Devdutt Pattanaik's The Pregnant King is a radical and unconventional reinterpretation of the theme of masculinity, set within the context of Indian mythology. Through the narrative of “Yuvanashva, the king who becomes pregnant and gives birth,” the novel challenges the interlocked dualities of masculinity, power, and responsibility, which have constructed the notion of masculinity within Indian society. In this paper, “The Pregnant King” is explored as a “trauma narrative,” specifically exploring the notion of masculinity as it is constructed, maintained, and smothered through familial and spatial discourses. Using the frameworks of masculinity studies, trauma theory, and spatial theory, it will be posited that the suffering of “Yuvanashva” is more social and psychological than biologically or mythologically constructed. The demands of lineage script his life, Putra–pitru moksha, and royal duty, reducing his life to the single function of fathering a child. The novel, therefore, reveals how men, too, are forced into their roles no less than women, forbidding emotions and bodily integrity from them. By locating male trauma within mythological space, Pattanaik dismantles dominant narratives of heroic masculinity and makes possible reconsiderations of gender, wholeness, and selfhood beyond patriarchal completion.

ABSTRACT This study explores physical touch as a pedagogical action in the interplay between male preschool teachers and children in early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Sweden. Previous research shows that preschool practitioners view touch as a resource for supporting children’s care and development. However, touch has also been scrutinised amid discourses on children’s protection and the implementation of policies safeguarding children’s bodily integrity. Men, as a minority in female-dominated ECEC, report being particularly cautious about touching children to avoid potential suspicions. The study is grounded in John Dewey’s pragmatism from a transactional perspective, with fieldwork – including participant observation supported by field notes and video recordings – conducted across three Swedish preschool classes involving 45 children and three male preschool teachers. A qualitative analysis using an abductive approach identified five types of physical touch as pedagogical actions: focus-oriented, guiding, assisting, affectionate and playful. Touch takes different forms and is shaped by various contextual factors observed across pedagogical situations. These findings suggest that touch can support children’s care and learning and enhance male preschool teachers’ professional practice.

Kidney transplantation offers patients the prospect of a "second life," yet this renewed existence does not necessarily mark the end of liminality. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork in Turkey, this study examines how recipients of cadaveric (n = 22) and living-related (n = 26) kidney donations, along with their family caregivers, continue to navigate an unresolved threshold between illness and recovery. Data were collected through in-depth participant observation and consecutive semi-structured interviews conducted during hospitalization and the post-transplant follow-up period. The findings reveal that transplantation does not dissolve the liminal state but transforms it into a prolonged condition of uncertainty, vigilance, and moral reflection. Recipients of living donations expressed deep gratitude, often interwoven with feelings of guilt and indebtedness toward their kin. At the same time, those who received cadaveric kidneys described anxiety about carrying a stranger's organ and the moral implications of survival through another's death. Both patients and caregivers come to embody what medical professionals often describe as "a different kind of patient"-neither thoroughly sick nor fully well, constantly negotiating the meaning of health, normalcy, and bodily integrity. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that the "second life" after transplantation is not a passage to normalcy but a continuation of liminality-an enduring, shared state in which bodily, moral, and relational boundaries are perpetually redefined.

