Egalitarian Relationships Research Articles

Re-framing women’s agency in #Blessed sex: Intersectional dilemmas for African women’s theologies

The Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians has since its inception, affirmed the agency of women in their theological reflection and praxis. In doing so, they have called on their male colleagues to stand in solidarity with them in forging alternative masculinities that renew culture, curb gender-based violence and mitigate HIV infection. This essay argues that there are three assumptions that form the basis of the work of the Circle theologians. Firstly, that women seek to be in egalitarian relationships with men that bring dignity and respect. Secondly, women assert their agency to achieve this goal and in so doing bring healing and wholeness to both groups who are transformed through this process. Thirdly, women assert their agency in solidarity with other women as they build alternative egalitarian communities. Yet, the recent phenomenon of the #Blessed community of young women who seek out ‘blessers’, older men who engage them in transactional sex, in order to fund opulent lifestyles contradicts these assumptions. Their agency embraces non-liberative ideology and practice and chooses not to unseat the dominant ideologies of hetero- and econo-patriarchy.Contribution: The essay concludes that a lack of sustained economic analysis and engaged theological reflection on sexual ethics means the Circle is ill-equipped to respond to the challenge posed by the #Blessed community of young women.

XI—Equality, Friendship, and Politics

Abstract A growing number of theorists have argued for equality as an ideal of social relations. For these theorists, the ideal of relational equality is embedded in many social relationships in modern society with which people are familiar. Friendship, they argue, is a paradigmatic case of relational equality, in the sense that it is essentially constituted by two norms of equality: equal power or authority and equal consideration of interests. Furthermore, equality in personal relationships can support equality in the political relationship of citizens. This essay challenges these claims made by relational egalitarians. It argues that friendship is not constituted by the two norms of equality, and is a poor model for political relationships.

Online Learning: An Enthusiastic Approach

The text identifies the opportunities that online interactive sessions provide. The author does not enumerate the general advantages of distant learning that occurs via the internet, but she introduces the strategies she finds superior to the conventional face-to-face mode, as evident in her teaching practice. These refer to certain technicalities that enable completion of a number of tasks more effectively than in the real classroom as well as to the possibility of creating a more egalitarian relationship between the teacher and the students.

Original Power Pointing: Legibility and Opacity in the Deictic Field

ABSTRACT Governance by domination is easy to ‘read’ for political theory, but what about modes of governance that operate without centralised institutions? Such modes of governance are exemplified in the social relations of San in southern Africa. They rely on deictic practices (most fundamentally, pointing and being pointed at) that remain largely under the analytic radar of political theory. This contribution shows how such practices structure social interactions yet can also undermine domination. While state legibility is built on symbolic action, opacity in non-centralised environments is sustained through deictic action: The contribution shows that San strategies are not geared towards eliminating opacity or towards embracing it but rather towards dealing with it in a way that keeps egalitarian relations and personal autonomy in place. The observed practices are characterised by high degrees of mutuality and transience and are part of the larger repertoire of political levelling mechanisms that sustain egalitarianism.

The persistence of gendered dating

AbstractThe research on gendered dating demonstrates the remarkable staying power of the conventional norms that shape the practice. Heterosexual women and men rely on a proactive/reactive framework in which men take the lead and women respond. This is in spite of broad changes in patterns of relationship formation as well as increased commitment to egalitarian relationships which should conceivably shift how women and men date. Yet, as this review of the literature demonstrates, multiple challenges to these gendered expectations around dating, including a self‐development imperative and extended period of independence before marriage, hookup culture on college campuses, and online dating, have failed to sufficiently challenge these gendered scripts. Heterosexual men and women locked out of these normative practices by economic constraints and social inequalities continue to desire them and struggle to enact rather than transform them. Moving forward, research should focus on the conditions under which sustained change does occur given the implications for research on gender inequality more broadly.

The Consequences of Disdainful Hook-Ups for Later Egalitarian Relationships of Girls.

Introduction: There is extensive research about the consequences that toxic relationships with dominant masculinities have on different areas of women’s lives, including how they can influence future relationships they establish. Some of these women reproduce toxic relationships with dominant masculinities in their following relationships, and some women start to establish sexual-affective relationships with non-dominant masculinity models. However, less is known about the specific consequences in non-dominant masculinities who establish relationships with women who have not overcome the false memory of excitement regarding their toxic relationships. Methodology: In order to shed light on the consequences for non-dominant masculinities, eight communicative interviews were conducted with four women and four men. Results: The main findings indicate that those female participants who have kept an exciting memory of toxic relationships, when in an equal relationship, have attitudes of disdain towards non-dominant masculinities. They may ridicule them, not value their personal or intellectual abilities, talk down to them, and even negatively value their sexual aptitudes. Discussion: The application of the previous literature to our results leads to establishing the work on memories of relationships that have led to socialization in violent relationships as a preventive approach. Conclusion: The previously mentioned attitudes could generate health problems for non-dominant masculinities engaged in these relationships.

