Women's Narratives Research Articles

Narratives of Women and Gender Relations in Chinese COVID-19 Frontline Reports in 2020.

This article analyzes the representation of women in Chinese news reports about COVID-19 in order to examine the consequences of the pandemic on gender relations in China. It draws on the linguistic framework of appraisal theory for identifying evaluative language and takes Chinese news reports on the COVID-19 frontline in 2020 as the major data sources. The study finds that while the narrative about women's capacity in combating the virus, resolution in the face of adversity, and sense of responsibility help build a shared feeling of community to reconstruct the disturbed social order, the descriptions about the evaluation and feelings of female characters lead to undesirable outcomes in gender relations in China. Specifically, the newspapers' reports on COVID-19 mainly focus on group interests and accomplishments and overlook women's contributions in containing the pandemic. Meanwhile, the news reports devoted to constructing model female characters that highlight transcendent qualities place considerable pressure on everyday women. Furthermore, journalists tend to infuse their reports with gender bias when depicting women, including aesthetic appreciation of appearance and a focus on emotional reactions and domestic roles, which hinders the professional identity of women. This article sheds light on gender relations in China amid the pandemic, as well as the study of gender equality in media discourse.

Gender-leisure nexus through a social justice lens: The voice of women from Iran

Leisure is recognised as offering individuals a chance for relaxation, self-development, social interaction, and wellbeing. However, women's participation and experience of leisure in many developing countries are constrained by gender stereotypes and gender-based inequalities. This study aims to investigate the interrelationship of gender, leisure and issues of social justice and equity in the developing country of Iran. This study also demonstrates how constraints to access and participation in leisure activities can further reinforce Iranian women's socioeconomic disadvantage. Twenty-five in-depth interviews were conducted to explore women's narratives of leisure activities and their perceptions of leisure in/equality. The findings reveal that issues such as society norms, cultural mythology and traditions, household and parental responsibilities, personal safety, and crises can restrict women's leisure in Iran. The implications of this study focus on transitional steps for societal changes to reduce marginalisation and bring into being a more inclusive and just society for women.

한국 아이돌 뮤직비디오에 나타나는 변증법적 여성서사 연구

The purpose of this study is to examine the dialectical female narrative that appears in the music video of the girl group “Red Velvet” through Hegel's dialectic. In the red velvet song with the velvet concept targeted in this study, “Women's narrative,” in which women become the subject of narrative and express the self-realization of the female subject, is a central element. Macroscopically, these songs form a “These-Antithese-Synthese” relationship, and epicly, they consist of a “divide-integration-divide-integration” aspect. In general, “These” is a hesitation to return to a patriarchal and male-centered society, and “Antithese” is symbolized by a determination to overcome this hesitation and build an independent and independent self. In other words, in the case of “divide”, hesitation was resolved or completed without being overcome, and in the case of “integration”, hesitation was overcome and self-identity was found. Given that the relationship between the four songs ends in an anti-harmony relationship, it can be seen that the female community represented by Red Velvet overcame this hesitation, solidified its identity, and achieved self-realization. This logic of “These-Antithese-Synthese” in Red Velvet's music video can be expanded further from Red Velvet to a metaphor for the situation that girl groups face in Korean society. For girl groups aimed at commercialism, feminism tended to be taboo in itself, but since the mid-2010s, gender issues have emerged as socio-cultural issues, and girl groups have also begun to change. Girl group members show direct or indirect support for feminism, and the agency that plans girl groups has also introduced girl crush and girl group that advocates feminist concepts. However, this move remains at the commercial level, and the girl group's utterance on feminism is becoming more cautious than before. As such, the situation facing girl groups in Korean society is very complicated, so girl groups are constantly repeating their attitude of conformity and rejection to the patriarchal society. When there is constant reflection and concern about feminism socially, girl groups will be able to add sincerity to their music.