The traumatic injuries suffered by victims of bodily harm offences are analysed, from a legal perspective, as a component of the constitutive elements of the offence, namely the immediate consequence. These injuries overlap with the consequences expressly provided for in the criminalisation text, specifically Article 194(1) of the Criminal Code. Thus, the assessment focuses on the extent to which the victim’s physical (bodily) integrity has been affected, for the purpose of determining the correct legal classification of the act committed. This allows for an analysis of how the victim's physical (bodily) integrity is affected, for the purpose of legally classifying the specific act committed. How is mental integrity affected by physical trauma assessed from a legal perspective? It is unanimously accepted in the legal doctrine It is unanimously accepted in the legal sphere and regulated by constitutional and branch rules that there is a symbiosis between the physical and mental integrity of the human being. Regarding the close and inseparable link between the two types of integrity, in light of the provisions of Article 3 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the renowned professor and researcher at the European Academy of Bolzano, Gabriel N. Toggenburg, stated that "human beings are like ancient amphorae. Each one is unique. Each must be treated with care. Violence leaves permanent marks and causes irreparable damage. The internal and external dimensions of an amphora cannot be isolated from each other. This is why Article 3 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union protects not only the physical but also the 'mental integrity' of all human beings."[1] The analysis of the trauma suffered by the victim, both physically and especially psychologically and emotionally, must be carried out in order to establish the damage, using civil law rules and not criminal law rules. The choice of specific criteria for assessing how mental and emotional integrity has been affected, and the means of evidence that can support the existence, severity and duration of the damage to the victim's psycho-emotional balance, is key to the fair resolution of this type of criminal case. [1] Gabriel N. Toggenburg, The3rdof all EU rights: Integrity and how the Charter contributes/The European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano (EURAC) - https://www.eurac.edu/en/blogs/eureka/the-3rd-of-all-eu-r-rights-integrity-and-how-the-charter-contributes

This article examines women rag pickers’ labour in urban India through feminist political economy, embodiment, and social reproduction. Drawing on fieldwork from Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, it argues that women’s agency in informal waste work operates through responsibility-laden survival rather than empowerment or accumulation. Widowed, separated, and deserted women—often sole household earners—experience intensified bodily depletion through long work hours, chronic illness, time poverty, and debt, yet simultaneously exercise everyday authority over income allocation, spatial mobility, market negotiations, and household governance. Conceptualised here as power within constraint, this relational agency sustains families and urban recycling systems while leaving structural inequalities intact. The article further offers a feminist critique of urban sustainability narratives, showing how cleanliness and recycling regimes depend on women’s embodied labour while rendering them institutionally invisible. By foregrounding women rag pickers as economic managers rather than residual workers, the study reframes informal sanitation as a feminist political economy issue and calls for gender-just urban futures centred on labour dignity, bodily integrity, and social reproduction.

This qualitative study examines the lived experiences of a small purposively selected sample of women in Israel who had consciously chosen to remain childfree within a strongly pronatalist context. Informed by a constructivist feminist approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with participants who self-identified as childfree by choice. Thematic analysis yielded three themes. The first of these - redefining femininity and the embodied self - shows how participants challenged assumptions that equated womanhood with motherhood, framing femininity as rooted in autonomy and bodily integrity. The second theme - relationships, sexuality, and navigating social expectations - highlights how participants managed reproductive intentions, relational boundaries, and stigma. The third theme - autonomy, freedom, and the validation of choice - demonstrates how participants described childfreeness as a fulfilling life pathway aligned with personal values and emotional freedom. Interpreted through a social constructionist lens, the findings suggest that voluntary childlessness should be understood not as a lifestyle preference but as a consciously articulated identity shaped by moral reasoning and negotiation with social norms. Study findings offer an in-depth account of meaning-making among women who actively claim a childfree identity within a collectivist society.

This paper asks whether the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has driven a rights-based transformation of mental-health law, or merely refined a paternalistic status quo. Using doctrinal analysis of the ECHR and close reading of leading judgments, it situates Strasbourg case law within the Council of Europe’s normative framework (European Social Charter, Oviedo Convention) and soft-law developments, read against the CRPD. Three core findings emerge. First, the Court has thickened procedural protections under Articles 5 and 3, tightening admission standards, extending review to informal and social-care placements, and recognising therapeutic neglect as ill-treatment, while Article 8 jurisprudence increasingly foregrounds bodily integrity and participation. Second, non-consensual treatment is still treated largely as an incident of lawful detention, with deference to clinical expertise and risk-based reasoning; autonomy and equal legal capacity remain weak constraints. Third, Council of Europe soft law and equality norms outpace binding doctrine, endorsing deinstitutionalisation, informed consent, and supported decision-making. The paper prescribes recalibration: analytically decoupling detention from treatment, with capacity-sensitive review under Articles 3 and 8; enforcing rigorous least-restrictive-alternative tests, and integrating Article 14 scrutiny to expose structural discrimination.