From relational equality to personal responsibility

According to relational egalitarians, equality is not primarily about the distribution of some good but about people relating to one another as equals. However, compared with other theorists in political philosophy – including other egalitarians – relational egalitarians have said relatively little on what role personal responsibility should play in their theories. For example, is equality compatible with responsibility? Should economic distributions be responsibility-sensitive? This article fills this gap. I develop a relational egalitarian framework for personal responsibility and show that relational equality commits us to responsibility. I develop two sets of arguments. First, I draw on relational theories of moral responsibility – particularly Strawsonian views – to show that valuable egalitarian relationships require responsibility. Second, I show why relational equality sometimes requires that economic distributions be sensitive to responsibility and choice. I also defend a seemingly paradoxical result: being committed to responsibility, relational egalitarianism not only justifies some distributive inequalities but some relational inequalities too. Overall, relational egalitarianism gives a nuanced and coherent answer as to why and how responsibility matters from within egalitarianism. That it does should be an important argument in its favour.

MASCULINITIES AND THE CHALLENGE FOR WORKING WITH MEN IN THE UNIVERSITY CONTEXT

The old hegemonic practice of masculinity is far away from disappearing in many of the region of our country and in frequently encountered family, political or social contexts. Investigation and actions are always aimed at preventing violence and tirelessly promoting policies for the equality of women in places that normally did not occupy and that it is difficult for them to give in to the old patriarchal system. The objective of this case study, is to reflectively analyze educational and social scenarios, to determine the strategies that are had for the denaturalization of the patriarchal organization and the significant change in the matter of work with men from full involvement or integration to a change in sexist practice and beliefs that is reproduced on a daily basis. It is a difficult to think that generations that lived under this type of upbringing or privilege could give way and establish egalitarian ties but that it may be possible to rethink the gender relations they live and the aspects they have had throughout their lives and the importance of building egalitarian relationships.

Induction Coaches’ experiences with video-augmented coaching in a video club model

ABSTRACT This study examines the results of the first phase of a multi-year programme to integrate the use of video to support induction coaches in a suburban school district. Seven coaches participated in a video club in which they analysed videos of both their coaching conversations and mentees’ classrooms. A typological analysis of interview and video club meeting transcripts revealed perceived benefits of participation in the video club on the coaches’ sense of professional community and the quality of coaching conversations. Coaches also noted reviewing video with mentees stimulated changes in their mentees’ classroom practice. Positioning themselves as learners learning from video alongside mentees created a more egalitarian relationship between coach and mentee. The ‘pragmatic’ professional development design privileged coaches’ autonomy and agency and emphasised developing coaching concepts rather than discrete routines. Obstacles to using video included logistical issues related to video capture as well as the time needed to establish trusting relationships with mentees. Further exploration of the video club model for teacher leader development will inform theories of teacher learning and professional development design.

Distributive sufficiency, inequality-blindness and disrespectful treatment

ABSTRACT Sufficientarian theories of distributive justice are often considered to be vulnerable to the ‘blindness to inequality and other values objection’. This objection targets their commitment to holding the moral irrelevance of requirements of justice above absolute thresholds of advantage, making them insufficiently sensitive to egalitarian moral concerns that do have relevance for justice. This paper explores how sufficientarians could reply to this objection. Particularly, I claim that, if we accept that the force of the aforementioned objection comes from relational, and not distributive, inequalities, different strategies are open for sufficientarians in order to be sensitive to these concerns. Drawing on recent literature about the relation between distributive and relational egalitarianism, and the possibility of reducing one to the other, strategies of ‘internalizing’ and ‘externalizing’ relational egalitarian concerns to a distributive sufficientarian framework are explored. In turn, I suggest that both strategies fail in their standard versions, but argue that a particular ‘hybrid view’ about justice is an attractive candidate for the sufficientarian theorist.

Towards generative fatherhood. Analysis of the social dimensions of the phenomenon.

In the face of the changes taking place in the area of parental roles and the expanding range of possibilities of fulfilling the father role (from the uninvolved father, the mother's helper to the father as an equal parent or even the primary caregiver), there is a need to take into account individual, individual and social aspects. The concept of generative fathering, understood as equal participation in all aspects of childcare, offers such an opportunity because it refers to men's motivations and aspirations, and at the same time describes the institutional basis of changes. The presented article characterizes the factors conducive to the development of generative orientation: egalitarian relationship with child’s mother, professional work that gives space for implementation in other areas of life and the possibility of creating a satisfactory relationship with the child. Research findings relating to the links between professional work of both parents and paternal commitment, and to the participation of fathers in childcare, suggest that generativity - when analyzed in a social context - is not a common father experience.