Countering Subordination: Muslim Women's narratives from Bangladesh

Countering Subordination: Muslim Women's narratives from Bangladesh

Narzeczeństwo i co dalej? Wieloletnie narzeczeństwo i jego uwarunkowania w narracji kobiet jego doświadczających

The aim of the research was to find out the subjective reasons for an extended period of engagement in women's narratives and the reasons why they want to function as a social wife. The results of the research proved that, according to the majority of women in their middle adulthood, the reason why they do not yet function in the marital role is the fiance's lack of readiness to marry and a different understanding of the engagement period by both parties. For women, marriage is a prologue to marriage, while for men - in their opinion - an alternative to marriage. Interviewees who were in early adulthood indicated graduation from studies, taking up professional work and raising funds as the reason for postponing marriage. The narrators want to function as a social wife. They recognized the advantages of calling themselves a wife, wearing a wedding ring as proof of belonging to a man and being recognized as a family member by the husband’s closest ones. Keywords: fiance, fiancée, marriage, engagement ring, wedding ring

"They were quick, insipid, and stuck to the typical medical checkups": A Narrative Study on Women's Expectations and Experiences of Maternity Care in Bangladesh.

The quality of healthcare service delivery is generally determined by how patients' expectations were met successfully. This narrative study explores how women perceive and experience healthcare during childbirth in the context of Bangladesh. This study is inspired by Clandinin and Connelly's three-dimensional paradigm of narrativity that combines temporality, social interaction, and place. To unearth patient-driven narratives, the researcher purposely picked 12 women who gave birth in different private and public health facilities in Bangladesh. Four themes standout from the women's narratives. Excerpts of women's stories have been included in discussing the themes as well as author's conviction on this phenomenon. Most of the participants experienced a shared level of difficulty in choosing the health facilities (private vs public), motivated primarily by delivery costs and social background. Women with a higher level of education and financial means often opted to give birth in private facilities due to their negative perception and experience of the public facility. There was evident discontent when doctors decided for cesarean deliveries. Women were dissatisfied by providers' general lack of empathy and vicarious emotion. However, those women who gave birth in public hospitals expressed some degree of satisfaction which might be attributed to their low expectations and moderate social standing. Women's stories also delved into how societal norms, taboos, and elderly relatives put them in uncomfortable situations. To improve patient-provider interactions, healthcare practitioners should prioritize patient-centered care and collaborative decision-making. Reducing healthcare disparity and resolving superannuated pregnancy norms are also critical challenges.

Women, Literature, and Resilience: A Narrative of Strength and Triumph

This study explores the intersection of women, literature, and resilience, examining the multifaceted ways in which women's narratives contribute to a broader understanding of strength and triumph. Through a comprehensive analysis of literary works spanning various genres and historical periods, the research seeks to uncover recurring themes, motifs, and storytelling techniques employed by women authors to depict resilience in the face of challenges. By delving into the rich tapestry of women's literature, the study aims to elucidate how these narratives serve as powerful vehicles for expressing and shaping societal perceptions of female strength. Additionally, the research investigates the role of literature in fostering resilience among women, both in terms of personal empowerment and societal transformation. Ultimately, this exploration not only highlights the resilience inherent in women's stories but also underscores the transformative potential of literature in shaping narratives of strength and triumph for women across diverse contexts and cultures. Several literary works are analyzed, especially La estrella de rubíes by Carmen Martel.

“My Soul Hurt, and I Felt as If I Was Going to Die”: Obstetric Violence as Torture

AbstractObstetric violence—violence in the labor room—has been described in terms not only of violence in general but of gender violence specifically. This feminist-phenomenological analysis demonstrates features that the experiences of torture and of obstetric violence share. Many birthing subjects describe their experiences of obstetric violence as torture. This use of the concept of torture to explain what they have gone through is not trivial and deserves philosophical attention. In this article, we give several examples (mainly from Chilean women's birth narratives), examining them through phenomenological and feminist phenomenological analyses of torture. We argue that, as with torture, it is not mere pain that marks the experience of obstetric violence, but rather a state of ontological loneliness and desolation, a detachment from the previous known world, and a loss of trust in those surrounding us. But if obstetric violence is gender violence, this must be gendered torture: it is perpetrated with the goal of humiliating and controlling women, of reifying them and robbing them of their free embodied subjectivities in labor.

Narratives of Women with Infertility Who Use Indigenous Practices to Conceive, North West Province, South Africa

Infertility is a serious reproductive health challenge that has a far-reaching impact on women’s lives as they, inevitably, are the ones blamed for the failure to conceive. Despite availability of Western treatments to manage infertilit y, women frequently consult indigenous healthcare practitioners (IHCP) for healthcare, preferring these services to Western practice due to reasons such as accessibility and affordability. The study used a qualitative explorative, descriptive, and contextual design. Both purposive and snowballing technique were used to identify five women whom indigenous practitioners had assisted to conceive. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted and data were analyzed using the Tesch method of data analysis. IHCPs are known experts in managing infertility, experiences of women on indigenous management of infertility and continuous holistic management of infertility among women.