Marital rape defined as sexual intercourse without consent within marriage remains one of the most contested, invisible, and misunderstood forms of domestic violence in India. Despite global recognition of bodily autonomy as a fundamental human right, Indian law continues to uphold a colonial‑era exemption that denies married women the same protection granted to unmarried women. This research paper examines the historical, legal, social, and psychological dimensions of marital rape in India through an extensive review of existing literature, national crime data, international reports, and secondary quantitative findings. The purpose of this study is to analyze the deep‑rooted patriarchal norms that shape the legal system, understand the complex barriers that prevent survivors from reporting abuse, and evaluate the broader implications of continuing to treat forced sexual intercourse within marriage as a non‑criminal act. Drawing upon data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS‑5), the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the World Health Organization (WHO), and multiple NGO reports, the research highlights significant discrepancies between the recorded cases of domestic violence and the actual prevalence of spousal sexual violence in Indian households. While official crime statistics show limited reporting, independent studies consistently reveal far higher rates of coercion and abuse, suggesting that silence is not evidence of safety but a reflection of stigma, dependence, and a lack of legal remedies. The literature further demonstrates that marital rape affects women across socioeconomic backgrounds, challenging the misconception that it is confined to lower‑income or less‑educated groups. Instead, the findings illustrate that hierarchical gender norms and social expectations surrounding marriage play a central role in keeping survivors silent, regardless of class or region. The study also incorporates expert opinions and secondary accounts from legal scholars, human rights advocates, and social researchers, revealing a stark divide between international human rights standards and India’s current legal framework. While more than 150 countries recognize marital rape as a criminal offense, India remains among a shrinking minority that continues to treat marriage as an automatic and permanent form of consent. This disconnect not only violates the principles of bodily integrity and personal liberty but also contradicts constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity. The research further explores the psychological consequences of marital rape, underscoring its long‑term impact on survivors’ emotional well‑being, self‑perception, and mental health factors that are often dismissed or minimized because the violence occurs within the context of marriage. Overall, this paper argues that the failure to criminalize marital rape perpetuates a culture of silence, normalizes coercion, and reinforces harmful gender dynamics within Indian society. By synthesizing quantitative data, legal analyses, and expert commentary, the research concludes that acknowledging marital rape as a crime is essential for advancing gender justice, protecting survivors, and aligning India with global human rights norms. The findings underscore the urgent need for legal reform, social awareness, and a systemic shift toward understanding consent as an ongoing, indispensable aspect of intimate relationships. Without meaningful change, marital rape will continue to remain hidden in plain sight an often ignored but deeply damaging form of violence within the Indian household.

The work-wellbeing Paradox: Exploring the emotional and bodily dimensions of intersectional capitalism among Latinx immigrants in the U.S.

Digital technology has expanded women’s opportunities for expression and participation, while simultaneously enabling new and intensified forms of gender-based violence. In India, technology-facilitated violence against women (TFVW) has increased in scale and complexity, yet existing legal frameworks remain inadequately equipped to address its multidimensional harms. This article identifies a significant gap in Indian law, arguing that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act (IT Act) insufficiently recognise psychological harm, informational privacy violations, and non-sexual online abuse, while continuing to rely on patriarchal notions of consent, modesty, and public morality. Adopting a doctrinal legal research methodology informed by feminist jurisprudence, the article examines statutory provisions, judicial interpretations, and enforcement practices governing TFVW in India. It demonstrates how current laws prioritise bodily integrity and obscenity-based regulation, thereby marginalising women’s digital autonomy and reinforcing victim-blaming narratives. Drawing on constitutional principles of equality, dignity, and privacy, the article advances a feminist legal framework that shifts the analytical focus from consent and morality to harm, agency, and structural inequality. The article contributes to feminist legal scholarship by reconceptualising TFVW as a constitutional rights violation and argues for transformative legal reform to address the systemic nature of digital violence against women.

