Female Experience Research Articles

Representation of Violence Against Female Characters in Indonesian Horror Novels

This study explores the representation of violence against female characters in Indonesian horror novels, examining how these portrayals reflect societal views on gender and power. By analyzing three popular novels, the research focuses on types of violence—physical, psychological, and symbolic—that female characters experience, aiming to uncover how these depictions critique patriarchal norms. Employing a descriptive qualitative approach, the study uses textual analysis alongside a feminist narrative framework to interpret recurring themes and patterns within these narratives. Findings reveal that, while female characters are often portrayed as victims, they also demonstrate moments of resistance and agency, challenging traditional roles and societal expectations. This ambivalent portrayal highlights both the vulnerability and resilience of women, offering insights into the complex dynamics of gender in Indonesian culture. The study concludes that Indonesian horror novels serve as a powerful medium for social critique, using horror to comment on issues of gender-based violence and the potential for women to disrupt oppressive structures. This research emphasizes the role of literature in reflecting and challenging societal norms, particularly regarding the representation of women.

Disability barriers autistic girls face in secondary education: A systematic review.

Autistic adolescent girls face complex and diverse challenges in the school setting, specifically mental health issues, unmet social and education needs, and social exclusion. The purpose of this review was to provide a general idea of research relating to the experiences of autistic females in secondary school settings by reporting on their experiences and the lived experiences of autistic women reflecting on their past. Based on the identified articles, the barriers girls face in the compulsory education setting centred on four themes of societal barriers grounded in gender; the institutional or physical barriers of schools; social and communicative expectations; and stigmatization. The study highlighted that there is a need to sensitize and educate widely on the topic of autism for teachers, to support staff, school psychologists and peers of autistic youth. The results call attention to the need for future research to focus on the different lived experiences and knowledge of autistic girls.

Group conflict and group harmony affect future female companion travel intentions: The mediating effect of female companion travel experience

When women travel together, the social identity of the members creates group harmony, but disagreements over travel arrangements create intragroup conflict. This study draws on the self-categorization theory to examine the impact of group conflict and group harmony on female companion travel experiences and future female companion travel intentions. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Focus group meetings were performed to develop the scale to measure dictatorship as a source of creating group conflict during female companion travel. The results of the questionnaire survey indicated that group conflict and group harmony have an impact on female companion travel experiences, but only group conflict directly influences future female companion travel intentions, group harmony does not. Female companion travel experience mediates the effect of group conflict and group harmony on future female companion travel intentions. Recommendations for destinations and the tourism industry to improve female companion travel experiences are provided.

Precipitation and female experience are major determinants of the breeding performance of Canarian houbara bustards

Precipitation is one of the main triggers of reproduction in desert‐breeding birds. The unpredictability of rainfall patterns in arid environments has led species to adapt their breeding effort to episodes of abundant food after rainfall. The response is not the same for all individuals in a population, and may vary especially with the age and experience of each female. Here we investigate the effects of precipitation, temperature, body size and breeding experience, among other variables, on reproductive parameters of 20 females of Canarian houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata fuertaventurae), an endangered desert bird endemic of the eastern Canary Islands. Precipitation and breeding experience were the main determinants of female breeding performance. Higher rainfall determined an increase in nesting rate, and earlier autumn rains caused an advancement of nesting to October, allowing the breeding season to be extended to eight months. This favoured an extraordinary increase in productivity in more rainy breeding seasons, with 15 times more females nesting in the two most rainy winters than in dry years. In addition, females with more breeding experience showed a higher tendency to breed, higher nest attempt and fledging success, and longer breeding season, which allowed them to rear more chicks. A female even double brooded successfully in the same season, which, considering that chicks remain with the mother for up to six months, indicates a great capacity to optimise reproductive investment, by adapting to highly variable rainfall regimes. In recent decades, the eastern Canary Islands have undergone a process of aridification, and climate models predict a medium‐term increase in the frequency and duration of drought periods. Thus, Canarian houbaras are particularly vulnerable to climate change, so measures are urgently needed to reduce their mortality and improve the quality of their habitat, in order to favour their reproduction and prevent their extinction.