Lawless, Elaine J.; foreword by Amy Shuman. Reciprocal ethnography and the power of women's narratives. 216 pp., table, bibliogr. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 2019. £23.99 (paper)

Lawless, Elaine J.; foreword by Amy Shuman. Reciprocal ethnography and the power of women's narratives. 216 pp., table, bibliogr. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 2019. £23.99 (paper)

Unseen abilities – how refugee women with disabilities experience social participation

Abstract Background In the European context, refugee women especially those with physical disabilities are confronted by many unequal conditions that have an impact on their health and social wellbeing. To address these, it is important to understand refugees’ social participation and integration process. Furthermore, the purpose of the study is to identify refugee women's resources and their strengths in their everyday life that are related to current problems and needs. Methods This research project is embedded in occupational science theories which include the effect of social and environmental issues on an individual's health and wellbeing. An ethnographic, longitudinal study using visual and narrative methods was used to explore the phenomena of the everyday life and social participation possibilities of five refugee women with physical disabilities living in Stockholm, Sweden. Moreover, to illustrate the process of meaning-making, the frame of intersectionality was used within the whole research process. Results Through the lens of intersectionality, it was possible to determine gender, ableism, religion, and ethnicity issues as influencing factors concerning health and social participation. The women's narratives illustrate accessibility, e.g. public transport as a big resource in comparison to the country they came from. Still, to be a woman, a refugee, and having a disability at the same time is a challenge for social participation. One reason is less consideration of disabilities in the integration process. Having faith was mentioned as a safe place and using the public transport to independency. However, the women stress, that they want their abilities to be used instead of experiencing being limited by their disabilities. Conclusions In conclusion, the women emphasize being engaged in the hosting community. Health and social policymakers should consider the refugee women's voices to develop integration strategies with and not for refugee women with disabilities. Key messages • Through the lens of intersectionality, refugee women's narratives bring new insights about social participation. • Refugee women with a disability want to engage in the hosting society and become active members.

Gender, Pobladoras and Ollas Comunes in Chile: Re‐Activating Memory and History in Order to Survive the Coronacrisis

AbstractDuring the COVID‐19 global pandemic, pobladora women in Valparaiso were crucial in the organisation of their communities and the ollas comunes (common pots). Many observers linked these new ollas comunes to the ones that existed during the Pinochet dictatorship, in this manner citing a politics of gendered memory and local feminist history that allowed them to re‐organise in record time. The article explores this comparison, using women's narratives on ollas comunes in the past and the present in order to critically assess their similarities and differences. Additionally, it analyses how, and why, pobladora popular feminist memory regarding food insecurity resistance strategies and ollas comunes is transferred between generations. This article uses interviews done with popular‐sector and feminist women in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso during 2020 and 2021, as part of the project, ‘Women's Solidarity Networks Take on COVID‐19: the case of Valparaíso, Chile’.

Using photovoice to explore women's experiences of a women-only prevention and recovery care service in Australia.

Women should be able to access mental health services that are safe, free from harassment and abuse. Yet, research indicates that women experiencing mental health issues are often not safe in mixed gender environments, and especially in inpatient settings. This qualitative study draws on a photo-elicitation method ('photovoice') and semi-structured interviews to explore women's experiences of a sub-acute women-only prevention and recovery care (PARC) service in Australia. Twelve women experiencing mental health issues were recruited via an aftercare peer support group for recent service participants. The women took photographs guided by the central question: 'What were your experiences of a women-only prevention and recovery care service?' They then shared these photographs with the researchers and each other, and described them in detail. Four key themes were identified by thematic analysis of the photovoice visual and narrative data: (a) Only women can understand what women go through; (b) I feel safer with no men around due to my history of trauma; (c) This environment feels safe, making it easier to talk and (d) Staff are accessible and make time for me to talk about difficult topics. Woven throughout the women's narratives was the expressed desire to feel safe and supported during the process of recovering. Aspects of service delivery that contributed to these feelings and facilitated shared support were also valued in this setting. These findings indicate that access to women-only services and peer support are not only valued by women experiencing mental health issues, but need to be more widely available to support their recovery. They also underline the importance of a trauma-informed approach for improving the gender sensitivity of services.

