Modern Women Research Articles

Brief bibliographic study of the evolution of women's participation in the labor market

The female role has undergone numerous changes over the years, paving the way for women from all over the world to enter various fields of society. For the development of this bibliographic study, a qualitative approach was adopted, seeking to substantiate the ideas shared here with authors who study the same theme. A bibliographic research was carried out, with analysis of various contributions. The general objective of this work is to perform a historical analysis of women's evolution in the labor market and the occupation of leadership positions in different sectors of society, recognizing the difficulties and obstacles in appropriating spaces that should already be shared with men equitably and mediated by mutual respect. The specific objectives related to this study are as follows: to comment on how women's achievements took place, taking into consideration that they were considered domestic beings; to discuss the modern woman, highlighting her achievements and what still needs to be conquered. Finally, the research reveals that a possible path that benefits women in general is the implementation of policies that make it possible to reconcile personal life with professional career. Understanding, necessarily, that the role of caregiver, in a society that is aging more every day, should not be exclusively attributed to women.

Analysis of the Wearing or Revealing of the Hijab

Women are blatantly portrayed as second-class citizens through the careful analysis of historical and religious writings. In modern society, young girls and women are encouraged to stand up for their basic rights. When it comes to the highly controversial question of whether or not women should wear hijabs and how it affects their personal life, opposing countries with multiple perspectives on the issue have created according to guidelines for how these women should act without paying much attention to the female community itself. These rules have led to unequal treatment of women's actions throughout the world. A Muslim teacher in France lost her job while battling for her right to wear a headscarf while teaching, while Mahsa Amini in Iran was assassinated by the morality police. Women suffer in both situations since their human rights are disregarded—whether it is her freedom of religion or clothes which attract feminists' attention. It is advised that Islamic countries stop utilizing the hijab to prevent men from harassing women and start teaching children to treat others with respect instead. Furthermore, all countries should respect women's autonomy and permit the wearing or revealing of the hijab.

Do modern Russian women consider themselves lonely?

The architectonics of the authors' research reflects the paradoxes of public consciousness concerning the perception of the phenomenon of social loneliness through the prism of the completeness of family and the presence of children. The prerogative of material prosperity in the name of the prospects for future family well-being in the conditions of the modern labor market in some cases results in social loneliness, when the compensating result of a woman's life cycle is professional solvency in the absence of family and children. Social loneliness begins to lose its negative context in the perception of the individual himself, which is expressed in an increase in the proportion of Russians aged30 to 45years who have never been married. The authors reveal women's reflections on the phenomenon of social loneliness in the context of existing family constructs, as well as aspects of the stigmatization of single mothers and children growing up without a father. Objectively and from the standpoint of the interests of the demographic policy of the Russian Federation, postponing important demographic events to later ages increases the risks of social loneliness, expressed in lower chances of starting a family and having children. Subjectively, the segment of people who, according to various indicators can be considered lonely, is an established demographic and social reality and does not feel lonely. The study is aimed at clarifying the peculiarities of women's perception of social loneliness, their identification of their role in society, the significance of their main social positions for them, their wish to be involved in one or another social group. The results of the study are presented on the basis of a sociological survey conducted in the all-Russian format. The sample is characterized as continuous, random, at the last stage nested (one cluster of the sample is selected — women, N=1075). The initial processing of the empirical data provided an opportunity to draw a number of conclusions regarding the value orientations of women and their formation of social behavior in the context of building a professional, family and marital life trajectory. The research focus of presenting the results is on finding ways to minimize social loneliness in public perceptions.

Debating Social Change and the Jewish Nation: The Polish-Jewish Weekly Ewa on Jewish Families and Birth Control (1928–1933)

The objectives of the debates on birth control and thus of the concepts of family planning had changed in East Central Europe after World War I as a result of the founding of nation states. The respective dominant as well as non-dominant national groups colored them nationally by focusing on the development of their own nation. A particular example of the inherent national coloration of the transnationally effective discourses on birth control is the Polish-Jewish women's weekly Ewa. In the late 1920s, when a nationwide marriage and abortion law was being negotiated under the conditions of an authoritarian regime in Poland, Ewa took up these debates in order to sketch a specific Polish-Jewish image of the family. The publication also embraced birth control as a national challenge, but did so under a Zionist banner. The article assesses Ewa's important contributions to tracing and influencing the understanding of birth control and the images of modern families and women in the Polish-Jewish milieu during the interwar period.