Habitat and density effects on the demography of an expanding wolf population in Central Europe

Demographic parameters are key to understanding population dynamics. Here, we analyse the survival and reproduction of the German wolf population in the 20 years following recolonization. Specifically, we analysed the effects of environmental, ecological and individual characteristics on 1) survival probability of the population; 2) annual survival rates of age classes; 3) reproduction probability; and 4) reproductive output, measured as the number of detected pups/juveniles. Using Cox proportional hazards model, we estimated a median survival time of circa three years for wolves. Annual survival probabilities were found to be 0.75 for juveniles, 0.75 for subadults and 0.88 for adults. Survival was lower for juveniles in winter and for subadult males in summer, probably associated with dispersal events. Low habitat suitability was clearly associated with lower survival in juveniles and subadults, but not in adults. Local territory density was related to increased survival. Reproduction probability within a territory was 0.88, but explanatory variables had no effect. Reproductive output was four pups/juveniles on average, positively related to habitat suitability and female experience, but negatively related to territory density. Survival values were very high for the species when compared to other regions. We hypothesize that carrying capacity has not been reached in the study area, thus the survival may decrease in the future if the landscape becomes saturated. Furthermore, our results highlight a spatial pattern in survival and reproduction, with area of better habitat suitability favouring faster population growth. Thus, targeting conservation measures to low habitat suitability areas will have a strong population effect on the short term by boosting survival and reproduction of the individuals, while long‐term viability should be carefully planned with high suitability areas in mind, as those contain the territories with higher survival and reproduction potential.

Agents of social change: cultural connections between Emirati women and camels

ABSTRACT This article considers experiences and interactions of Emirati women with camels, the latter being of the most culturally significant animals in the Emirates, entangled in compelling sociocultural and national narratives. No English-language publication thus far has prioritized female experiences in interacting with camels in the UAE, albeit tending to those animals is not an exclusively male domain. Emirati women’s presence around camels is explored in the context of riding, trekking, racing, inheriting and owning them. Tracking shifts in female experiences around camel-related culture is an essential component of the research. Camels can be perceived as agents of social change–their evolving sociocultural presence is indicative of broader transformations in the UAE. Female narratives centred around those animals describe old and entirely new contexts of their cultural existence. Camels appear, among others, as central figures of heritage revival processes in the UAE and as ‘tools’ of self-discovery. Additionally, phenomenological perspectives engaged in this research, allow for values of cultural nostalgia, emotions, sentiments, embodiment, and sensuous presence in the world to be revealed in the Emirati women’s stories.

Pothum Janakummah Ragaviah’s “Fairy-land”: A “Hindoo Lady of Madras” in Victorian London

ABSTRACT In Pothum Janakummah Ragaviah's Pictures of England (1876) (the first known English account of a female Indian traveller's experiences of England and Europe), London represented a stage of realist mobilities of her person and her social and aesthetic identities – a privilege otherwise inaccessible to a swarming majority of nineteenth-century South Asians. The Pictures elucidates a political paradigm when elite (including Brahminical) Indian sensibilities were divided between two potentially incompatible drives. One was to enunciate their will to reform hierarchical inequities of Hindu and Indian society from within, without colonial support. The other was to ally with selective models of Anglican sensibilities, which could invariably prolong such inequities through means other than religion and caste. Nevertheless, the Pictures can still be considered an important specimen to highlight the coproduction of Victoriana by non-British factors, in a kind of unremunerated affective labour of placemaking by Indians of the nineteenth-century imperial capital.

