Feminist Research Articles

Girl power? Ethics of joy and becoming Chilean feminist high school students in relation to ideal citizenship normativities

This article traces the narratives and experiences of feminist high school students during the Chilean feminist movement of 2018 and explores their relations with normative political and gender subjectivization processes happening at their schools. The data for this article was produced through a critical ethnographic study in a Chilean all-female public high school, which included participant observation, testimonial interviews, arts-based collective testimonial workshops, and analyzed through affect theory. This article shows how this school reproduced binary norms under traditionally feminine parameters and at the same time neoliberal ones that demanded that students be successful and resilient women who individually managed to become productive members of society in the future. The student participants in this study were critical of how their school and their teachers tried to produce them as these types of gendered citizens. They managed to become feminist students in relation to these norms and at the same time create discourses, actions, and materialities that produced more just spaces for them in the present. This article suggests that reading the relations between the feminist students’ becomings and new gendered citizenship normativity deployed at school through a relational and affirmative ethics lens identifies relevant and often unseen aspects in research about structural oppression and resistance.

EXISTENTIALIST FEMINISM IN MOMMY ASF'S NOVEL LAYANGAN PUTUS

The research is concerned with women's movements portrayed in Mommy Asf’s novel Layangan Putus. It objectively finds and discusses a mother's individual movements through transcendence to upholster her existence, particularly in an attempt to overcome and improve herself even without a husband's support, as shown by Kinan, the main female character in the novel. The fact that a woman is always marginalized based on social reality, especially a woman, becomes the background of the study. The research is conducted using the descriptive-qualitative method proposed by Creswell. The theory applied in this research is the sexist feminist theory proposed by Simone de Beauvoir. The finding concerns the woman's movements described in the novel using Beauvoir's existentialist feminism. The results show that Kinan, as the main female character, can overcome and improve herself in life, as evidenced by the four transcendences of Beauvoir's theory to uphold her existence as a manifestation of Owen's movements: Kinan is able to work, become intellectual, achieve social transformation, and refuse the role of otherness

The #metoo Movement in India: Emotions and (in)justice in feminist responses

This article will enhance and complicate existing debates on the #metoo movements internationally and in India. This will be done by focusing in particular on the feminist debates and responses to LoSHA (List of Sexual Harassers in Academia) in India, an online list naming alleged sexual harassers from academia. This was first released in the public domain in October 2017 and caused much division and strife within feminist movements, including intergenerational conflict. The article will address the underexplored role of emotions in the #metoo movement in India, and attempt to theorise this more widely in the context of ‘justice work’, particularly in the context of epistemic and procedural (in)justice models. It will address how different forms of feminist resistance can be and should be conceptualised within a general context of epistemic injustice.

Activist Discourse and the Origins of Feminist Shakespeare Studies

This essay reconsiders interpretations of Shakespeare by Irish writer Anna Murphy Jameson and the American Transcendentalist Margaret Fuller. Developing an informal method in which the voice of the female critic rallies in defence of Shakespeare’s heroines, they intervene in a male-dominated intellectual sphere to model alternative forms of women’s learning that take root outside of formalized institutional channels. Jameson, in Shakespeare’s Heroines, invokes the language of authentic Romantic selfhood and artistic freedom, recovering Shakespeare’s female characters from earlier critical aspersion as figures of exceptional female eloquence and resilience; she adopts a conversational critical voice to involve her female readers in the interpretative process itself. Fuller, in Woman in Nineteenth Century, speaks authoritatively as a kind of female prophet to argue that women’s creative reinterpretations of Shakespeare point the way to a revitalization of a sterile literary critical field. Both writers call for the reform of women’s education through revisionist interpretations of history attuned to the representation of female exceptionalism. In embryonic form, these nineteenth century feminist writings formulate a persistent strain of socially engaged, activist feminist criticism of Shakespeare.

The political identity for Megalia, Womand and Webtoon to counter Confucianism culture in South Korea

Referring to the wave of digital feminism in the modern era, this paper formulates the problem of South Korea's digital feminism strategy in reconstructing Confucianism culture with respect to morality. The study aims to analyze the development of digital feminist activist morality in South Korea against the background of a Confucian society and rapid economic growth. Of the numerous online feminist activist groups, Megalia and Womand have garnered attention from several feminist scholars. Moreover, later Webtoon comic artists incorporated feminist ideologies into their comic narratives. Based on Andrew Heywood's cultural conflict and identity politics perspective, as well as political morality in realism, the author has identified two crucial findings. First, the three of them operate from a realistic perspective that excludes Confucian morality as a factor in their decision making. Second, Megalia and Womand tend to exhibit radical behavior due to their exclusive focus on identity politics. This contrasts with Webtoon, which creates comics driven by economic interests, resulting in more moderate behavior and a preference for cultural distribution.

