Labiaplasty and the Melancholic Breast

This article is an attempt to think through the sociosymbolic dimensions of the phenomenon of nonmedical or cosmetic surgical reduction of the labia minora, an interventionist medical practice that is gaining currency in the contemporary Western context. The article seeks to navigate the symbolic meaning of labial excision in the contemporary Western “postfeminist” context. I suggest that the desire for labiaplasty is embedded in a dialectical narrative of femininity that draws upon a specifically postfeminist distinction between desirable sexuality and undesirable maternity. I use the Kleinian theory of melancholic loss to argue that the contemporary desire for labiaplasty is indicative of a failure of mourning and the inability to establish the maternal breast as a good internal object in the psychosocial formation of the feminine body-ego. I argue that because the mother’s breast cannot be legitimately mourned, the female body is compelled to abject its reproductive, animal materiality.     

Cooperation,Contracts and Social Networks: From a Bounded to a Procedural Rationality Approach

The idea of this paper is that ifdecision-making processes are more consideredin a procedural rationality assumption, thenthe interplay of trust and calculativereasoning, and, at a more collective level, theinterplay of contracts and social networks maybe clarified. We use Lindenberg's framingtheory to define enlightened self-interest asthe rationality of contractual relationships.Cooperation is then explained by thewillingness to pursue the relationship which,from the background, decreases the salience ofthe gain frame. This willingness is supportedby a process of mutual relational signaling.When temptations of opportunism are strong,cooperation needs to be embedded, first in aformal contract and then, if stakes are toohigh, in a social network. In this framework,we show that the acceptance of contractualincompleteness by the parties is a positivesignal, which favors cooperation.     

Human–environment interactions in South Florida's Everglades region: Systems of ecological degradation and restoration

This chapter examines the societal drivers of environmental change in South Florida's Everglades region during the past 150 years. This historical geography is developed through the use of a conceptual framework constructed to facilitate the analysis of human–environment interactions and nature–society systems of ecological degradation and restoration at the regional scale. The framework is composed of four basic interlinked components: interaction mechanisms (e.g., land use, direct resource utilization, pollution and external inputs, resource competition), feedback mechanisms (e.g., basic needs, quality of life, environmental ethics), control systems (e.g., governmental regimes, legal institutions, resource management), and the societal context (e.g., population and demographic patterns, social structure and organization, technology, economic conditions, societal values). A primary objective of this chapter is to determine the presence and importance of each of these components during the process of environmental change over the period of study—1845 to 1995.Data for the analysis are drawn from primary and secondary sources on the environmental, social, economic, and political history of South Florida. The results indicate that although elements of each component were present throughout the entire period, different elements of each component play more significant roles at differing moments. The shifts in importance are used to define four periods of environmental change within the region. The periods are the following: (1) frontier settlement (1845–1900), focused on basic needs acquisition and direct utilization of the resource base; (2) drainage and land conversion (1900–1930), focused on population and economic growth, land use change, and increased resource management and competition; (3) flood control and consolidation (1930–1950), focused on inputs from external sources and infusion of advanced technology, the development of governance and social structures, and increased concern for quality of life; (4) postwar boom, flood control, and water supply (1950–1970), focused on accelerated land use change, increased pollution, and further heightened concern for local quality of life; and (5) period of limits (1970–1995), focused on pollution and resource competition concerns, a developing regional environmental ethic and amenity values, and environmental preservation governance strategies.Taken together, the five periods represent the differing nature–society systems through which South Florida's regional ecosystem was degraded and which is now entering a phase of restoration.     

Je suis un Italien de Paris: Italian migrants’ incorporation in a European capital city

ABSTRACT

Italy has experienced a new wave of population outflows, in particular since the end of the 2000s, with France as one of the top destinations. This paper investigates the structural and socio-cultural integration of Italian migrants in Paris. The paper is based on a mixed-methods approach, using in-depth interviews, census data and an online survey. We found that the profile and incorporation patterns of post-crisis migrants reflects a long-term trend of middling migration out of Italy. Similar to other studies, we show that current Italian migrants are prevailingly highly skilled and employed in non-manual jobs. As for socio-cultural integration, the paper highlights the symbolic value of the host city, to which migrants are strongly attached. Moreover, the longer the Italian’s stay in Paris, the higher his/her integration in Italy-oriented activities, both within Paris and in Italy. This indicates a complex incorporation model that is at odds with assimilation but at the same time departs from ethnicised and community-based patterns. Italian migrants combine being both Parisian and Italian in a ‘synergistic balancing act’ (Erdal and Oeppen 2013. ‘Migrant Balancing Acts: Understanding the Interactions between Integration and Transnationalism.’ Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 39 (6):867–884.) of integration and transnationalism.     

The Power of Sum: An Accountability Sistah Circle

Duoethnography offers the narratives of first-generation Black women scholars who created a virtual community as a transformative safe space for peer mentorship and scholarship. Framed through a womanist epistemological lens, our narratives provide insight about challenges and triumphs of navigating the academy from female scholars of African descent. Unique to this chronicle, the development of an Accountability Sistah Circle in 2012 became an organic transformative community for personal and professional growth. Through the components of this model, which can be implemented with others living in the margins, we uncovered our authentic voices, shared resources, expanded social capital, and developed a ritual that provided a safety shield around us and ultimately helped enhance our academic fortitude.     

Black women’s experience of colorist microaggressions

ABSTRACT

This paper reports the findings of a study that investigated Black women’s experiences of colorism. The authors introduce a new framework, “colorist microaggressions”, which highlight the microaggressions experienced by Black women. The results indicate that colorist microaggressions impacted the social, relational, emotional, and relational aspects of Black women’s lives and their well-being. The results also showed that like racial microaggressions, the “colorist microaggressions” that Black women encountered in their community, family, and in society, were pervasive. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for social work research, education, and practice.     

Epistemic Communities: Description and Hierarchic Categorization

ABSTRACT

Understanding the structure of knowledge communities, and particularly the organization of “epistemic communities”, or groups of agents sharing common knowledge concerns, is usually based on either social relationships or semantic similarity. To link social and semantic aspects, a formal framework based on Galois lattices (or concept lattices) categorizes epistemic communities in an automated and hierarchically structured way. The process rebuilds a whole community structure and taxonomy, and notably fields and subfields gathering a certain proportion of agents. It is applied to empirical data to exhibit these alleged structural properties, successfully compared with categories given by domain experts.