The shortage of body donors remains a challenge for anatomy education in South Korea, despite growing public awareness. This study investigated sociodemographic, attitudinal, and experiential factors associated with willingness to donate among Korean adults. A total of 204 individuals aged 19 years or older completed a structured questionnaire on knowledge, perceptions, and willingness regarding body donation. Overall, 44.8% expressed willingness to donate, while 55.2% reported no willingness, with the most common motivation being contributions to medical advancement (83.9%). Logistic regression revealed a significant association with religious affiliation (overall p = 0.047), as individuals reporting no religion demonstrated markedly lower willingness than Protestants. Lower income and lower educational attainment were also associated with higher willingness to donate. No significant associations were found for sex, age, marital status, occupation, or self-rated health. Willingness to support a family member's donation was strongly associated with personal willingness (p < 0.001), whereas concerns about family grief or bodily integrity were not significant. Only one-third of participants had encountered publicity on body donation, and 69.6% perceived current promotional efforts as insufficient. These findings suggest that psychological and cultural factors-particularly religion, socioeconomic position, and familial attitudes-may exert greater influence on willingness than demographic characteristics alone. Targeted education and outreach addressing these factors may be essential to increase donation rates and ensure a sustainable supply of donated bodies for medical and healthcare education.

Despite significant advances in transplantation technologies, the global gap between organ availability and demand continues to widen. Hong Kong, in particular, reports notably low organ donation rates among developed regions. Understanding the psychological barriers to donation is essential for developing effective interventions, particularly among young adults who represent a crucial demographic for establishing lifelong donation commitments. The present study examined the complex interplay of psychosocial and emotional factors influencing organ donation intentions among Hong Kong university students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 280 university students in Hong Kong, using validated instruments to assess multiple psychological constructs: depressive thinking, altruism, death anxiety, self-efficacy, perceived social support, Big Five personality traits, and Buddhist and Karmic beliefs. Hierarchical regression and moderated mediation analyses were performed to identify direct and indirect predictors for organ donation intentions. Results showed that higher death anxiety (β = −.133, p = .036) and stronger Buddhist beliefs emphasizing bodily integrity (β = −.22, p < .001) were associated with lower donation intentions, while greater self-efficacy (β = .22, p < .001) and perceived social support (β = .28, p < .001) positively predicted donation intentions. Notably, dispositional characteristics including altruism, depressive thinking, personality traits, and Karmic beliefs did not directly predict donation intentions. However, depressive thinking exerted an indirect negative effect on donation intentions through elevated death anxiety, and this mediational pathway was stronger among participants with lower self-efficacy (index of moderated mediation = .035, 95% CI [.0002,.0013]). These findings highlight the critical roles of emotional and situational factors, rather than stable personality characteristics, in determining organ donation intentions among Hong Kong university students. Public health interventions aiming to reduce death anxiety and strengthen self-efficacy may be particularly effective in promoting organ donor registration among young adults in Hong Kong. Future initiatives should prioritize culturally sensitive approaches that address existential concerns while building confidence in donation decision-making.