Gendered Authorship of the Female Identity: A Gynocritical Comparative Study between Norwegian Wood and the God of Small Things

The paper seeks to elucidate the differences in the representation of women in male- and female-authored texts, specifically analyzing Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood and Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things. Numerous critics over the years have noted that male and female authors often portray femininity in markedly different ways. While male authors tend to perpetuate prejudiced or stereotypical views of women, female authors, drawing from their direct experiences of womanhood, provide more authentic depictions that foster female empowerment. Theoretically identifying this marked difference is thus the primary aim of this paper and hence this study employs a qualitative textual analysis, utilizing theoretical frameworks such as Michel Foucault’s discourses of sexuality, Elaine Showalter’s gynocriticism, Hélène Cixous’s écriture féminine, Judith Butler’s gender performativity, and Simone de Beauvoir’s concept of gender stereotypes. The findings reveal a significant divergence in the way that male- and female-authored texts characterize female figures. Murakami, in his portrayal of Naoko and Midori, has often associated reductive and stereotypical attributes that in essence undermine their agencies and voices; their attributes and mannerisms were shown to be limited to emotional and/or sexual contexts that conflate the female experience and undermine gender fluidity. In contrast, Roy depicted Ammu and Rahel in accordance to feminist sensibilities as they can be seen to portray androgyny as well as employ their sexualities to challenge and subvert social norms and stereotypes. The study therefore concludes that women-authored narratives provide more nuanced and authentic representations of female experiences, whereas male-authored texts frequently reinforce patriarchal frameworks and stereotypical assumptions of one-dimensional gender linearity.

Serum vitamin D level and female teenage caries experience: a cross-sectional study in Iran

Aims: This study aimed to assess Serum Vitamin D level and female teenage caries experience. Methods: This study evaluated 330 healthy female Iranian students between 13 to 19 years residing in Rey city. A questionnaire collected their demographic information. They underwent clinical dental examination to determine the number of decayed (D), missing (M) and filled (F) teeth (DMFT index). The nutritional status was evaluated using the food frequency questionnaire(FFQ) by assessing the consumption of cariostatic, cariogenic, remineralizing, sticky foods and carbohydrates. The serum samples were collected to measure the serum vitamin D level using high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). Data were analyzed by multiple logistic regression and independent samples t-test. Results: The mean DMFT was 5.34±3.94. Of all, 69.3% had severe vitamin D deficiency, 20.3% had moderate vitamin D deficiency and 10.4% had normal level of vitamin D. Cariostatic agents consumption had a significant inverse correlation with DMFT (P=0.006). An increase in serum level of vitamin D by more than 10.27 ng/mL was associated with a reduction in prevalence of dental caries by 22%. Increased consumption of cariostatic agents by more than 89.30 g/day decreased the prevalence of dental caries by 32%. No significant association was noted between the prevalence of dental caries and level of parent’s education, consanguinity of parents, level of income, place of residence, frequency of tooth brushing, dental flossing, and dental visits (P>0.05). Conclusions: While the serum vitamin D level had no significant effect on DMFT, the nutritional regimen seemed to play a more important role in caries control.

„O Kinder, möchtet Ihr dergleichen nie erfahren“

Abstract The autobiography of Margarethe Elisabeth Milow, a merchant’s daughter from Hamburg, is not only a precious source for the living conditions of protestant middle-class women in the 18th century, but it also illustrates that writing was practised as one habit among many others. The paper shows that the formally heterogeneous text owes its existence to strict routines, which Milow carried out conscientiously until her death. As she addresses her report to her children, it can also be read as an educational text: Fulfilling the demand of the admired theologian Julius Gustav Alberti for a progressive religious education centred on the life of the individual, Milow places herself as a narrator matured by female experience who finds instructive exempla in her own life story. Finally, the paper reveals a tension in Milow’s writing: On the one hand, she writes (family) history out of a strong sense of duty, on the other hand, she writes for the pleasure of exploring her talent to tell effectively constructed stories.