An Analysis of Cao Yus Creative Conception of Female Images Transformation in His Plays

As the Pioneer of Chinese Drama, Cao Yu has contributed a series of distinctive and representative female images to contemporary Chinese literature. However, it exists a great transformation in female image creation and aesthetics in his plays. Divided from 1938, modern women represented by Fanyi, Chen Bailu and Hua Jinzi full of passion for life were celebrated by Cao Yu during the pre-time, while traditional women with classic Chinese flavors got well recognized by him during the post-time, such as Doctor Ding, Sufang and Ruijue. The transformation related closely to his creative conception, reflecting Cao Yus re-choice of his aesthetic interests, values, and cultural stance. This article analyzed Cao Yus creative conception from the differences between his two periods of female image creation and aesthetics before and after 1938. In recent years, feminism has been on the rise in China. Therefore, it will not only be beneficial to the Chinese womens liberation movement, but also to the worlds womens liberation movement.

Unveiling the Veil: Exploring the Origin, Effects, and Coping Strategies of Menstrual Stigma

Menstruation, also referred to as the period, faces pervasive stigmatization globally despite being a natural female biological process. This stigma, rooted in historical gender inequalities and fueled by misconceptions, holds significant implications. This study investigates period stigma comprehensively, exploring its origins, impacts, and potential solutions. The stigma originates from patriarchal structures and gender inequality, reinforcing harmful biases and impeding womens career growth, exemplified by the glass ceiling effect. The resulting psychological toll on women is considerable. Efforts to combat period stigma include policy interventions, feminist movements, and NGO initiatives like United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund. This paper enhances understanding of the stigma and its consequences, proposing practical strategies to counteract it. However, limitations include the lack of qualitative and quantitative methods due to data constraints and insufficient historical sources, impacting the portrayal of its inception. In conclusion, this study illuminates the enduring complexity of period stigma, raising awareness about its harm. Synthesizing existing literature provides valuable insights into its origins, consequences, and coping mechanisms.

The social meaning of abortion and the perils of a neoliberal rights-based discourse

In 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and thus ended the legal protection of access to abortion at the federal level. Using techniques of corpus linguistics paired with critical discourse analysis, this article examines how the word abortion is used in a corpus of newspaper reports covering the decision. The analysis uncovers a staunch position of the right to abortion as an abstracted notion, alongside a simultaneous legitimation of individuals acting on those rights in order to construct them as worthy. In essence, the news media discursively reproduce a hegemonic order that demands adherence to the system, valorises responsible subjects and obscures structural inequities of gender, race and class in the name of freedom of choice. Echoing the call of Black and Indigenous feminist activists, this article argues for a shift in discourse towards one of reproductive justice.

The Impact of Feminism on Womens Political Participation in the United States

Over the past few decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of women in politics in the United States (U.S.), which has gradually enhanced the status and opportunities for women in the political arena. The emergence of this phenomenon means that womens political status has gradually been recognised by society, and womens aspirations for political ambitions have shown a trend of increasing value. However, most of the related literature has adopted the quantitative analysis of the number of womens participation in politics by means of regression equations. This paper will examine the impact of the feminist movement on womens political participation in the U.S. by qualitatively analysing the political phenomenon from a feminist perspective. Through this analysis, the study establishes that feminism has played an active role in eliminating sexism in politics by calling for womens political participation and campaigning for their rights, encouraging increasing numbers of womens participation in political elections in the U.S..