While almost half of all pregnancies in Uganda are unintended, the use of post-abortion intrauterine devices (IUDs) remains low. In this study, we explored how women in Uganda with current or recent post-abortion IUD use navigated socio-cultural factors, norms and power relations, and overcame challenges that often hinder contraceptive use in this context. Between January and August 2023, we conducted a qualitative study at four health facilities in central Uganda. The study included 24 in-depth interviews with women aged 19 years and above who had used an IUD following treatment for incomplete abortion (spontaneous or induced). The data were transcribed and coded in NVivo and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Respondents justified their IUD use through a combination of pragmatic reasoning, personal autonomy and economic considerations. The right to bodily integrity, alongside practical reflections on financial constraints, gender roles and societal expectations, emerged as important considerations. Compassionate post-abortion contraceptive counselling enhanced confidence in their decision and dispelled myths and misconceptions. Concealed IUD use enabled participants to pursue their reproductive goals, while evading influence from partners, peers, or social norms that discourage use. Our findings highlight the potential of post-abortion contraceptive counselling in supporting women’s choices, and the role of concealed IUD use in realising reproductive goals. Integrating arguments around bodily autonomy in post-abortion contraceptive counselling and advocacy and supporting overt and covert use may be important strategies to strengthen sexual and reproductive health and rights in this setting.

Reproductive rights constitute a fundamental aspect of human rights, encompassing the capacity of individuals particularly women to make autonomous and informed decisions concerning their reproductive lives. These rights extend to access to contraception, safe abortion, assisted reproductive technologies, fertility treatments, and maternal healthcare, ensuring control over the timing, spacing, and number of children. At their core, reproductive rights are inseparable from human dignity, bodily integrity, and gender equality, as they enable individuals to exercise agency over their own bodies, resist coercion, and participate fully in social, economic, and political life

Stress may be defined as the perceived threat to an individual’s physical, emotional, social, economic, or bodily integrity, eliciting a coordinated set of adaptive neurobiological responses. In right-handed individuals, interoceptive self-awareness is predominantly represented in the right anterior insula, a region critically involved in integrating internal bodily states with higher-order regulatory functions. Emerging evidence indicates that threat-related stress can induce lateralized changes in right insular activity, thereby modulating the vestibular system. Such modulation may produce vestibular functional asymmetry, resulting in dizziness, postural imbalance, and a subjective sense of instability. This review synthesizes current evidence on stress-induced lateralized insular modulation and the structural and functional connectivity between the insular cortex and vestibular nuclei. We propose an integrative neurobiological model linking these mechanisms to alterations in bodily self-experience during states of threat.

Purpose:The aim of this study was to explore the religious, cultural, and systemic barriers to corneal donation and transplantation in Syria and to propose a context-specific framework for establishing a sustainable eye banking system.Methods:We conducted a narrative review incorporating retrospective data from Syria’s largest eye hospital and an analysis of Islamic legal opinions related to corneal donation. Key barriers to donation and access to corneal transplantation were identified through thematic synthesis of clinical and religious sources.Results:Between 1997 and 2025, over 74% of documented cases of corneal pathology requiring transplantation remained untreated because of limited infrastructure, severe shortages in donor tissue, and cultural beliefs. While public hesitancy is driven by concerns over bodily integrity and mistrust in the health system, Islamic jurisprudence overwhelmingly supports corneal donation as a permissible and charitable act.Conclusions:Religious alignment and community education present major opportunities for expanding corneal donation in Syria. We propose a framework for sustainable eye banking rooted in operational feasibility, religious endorsement, and public trust.

Organ donation is a medical and ethical issue shaped by faith, culture, and beliefs about death and the body. For nursing students, these beliefs intersect with their emerging professional identity, often generating tensions between personal convictions and professional duties. This study aimed to explore nursing students' perceptions of organ donation in Türkiye, focusing on the influence of faith, cultural values, and professional identity in shaping their decisions. We adopted a descriptive phenomenological design with focus-group interviews. Thirteen undergraduate nursing students from a foundation university participated in three online focus groups. Data were analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke's six-step framework, guided by COREQ standards. Two overarching themes were identified: (1) Organ Donation in Light of Personal Experiences and Values, which included family influence, spiritual and cultural beliefs, death anxiety, bodily integrity, and issues of justice and trust; and (2) Organ Donation in Light of Professional Identity and Education, reflecting the role of clinical experiences, ethical principles, and the challenge of reconciling personal beliefs with professional responsibilities. While many students valued organ donation as an altruistic act, religious and cultural concerns contributed to hesitation, especially in decisions involving family members. Nursing students' perspectives on organ donation emerge at the intersection of faith, culture, and professional identity. Incorporating religious and cultural dimensions into nursing curricula, alongside ethics-based education and reflective practice, may strengthen students' ability to integrate personal beliefs with professional duties and promote organ donation more effectively.