Critical Feminist Discourse and Authorial Identity in Contemporary Women’s Writers: Woolf, Daneshvar, and Farrokhzad

Literature and culture are a propitious way to connect human life and the world and feminism is a universal affair and not to be limited to a society, geographical region, or time. Comparative literature is also a sphere of literary study in which the works of two/more two writers from different languages and nationalities are compared with one another and acts as a social, cultural, and literary brigade and cycle. This article explores feminism and femininity with an image of authorial identity in three selected modern women writers’ works: Virginia Woolf, Simin Daneshvar, and Forough Farrokhzad from the schools of thought and points of view, which affected the writers’ thoughts. The survey and analysis of their works report that the sharing point between feministic literature and the schools of thought lies in the attempt to revive women’s rights, portray women’s oppression, and introduce their innocence as well as their authorial identity and position in a patriarchal system regarding the sort of approach to human and life. The present study extends a synthesis of feminism and realism techniques to investigate women’s status within these women’s writings. The results show an independent authorial identity, feminine attitudes, realist perspective, existentialist thoughts and human-centered view in a patriarchal society are authorial recycling forms among Daneshvar, Farrokhzad, and Woolf’s artwork borderless.

Concept of Modern Woman in Feminist Poetry

This article discusses the role of women in modern Urdu poetry, what has been done in poetry writing and what has been done in different periods, as well as the sexual aspects of women in relation to the beloved. presented where there were no social walls between women and men, if Mir Aji's attitude of sexual freedom is found, but despite this, there are other aspects of women, namely mother and sister, in Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Mahbub is also seen as a unique entity, instead of presenting an imaginary image, they present a real woman. This is the reason why they mock love

Review: The Transformation Of The Meaning Of Kebaya From National Clothing To A Media Of Self-Representation And Lifestyle

As a cultural product of the Indonesians, Kebaya has become a national dress that sticks with its philosophical principles and values. However, along with the times and the influence of popular culture, the kebaya changed its design lines. It caused a transformation of the meaning of the Indonesian national dress into a medium of self-representation and the lifestyle of modern women. This review aims to analyze the transformation of the meaning of kebaya as a medium of self-representation and lifestyle. The method used is a narrative review by analyzing several articles using the PRISMA method. The analysis results show that the kebaya, as Indonesia's national dress, has design characteristics, materials, and accessories that contain philosophical meanings that reflect the personality of Indonesian women. The design transformation of the traditional kebaya gave birth to a modern kebaya far from the standard of the conventional kebaya. Modern kebaya is interpreted as a symbol representing the wearer's self-image and social class. The modern kebaya, as a medium of self-image and social class, gives birth to a new lifestyle in society, namely a consumptive lifestyle, because someone will carry out consumption activities continuously without considering the use value of the item. Besides being able to complete references related to kebaya, the results of this review are also expected to be input for related parties to maintain the traditional kebaya standard and consider ethics in buying kebaya so as not to create a consumptive lifestyle.

To use or not to use: Exploring factors influencing the uptake of modern contraceptives in urban informal settlements of Mumbai.

Rapid urbanization and a high unmet need for family planning in urban informal settlements point to the significance of identifying gaps that exist in the path of voluntary uptake of contraceptives. We undertook this study to better understand the perspectives related to family planning among women living in informal settlements of Mumbai. We used a mixed-methods approach, including a cross-sectional survey with 1407 married women of reproductive age and face-to-face in-depth interviews with 22 women, both users and non-users of modern contraceptives. 1070 (76%) of the participants were using modern contraceptives and women's age, education, parity, socioeconomic status and exposure to family planning interventions were the main determinants of contraceptive use. Poor contraceptive awareness before marriage coupled with social norms of early childbearing and completing family resulted in unplanned and less spaced pregnancies even among current users. In such cases, women either continued with the pregnancy or opted for abortion which sometimes could be unsafe. The decision to use contraceptives was taken in most cases after achieving the desired family size and was also influenced by belief in traditional methods, fear of side effects, spousal/family awareness and counselling by frontline workers. We recommend strengthening of sexual and reproductive health component of adolescent health programs. It is pertinent to inform women about their reproductive rights and most importantly empower them to practice these rights. This can be achieved by increasing women's age at marriage and continued promotion of formal education. Widespread misconceptions related to the side effects of modern methods need to be mitigated via counselling. Referral, follow-up, and suggestions on available choices of contraceptives should be given in case women face any side effects from the use of contraceptives. At the same time, improving spousal awareness and communication regarding family planning will allow couples to make informed decisions. Finally, roping in role models in the community will create an environment conducive to operationalizing rights-based family planning.

