Shopping for Men: The Single Woman Narrative

Philips adresses a relatively new genre of fiction for women readers- including works by Jane Green, Freya North, Jane Gordon, Marian Keyes and the journalist Kathryn Flett- namely, that of the working woman romance narrative. These are novels that are addressed to a generation of young women who have independent incomes, are in work and are skilled consumers. The title, 'Shopping for Men', refers both to the consumption of men as objects of romance, and to the deployment of consumer skills in order to create a man worthy of the heroine's desire. In these novels, romance and sexual desire are contingent upon the reader and heroine appreciating and valuing consumer items. Using Bourdieu's argument that distinctions of taste are integrally related to class relations, the paper suggests that 'Mr Right' in these novels is required to display an awareness of consumer labels, and an ability to purchase them that surpasses that of the heroine. Philips will suggest that, while the heroines of these narratives assume all the gains of feminism, the romantic expectations are those of traditional gender relations, and that, while the female protagonist is assumed to be a working woman with a successful career, the romantic denouement depends on a hero whose work and social status are superior to hers.     

‘Wandering Jews’? British Jewry,outdoor recreation and the far-left, 1900–1939

During the early twentieth century, scores of second and third generation migrant Jews became deeply involved and interested in outdoor recreation (cycling, camping and rambling) associated with the political far-left in Britain. Amongst politically inspired organisations such as the Clarion Cycling Club, the British Workers' Sports Federation and the Young Communist League, Jews were keen consumers of opportunities for recreation in the British outdoors. This was a growing leisure habit which was zealously protected when threatened and had a significant impact on many Jews' lifestyles and ethnicities. This article will demonstrate that many Jews ‘wandering’ on organised rambles in the Peaks or Chilterns were also ‘wandering’ away from their Jewishness by moving closer, in terms of social, cultural and political lifestyles and identity, to their non-Jewish working-class peers.     

“Girl talk”: gender, equity, and identity discourses in a school-based computer culture

This article describes how a feminist intervention project in Canada focused on girls' more equitable access to and use of computers created significant opportunities for girls to develop and experience new identities as technology ‘experts’ within their school. In addition to a significant increase in participants' own technological expertise, there was a marked shift in the ways in which they talked about and negotiated their own gender identities with teachers and other students. Most significantly, the participants in the project became increasingly vocal about what they saw as inequitable practices in the daily operation of the school as well as those they were subject to by their teachers. This created, within the otherwise resilient macro-culture of the school, a more supportive climate for the advancement of gender equity well beyond the confines of its computer labs. We suggest that while equity-oriented school-level change is notoriously difficult to sustain, its most enduring impact might rather be participants' initiation into a discourse to which they had not previously experienced school-sanctioned access: a discourse in which to give voice to gender-specific inequities too long quieted by complacent discourses of “equality for all.”     

Posttraumatic Stress as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Trauma and Mental Health Problems Among Juvenile Delinquents

This study investigated the interrelationships among trauma exposure, PTSD, and mental health problems in a sample of 289 adolescents (199 male, 90 female) detained in a juvenile correctional facility. Mean differences were found in that females scored higher than males on measures of interpersonal trauma exposure and symptoms of both simple and complex PTSD. Females also endorsed more mental health problems in the areas of depression/anxiety, somatic complaints, and suicidal ideation. For all youth, trauma exposure, PTSD, and mental health problems were correlated. Results of structural equation modeling were consistent with the hypothesis that PTSD mediates the relationship between interpersonal trauma and mental health problems for all youth, although the results were stronger for females.

Stress and Emotional Reactivity as Explanations for Gender Differences in Adolescents’ Depressive Symptoms

In this longitudinal study, we examined whether certain types of stressful events and how individuals respond to these events would explain gender differences in depressive symptoms among adolescents. We hypothesized that certain stressful events would mediate the relationship between gender and depressive symptoms. We also hypothesized that individual differences in emotional reactivity would impact part of this relationship. Lastly, we examined whether gender differences in early childhood temperament might explain gender differences in emotional reactivity in adolescence. We examined these hypotheses in a sample of 315 adolescents (51% females; 93% Caucasian; 3% African–American; and 1% each Hispanic, Asian–American, and Native American) participating in a longitudinal study of child development since birth. We used multiple regression and constrained nonlinear regression to analyze the data. Results indicated that stressful events significantly mediated gender differences in depression, and that individual differences in emotional reactivity to these stressors significantly moderated the relationship between stress and depression. We also observed significant gender differences in emotional reactivity to these stressors; temperamental differences in withdrawal negativity in infancy were marginally significant in mediating gender differences in emotional reactivity to stress in adolescence.

