Feminist Poststructuralist Research Articles

Because of thương: Listening to the voices of Vietnamese early childhood educators

This paper explores the self-authoring of two early childhood educators in Vietnam’s disadvantaged areas, Ha and Dong, to understand their marginalization and resilience in their daily practices. Guided by a Bakhtinian view, teachers’ self-authoring is conceptualized as an ongoing process in which the teachers articulate authoritarian discourses, and integrate them with their ideas to develop their internally persuasive discourses—their own knowledge of themselves as professionals. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews and photo elicitation; and analyzed in parallel with Bakhtin’s theoretical concept of self-authoring and the post-structuralist feminist approach. The findings represent the political, social, and gendered discourses addressing and being addressed by the preschool teachers. The study suggests that compassion and devotion to work for children contribute to the teachers’ making sense of their professional roles. This paper calls for a need to center the voices of Vietnamese early childhood teachers in policy-making, teacher training, and research practices, towards educational sustainability.

Nursing Professional Identity: A Critical Review of the Concept Amidst COVID-19.

Heroism is an immutable and quintessential part of what gives rise to the phenomenon that is nurse. This altruistic discourse comes with profound consequences for the nursing profession, particularly in relation to nursing's professional identity. This critical review explores nursing's professional identity against the backdrop of gendered and heroic discourses. Two concept analyses of nursing's professional identity are critically reviewed and juxtaposed with literature on the topic amidst COVID-19. Using poststructural feminism and critical discourse analysis, the review provides valuable insights into the evolutionary significance of the concept and raises key questions around knowledge-power structures and discursive constructions of nurse.

The ethics of performance care: A pragmatic feminist analysis of policy for singing voice rehabilitation.

This paper uses pragmatic feminist poststructuralism to explore how ethical theory is applied to singing voice rehabilitation by specialist singing teachers. A critical literature review examines the relationship between traditional and feminist ethical theories and their potential impact on practice. Themes have been extracted from the literature to create an intersectional feminist poststructural analysis framework, facilitating a document analysis of the foundations of three policy documents currently available to singing voice rehabilitation specialists. Poststructural deconstructivism was applied to thematic analysis to consider the impact of ethical theories on policy and practice. Policies we found to be rooted in traditional enlightenment ethics, with a focus on hyper-rationality, androcentrism and legalism. Person-centred care ethics was found to be lacking in all documents. Contrary to best-practice recommendations documents failed to provided practical guidelines for practitioners. Findings indicate adopting an intersectional feminist ethical policy could improve existing documents via a move from legislation and authority towards care and reflexivity.

Charting Gender Difference in Contemporary Romanian Feminist Poetry

The aim of this paper is to investigate the assertion of gender difference and gender identity in contemporary Romanian feminist poetry, taking the works of Medeea Iancu, Iuliana Lungu, Mădălina Oprea, and Nóra Ugron as its starting point. This study will underline recurring thematic patterns, highlighting the priority awarded, within these poetry collections, to matters pertaining to textuality, as well as to the peripheral position of women writers within the literary field. As a result of the uneven development of Eastern Europe’s women’s movement(s) during the post-communist transition, Romanian feminism can be described as a synthesis between Second- and Third Wave feminist themes (Miroiu), namely as having haphazardly imported both issues pertaining to “difference-” and to intersectional feminism. The emphasis local feminist poets place on positing difference, as well as on embracing a fluid identity, has motivated the usage of a theoretical framework based on the concepts of “sexual/gender difference”, and justified the attempt of linking these literary projects to the tradition of so-called “French post-structuralist feminism”. Lastly, this study proposes an overview of the possible political relevance that “neomaterialist” (Braidotti) strands of feminism may hold today, as well as an outline of some of the limitations that they pose.

Cultural Scaffolding and Dark Triad: A Feminist Poststructuralist Perspective on Male Perpetrators of Domestic Violence and Abuse

Domestic violence and abuse (DVA) is under-reported, under-prosecuted and under-convicted. The apparent ineffectiveness of policy approaches in reducing the incidence of DVA, or mitigating its social and economic costs, forms the backcloth of my enquiry.I explore the processes by which heterosexual women enter, endure, and leave abusive relationships. Using narrative-style interviews, I worked with 14 women with a wide range of characteristics in terms of age, ethnicity, physicality, and socio-economic status.I examine the space between normalised heterosexual relationships and abuse. I shine a spotlight on the full range of perpetrators’ behaviours that entrap and oppress their female partners, and identify four key domains in which the coercive tactics of the abuser work to: Ensnare his victim; dismantle her previous identities; prevent her from leaving the relationship; and punish her for leaving.From a feminist poststructuralist perspective, participants’ experiences of entering, enduring and exiting abusive relationships can be read as part of the wider cultural scaffolding (Gavey, 2019) of heteropatriarchy, which left them exposed to ensnarement and exploitation. Using dark triad (Paulhus, 2014) as a model for conceptualising perpetrators’ manipulation of their ex-partners, their children, and professionals, I offer an alternative to traditional psychology’s way of understanding men’s abuse of their female partners.