“A Modern Woman, born 1689”: Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in the Early Feminist and Women’s Suffrage Movement

This article examines the early suffragist and suffragette revival of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762). Studying Montagu’s representation in prominent suffrage journals and the writing of leading women’s rights activists, this essay argues that she was celebrated as both a remarkably progressive New Woman-prototype and as an early example for women’s militant tactics. In doing so, this paper sheds new light on the complex recovery history of Montagu. It also contributes to our understanding of the importance of feminist literary criticism and women’s literary history in the historiographic projects of the early women’s movement.

Innovation of Motifs Inspired by Indian and Palestinian Traditional Clothing and Executing them in Designing Contemporary Fashion

Clothing decoration is one of the plastic arts that aim to give clothes a distinct artistic value that reflects the geographical, social, economic, professional and environmental reality of many countries of the world. If we look at the decoration in the clothes, we find that it reflects the life, heritage and culture of peoples. The main research problem is the lack of researches that combines traditional motifs in two different civilizations, and accordingly the research questions are: What is the possibility of merging Indian and Palestinian motifs to create new motifs? What is the possibility of applying integrated and innovative motifs in the designing contemporary fashion? The significance of the research appears in increasing the diversity of the motifs used in contemporary fashion, spreading the cultures of peoples through the motifs of traditional clothing. The research objectives are merging Indian and Palestinian motifs to create new innovative motifs, and then using these innovative motifs in designing contemporary fashion. The research hypotheses are: First: It is possible to create motifs inspired by traditional Indian and Palestinian clothing and applying them in contemporary fashion. Second: There are statistically significant differences between the opinions of the arbitrators for the proposed designs with Indian motifs, the proposed designs with Palestinian motifs, and the proposed designs with motifs integrated from both of them. The research methodology: it followed the descriptive approach in analyzing the motifs of traditional Indian and Palestinian clothing, as well as the experimental approach in the use of motifs incorporated in designing of modern women's clothing. The procedural steps of the research divided into three stages: First: Analyzing the motifs found in traditional Indian and Palestinian clothes separately. Second: Merging some decorative units of each culture with itself and then with each other to create new decorative units. Third: executing merged motifs in creation of innovative modern fashion. Twelve modern women clothing designs are been created. A questionnaire is designed consisting of four main axes, which deals with the aesthetic aspect, the functional aspect, the innovative aspect, and the general form. The questionnaire was presented to (20) arbitrators in the field of specialization to evaluate the proposed designs. Results are represented graphically and refer to achieving the seventh design the highest evaluation score. It also concluded that the designs executed with integrated Indian and Palestinian motifs together won the approval and appreciation of the arbitrators in most of the evaluation axes, followed by designs with integrated Indian motifs, then designs with integrated Palestinian motifs. With these results, the objectives of the research are achieved and its hypotheses are proven.

Saving the Modern Woman

AbstractThis article looks at how specific gendered practices and ideas about female bodies were instrumentalized in the struggle for political authority during Egypt’s transitional period between 2011 and 2013. It argues that in the aftermath of the uprising, when Islamists won the parliamentary and presidential elections in Egypt, the figure of the “modern” woman gained renewed political significance. By exploring Egyptian English-language women’s lifestyle magazines, the article illustrates how socioeconomically privileged, Cairo-based women crafted “modern” female bodies and engaged in what Lila Abu-Lughod calls the “politics of modernity.” By delving into the world of Cairo’s wealthy and fashionable producers of lifestyle magazines, the article shows how specific bodily techniques and vocabularies of neoliberal feminism helped construct the idea of a “modern” woman. The “modern” female body then provided a location from which other bodies, considered traditional or not yet modern, could be judged. During Egypt’s transitional period, it was not the victimized Muslim woman who needed to be saved but the modern woman who felt that her lifestyle was under attack from Islamists. Based on an analysis of visual images and discourses, the article provides a contemporary example of the use of “modern” gendered subjecthood in creating hierarchies between women.

The queens of loud machines: Knitting and making music in West Berlin in the 1970s–1980s

“Those old eco-feminists knitted. But we were using a machine! That was a big difference indeed” (2020, personal interview with the author). That statement was made by musician and knitwear designer Gudrun Gut of the punk girl band Mania D./Malaria! and it cuts out what this article is about: Women knitting and making music on their machines in the subculture of West Berlin in the late 1970s and early 1980s. New and easily accessible technology, such as the Atari console, enabled new Do-It-Yourself strategies. At the same time—within fashion and knitting in particular—there was a shift in feminist generations: Loud, technical, noisy music, and machine-made knitwear signified aggressive, modern, and self-assured women. In West Berlin specifically, punk women musicians and designers looked back in time, and sought to reconnect with the hedonistic avant-garde and the “new women,” the divas, dadaists, and women modernists of Berlin in the 1910s–1930s.