Preventing ‘robotised women workers’: women,sport and the workplace in Scotland 1919–1939

This article examines a new area of women's leisure; women's participation in work-related sport. The growth and development of industrial welfare in Scotland in the interwar period will be discussed. Within broader studies, Stephen Jones, Helen Jones and Melling have all indicated that there was a growth in industrial welfarism in Britain from the turn of the twentieth century. This development of welfarism, which included provision of educational classes, pensions and medical support, increasingly also encompassed a variety of sports and physical activities. By looking at case studies, developments in provision across a range of industries will be examined. This discussion will draw on a wide range of sources from a variety of women's employment, from factories to clerical positions and from the retail sector to the civil service. This article will examine the types of sporting opportunities open to women through their workplaces, including organised welfare schemes and independent employee-led activities. Moreover, it will explore working women's experiences of these activities and the ways in which they chose to participate in sport.     

Gender,Sexuality and the Theory of Seduction

Fletcher seeks to readdress the sex-gender-sexuality distinctions and the Lacanian theorization of sexual difference in the framework of Jean Laplanche's generalized theory of primal seduction. In particular he addresses the double-bind of phallocentrism, as outlined by Jacqueline Rose and Juliet Mitchell, that seems to be entailed by the requirements of a symbolic, constructionist account of the unconscious and the divided subject. He argues that Laplanche's generalized theory of seduction elaborates an account of the formation of the unconscious as a separate mental system and of the sexual drives as a result of the signifying relations with the other, the adult other of personal pre-history, and of the consequent entry into symbolization. This moment of seduction/translation/primal repression is rigorously distinguished from the secondary moments of the Oedipus and castration complexes which are conceived as secondary forms of binding and translation of the enigmatic signifiers implanted by the adult (which includes assignations of gender). Fletcher argues that the symbolic, constructionist requirement is met - no castration without representation - without its reversal as in Lacanian theory into the very different, phallocentric position - no representation without castration. This has important implications for the theorization of dissident sexual subjectivities as well of the specificity of female sexuality.     

Increasing Employment Precariousness in Post-socialist China: Everyone Equal in a World of Uncertainty?

ABSTRACT

Based on a mixed-methods research design, this article explores young adults’ work trajectories. The findings presented in this article are based on retrospective longitudinal data collected in Beijing between September 2012 and August 2014. It is argued that, in China, neoliberal ideology has been mobilized in conjunction with a neo-familialist discourse which emphasizes the central role of women within Chinese families. Once married, women are compelled to embody “traditional” Chinese values. Although the country has a high level of female labour-market participation, in post-socialist China, the public discourse on family tends to reassign women to their roles as wives and mothers above their role as workers. Women are also more at risk than men of encountering vulnerabilities in their employment trajectories. Since the opening-up to a market economy and the individualization of labour relations, the market ideology has imposed itself and deepened socio-economic inequalities and social stratification. As the collectivist welfare system has not yet found a solid substitute able to provide social protection for the whole population, the family, and especially women, are asked to take on part of this role.     

Sport,Gender and Ethnicity: Practises of Symbolic Inclusion/Exclusion

In this paper symbolic inclusion/exclusion processes in sport with respect to gender and ethnicity among adolescents (n = 1025) are analyzed from a social-critical perspective. It was found that sport participation preferences of young people are still influenced by dominant normative gendered and racial/ethnic images. Sport can serve not only as an agent of integration among youth, but is also used to differentiate and discriminate. On one hand sport participation is less predictable with respect to gender, due for example to interactions with ethnicity. Although ethnic minority girls participate the least in sport, ‘black,’ traditional ‘masculine‘ sports such as soccer and fighting/self-defense are valued relative highly. On the other hand, the data show that especially the male adolescents symbolically exclude girls from ‘masculine’ sports such as soccer; in addition for both ethnic minority and majority boys the fear of being labelled as a ‘sissy’ works as a strong mechanism of self-exclusion from participation in traditional ‘feminine’ sports. However, stereotypical normative images are not only confirmed through sport (participation), but also continually challenged.Researcher/lecturer, Tilburg University. Research interest in inclusionary and exclusionary mechanisms in sport, especially with respect to gender, ethnicity and sexuality.Senior researcher, Utrecht University. Major research interest in gender, ethnicity and leadership positions in sport.     

The Link between Competitive Sport Participation and Self-concept in Early Adolescence: A Consideration of Gender and Sport Orientation

The current study explored specific aspects of sports and individuals on 4 domains of the self-system (physical competence and physical appearance self-concept, global physical and general self-esteem). Participants were 351 adolescents (M _age = 13.45, SD = 1.25 years, males n = 132) recruited from elite sports and regular school classrooms. Participants were separated into groups based on sports participation (elite athletes, n = 171, competitive athletes, n = 71; and non-athletes, n = 145). The intensity of the activity (strenuous, moderate, and mild), the level of athleticism (competitive, elite, non-athlete), gender, and sport orientation (win, goal, competitive) were examined. The level of athleticism (elite, competitive, and non-athlete) was found to be positively related to physical competence and appearance self-concept as well as global physical and general self-esteem. Analyses revealed a significant difference between the non-athletes and both the competitive and elite groups (with a difference between the latter two for physical competence only). Sport orientation was found to moderate the relation between athleticism and general self-esteem; non-athletes who had a greater win orientation or lower competitive orientation were also lower in self-esteem. Thus, the fit between the level of competition and self-concept may depend on characteristics of the individual such as her/her sport orientation.