Feminist Theory Research Articles

“Some Do it Out of Necessity, Others Because They Like Money and Others Because They Find it Easy”: Motivations for the Involvement of Women in Drug Trafficking in Peru

ABSTRACT Latin American feminist scholars have constructed valuable analyses on how structural inequalities, feminization of poverty, and patriarchy are the main reasons women get involved in drug trafficking. As the primary material and emotional providers of their families, and to fulfill their gendered responsibilities as reproducers of care, it has been shown that women participate in illegal activities mainly out of economic “necessity.” Nonetheless, this approach may create a homogeneous and passive imaginary of women involved in drug trafficking that is linked to Marianista femininity. The paper contributes to Southern Criminology in the task of constructing localized knowledge from the South. It aims to acknowledge women’s diversity to pursue a more nuanced perspective of women’s motivations and start to contextualize and analyze the concept of “necessity.” The paper analyses 22 interviews of women sentenced for drug trafficking in Peru and proposes six motivations for their involvement: (1) Strengthening autonomy and independence, (2) Pursuit of material-hedonistic fulfillment, (3) Desire for recognition and power, (4) Trust-based involvement, (5) Involvement driven by addiction, and (6) Involvement as unwitting participants due to deception. It concludes that the notion of necessity is influenced by class and territory, shaping women’s motivations and involvement in drug trafficking. Additionally, their motivations are not solely driven by economic needs but also by psychological and affective ones.

Analisis Podcast Close The Door Tentang Pelanggaran Etika Episode Catheez

The purpose of this research is to conduct an analysis of possible ethical violations contained in the episode "CRAZY KAYA GINI TURNS OME TV⁉️ - CATHEEZ - WHERE IS THE BOCIL OME TV!?" from the "Close the Door" podcast narrated by Catheez. This research uses a qualitative approach to identify and evaluate ethical aspects that appear in the conversations and narratives in the podcast. This research also integrates feminist discourse theory with Vand DJik which is divided into 3 structures, namely macro structure, super structure and micro structure to explore the influence of this episode on gender construction and social norms in the context of conversation. The results of the research identified several forms of ethical violations which were emphasized in the episode including gender stereotyping, verbal harassment, as well as the use of derogatory language. With a feminist discourse perspective, this research also reveals the ways in which these episodes may strengthen or undermine gender norms in society. The results of this research provide important insights regarding the influence of podcasts on understanding ethics and social norms, taking into account gender and feminist perspectives. This research makes an important contribution to understanding the ethical issues that arise in the world of podcasts and also how feminist discourse theory can be applied to analyze the impact of audio media such as podcasts in the social and cultural realm.

Feminisms, Dworkin and Abortion

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate Brazilian legislation, Dworkin's studies and feminist critical theory regarding abortion with the aim of understanding how feminisms can generate criticism of Brazilian legal regulation and Dworkin's conclusions on the topic. Theoretical Framework: In this topic, the main concepts and theories that underpin the research are presented. Feminist critical theories and Dworkinian theory stand out, providing a solid basis for understanding the context of the investigation. Method: The methodology adopted for this research comprises the hypothetical-deductive method and data collection was carried out through bibliographical documentary research, notably from research sources consisting of scientific articles, books, periodicals and collections. Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed that (i) different feminisms contribute to confronting sexist oppression; (ii) by guaranteeing the material equality of people, the Federal Constitution is feminist and the acts of the three Powers should be revised accordingly; (iii) the decriminalization of abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy will be decided by the Federal Supreme Court in ADPF 442, but there is a favorable understanding in HC 124/306; (iv) Dworkin's interpretive theory proposes Law as integrity and analyzes abortion from the American context, when the Supreme Court presented a permissive precedent; (v) Dworkin understood abortion as a collective issue because it involves collective values ​​and the intrinsic good of life, which is of state interest, which would justify the State demanding certain responsibilities via regulation; (vi) Dworkin criticizes the author of radical feminism and cites the author of femininity feminism, which is widely criticized for the idealization of motherhood and for enabling sexist aspects; (vii) for the Law, abortion is not a religious, moral or ethical discussion, it does not require consideration between the community's religious rights and other rights, but it is a choice of the pregnant woman and its regulation depends on scientific medical criteria. In the discussion section, these results are contextualized in light of the theoretical framework, highlighting the implications and relationships identified. Possible discrepancies and limitations of the study are also considered in this section. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights into how the results can be applied or influence practices in the field of criminal law. These implications could include the (de)criminalization of abortion. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by approaching a critical view of abortion for Dworkinian theory from feminisms. The relevance and value of this research are evidenced by its questioning of some Dworkinian moral assumptions about abortion.