‘You're not good’: inequalities experienced by women in physical education during their childhood and adolescence

ABSTRACT Background Physical Education (PE) is a space for both the reproduction and change of power relations, due to its close relationship with physical activities and sports (PAS) and its masculine tradition. It is still deeply rooted in the perpetuation of hegemonic masculinity and its consequent behaviors. These behaviors, typically exhibited by boys, contribute to the discrimination experienced by many students whose characteristics do not align with the traits of hegemonic masculinity. Poststructuralist feminism recognizes all individuals as active participants in the negotiations of gender power relations, and therefore does not consider girls as passive victims of oppression. In other words, although it might appear that they are being passive in their actions, these attitudes indicate a resistance to engaging in a technical and traditional PE which perpetuates hegemonic masculinity. Purpose The objective of this study was to analyze the experiences of inequality experienced by women in PE during their childhood and adolescence. Method The participants were 17 women aged from 18 to 46 years old from the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (Spain). Four in-depth interviews and four focus groups were conducted. The transcripts were analyzed inductively, and a category system was constructed. Findings The participants highlighted how their experiences were negatively affected by the following consequences of hegemonic masculinity and power relations: PE Teachers in the spotlight – Authoritarian, contemptuous, and passive attitudes of teachers toward girls and their traditional approach were a relevant factor for many of them to lose interest in PE. Gender issues – The attitude of most boys caused many girls to stay on the sidelines due to the reproduction of qualities such as superiority, violence, aggressiveness, or competitiveness, as well as behaviors of ridicule and humiliation toward students who did not meet the expectations of motor abilities. Learned (in)ability – Since childhood, they believed that they were not good at PAS due to the messages received from society. Additionally, they felt intimidated in competitive contexts, which made it very difficult for them to successfully participate in a performance-focused PE. Discussion: Participants viewed PE as a hostile environment, where the majority of girls, as well as other students who did not conform to hegemonic masculinity, faced discrimination. However, the students' decision to stay on the sidelines was an attitude of resistance, refusing to participate in the reproduction of toxic masculinity and patriarchy. Conclusion It is crucial to recognize the reproduction of hegemonic masculinity and the exertion of power that discriminates and oppresses others in PE. This can serve as an initial step to encourage positive, inclusive experiences and meaningful learning, counteracting the reproduction of traditional models. Likewise, it is important to empower girls and transmit to them their ability to transgress and transform the dominant roles of society.

Physical activity and the pressures of ‘good’ motherhood: navigating changing bodies, other mothers and role modelling for the active family

ABSTRACT In a context of complex and contradictory discourses of ‘good’ motherhood, women are often expected to quickly resume or take up a physically active lifestyle postpartum for both their own health and that of their children. Guided by post-structuralist feminism and drawing upon interviews with 12 mothers with young children living in Aotearoa New Zealand, we reveal the various ways mothers navigate social pressures and expectations surrounding ‘good’ motherhood. A reflexive thematic analysis revealed the various pressures on mothers in relation to their physical activity practices. A key element was achieving ‘good mother’ status by taking control of their bodies through exercise and role-modelling proactive physical activity practices for their children and families. While some mothers worked to achieve this unrealistic ideal, others problematised and resisted such pressures. Concerns about body image, pressures from ‘other mothers’, limited time and energy, and feelings of guilt were all key contributing factors influencing mothers’ physical activity practices. Mothers also considered themselves integral in their children’s lives, expressing a desire to increase physical activity time and role modelling for an active family. Focusing on New Zealand mothers’ lived experiences of negotiating the various pressures and expectations of motherhood, including the pursuit of a physically active lifestyle, this paper makes an original contribution to a growing body of literature on the complex relationship between motherhood, sport, and physical activity.