Background and Objectives: Sexual violence constitutes a major public health concern that undermines safety, bodily integrity, and autonomy. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, risk factors, and preventive strategies related to sexual misconduct in party-related social settings in Poland. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between 18 and 27 March 2025 among a representative sample of 1000 adults using computer-assisted web interviews. The questionnaire covered perceived risk, preventive measures, and personal or witnessed experiences of sexual violence. Data were analyzed using chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression. Results: More than half of respondents reported unwanted touching (53.8%) or persistent harassment (46.9%), and 54.1% had encountered sexual comments. Drug-facilitated assaults were reported by approximately 10% of participants, while 12.3% indicated forced sex. Despite frequent reliance on precautionary measures (e.g., returning home with friends in 64.2% of cases), concerns about sexual victimization were widespread. Multivariable analysis showed that women (aOR 1.91), young adults (aOR 2.80 for those aged 18–24 years), and sexual minorities were disproportionately affected. Conclusions: This study highlights that sexual violence in party-related settings is a structural rather than marginal problem in Poland. Women, young adults, and sexual minorities are disproportionately affected. Effective prevention requires multilevel interventions, including bystander programs, venue-level safety policies, and broader public health strategies to reduce tolerance for sexual harassment and violence.

Organ transplantation remains an ethically complex issue, in part due to the growing disparity between organ supply and demand. This paper applies a casuist ethical framework to analyze the moral justifications of two models of organ procurement by comparing organ donation to inheritance and public resources. The opt-in model aligns with the principle of bodily autonomy, treating organ donation as a personal decision akin to leaving behind an inheritance. It ensures explicit consent, allowing individuals full control over their postmortem bodily integrity. However, this model often results in lower donation rates due to inaction. Conversely, the routine-salvage model views organs as a public resource, prioritizing societal welfare by increasing the donor pool and reducing organ shortages. This approach raises ethical concerns about presumed consent and potential violations of autonomy. Casuist analysis suggests that while bodily autonomy remains a crucial ethical principle, it is not absolute. The opt-out model presents a pragmatic solution, forcing society to weigh the ethical importance of individual autonomy against the moral imperative to save lives.

Taiwan developed legal frameworks for organ transplantation earlier than many other East Asian countries and has achieved relatively successful clinical outcomes. Although its deceased donor rate remains lower than in countries such as Spain and the United States, it exceeds those of Japan, China, and Singapore. This success is often attributed to the efficiency of its transplant network and the strength of its legal infrastructure. However, the sociocultural context of these laws-and how Taiwanese policies engage with prevailing beliefs about death and the body-has received limited scholarly attention. This paper addresses that gap by analyzing legal and policy documents related to deceased organ donation in Taiwan, including legislation, official guidelines, and parliamentary records between 1987 and 2021. It argues that Taiwanese law reframes death with organ donation-whether following brain death or cardiac arrest-as a form of "good death," integrating consent into broader end-of-life decision-making. By clarifying the legal and policy background, the analysis highlights how the government has sought to reconcile biomedical definitions of death with Confucian notions of bodily integrity and socially valued dying. As secularization progresses, this framing may make organ donation more socially acceptable. At the same time, ethical concerns arise from policy discourses that emphasize altruism and social contribution, which may lead individuals to forgo life-sustaining treatments not solely based on personal reasoning, but from a perceived obligation to benefit family or society-potentially constraining expressions of individual preference.