Tracing Testosterone in Women’s Elite Sports News Coverage: Cisnormatively Policing the Category of Women

ABSTRACT The study is tracing testosterone through debates and regulations of participation in women’s elite sport between 2015 and 2022. We are interested in the ways that testosterone becomes an agent in constructing sport-bodies as gendered bodies and sustaining as well as deconstructing binary gender categories in elite sport. Furthermore, taking up feminist science and technology studies, affect and trans theory, we are interested in what testosterone does to the ways elite women athletes are imagined, but moreover, we are interested in the figures and signifiers that get attached to testosterone within elite sporting realms, such as questions of fairness and danger. Based on a dataset of documents, regulations, and press releases from a range of international sports organizations and articles from Danish media debates on (especially trans) women’s participation in sports, we analyse selected cases of woman athletes, sport organization and sport disciplines that have been involved in debates about testosterone rules and levels in women’s sport.

Imagining Liberatory Futures with Alexis Pauline Gumbs and M. E. O’Brien

ABSTRACT In this visionary conversation, Alexis Pauline Gumbs and M.E. O’Brien explore collective relations, liberatory practices and radical futures. Engaging with Black feminist theory, insurgent utopias, psychoanalytic insights, communist visions and poetic expressions, they connect the fields of race, symbolic exchange, social dreaming, speaking and listening, accountability, maternal practice, the family, poetic interventions, and envisioning through struggle. Together, they invite us all to conjure a world of shared imaginations and collective liberation.

Pacifism and peace activism in modern Britain: A history of the ‘peace studies problem’

AbstractIt is over 40 years since Ceadel defined interwar British pacifism as a ‘faith’. During that time, pacifism has had little political significance and the influential peace movement of the interwar years is now scarcely within living memory. Yet, what Margaret Thatcher once described as ‘the peace studies problem’ is a diverse and interdisciplinary field, and one in which scholarship, peace activism and mainstream politics are all closely intertwined. Feminist scholars and peace activists have queried the links between militarism and patriarchy; historians and ethicists have explored medical pacifism and have asked whether medicine is (or should be) a pacifist profession. More recently, scholars have looked at interwar pacifism through the lens of the Empire and have challenged the imperialist pacifist delusion. Despite pacifism's limited political influence, its history over the last 40 years has explored the beliefs and motivations of men and women struggling to respond to militarism and the threat of war.

A Study of the Body Narrative in the Film Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu from a Feminist Perspective

This article analyses the body narrative in the film Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu from a feminist perspective, exploring the gendered power structures implicit in the female characters' bodily expressions and discussing how it constructs and reflects feminist theories. The article reviews the development of feminist theory, emphasises the importance of body narrative theory and its application in film studies, and chooses the film Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu as the object of study. Through textual analysis and feminist critical theory, this study dissects the body narratives of the female characters to reveal how visual language and symbols shape the body's position in gendered power relations. It is found that the female body narratives in the film are not only an expression of subjectivity, but also a response to social power structures, demonstrating the deep connection between gender, power and self-identity.

Key Learnings and Perspectives of a Newly Implemented Sex-and Gender-Based Medicine Modular Course Integrated into the First-Year Medical School Curriculum: A Mixed-Method Survey.

Sex and Gender-Based Medicine (SGBM) addresses the influence of sex and gender on health and healthcare, emphasizing personalized care. Integrating SGBM into medical education is challenging. This study examines the implementation of an SGBM course in an Israeli university during the first year of the medical school. The course integrated lectures, group work, online gender studies resources, workshops, teacher training, and essential literature. The curriculum spanned pre-clinical and clinical aspects, featuring seven 90-minute sessions. Surveys assessed course structure, content, and lecturers using a 5-point Likert scale and qualitative feedback. Quantitative analysis involved descriptive statistics, and thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. Of the 84 students surveyed, 35 (41.7%) responded to the first part, and 30 (35.7%) to the second. The SGBM course received high satisfaction with an average score of 3.63, surpassing other first-year courses (average 3.21). Students appreciated the supportive academic atmosphere (mean score 4.20) and diverse teaching methods (mean score 4.03), while the development of feminist thinking was less appreciated (average score 3.49). Lecturers received high ratings (average score 4.33). Qualitative feedback highlighted the value of group work, the significance of the subject matter, and the helpfulness of supplementary videos. Students requested more content on contemporary issues like gender transition and patient perspectives. The feminist medicine aspect was contentious, with students seeking better gender balance and scientific evidence. Introducing SGBM into the first-year curriculum yielded positive results with high student satisfaction for content and lecturers. An expanded course module is planned, to be assessed at the end of the next academic year.

