particular game in the first place.     

Fertility adaptation of rural-to-urban migrant women: A method of estimation applled to Korean women

This study proposes to test for the existence of an adaptation effect of rural-to-urban migration. The design is to divide migrants into two groups at the time of observation: one group which had migrated by that time, and another group consisting of individuals who had not yet migrated but are known to migrate later. It is presumed that if the former group had not migrated it would have had a birth path similar to the latter group. Adaptation is measured by the difference between this hypothetical birth path and the actual birth path of migrants observed after they migrate. The model is tested on Korean women and found to support the existence of an adaptation effect.     

Giving birth after caesarean: Identifying shared preferences among pregnant women using Q methodology

BackgroundCaesarean rates are rising worldwide, the main contributor being the elective repeat caesarean. During the past decades, rates of vaginal birth after caesarean dropped considerably. This requires insight in women’s preferences regarding giving birth following a previous caesarean.AimTo gain a better understanding of women’s values and preferences regarding the upcoming birth following a previous caesarean. Using Q methodology, this study systematically explores and categorises their preferences.MethodsQ methodology is an innovative research approach to explore and compare a variety of viewpoints on a certain subject. Thirty-one statements on birth after caesarean were developed based on the health belief model. Thirty-six purposively sampled pregnant women with a history of caesarean ranked these statements from least to most important. By-person factor analysis was used to identify patterns which, supplemented with interview data, were interpreted as preferences.FindingsThree distinct preferences for giving birth after a caesarean were found; (a) “Minimise the risks for me and my child”, giving priority to professional advice and risk of adverse events, (b) “Seek the benefits of normal birth”, desiring to give birth as normal as possible for both emotional and practical reasons, (c) “Opt for repeat caesarean”, expressing the belief that a planned caesarean brings comfort.ConclusionsPreferences for birth after caesarean vary considerably among pregnant women. The findings help to understand the different types of information valued by women who need to decide on their mode of birth after a first caesarean.     

Risk factors of severity of abuse against older women in the home setting: A multinational European study

ABSTRACT

This article examines the ecological risk factors of abuse against older women. Data from 2,880 older women were randomly collected in five European countries (Austria, Belgium, Finland, Lithuania, and Portugal) using a standardized questionnaire. Results indicate that overall 30.1 % older women had at least one experience of abuse in the past year. The findings demonstrate that a single emphasis on personal risk factors (e.g., health, coping) is important but too simple: Abuse is multifaceted and is embedded in environmental (e.g., loneliness, household income) as well as macrocultural contexts (e.g., old age dependency ratio).     

Effectiveness of training to promote routine enquiry for domestic violence by midwives and nurses: A pre-post evaluation study

Background

Asking women about experiences of domestic violence in the perinatal period is accepted best practice. However, midwives and nurses may be reluctant to engage with, or effectively respond to disclosures of domestic violence due a lack of knowledge and skills.