Unveiling the female experience through adult mortality and survivorship in Milan over the last 2000 years

This study challenges historical paradigms using a large-scale integrated bioarchaeological approach, focusing on the female experience over the last 2,000 years in Milan, Italy. Specifically, 492 skeletons from the osteological collection of Milan were used to elucidate female survivorship and mortality by integrating bioarchaeological and paleopathological data, paleoepidemiological analyses, and historical contextualization. Findings revealed changes in female longevity, with a notable increase from Roman to contemporary eras, albeit plateauing in the Middle Ages/modern period. Significant sex-specific differences in mortality risk and survivorship were observed: females had higher mortality risk and lower survivorship in the Roman (first-fifth century AD) and Modern (16th-18th century AD) eras, but this trend reversed in the contemporary period (19th-20th century AD). Cultural and social factors negatively impacted female mortality in Roman and modern Milan, while others buffered it during the Middle Ages (sixth-15th century AD). This study underscored the importance of bioarchaeological inquiries in reconstructing the past, providing answers that may challenge historical assumptions and shedding light on how the interplay of cultural, social, and biological factors shaped the female experience across millennia.

Group Identity, Self-Concept, and Gender Bias: A Regression Analysis of Female Student Experiences Within Emergency Management-Related Higher Education Programs

Group Identity, Self-Concept, and Gender Bias: A Regression Analysis of Female Student Experiences Within Emergency Management-Related Higher Education Programs

A Sephardic female odyssey: homecoming in Ruth Knafo Setton’s The Road to Fez

ABSTRACT Moroccan Jewish writer Ruth Knafo Setton’s novel, The Road to Fez, challenges the Eurocentric silencing of Sephardic female agency. Setton depicts a reverse exile through her main character, Brit, whose return to Morocco subverts the dispossession and uprooting of the Moroccan Sephardim following their forced exile. Central to Setton’s novel is an effort to put emphasis on the Moroccan Judeo-Islamic landscape and mythology. In re-vindicating Moroccan Jewish-Muslim heritage, The Road to Fez further questions the exclusion of Sephardic female voices in Eurocentric readings of Jewishness. Setton presents an alternative Jewish perspective through Moroccan Judeo myths and legends. This article analyzes Setton’s magical realist integration of Moroccan spirituality and superstition into her narrative as an attempt to de-Orientalize the Sephardic female experience. The article argues that Setton incorporates supernatural elements like spell-making and “djnoun” into a realistic setting to express the rich mosaic of Sephardic Moroccan culture and to destabilize pan-Arabist, Zionist and colonial occlusions of Arab Judeo identity.

Impact of female directors' foreign experience on green innovation: Evidence from China

AbstractThis study explores the realm of sustainability by examining the influence of female directors' foreign experience on green innovation across various industry sectors and corporate board structures. Specifically, the research focuses on the impact of female directors' foreign experience on green innovation in Chinese listed firms from 2004 to 2021. Our findings show that female directors with foreign experience have a positive and significant effect on green innovation. Further analysis indicates that this relationship is positively and significantly moderated by state‐owned enterprises, larger firms, firms operating in polluting industries, environments with low market competition, and the presence of foreign directors on the board. The robustness of our results is confirmed through the use of different econometric techniques, alternative measures of dependent and independent variables, and addressing endogeneity concerns. Overall, our study suggests that female directors with foreign experience enhance the transfer of environmental and sustainable knowledge and practices, thereby fostering green innovation within Chinese listed firms.

Immunological Study of Aborted Women Infected with Toxoplasmosis in Basrah Province

Background: Toxoplasmosis is regarded as one of the chief sources of miscarriage in pregnant women which caused by an apicomplexan obligatory intracellular parasites called Toxoplasma gondii. it can infect greatest kinds of warm-blooded animals, together with humans. Aim: Assessment some immunological parameter concentration and its relation with aborted women infected with toxoplasmosis by using ELISA method. Methods: A total number (155 ) of serum were collected from women aged between (16-42) years aborted women (75 seropositive with toxoplasmosis, 40 sera negative) were admitted in Basrah hospital for women and children and (40) healthy control women. Results: The results show the concentrations of protein S, C, anti-phospholipid and anticardiolipin (68.11, 63.17, 48.59 and 13.86) respectively with significantly than others group. The rate of strong immune factor such as anticardiolipin, protein-C, and protein-S in frequently aborted females is shown to be related to the changes. Conclusion: Active Toxoplasma gondii infection is more associated with miscarriage than immune factor in this group of experienced females.