Enacting Reproductive Justice

Abstract: How may reproductive justice be enacted in services and provider training to further the sustainable development goals of healthy lives and universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights? We argue for careful baseline qualitative research infused with feminist and reproductive justice theory and, based on the findings of this research, the development and refinement of healthcare provider training through action research. We report on our implementation of this process in developing an in-service person-centered abortion counseling training course aimed at South African abortion healthcare providers. The baseline research consisted of recordings of abortion counseling sessions and interviews with healthcare providers and users. Several problematic directive and anti-abortion interactions were surfaced, which led to the development of a policy brief and step-by-step guidelines for providers. Subsequently, action research was employed to operationalize these guidelines into an in-service person-centered abortion counseling training course, and an iterative process enabled course improvement. Data collected for the course refinement included recordings of various sessions during the course, participants’ reflective journals, case presentations, and feedback forms, as well as interviews conducted two months post the first course. Comparing baseline findings with data collected as part of the action research shows some shifts in healthcare providers’ actions. We report on a shift in respecting bodily autonomy and encouraging autonomous decision-making. Structural and normative barriers continue, however. The enactment of reproductive justice through in-service training shows promise but must be supplemented with advocacy around other barriers.

“Naughty Japanese Babe:” An analysis of racialized sex tech designs

Recent technological developments and growing acceptance of sex tech has brought increased scholarly attention to sex tech entrepreneurs, personified sex tech devices and applications, and the adult industry. Drawing on qualitative case studies of a sex doll brothel named “Cybrothel” and the virtual entertainer, or “V-Tuber,” known as Projekt Melody, as well as quantitative sex doll advertisement data, this study examines the racialization of personified sex technologies. Bringing attention to the racialization of personified sex tech is long overdue, as much scholarship to date has focused on how sex tech reproduces specific gendered meanings, despite decades of intersectional feminist scholarship demonstrating that gendered and racialized meanings are mutually constituted. General trends in the industry are shown, but particular emphasis is placed on the overrepresentation of Asianized femininity among personified sex tech industries.

“A Kiss Delivered as a Punch”: Coercively Controlling Tactics in Australian Women’s Same-Gender Intimate Relationships

In 2007, Evan Stark consolidated decades of feminist scholarship and advocacy on intimate partner violence (IPV) into a framework he coined “coercive control” (Stark 2007). Stark’s model was initially heteronormative. He later contended that heteropatriarchy may condition abuse in women’s intimate relationships with other women, but more research was needed to clearly understand how coercive control manifests beyond heterosexuality (Stark and Hester 2019). In this paper, we utilise the voices of 18 Australian same-gender attracted women who experienced IPV in intimate relationships with other women. The participants’ narratives, revealed through this qualitative method, provide insights into perpetrator tactics of coercive control in these relationships. Situating these stratagems within Stark’s framework, we gain a deeper understanding of this, often invisible, manifestation of coercive control. This study is essential and timely because, since Stark (2007) published his book, several countries have criminalised coercive control and some states in Australia have recently followed suit.

Refusing Child-Stealing States: Settler Capitalism and the Ends of Canada's Indigenous Child Removal System

Abstract: This article examines the relationship between Canadian sovereignty and the removal of Indigenous children into non-native foster and adoptive homes. In it, I analyze how colonial child protection regimes following Residential Schools—from the Sixties Scoop (1951–1991) to the present Millennium Scoop—continue Canada's war against Indigenous lives and nations. From Sixties Scoop survivor narratives, ethnographic and archival data, and Indigenous and Black feminist theory, I highlight the gendered character of colonial sovereignty and capitalism. This paper argues that daily practices of refusal and care as an elaboration of Indigenous political orders unmake the grounds of colonial polity.