Pregnancy, Parenthood, and Elite Athletics: “There’s a Lot of Work Still Yet To Be Done”

Several female athletes have recently challenged the long-standing assumption that pregnancy/parenthood (particularly motherhood) and participation in elite-level sport are mutually exclusive. These women’s actions have elicited change across the elite athletics industry and have sparked a need for further research to understand how elite athlete-parents perceive these shifts. We used feminist poststructuralist theory, feminist participatory action research, and semistructured interviews to explore the perspectives of 21 pregnant and parenting elite/international and world-class athletes (11 women and 10 men) on the developing degree of acceptance of parenthood in elite athletics. Through feminist poststructuralist discourse analysis, we identified that, despite considerable recent advancements, there is still a need for continued change in the degree to which pregnant/parenting elite athletes are accepted and supported within elite athletics.

Capable of Anything: Ethiopian Women and Tourism

ABSTRACT Scholarly contributions argue that concerns about gender need to take into account geographical factors and be viewed in context rather than within a generalised framework. The current study is underpinned by poststructuralist feminist theory to investigate the various gender-viewpoints and how individuals construct their identities in Ethiopia's tourism and hospitality firms. Three major aggregate themes, including gender in employment practices, gender in leadership activities, and gender in entrepreneurial performance, were identified to achieve the set objectives. As a result, the study highlights that the gender aspect in employment, leadership, and entrepreneurship practices appeared gendered, multifaceted, and constantly negotiated. Furthermore, it reveals the importance of realising the various gender viewpoints (identities) and reducing conventional gendered (masculinised) ideologies in employment, leadership, and entrepreneurship. Research implications, limitations, and future agenda are also conversed.

‘Who is the ideal woman?’: The subjectification of impoverished Javanese working mothers

AbstractThis study examines the subjectification of working mothers through the lens of intersectionality by listening to the under‐represented voices of those whose lives are shaped at the intersections of gender, poverty, Islam, and Javanese ethnicity. Drawing on poststructuralist feminist discourse analysis, the subtle subjectification process is observed through conversational interactions in which working mothers construct the ‘ideal woman’. The findings challenge the predominant postfeminist framing in the extant literature by illustrating how here working mothers draw on a specifically local discourse (i.e., moderate‐Islam and Javanese cultural discourses) to construct the ideal woman as embodying the dual wife‐mother identities. Based on these locally dependent discourses, working mothers accentuate their identity as wives while subduing identities as mothers and workers. The emphasis on the underexplored wife identity imbues work with a distinct significance for mothers within this context.

Young children’s expression of gender and sexuality a multimodal research method

ABSTRACT Despite flourishing gender studies over the last decades, gender equality continues to reflect imbalance, with the dominance of gender binary thinking, lacking an emphasis on a more fluid approach where children themselves are active participants. The aim of this study was to explore young children’s perceptions of gender roles and sexuality. The research applied a poststructural feminist theoretical framework as well as a research method inspired by the story completion method and the mosaic approach. The children’s views were underpinned by heteronormativity, but they occasionally diverged from that framework to refer to non-heteronormative families and characters. We argue that our findings demonstrate the considerable impact of heteronormativity on gender relations in preschools and the need to take that influence into account when creating a gender-sensitive pedagogy. Valuing children’s agency, supporting children’s power by listening to their perspectives might be the way forward, towards finding balance to promote gender equality in preschools.

Not the only novice in the room: Partnerships and belongingness in a research immersion program

AbstractLack of access to STEMM mentors has been identified as a critical barrier to biomedical research careers, leading to a lack of diversity in this field. To address such a barrier, the National Institutes of Health invested funds to support institutions in developing research immersion programs to provide “underrepresented” students with mentored research experiences. While providing access and opportunity for research experiences is an important equity endeavor, a focus solely on broadening participation neglects the role of institutions in perpetuating hegemonic views of science. Institutions often fail to recognize how entanglements of affect and emotion shape youth experiences in these programs and work to (de)legitimize their sense of belonging in science and perpetuate the notion of science as for an exclusive few. In this paper, we describe findings from a project aimed at understanding the entanglement of emotion and affect in a research immersion program and how these entanglements shaped participants' sense of belongingness in the program and research more broadly. Drawing on a poststructural feminist framework, we come to understand how individual histories and emotional experiences with racial and gender stereotypes work at the meta‐affective level to contract feelings of belongingness in science for students.