基于女性主义视野下的池莉小说日常生活叙事研究

The new era of daily narrative fiction points women to daily life, and there is a close overlap between gender and daily life perspectives, making contemporary women's daily narratives rich and diverse. As one of the pioneers of the “neo-realism” genre in China, Chi Li is good at narrating daily life through the female perspective. This paper analyzes Chi Li's novels under the dual perspective of feminism and daily life, and finds that Chi Li's dual perspective style of feminism and daily life is deeply influenced by Western feminist criticism, but also has her unique narrative style, and the secularization of literary aesthetics is more prominent. Under the feminist perspective, the daily life narratives of Chi Li's novels in the new period are rooted in the transmutation of women's daily life consciousness, the narrative emotions are zero distance from daily life, the narrative language bears a strong Hubei brand, and the content shows more of the true restoration of daily life. She writes from a uniquely feminine perspective to care for women in the present world and constructs a care for life with inner intuition and experience, which is a model of feminist criticism and its local practice and has unique value in literary narrative.

Women's experiences of infertility after the Holocaust

Nuremburg trial evidence demonstrated that Nazis sought methods of mass sterilization of Jewish women. Immediately upon arrival at the concentration camps, over 98% of women stopped menstruating. There has been minimal investigation as to the cause(s) of amenorrhea, beyond malnutrition and trauma. The major objectives of this article are to 1) provide an alternate hypothesis to explain women's amenorrhea, i.e., surreptitious administration of exogenous hormones to women; 2) detail survivors' reproductive histories so as to demonstrate long-term sequellae, especially pregnancy losses; 3) provide women's subjective narratives of the short- and long-term experience of reproductive losses; 4) link women's amenorrhea, subsequent primary and secondary infertility and the evidence for the hypothesized causal mechanism, i.e., the administration of sex steroids which might have led to both immediate and long-term reproductive impacts. We conducted telephone interviews from 2018 to 2021 with Holocaust survivors internationally in 4 languages. We collected 93 testimonies from female Holocaust survivors (average age 92.5) or offspring who could provide complete reproductive histories for survivors. The interviews focused on reproductive histories, including amenorrhea beginning in 1942–45, subsequent attempts to conceive, numbers of pregnancies, miscarriages and stillbirths. Ninety-eight percent of women interviewed were unable to conceive or carry to term their desired number of children. Of 197 confirmed pregnancies, at least 48 (24.4%) ended in miscarriages, 13 (6.6%) in stillbirths and 136 (69.0%) in live births. The true number of pregnancy losses is likely much higher. Only 15/93 (16.1%) of women were able to carry more than two babies to term, despite most wanting more children desperately. Amenorrhea among Jewish women arriving at concentration camps was too uniform and sudden to be effected only by trauma and/or malnutrition. Survivors' narratives and historical evidence suggest the role of exogenous hormones, administered without women's knowledge to induce amenorrhea as well as subsequent primary and secondary infertility.

Making meaning of women's persistence and protagonism in the wake of genocidal violence: Maya Ixil and K’iche’ women of Chajul, Guatemala

Fifteen Maya Ixil and K’iche’ women of Chajul, Guatemala, were interviewed 17 years after publishing their feminist participatory action photovoice research. Their book documents gross violations of human rights during nearly 36 years of armed conflict and their memories of survivance and persistence. A constructivist grounded theory analysis of in-depth interviews with these Maya Ixil and K’iche’ women contributed to the authors’ “bottom up” meaning making of the women's narratives – stories that reflect memories of participatory, community-based workshops and community actions in the wake of genocidal violence. The latter included performances of: presence despite absences; profound losses amidst ongoing suffering; renewed and transformative engagement with traditional beliefs and practices; women's protagonism evidenced through enhanced skills; new capacities performed in multiple contexts within and beyond their community's borders. We analyze these narratives of protagonism and persistence to elucidate some of the multiple contributions of long-term feminist community-based accompaniment and participatory processes as resources for rethreading life and wellbeing in the wake of war.

Cervical cancer survivors: The experiences of the journey.