Second Wave Feminism and its Systemic Racism: What the Educational System Does Not Explain

The modern secondary school curriculum teaching 20th century women’s history, the first and second feminist waves, has been designed circularly hegemonic, and for decades following the advancement of academic fields such as radcial feminism, gender studies, and intersectionality, this current cirrculam has neglected the work of multi-racial feminist groups as well as the dangers of the race-sex analogy. This paper focuses on drawing awareness to the systemic exclusion women faced, the contributions of non-white feminist groups, and how such divisions limited all woman from achieving their goals of equality, recognition, and justice as well as possible conclusions to why the educational field has narrowed perspectuves for secondary school teaching. by using a comparative apprach to his essay, the paper was conducted from researching the corrospondence, legal documents, and recordings of these respective non-white organizations housed in the Schlesinger Library archive at the Radcliff Institude for Advanced Study.

Research on the application of formal beauty in patchwork art in contemporary women's wear design

The patchwork art has a long history and was mainly used to meet people's basic living needs in the early stage. With the development of the times, the aesthetic value and environmental protection value of patchwork art gradually attracted the attention of major brands and trendsetters. At present, the relevant theoretical research on the origin of patchwork culture has been relatively perfect, but there is still a need for in-depth research on the aesthetic form of modern patchwork art and its application in modern women's clothing. By summing up the formal beauty expression of patchwork art and its expression in clothing, this paper explores the application of the formal beauty of patchwork art in contemporary women's clothing design, and provides new ideas for the development of patchwork art in clothing design.

Janel Mueller, 1938–2022

Previous articleNext article FreeObituaryJanel Mueller, 1938–2022Joshua ScodelJoshua ScodelHelen A. Regenstein Professor of English, University of Chicago Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreCourtesy of Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.View Large ImageDownload PowerPointI am deeply honored to pay tribute to Janel Mueller, who died on October 21, 2022. From 1988 to 1998 Janel edited Modern Philology with a characteristic blend of broad vision and incisive attention to detail. As a journal editor, award-winning teacher, and inspiring mentor of younger scholars, Janel energetically advanced literary scholarship by nurturing and improving the work of others. I gratefully remember many drafts of my own work in progress laden with her acute blue-penciled suggestions.The fitting coeditor of the 2002 Cambridge History of Early Modern English Literature, Janel was a magnificent scholar of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English literature. She combined immense erudition, particularly in the history of Christian thought; passionate dedication to expanding our literary canon by revealing the expressive power of underestimated early modern women authors and religious writings; and bold yet historically contextualized accounts of what made individual authors and texts new in style, argument, and vision. With rigorous stylistics grounded in linguistics, Janel’s Native Tongue and the Word (1984) traced with revisionary vigor how Protestant scripturalism and the imitation of biblical parallelism shaped early modern English prose, which had previously been analyzed in relation to classical models or modern science.Throughout her career Janel focused with piercing intensity on two major male authors, Donne and Milton. Attentive to Donne’s sources but above all to his ever-surprising imagination, Janel published as her first book an edition of Donne’s prebend sermons (1971) and as her last an Oxford selection of his oeuvre (2018). Janel was at the forefront of scholarship exploring early modern constructions of gender, and her numerous publications on Donne include her learned, brilliant, and influential 1992 article articulating Donne’s lesbian utopianism in “Sapho to Philaenis.” Her many articles on Milton included important 1980s and 1990s analyses of his reinvention of the political sonnet and of his first prose tract’s radical reformulation of English apocalypticism and vanguard articulation, well before other scholars had recognized it, of a “nascent English republicanism.”In numerous editions and articles, Janel examined how early modern English women authors found their literary voices by engaging with scripture and with traditions previously defined by men. Her 1994 article elucidating the way that Aemilia Lanyer’s 1611 Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum reimagined Christ’s crucifixion in gendered terms was characteristically revelatory. Having coedited Elizabeth I’s writings and translations (2000–2009), in 2011 Janel published her magisterial edition of the writings of Elizabeth’s stepmother Katherine Parr, the first Englishwoman to publish a work of her own under her own name. Janel’s luminous introductions and copious notes revealed precisely how and why Parr produced a distinctive feminine vision of reformed spiritual devotion. Her praise of Parr’s “richly expressive legacy” might fittingly be applied to Janel’s own scholarship, the enduring expression of an unforgettable mind. Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Modern Philology Volume 120, Number 3February 2023 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/723649 © 2023 The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The Transformation of Chinese Women’s Identity in Hollywood Films—The Role of Zhang Ziyi as an Example