Adriana Negreiros and a Feminist Ethics of Testimonial Narrative: Reflections on Life Will Never Be the Same

I seek to analyze the narrative construction of the reporter’s book A Vida Nunca Mais Será a Mesma (Life Will Never Be the Same Again, 2021), which tells stories of sexual violence against women and also features the first-person account of the author herself, Adriana Negreiros. I try to understand (a) how journalistic fundamentals such as precision and objectivity are articulated/tensioned with lacunar and fragmentary traces of testimony; and (b) how adopting a feminist/gendered perspective on journalistic narrative can bring to light traumatic female experiences that, throughout history, have been placed in the background. To do this, I examine the book and an interview conducted with the author in 2023, concluding that a feminist approach to journalism and testimony can open up affective spaces for women’s stories to be told.

‘In Cuba I began my career as a cook’: the intersection between food, class and the German-Jewish female experience of prewar emigration

ABSTRACT This article investigates the relationship between middle-class German Jewish women and food in the context of prewar emigration. Often these women were leaving culturally, economically, and materially rich lives, yet arrived in Britain, America, and other shorelines with very little. Rationing and cultural differences added complex layers to their experience of hosts’ foodscapes. The paper argues that food and its material culture were key parts of German Jewish women’s toolkits for negotiating emigration. Additionally, the article argues that the loss of middle-classness was a defining and enduring feature of their emigratory experience, which is revealed in their relationship to food.

„Dostałaś raka tylko po to, aby go opisać”, czyli literacko-fotograficzna narracja o raku piersi w książce Annie Ernaux L’usage de la photo

In her book L’usage de la photo, published in France in 2005, Annie Ernaux creates an inimitable personal narration to describe her experience of living with breast cancer. The book matches photographs of things that belonged to her and her partner as they were scattered all over the place the previous day with passages chronicling of the progress of her illness and the way it invades her daily life. The article argues that the experimental form enabled the author of L’usage de la photo to find a new perspective on her record of the female experience of cancer. The article analyzes both the photo-graphic parts of the narration, which, it seems, foreshadow the nearness of death, and the literary/autobiographical parts, which contain a frank record of living with cancer.

Beyond tokenism: activism, resistance and rebellion

PurposeThe aim of this research was to explore and gain an understanding of the lived experiences of Black females transitioning from social work practice into academia and the support and barriers they experienced.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve this an adaptation of Wengraf (2004) Biographical Narrative Interview Model (BNIM) was employed alongside Braun and Clarke (2006) thematic analysis as foundation of the methodology employed in this study. Whilst the adverse issues relating to Black female academics is not new, the paper is original in the manner in which data was gathered.FindingsThe study identified four themes: (1) significance of early life, (2) passion for learning, (3) overcoming obstacles and (4) navigating academia. The case studies highlighted the various examples of resistance, rebellion and activism the Black female academics employed within UK universities. The paper concluded that despite the positive messaging from families and communities, about pursuing education, and the need for having a strong work ethic, the progress that can be achieved by Black female academics is limited due to the pervasive nature of racism, therefore dispelling the myth of meritocracy.Research limitations/implicationsThe research sample was small and therefore not easily generalisable to the whole population. The findings of the paper will need to be considered as a contribution of knowledge to the issue of structural racism.Originality/valueWhilst the adverse issues relating to Black female academics is sadly not new, the paper is original in the manner in which data was gathered. Namely, the academics were both researchers and the participants, therefore simultaneously providing and analysing the data.

Navigating communication privacy in pseudo-administration: Indonesian female civil servant experiences of applying written divorce permission

Navigating communication privacy in pseudo-administration: Indonesian female civil servant experiences of applying written divorce permission