Heteropessimism and the Pleasure of Saying “No”

Using Lauren Berlant’s keynote at the 2019 Duke Feminist Theory Workshop as a starting point, this article offers a comparative reading of feminism’s “heteropessimistic turn” and the involuntarily celibate (i.e., incel) movement. In doing so, I demonstrate that both groups are saying “no” to certain elements of what Berlant refers to as “the pleasure regimes of sexual normativity.” I focus on the affective function of heteropessimism—what Asa Seresin identifies as its “anesthetic feeling”—arguing that it affectively soothes but politically stultifies the feminist movement. Framing the incel movement in a heteropessimistic light, I dispute the common perception of incels as ‘merely’ misogynistic and argue that their totalizing sexual nihilism indicates a broader hatred of, and disidentification with, the politics of heterosexual desire. Introducing the example of “Black Pill Feminists,” I take the heteropessimistic connections between feminism and incel to their logical conclusion, showing that feminist heteropessimism’s inherent essentialism affectively cements the incongruous ideological positions of feminism to incel’s sexual nihilism. I conclude with an argument for the naturalization of negativity as part of a broader move toward accepting the ambiguities of heterosexual desire and the antagonism(s) that drive it.

Women and care ethics during the COVID-19 pandemic: Who cares for the care-givers?

Caring is a general ethical responsibility that makes human existence worthwhile and fulfilling. Whenever society is distressed be it by a famine, war, poverty or a pandemic, the impact falls hard on women, children and people living with disability. We all need to be cared for and we owe the same obligation to others, especially those who care for us. However, during crises, the ethics of care becomes integral and, more often, men are not readily available to offer it. Arguably, the duty to care is one of the most compelling obligations that make human and non-human beings survive any form of distress. However, it is unfortunate that women face more of the brunt of the requirements of the duty to care than their male counterparts, particularly in the home front. This was most evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, when most ill persons were kept in the home because healthcare institutions were overwhelmed with numbers of infected persons scrambling for limited and non-existent resources. The pressure was not only on scarce resources, but COVID-19 also brought into sharp focus the need for better care for those who care for the sick in the home, especially during times of national distress. This article is a critical reflection on the impact of COVID-19 on women healthcare providers (HCPs) caring for the sick in the home. It particularly focuses on the caring burden created by COVID-19 and how it impacted on women’s mental health acknowledging that, currently, there is limited feminist analysis of moral distress among women healthcare providers in rural communities and healthcare institutions. Through the ethics of care theory and the feminist political economy lens, the article further explores the care challenges faced by women during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The article employs in-depth interviews and focused group discussions as the methods of data collection. It also proffers interventionist strategies that could be employed to lessen the burden of care on women. The findings show that more women healthcare givers suffered a lot of pressure from the impact of COVID-19 since they received little recognition and appreciation from both patients and the healthcare institutions they worked for.

Feminist Readings of Space, Body, and Performance: An Overview of Emerging Feminist Theatre in India

The theatre has been an amalgamation of history, society, and its representation where it connects with the audience directly. It has been a medium of resistance, protest, and entertainment and a cultural and social tradition in various countries. This paper is an analytical study of feminist theatre and its nuances, showing that theatre, which has been used as a mode to protest and resist, becomes a tool to reclaim and re-own space and body for women. It is essential to theorize Feminist Theatre so that its congruency can be established with the socio-cultural and historical paradigm. All the genres that were written to stabilize feminist thought in the discourse fell back on the conventional praxis of mythology and other texts. For example, Indian narratives borrowed feminine tropes from the classical texts whether it was Rabindranath Tagore or Girish Karnad, women were phenomenal yet subdued. Hence, when men wrote women, there was always a hint of “othering” the female gender in these write-ups; there was always a moralistic judgment of these women. Thus, this study is an attempt to theorize women playwrights and feminist performances that have made an attempt to pave the way for feminist scholarships and feminist theatres to evolve.

‘The Private is Political’. The Problem of the Private/Public Divide in the Light of Feminist Theory of the Second Half of the 20th Century

Starting from the slogan ‘The Private is Political’, resounding in the American women’s liberation movement, a feminist critique of the separation of the private (domestic/family) sphere and the public sphere, in its early modern form, is presented. The private sphere, with women assigned to it, is, on the grounds of early modern political theory, outlawed from the rules deemed to apply to the public world, and impregnated from sound analysis and possible reform. The separation of the private and the political masks the interdependence between the two spheres and serves to legitimise gender inequality. Feminist theory problematizes this divide and reveals the complex interplay between private and public. Two themes stand out in the analysis: the subsumption of women under the family based on liberal theories of the social contract, and the idealisation of the domestic sphere, imagined as an emotional and moral refuge, in opposition to the public world, marked by egoism and impersonality. This construction serves an ideological function, reinforcing the separation attributing women to the home and family.