Cultural Dynamics of Patriarchy and the Feminist Movement: Women's Perspectives in Riau Malay Cultural Order

The purpose of this study is to find out the Cultural Dynamics of Patriarchy and Feminist Movement. Women's Perspectives in Riau Malay Cultural Order. In society, women still do not have their rightful place and are often treated discriminatively because of gender differences. Patriarchal culture is still an issue among the Riau Malay community, because it places men in a higher position than women. This study used a literature review analysis method from various references in accordance with the research. Apart from the inequality of treatment, the level of violence and neglect of women's basic rights which eventually prompted to further explore the social values and morals contained in the cultural customs of the Riau Malay community that influenced the determination of social roles based on gender including gender images that were allegedly masculine and detrimental to women. Basically, Riau Malay culture carries a Matriarchy culture that highly values the role of women as the main dominance, but over time the concept of matriarchy is increasingly abandoned and dominated by the concept of patriarchy. This is based on strong dominating patriarchal categories such as temperament, sex role, and status. This cultural view and normative rules that then carry and normalize all forms of violence and corner women is one proof that patriarchy perpetuation is still very thick and prevails among the Riau Malay community

At Least She Is Doing Something? Women Do Not Prefer a Woman Who Confronts Gender-Based Discrimination With a Distancing Motive Over a Nonconfronter

We examined how female (and male) observers evaluated a woman who confronts gender-based discrimination expressing a distancing motive (distance oneself from other women) compared to different types of nondistancing motives. We were interested in the distancing motive, because it has ambivalent implications for women (opposition to discrimination and potential for prejudice reduction vs. disparaging women). In three preregistered online vignette experiments ( N1 = 404 women and men; N2 = 295 women, N3 = 742 women and men; with men as control groups), participants evaluated a female professional who confronted gender-based discrimination, implying either an individual motive (improve individual situation), a group motive (improve women's group status), or a distancing motive, all compared to a condition where the woman did not confront at all. Although women perceived distancing-motivated confrontation as more effective and beneficial for women than no confrontation, they evaluated the distancing-motivated confronter equally negatively as the nonconfronter. Furthermore, effects of gender group (Studies 1 and 2) and feminist identification (Studies 2 and 3) and comparing women's to men's evaluations (Studies 1 and 3) overall indicate that the confrontation motives’ implications (e.g., devaluation of women) for people's identities (e.g., feminist women vs. feminist men) shape the evaluation of a confronter. These results encourage those who have contact with targets of gender-based discrimination to reflect on how their own identity may influence their reaction toward the target.

Feminism as a polarizing axis of the political conversation on Twitter: the case of #IreneMonteroDimision

The fragmentation of the Spanish party system has led to a growing political polarization, particularly evident on the Internet. The discursive strategies of political actors online, combined with the particularities of communication on social media platforms such as the disinhibition effect, echo chambers, and filter bubbles, are likely to promote a state of tension among digital citizens. This tension is particularly pronounced in gender issues, which have become key positions of political parties, with convergence of sexism in the community and a highly reactive misogynistic online culture that turns female politicians into easy targets. Starting from the hashtag #IreneMonteroDimision, which conveys a paradigmatic criticism movement against the Spanish Minister of Equality, an analysis of the social conversation on Twitter is developed to determine its intentionality, tone, and orientation, as well as the themes and users that generated the most tension. In this way, multimodal content and discourse analysis is applied to the 418 tweets with the greatest interaction and explicitly directed at the minister. The hypothesis is that the criticism of Irene Montero goes beyond the management of her Ministry to place her at the center of a power struggle in which political ideology, hate speech, and antifeminism converge. The study has shown that attacks on Montero extend to the Executive and the feminist movement; they are promoted by a mass of politicized and polarized profiles, with constant activism and a tendency towards contagious replication of messages. These practices, as well as the participation of artificial profiles, allow us to appreciate signs of astroturfing; behind this seemingly natural critical reaction, there are orchestrated movements of antifeminist and far-right profiles (gender trolling), but also of trans-exclusionary feminists opposed to legislation promoted by Montero.