The body as archive: A study of Calvin Klein One/Be ‘Altered States’ perfume campaign (1995) through the Somatheque model

This article is presented as a methodological proposal for the field of fashion studies based on the interpretive model Somatheque (2013) of the theorist and activist Paul B. Preciado. Through this theoretical model, which draws lines of feminist post-structuralism and queer phenomenology, this study argues that the enunciation of the body as an archive is divided into four layers of analysis: (1) the biological body as a medical discourse, (2) power practices, (3) body techniques and (4) apparatus of verification. This study will provide a detailed analysis of the CK One advertising campaign called ‘Altered States’, launched by Calvin Klein in 1995. Specifically, it will assess the applicability of the Somatheque model in fashion studies by considering perfume as a central object of study within the fashion system. Thus, the study of this campaign serves as an example that illustrates how perfume not only plays a pivotal role in fashion studies but also acts as a significant element in the shaping, producing and encoding of the body within its context and allows for the exploration of fashion as a cultural and biopolitical practice influenced by privilege, asymmetrical power relations and colonial institutions.

Heteronormative discourse: Therapist social constructions of intimate partner violence in queer relationships

Researchers have suggested the victim/perpetrator paradigm for understanding intimate partner violence (IPV) is limited when considering queer relationships. Instead, some propose a poststructural feminist approach as better suited for understanding the complexities involved. However, in the UK, this approach is rarely adopted. We therefore put a poststructural feminist approach to research into practice. Despite IPV occurring in queer relationships at similar or higher levels compared to heterosexual relationships, queer individuals rarely use mainstream IPV services, owing to real and perceived barriers, and access local therapy services instead. However, outside of queer-specific services in city-centre areas, there is little knowledge of the approaches used or the outcomes achieved by these therapeutic services. Our research contributes to addressing this knowledge gap. We investigate how therapists make sense of IPV in queer relationships, conducting five semistructured interviews with therapists working in small-town/rural settings in Southwest England. Despite claims of inclusivity and liberal humanist values, our Foucauldian discourse analysis highlights the dominance of a heteronormative discourse in the therapists’ accounts, and shows how heterosexual privilege is embedded in a range of discourses deployed. In light of these findings, we explore implications for practice and areas for future research in this underresearched area.

Bridge Babies and Rebuilding America: Reproductive Commodification in Death Stranding

Hideo Kojima's 2019 video game Death Stranding has sold over 10 million copies since 2022. The game's plot features a post-apocalyptic United States where female bodies become commodities to produce babies, which the government utilizes as equipment to rebuild the country. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the government's, the terrorists’, and the player character's words and actions reinforce or reject traditional patriarchal views about reproduction. I first establish a background in post-apocalyptic narratives by synthesizing themes from The Handmaid's Tale, The Road, and The Walking Dead. Using feminist post-structuralism, I analyze how reproductive commodification is prioritized over ethics by the government, rejected in favor of general destruction to the greater good by the terrorists, and is used only when absolutely necessary by the player character. I finally argue that commodification narratives are typical within post-apocalyptic narratives, are harmful, and have the potential to influence real-world politics.

Exploring the Meaning of Sexuality, the Body, and Identity After Birth Using Feminist Poststructuralism

ObjectiveTo explore how sexual health in the postpartum period is influenced by and negotiated through relations of power. DesignDiscourse analysis informed by feminist poststructuralism. SettingTelephone interviews conducted in Nova Scotia, Canada. ParticipantsEleven women who gave birth in the last 1 to 6 months and lived in Nova Scotia. MethodsWe recruited participants through social media and invited them to share their experiences after birth through individual interviews. Using Baxter’s approach to discourse analysis, we focused on identifying how participants created meaning within their experiences. ResultsWe identified two main themes: Negotiating Change and Renegotiating Identity. Participants defined their bodies in new ways that could be sexual and/or nonsexual and created new meaning(s) of their identities as mothers and as sexual beings after birth. ConclusionThe meaning of the body and identity are intricately connected and significantly affect how sexual health is experienced by women during the first 6 months after birth. As such, it is critical that care providers prioritize, acknowledge, and validate how women in the postpartum period choose to define their sexuality, identity, and bodies to ensure the provision of person-centered care.

Learning about perspectives of patients and colleagues through qualitative research.