Gender, sports, and belonging. The role of sports participation in residential preferences among girls and boys living in Norway's rural peripheries

The gender gap in residential preferences among rural youth has been documented in several studies – and for the most attributed to educational aspirations, employment, and income opportunities. The hereby study adds to this block of research by addressing the role of sports. Sports has been connected to place belonging. As a traditional masculine arena, sports can also be assumed to contribute to the gender gap in belonging. On this background, the study explores the role of sports participation in rural girls’ and boys’ residential preferences. As theoretical framework, feminist theories of gendered space contrasts feminist theories of sports participation, supplemented by elements from poststructuralist theories. Data consisted of school surveys from pupils aged 13–16 years living in Norway’s most peripheral municipalities (N=11,971). The analyses confirmed a gender gap in residential preferences. Boys more often considered living in their native municipality compared to girls. The role of sports was on the contrary more surprising. Rural girls who participated in sports had higher predicted probabilities for preferring to live in the native municipality compared to non-participants, but this was not the case for boys. Findings indicate that for girls living in rural Norway, organized sports represent arenas for positive place relations. This diverges from prevailing assumptions of gendered rural space. Furthermore, the study questions common representations of sports arenas as local hearths for masculine versions of Northern rural identity. New developments in leisure’s spatial and social organization within the rural periphery are discussed as potential reasons for these results. By combining and contrasting different strands of feminist thinking, the study gains new insights into gender, sports, and place belonging in the digital age.

Mapping the Landscape of the Manosphere within the Analytical Framework of Wave and War

In this paper, I aim to adopt two conceptual frameworks as a latticework of perception to read the complex and multifaceted situations in contemporary Korean society. First, I will explore whether the metaphor of feminism as a fluid wave is a suitable analysis for understanding feminism as a complex of various bodies, forces, energies, materials, desires, and thoughts, and how the anti-feminism backlash counters the fluidity of the fourth wave of feminism with the territoriality and solidity of macho tribalism. Second, I will examine whether the spread of material-discursive practices based on misogyny within the male-centric online ecosystem (manosphere) in the backlash against feminism can be read as a gender war. Considering that war is a network of human and non-human assemblages and an entanglement of material and symbolic elements, I will analyze the technologies of the gender war based on misogyny and female antagonism through Michel Foucault’s war model. Through this analysis, I aim to map the current landscape of feminist movements and theories in Korea confronted with the frontlines of misogyny.

An Appraisal of the Conduct and Character of Men in the Society: Perspectives of Yorùbá Female Novelists

In Yorùbá literature, the focus has often been on the roles, struggles and societal expectations of women. However, a notable silence exists on the exploration of men’s character. This apparent oversight exposes the prevailing patriarchal system which has historically cast men into roles defined by fatherhood and as the head of the family. This narrative portrays men as guardians of traditions, providers and the pillars of family structures. Yet, beneath the surface lies the curiousity concerning the authenticity of these portrayals. Two questions become pertinent, one; do these depictions truly reflect the male identity or are they just shadows cast by a societal construct designed to reinforce established norms? Two, are men truly capable of meeting the standards set for them or are they merely being shielded from scrutiny by a narrative that perpetuates their idealized roles? Using the Feminist theory and a Sociological Approach, with narratives from fifteen selected novels authored by Yorùbá women, this study scrutinizes the narratives surrounding the portrayal of male conduct and characters in the society by questioning the authenticity of the pedestal upon which men are placed and the realities that shape their lives arising from their conducts and the character displayed. Findings from the Yorùbá female novelists’ perspectives reveal that lots of men act contrary to the assumed pattern of portrayal. Their shortcomings are unknown to the society because the women in the men’s lives cover up the inadequacies of such men. These revelations confirm that the portrayal of men as superhuman beings does not truly represent their conduct and character in the society.

From Tolerance to Transformation: Unraveling the Impact of Organizational Culture and Policies on Addressing Gaslighting in Academia

This paper explored gaslighting in academia, focusing on its impact on women's career development and leadership experiences. Using feminist and critical race theories, the study examined how organizational culture, mentorship, networks, and policies supported or hindered women's academic careers. An inter-sectional perspective revealed how race, ethnicity, and disability intersected with gender to shape women's experiences in academic leadership. The paper analyzed how gaslighting operated in academia and the various forms it took. It also examined strategies for institutions and individuals to challenge gaslighting and promote a culture of equity and respect. Drawing inspiration from Kate Elizabeth Russell's My Dark Vanessa and Zoë Heller's Notes on a Scandal, the research offered insights into psychological manipulation, gender dynamics, and power relations within the academic sphere. Keywords: Gaslighting, Organizational Culture, Academia, Women, Leadership, Psychological Manipulation, Feminist theory, Critical Race Theory