Women's Reproductive Rights: a Way to Gender Justice

For generations, women have been battling for reproductive rights. Because of moral, ethical, and religious reasons, these rights have always been a contentious issue. Do reproductive rights simply imply the ability to reproduce? Is the issue, on the other hand, intrinsically tied to the myriad questions surrounding women's reproductive freedom? The ability to reproduce appears to be what distinguishes women from men. Do women, however, have control over their own reproduction? Do women have the right to decide whether, when, and how many children they want? Do women have access to safe methods of birth control? Do women have the right to an abortion that is safe? Is it possible to separate sexuality from reproduction? A resounding 'NO' in response to many similar inquiries sparked the birth of the women's health movement in several regions of the world in the early 1970s. It began with modest 'consciousness raising' groups that disseminated knowledge among women about the functioning of their bodies and gradually expanded into multi-faceted campaigns that have profoundly influenced health policies in many nations. Human Rights are those rights that should be available to every individual without any form of discrimination. The foundation of freedom is recognition of the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. The most essential human right is the right to life. It is the highest human right, from which no exceptions are authorised. It cannot be taken away. The arbitrary deprivation of life is prohibited by Article 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, there are several contentious concerns surrounding this greatest privilege. One such issue is the matter of abortion rights. Among other women's rights, it is thought that every mother has a universal right to abortion. But the rights of the mother are to be balanced with the rights of the unborn. Previously, abortion was not permitted and was vehemently opposed by society. Terminating a pregnancy was considered a murder of the foetus. However, because to changes in time and technology, most governments now recognise this right, following the historic Roe v. Wade decision by the US Supreme Court. However, opponents remain, and many individuals believe that it should be made illegal.

Women’s solidarity as feminism in action: the concept of sisterhood (sororidad) in #LasRespondonas, a Facebook group in Peru

ABSTRACT Women in Peru are exposed on a daily basis to gender violence and exclusion. Several feminist groups have used social media to share information, debate, denounce, organize, and provide help to victims. This study analyzes the meaning of female solidarity, sisterhood or sororidad (using the Spanish term), as a feminist political concept among members of one feminist Facebook group. We reviewed how various feminist and sisterhood concepts are clustered together in group communications by analyzing publications and comments and even interviewing key current and former group members. We find the concept of sororidad to be central to feminist practice as it is a bridge between theory and politics. Moreover, it is viewed as a kind of ‘internal repertoire’ of the feminist movement, as a way to interact with other movement members (or comrades, partners, or sisters).

WOMEN'S LIBERATION THEOLOGY: A STUDY OF ASGHAR ALI ENGINEER'S THOUGHTS ON GENDER ISSUES

This article examines Asghar Ali Engineer's thoughts on women's liberation theology. This is mainly about the method of interpreting Islamic sacred texts. This article was collected from a literature review, then described and analyzed using gender theory. The results of this research show that Asghar's feminist spirit is very strong when reading and interpreting Islamic sacred texts. This cannot be separated from the influence of the science he mastered, including his plural life experience in India, which gave birth to a humanist method of interpretation. The Islamic portrait has shown the existence of gender justice according to Ali Asghar Engineer's perspective, they are both servants of Allah whose process of events is of the same type. The only difference lies in how they carry out their life functions as caliphs on earth, whether they become devout servants or not. Criticism of classical fiqh was raised because it was considered discriminatory against women, so Ali Asghar offered a reconstruction of feminist fiqh for a more just life.

Stay Angry and Leave Hope for Tomorrow: Understanding the Feminist Movement in China

Stay Angry and Leave Hope for Tomorrow: Understanding the Feminist Movement in China

Teenager’s Resistance to Patriarchy in School: A Feminist Movement Representation on Moxie Film

PurposeThis research aimed to reveal the representation of patriarchy in school and teeanger's feminist movement on Moxie film. MethodThis qualitative research study employed a qualitative content analysis as the design of the research. The data from the film were selected, collected and analyzed using representation theory by Stuart Hall and feminism approach.Results/FindingsThe result showed that Moxie represented patriarchy in school by portraying female objectification, represive school regulation against female, patriarchy in student's reading material, male's achievement glorification, and supporting attitue towards patriarchal practices. Since the female students experienced various disadvantages, the film also represented their feminist movement through the publication of anonymous feminist magazine, the action of females speak up in the public, embracing lesbian identities, the action of visual protest symbolism and act of solidarity, the activism on social media, and the action of school vandalismConclusionThe female teenager in Rockport High School resisted patriarchy in school by representing different feminist movements based on their personal experience and understanding of patriarchal practices and feminism

Between Hegemonic Masculinity and New Man-ism: The Shift from ‘Owning’ the Gaze to Being the ‘Object’ of the Gaze in the Representation of the Western Male in Men’s Health Magazine

