Feminism and bureaucratic discourse∗

Abstract

The globalization of markets is calling national employment and social legislation increasingly into question, so that not only the international trade union organizations but also the Clinton Administration are calling for workers’ rights to be embodied in trade agreements. This paper deals with both the fundamental question of whether international labor standards serve a useful purpose and the more specific question of whether trade agreements are a suitable way of enforcing minimum standards. It will argue that international standards can plausibly be justified in terms of development theory. Core labor rights, furthermore, enjoy universal acceptance. A social clause can help in enforcing these rights. The procedures for negotiating social clauses and for implementing them as proposed by the international trade union movement do not lend themselves to protectionism.     

The Relationship Between Anxiety Disorders and Substance Use Among Adolescents in the Community: Specificity and Gender Differences

Using a sample of 781 adolescents (ages 13–17, 52.8% male) from a community survey, this study examined gender differences in the co-occurrence of specific anxiety disorders with substance use in adolescents. The associations between anxiety disorders and substance use differed according to the particular anxiety disorders and forms of substance use being examined, as well as by gender. Social phobia was associated with cigarette smoking among boys only. For girls, social phobia appeared to be negatively associated with drug use. For the other anxiety disorders, the associations with substance use tended to be stronger among girls. These findings highlight the need to improve clinical recognition of the anxiety disorders and to improve treatment access for afflicted adolescents. Future studies based on longitudinal data could further elucidate the relationships among anxiety disorders, gender, and substance use.     

‘Making it your own world’: Women's studies and freire

This paper presents an analysis of ten interviews with teachers of women's studies in some institutions of adult education. Most of the interviews took place in Scotland because the paper is taken from a wider investigation into the provision of women's studies in the sphere of adult education generally, and submitted in part requirement for the Diploma in Adult Education to Glasgow University. The paper concludes by focusing specifically on some of the remarks and recommendations made in The Alexander Report—Adult Education: The Challenge of Change, HMSO 1975, interweaving these into a Feminist and Freirian perspective.     

Constructions of sexuality

Dorchen Leidholdt and Janice Raymond (eds) The Sexual Liberals And The Attack On Feminism (Pergamon) New York, 1990; Lynda Nead Myths Of Sexuality: Representations Of Women In Victorian Britain (Blackwell) Oxford, 1990; Lesley Holly (ed.) Girls And Sexuality: Teaching And Learning (O.U.P.) Milton Keynes, 1989.     

The Process of Leaving an Abusive Relationship: The Role of Risk Assessments and Decision-Certainty

Seventy female residents of an urban domestic violence shelter were interviewed to examine a series of hypotheses concerning two factors relevant to the process of leaving an abusive relationship: risk assessments and decision-certainty. Participants' subjective estimates of their own risk of returning to the batterer were examined relative to their perceptions of the likelihood that most battered women will return to the batterer, their certainty regarding the decision to leave the batterer, and their status on known risk factors for returning to an abusive relationship. As hypothesized, battered women's perceptions of personal risk for returning to the batterer were biased by unrealistic optimism; specifically, personal risk was estimated as significantly lower than the risk of most battered women and was not correlated with actual risk factors. Further, the magnitude of the optimistic bias was significantly greater among women expressing high certainty about their decision to leave than among women who expressed less certainty. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The forensic pathologist and the determination of driver versus passenger in motor vehicle collisions. The need to examine injury mechanisms, occupant kinematics, vehicle dynamics, and trace evidence

Five cases of vehicular homicide are presented in which the determination of an occupant's role in a motor vehicle collision was an important medicolegal question. The identification of the occupant's role in a motor vehicle collision can be determined by the forensic pathologist. The investigation that coordinates an examination of injury mechanisms, occupant kinematics, vehicle dynamics, and trace evidence will facilitate such a determination. This determination protects the innocent passenger, when faced with criminal or civil charges, from being falsely prosecuted as the driver. The examination of the above-mentioned components in a multi-occupant collision takes on particular forensic importance when a surviving driver claims to be a passenger: the victim rather than the assailant.     

The politics of Premenstrual Syndrome: Implications for feminist justice

Recently, there has been a number of criminal cases where Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) has been recognized as a mitigating factor in the commission of crime. In the wake of these cases, feminists are divided on the question of whether the use of PMS as defense or as a consideration during sentencing is in the best interests of women. In this paper, Kendall overviews controversies surrounding PMS as a construct which reflects the experiences of women. Deconstructing PMS in order to reveal its political origins within medical discourse, the author argues that the introduction of PMS into legal discourse will only serve to further disadvantage women. She argues for the development of an alternative and potentially subversive discourse about PMS which reflects women's experiences, but which relocates women's bodies within their social, political, and economic context.