The majority legal status of women in southern Africa: implications for women and families

Women in many countries of southern Africa do not have majority status or have only recently gained this right. Majority status grants individuals adult legal status and the right to bring matters to court, own and administer property, have legal custody of children, and contract for marriage. This article summarizes the legal status of women in Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Lack of majority status contributes to the ongoing risk of poverty for women and makes them overly dependent on men. Compounding the situation in these countries is the presence of a dual legal system. Improving the situation of women and their families involves targeting changes in the legal system, influencing implementation of laws, educating women about their rights, and giving women needed support to seek their legal rights. The legal status of women must be viewed in the context of historical changes in the economic, educational, political, and cultural developments of society.The research for this paper was conducted during her previous faculty affiliation with the University of Michigan, School of Social Work. Her research interests include the impact of social change on women and families, rural mental health services, and health and mental health linkages. She received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University and her M.S.W. from the Columbia University School of Social Work.Her research interests are gender, work and family, culture and power, social transformations in rural and peri-urban communities, critical education, women and community politics, history of women, family and kinship issues, and community-based program development and evaluation. She received her M.S.W. from Dalhousie University, Halifax.     

永恒的轮回——传统“警世”文学母题的人生观与价值观

传统“警世”文学里,作家在表现人的基本需求时往往流露出既向往又恐惧的心态。这种向往与恐惧心态的交替或反复出现,反映出作家对于喜与悲、幸与不幸,对于历史、社会、人生的倏忽变幻的循环感,这使中国古典作家轻易地接受佛教的轮回观念。这种对于生命存在的不确定性的感受与表达,显示了传统“警世”文学的深刻与凝重。     

Homework and domestic work

This study assesses two competing theories about the extent to which homework—paid work in the home—helps integrate work and domestic roles for men and women. Contrasting male and female homeworkers with their counterparts working outside the home, it supports some aspects of both the resource and role overload theories, but predominantly the role overload perspective. Homeworkers, especially in the working class, experience less interference between job and family life, but perform more housework and child care. They have no more leisure time nor greater marital satisfaction than those working outside the home, but receive more family assistance with their paid jobs, suggesting that they combine tasks from their first and second shifts. Working at home does not break down gender roles in domestic life. Despite time saved from commuting, male homeworkers perform no more housework than comparable men working outside the home. Thus, the gender division of unpaid household labor is not simply a matter of resources or spatial logistics.An earlier version was presented at the meetings of the Eastern Sociological Society, Providence, Rhode Island, April 1991.     

网络拟古世情小说对当下意识形态的民间再构

近年来,在网络通俗小说创作中涌现出大量的拟古世情小说。这类小说往往以宏大的故事布局和对优秀女主人公的塑造,吸引了众多阅读者的目光。这些女主人公群像,不仅反映出汉民族文化传统的审美眼光,也寄托了根源于以家族、财富为中心的社会价值期待,还与当下价值评判体系中的女性群体的自我期许相吻合。这些拟古世情小说在完成言情小说的爱情故事构形和实现娱情的休闲功能以外,也因为广大阅读群体逐渐步入或即将步入中产阶层而发生相应的变化,重新赋予女性作为稳定家庭、增长财富、养育子女、传承家风的核心力量的社会意义,她们洁身自好,对爱情专一,勇于面对困难,乐于奉献,担当责任,胸怀宽广。这些新型的“高大全”形象,表达出女性主义的新倾向：女性的成长和幸福的获得,更重要的在于女性内在的精神力量,与传统的气节、操守有关的人格因素,以及家教和门风。这使得网络平台的民间话语表达,具有更为包容传统以及融合其合理因素的价值取向,也与当下主流意识形态遥相呼应。     

中国单身女性的困境: 多元交叉的社会压力和歧视

随着中国单身人口比例的上升,单身人群特别是单身女性群体受到了社会各个层面的关注。目前国内对单身女性的研究主要通过深度访谈来探讨单身未婚女性的身心和生活状态,缺乏系统的理论观照,且访谈样本又大都局限于大城市的中产阶层单身未婚女性,因而限制了研究成果的代表性。从交叉性理论出发,分析中国单身女性面临的宏观(儒家文化和人口调控压力)、中观(媒体的形象控制和代际压力)和微观(性别歧视、年龄歧视和单身歧视)的多元交叉压力和歧视,厘清目前单身女性所受到的压力和歧视,从不同阶层单身女性的需求出发,才能为她们提供切实有效的帮助,并有助于解决目前我国单身人口比例上升的问题,缓解人口老龄化的压力。     

从"性别差距"看美国女性在选举中的地位

随着女性参政意识的增强,美国女性逐渐在选民中占居多数,大选中的"性别差距"引起了人们的注意。自1980年以来,"性别差距"在美国历次大选中表现明显,其存在的根本原因在于男女在政治、经济和社会地位等方面的不平等,致使女性对一些问题的看法与男性有所差异,因此在大选中也显示出了差距。对"性别差距"的研究从各个侧面揭示了女性选举的特点及其选票的分布情况,对美国总统候选人的竞选活动或执政者的策略制定都有很高的参考价值。     

结构功能视角中的少数民族妇女外流——以凉山彝族为例

少数民族妇女外流对流出地社会和少数民族本身的生存与发展带来的全方位影响值得关注。本文运用结构功能论的视角,以凉山地区彝族妇女外流为例,将这一中现层面的社会问题嵌入到彝族农村的宏现社会结构之中,分析妇女外流对彝族社会的人口结构、经济结构、婚姻家庭结构、文化结构等诸方面所造成的压力．剖析妇女外流现象对凉山彝族地区所产生的深远影响。     

宗教改革时期的女性

宗教改革是西方文明史上具有转折意义的历史事件,但是对于女性来说却未必是她们命运的转折点。新教针对天主教禁欲主义肯定了婚姻的价值,"人人皆僧侣"的思想也使新教比较重视女性的教育问题。但同时,新教又使家庭代替修道院成为女性新的牢笼,新教也剥夺了一些女性在改革前拥有的独立生活的机会。面临改革冲击的天主教,不仅延续了中世纪的女性观,而且在某些方面进一步加强了对女性的禁锢。无论是在新教还是天主教地区,女性对宗教和社会活动的参与都经历了由最初的积极活跃到宗教秩序确立后遭到排挤和压制的过程。     

实现男女平等构建两性和谐发展的社会

男女两性协调发展在构建和谐社会中有十分重要的意义,两性协调发展可促进经济、社会协调发展,有利于人的全面发展,同时女性发展得到重视,有助于从根本上提高民族素质,推动三大文明建设。但实际生活中,实现男女平等、协调发展既面临传统与现实的挑战,又面临经济全球化、城市化、工业化进程带来的机遇。本文在分析这些情况的基础上,提出解决男女协调发展的途径。