This essay discusses how the representation of the Western male has shifted from one of hegemonic masculinity to one of new man-ism by exploring the British edition of Men’s Health magazine (henceforth MH). Beginning with a brief definition of the key terms, the essay explores how such a change has occurred via cultural construction by borrowing a theoretical perspective from Judith Butler, of how all forms of identity are not ‘fixed’, but are rather discursively ‘produced’ by popular culture media: ‘There is no gender identity behind the expression of gender; that identity is performatively constituted by the very ‘‘expressions’’ that are said to be its results’ Butler (1988). After highlighting the relevant history of men’s liberation, the essay then discusses the conditions in which the representation of men has become fetishised in modern Britain by adopting MH as a case study. Such exploitative use of idealised depictions of men’s bodies in MH has resulted in men becoming the ‘object’ of the gaze rather than ‘owning’ the gaze. To clarify this sociologically, the essay begins by discussing the feminist movement’s rejection of the men’s patriarchal image and how men thereby began to embrace new man-ism. Next, it discusses two other causes of this shift to new man-ism: (i) economic changes, and (ii) the crisis of masculinity. My concern here is not to unquestioningly accept the concepts associated with these factors or their implications; rather, I discuss them as dynamic elements within the above-mentioned change in how men are represented by MH, which has led men to become the objects rather than the subjects of the gaze. However, despite the historical performativity-related changes to men and masculinity, no real changes to masculinity’s hegemonic and dominant characteristics appear to have occurred. No further detail is given on the content of MH (as this can be studied easily enough), nor will I defend the ‘dumb’ excesses of some men’s titles to avoid a burlesque analysis. Instead, I discuss the most prominent themes in relation to men’s appearances and bodies to provide a better understanding of the shift from hegemonic masculinity to the New Man depicted in MH.

Women in academia: an analysis through a scoping review

Changes in higher education, such as the performance measures in research, neoliberalism, the feminist movement, and the COVID-19 pandemic, have challenged women in academia. The incorporation of women in academia is a relatively recent phenomenon. It was only in the middle of the last century that the presence of women in higher education was systematically increasing; however, this increase in women’s participation in Education has not eliminated gender gaps and inequalities. This article shows the results of a scoping review of the scientific literature, which aimed to identify what has been written about women’s experiences in academia during the last decade and determine the knowledge gaps. To this end, three databases, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, were reviewed for the literature search. As a result, 533 articles were obtained; however, after applying the exclusion criteria, 129 scientific papers were analyzed. The thematic analysis identified five central themes in the last 10 years (difficulties experienced by women academics in their careers; the underrepresentation of women academics; the impact of neoliberalism on the careers of women academics; the facilitating factors in the careers of women academics; and the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the careers of women academics). Finally, these categories and subcategories shape the challenges women academics face in higher Education and are analyzed and discussed. In conclusion, more than a third of the articles reviewed reflect on the difficulties experienced by female academics in their careers for the decade; however, during the last few years, it is possible to identify articles that address the challenges intensified in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2018, articles addressing neoliberalism’s effects on female academics’ careers have increased. To a lesser extent, articles addressing aspects that facilitate the development of women’s academic careers are also found. Thus, there is an essential reflection on the challenges and difficulties faced by women academics during their careers.

Platform work‐lives in the gig economy: Recentering work–family research

AbstractCrowdwork platforms have been widely celebrated as challenging gendered labor market inequalities through new digitally mediated possibilities for reconciling work, home, and family. This paper interrogates those claims and explores the wider implications of digital labor platforms for an expansive work–family research agenda stubbornly rooted in formal modes of employment in the “analogue” economy. Based on ethnographic research with women platform workers in the UK (using PeoplePerHour, Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, and Copify), the paper asks: what are women crowdworkers' lived experiences of integrating paid work and family relative to formal employment? And what coping tactics have women developed to reduce gendered work–family conflicts on digital labor platforms? In response to these research questions, the paper makes three contributions. First, it offers a critical review of recent commentary to theorize how disruptive innovations by digital labor platforms to recast long‐standing definitions of “work”, “workers”, “managers”, and “employers” have served to position platforms and platform workers as somehow outside the analytical gaze of the expansive work–family research agenda. Second, it extends a growing alternative work–family analysis of platform work to examine the kinds of “work–life balance” (WLB) provision available to women crowdworkers in the absence of an employer; and how women's experiences of algorithmically mediated and contradictory work–family outcomes further challenge widespread claims of new platform work–life “flexibilities”. Third, the paper points to exciting and urgent possibilities for advancing and recentering work–family research through new engagements with platforms, algorithmic management, and “independent” platform workers in support of feminist activism and campaigning around WLB.