This article examines and compares Zhang Ziyi’s star identity and image in China and the West by using several films in which she acted that enjoyed fame on the international stage, such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha, as case studies. The evolution of her Asian female identity in American cinema is further analyzed by combing through her career development in Hollywood. At the same time, it is useful to describe her as a symbol of the Asian consumer market by examining how her cosmopolitan identity, described as a “modern woman”, is represented in advertisements or magazines for brands she represents. This paper seeks to reveal the development of Chinese female identity as revealed by the character of Zhang in Hollywood films. It finds that Zhang has shaped the Western perception of Chinese female immigrants with her outstanding performance through comparing her perceptions in the West and China. Moreover, her remarkable influence and identity symbol promote the localization of overseas brands in Asian markets.

Indian Time: Temporality, Gender, Mobility

Indian Time: Temporality, Gender, Mobility

Ideas About the Ideal Marriage Partner Depending on the Moral Orientation

The problem of forming ideas about an ideal marriage partner is addressed in the context of studying the influence of the moral orientation of the personality of modern young men and women. Ideas about marriage perform a guiding function in mastering the social role of the spouse. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of ideas about an ideal marriage partner (ideal husband, ideal wife) depending on the moral orientation of the personality of young men and women. Theoretical and methodological literature analysis, questionnaire, psycho-diagnostic methods (the methodology of "Personal Moral Self-determination" by A. E. Vorobieva, A. B. Kupreichenko, the method of Semantic Differential, developed by Charles E. Osgood, projective technique of "Incomplete Sentences", the questionnaire "Role Expectations and Claims in Marriage" by A. N. Volkova); mathematical and statistical data processing methods. The study involved 490 students. The moral orientation of the personality (egocentric, group-centric, humanistic, world-creating) is an individual factor that determines the originality of ideas about an ideal marriage partner among young men and women. Young women with a humanistic personality orientation are distinguished by the formation of cognitive, emotional and behavioral component in the images of "ideal husband" and "ideal wife". In the ideas about an ideal marriage partner, young men and women with a world-creating personality orientation record the greatest number of content characteristics.

The ‘roaring’ twenties and African wildlife in fashionable dress: Part 1: Zebra fur patterns and femininity

The fur and fur patterns of African animals were part of the fashion industry’s exoticization of Africa during the 1920s. Avant-garde interest in African sculpture, African textiles and African jewellery blended with the popularity of jazz music played by African Americans to create a market for fashionable clothing inspired by Africa. Using fur from African animals, and textile prints and embroideries imitating fur patterns, reflected the most consistent interest in Africa. African safaris, world fairs and colonial expositions displaying African animals contributed to African exoticism. Books for children, textile designs illustrating African elephants and examples of fabric dyed colours called ‘lioness’ were some of the resulting consumer products. The graphic fur patterns of leopards, giraffes and zebras perfectly suited the bold geometric aesthetics of the Arts Modernes design style, while the fringe-like quality of monkey fur met the trend requirements for fringed evening wear. Zebra fur and patterns played a feminizing role in mediating the increasingly masculine dress and activities for women. The graphic black-and-white stripes linked the wearer to the exotics and adventure of Africa, while also reflecting contemporary design aesthetics and the hard-edged, chaotic American city. Because the zebra stripe originates on the fur of a peaceful prey animal, the pattern was perceived as graceful and feminine. For the modern women who wanted to participate in the adventures of the era, wearing zebra stripes tempered the interpretation of her wild life in the American urban jungle without compromising her femininity.

The ‘roaring’ twenties and African wildlife in fashionable dress: Part 2: The role of fur patterns in representations of the flapper and the development of sportswear

African animal fur patterns were part of the flapper’s wardrobe. Fur trade publications and the fashion press specifically linked leopard to flapper fashion. Wearing leopard fur connected the modern woman to the wilds of jazz dance and sexual promiscuity for which she was known. Celebrity flappers like Nancy Cunard wore leopard. Illustrators like John Held Jr. made giraffe fur patterns part of this flapper look, though giraffe was short-lived and had more aristocratic and graceful connotations than leopard. African leopard, giraffe, gazelle and zebra were all linked to the new clothing category called sportswear. These furs were sometimes called jungle furs to exoticize their origins in Africa and connect them to the popularity of jazz, ‘jungle’ music. The fur patterns eventually became part of the exotic pyjama, thus promoting an early form of sportswear pant being worn outside the home for the beach by the end of the twenties.