Welcome to the third issue, Volume 7, of Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare. As usual, articles demonstrate the immense range of applications for qualitative scholarship in the field of healthcare.
 Before introducing this issue’s articles, I want to welcome some new folks to QRMH. Dr. Paula Hopeck and Dr. Elizabeth Spradley joined our editorial board. Dr. Hopeck teaches at Commonwealth University in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania where she researches end-of-life issues and trains nursing students as they transition into the nursing profession. Dr. Spradley teaches courses in communication and medical humanities at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacagdoches, Texas. Dr. Spradley has published widely on narrative and identity, instructional communication, and work-from-home issues. Also, we have our first-ever book review editor: Dr. Michelle Walter, teaching specialist and lecturer at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne. Dr. Walter’s research examines mental illness from the perspective of poststructural feminist theory. Dr. Walter contributed this issue’s book review on mental health in higher education. [...]

Examining How Postpartum Videoconferencing Support Sessions Can Facilitate Connections between Parents: A Poststructural and Sociomaterial Analysis.

Postpartum support for new parents can normalize experiences, increase confidence, and lead to positive health outcomes. While in-person gatherings may be the preferred choice, not all parents can or want to join parenting groups in person. Online asynchronous chat spaces for parents have increased over the past 10 years, especially during the COVID pandemic, when "online" became the norm. However, synchronous postpartum support groups have not been as accessible. The purpose of our study was to examine how parents experienced postpartum videoconferencing support sessions. Seven one-hour videoconferencing sessions were conducted with 4-8 parents in each group (n = 37). Nineteen parents from these groups then participated in semi-structured interviews. Feminist poststructuralism and sociomaterialism were used to guide the research process and analysis. Parents used their agency to actively think about and interact using visual (camera) and audio (microphone) technologies to navigate socially constructed online discourses. Although videoconferencing fostered supportive connections and parents felt less alone and more confident, the participants also expressed a lack of opportunities for individual conversations. Nurses should be aware of the emerging opportunities that connecting online may present. This study was not registered.

Rethinking sexual violence labels: exploring the impact of ‘victim’ and ‘survivor’ discourse

ABSTRACT Background: Universities’ responses to sexual violence have faced scrutiny for their lack of proactiveness and their failure to address campus socio-cultural norms that contribute to rape myth acceptance. The labels victim and survivor play a crucial role in shaping attitudes toward sexual violence, but there is limited research on how university students perceive these labels. Objective: This paper explores sexual violence labels and their role in perpetuating rape culture. Undergraduate university students’ beliefs on using the label survivor instead of victim to describe someone who has experienced sexual violence were examined to consider how these labels create societal discourse on sexual violence. Method: The study draws on qualitative data collected from undergraduate students in Canada and the United States through open-response questions in an interactive textbook. Data were analysed and interpreted using a multi-method approach that combined principles of Critical Discourse Analysis and Feminist Poststructuralism. Direct quotes and word clouds from participants’ responses are used as evidence and to visually display discourse. Results: Findings revealed that participants recognised the negative societal discourses associated with the label victim and supported using survivor to challenge perceptions of sexual violence. Despite this, participants expressed hesitancy to adopt the label survivor because of the potential negative implications, such as the label promoting the allocation of individual blame, increasing barriers to justice, and reducing the perceived severity of sexual violence. Conclusions: This study underscores the complexities of sexual violence labels, the influence of language in shaping societal perceptions, and the need for a more comprehensive and equitable approach to responding to sexual violence.

“It’s Not Something We Like to Think About Because It’s So Devastating”: Understanding Eastern Canadian Young Women’s Mental Health in Our Changing Climate

Women are disproportionately affected by climate change, yet even though mental health and climate change is an emerging field, little research focuses on their mental health. The purpose of this study was to explore young women’s perceptions of climate change, gender, and mental health. A feminist poststructural (FPS) approach guided this research. FPS and discourse analysis were used to explore nine participants’ perceptions of their mental health in relation to the changing climate, and how their experiences were personally, socially, and institutionally constructed. Findings highlight participant relationships to discourses surrounding hopelessness, anxiety, grief and frustration, intersectionality, stereotypes, and gender-based violence (GBV). Study findings supported by broader literature provide recommendations for the discipline of health promotion regarding gender appropriate climate mitigation and adaptation strategies that prioritize and recognize mental health. We urge health promotion to recognize and integrate the fact that climate change amplifies existing inequities into health and climate change policies whenever possible. Climate change and health policies should ensure women are safe and protected before climate driven weather events to prevent instances of GBV. We recommend that health promotion media specialists recognize the dangers and ineffectiveness of fear mongering and attempt to promote climate solutions as opposed to only stories of despair and ecological degradation.