Cervical cancer affects survivors' overall coping. Yet, specifically emotional and behavioral expression patterns among cervical cancer survivors have barely been examined. In addition, no study has focused on survivors' experiences of sequences related to coping. Understanding these perceptions can help provide a tailored response and improve psycho-social interventions. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the emotional and behavioral motives involved in coping with cervical cancer recovery. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 survivors of cervical cancer (stages I and II), using a semi-structured in-depth questionnaire. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by three researchers using thematic analysis. Six main themes emerged: (i) Reasons and benefits for keeping the disease a secret or sharing it with others; (ii) "When you get used to despair, there's also room for hope": Despair alongside hope; (iii) Self-guilt following the disease, but also knowing how to forgive yourself; (iv) Deep loneliness alongside a significant need for support; (v) Finding the way from passivity to activity; and (vi) When meaning in life is missing, and the importance of meaning when it is present. There was a balance between negative emotions and behaviors (despair, confidentiality, guilt, loneliness, passivity, lack of meaning) and positive emotions and behaviors (hope, openness, forgiveness, significant support, activity, meaning). The study revealed that in some cases cervical cancer coping during the recovery period moves across sequences. The women's narratives portray past difficulties as the reason for present psychological health, and their experience of a healthy present is intensified by their past difficulties. Implications for practice are discussed.

Women adjusting their sails: The role of motility in women's livelihood strategies in a fishing village in Tamil Nadu, India

This article draws on research conducted in a fishing village in southern India to examine the ways in which middle‐aged women in a precarious socio‐economic position used mobility and immobility strategies to improve their livelihoods, both inside and outside of fisheries. Kaufmann et al.'s (2004) work on motility is applied to show how the mobility decisions and livelihood needs and plans of five women (occupying different socio‐economic positions) were influenced by socio‐economic structures. The study shows that the women's mobility decisions allowed them to improve their socio‐economic positions and reconfigure their gendered identities in the local village, outside the fishing sector. Motility (which encapsulates socio‐spatial mobility) empowered these women by allowing them to move out of the increasingly precarious small‐scale fisheries industry. We argue that the concept of motility provides a useful analytical framework for understanding mobility, and we use the women's narratives to exemplify this claim.

"I Do Not Have to Hurt My Body Anymore": Reproductive Chronicity and Sterilization as Ambivalent Care in Rural North India.

Drawing on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork in rural Rajasthan, India, I examine women's narratives of chronic reproductive suffering and the practices they employed to relieve it. Cumulative effects of adverse and ordinary reproductive events and exhaustion from caregiving were often seen as reproductive suffering, while sterilization emerged as an act of care toward women's ever‐weakening bodies. Sterilization has been an integral part of the often coercive, incentive‐ and target‐driven population control program in India. Rural women, however, described sterilization not as a form of violence but as an act of care, despite its ambivalence. In the context of reproductive chronicity—a persistent reproductive suffering recurring alongside reproductive events, available care options, relations within which these options are located, and structural conditions that shape women's lives—care and suffering are intimately and ambiguously intertwined.

Divorce status in the Pakistani workplace: women's narratives on stigma, outcomes and coping strategies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the processes associated with divorced female employees' experiences at workplaces in the context of a developing country, Pakistan. Specifically, this study analyzes divorced women's narratives to better understand the nature of discrimination, its outcomes and their coping strategies within the workplace environment.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative methodology consisting of 25 semistructured interviews with women employees having divorce status was adopted.FindingsFindings demonstrate that divorced women experience a considerable amount of discrimination at their workplace from colleagues (victimized through gossiping). Moreover, they are also offered less training opportunities. This discrimination not only increases turnover intentions and stress but also decreases cognitive performance and disturbs work–life balance. The major coping strategies identified in the research include avoiding the situation and/or concealing their identity.Originality/valueFirst, this study undertakes an in-depth examination of experiences and consequences of stigma amongst female individuals with divorced identity from an understudied, yet highly relevant, context of Pakistan. In so doing, the authors respond to the call for more research that examines the role of context in shaping the psychological process. Second, contextualizing the concepts of discrimination and inclusion in the workplace setting, this work gives voice to females with divorce identity. Lastly, by examining the interaction between visible and invisible identities, the authors provide further evidence that individuals with multiple subordinate identities are more prone to greater stigma and other negative consequences.