Social dominance and cooperation in female vampire bats.

When group-living animals develop individualized social relationships, they often regulate cooperation and conflict through a dominance hierarchy. Female common vampire bats have been an experimental system for studying cooperative relationships, yet surprisingly little is known about female conflict. Here, we recorded the outcomes of 1023 competitive interactions over food provided ad libitum in a captive colony of 33 vampire bats (24 adult females and their young). We found a weakly linear dominance hierarchy using three common metrics (Landau's h’ measure of linearity, triangle transitivity and directional consistency). However, patterns of female dominance were less structured than in many other group-living mammals. Female social rank was not clearly predicted by body size, age, nor reproductive status, and competitive interactions were not correlated with kinship, grooming nor food sharing. We therefore found no evidence that females groomed or shared food up a hierarchy or that differences in rank explained asymmetries in grooming or food sharing. A possible explanation for such apparently egalitarian relationships among female vampire bats is the scale of competition. Female vampire bats that are frequent roostmates might not often directly compete for food in the wild.

I Only Want Passionate Relationships: Are You Ready for That?

Research shows the existence of a coercive dominant discourse that associates attraction with violence and influences the socialization processes of many girls and women. According to previous studies, the coercive dominant discourse constitutes a risk factor for gender violence, as men with violent attitudes and behaviors are socially presented as attractive and exciting while egalitarian and non-aggressive men are considered “not sexy.” Yet fewer evidences indicate that men acting from the New Alternative Masculinities (NAM) model overcome this double standard through verbal and non-verbal communicative acts, which tell that they do not choose women acting under the coercive dominant discourse for a relationship because they are not “jumping for joy” when meeting them. Drawing from communicative daily life stories conducted to men and women from diverse sociocultural backgrounds and ages, this article presents how language is used in concrete heterosexual sexual-affective relationships. The analysis resulting from the fieldwork focus on how NAM men’s communicative acts with women set conditions of desire. This article shows evidence on how communicative acts of NAM empowerment incorporate “language of desire,” taking a clear position for egalitarian and passionate relationships. Implications for gender violence prevention are presented.

Social workers and refugee service users (re)constructing their relationships in a hostile political climate

Summary This article explores the relationship between social workers and adult Eritrean refugee service users in the context of a hostile political climate and restrictive state policies. It examines the implications of politics and policies on the formation of this relationship based on findings from a qualitative study conducted in Israel and Germany. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 38 participants – 16 Eritrean refugees and 22 social workers who work with refugees. Findings Despite different political, social and organizational contexts, especially in the asylum policies towards Eritrean refugees, our thematic analysis yielded two main themes common to both countries: First, changing relationship structures, in particular moving away from a ‘traditional’ conceptualization of the social work relationship towards ‘informal’ practices. These included modifications of the setting, of professional boundaries and of the therapeutic language. Second, shifting power relations, characterized by a friend-like dynamic, which enabled more egalitarian relations, and a parent–child dynamic, which included increased power imbalances and dependency. Implications An increased understanding of the role of restrictive policies, everyday racism and exclusionary political discourse in the reconstruction of the user-worker relationship dynamics could inform social work education and practice. Beyond the refugee arena, establishing informal relationship structures could help to reduce power differentials, increase trust-building and improve therapeutic outcomes with refugees and other service users. The possible risks of informal relations, such as misunderstandings or worker burnout, are also discussed.

BULWARK AGAINST RACISM? HUMBOLDT'S INFLUENCE ON THE RACIAL NOTIONS OF GERMAN WRITERS IN MEXICO (1920s–1940s)

ABSTRACTAlexander von Humboldt was regarded as an anti‐fascist symbol among German‐speaking exiles who, fleeing persecution from the Nazi regime, found refuge in Mexico. Humboldt's legacy was read as being an endorsement of the country's struggle for political and cultural emancipation, while his famously anti‐racist stance proved helpful in framing the exiles’ unprecedented encounter with Mexico's indigenous peoples. Moreover, as I argue, Humboldt's approach to creating knowledge indicated a willingness to treat non‐Europeans as intellectual peers, paving the way for a more egalitarian relationship between Germans and Mexicans. Yet the legacy of Humboldt, as will be seen with reference to several German writers between the 1920s and 1940s, was far from being an unfailing antidote to both racist attitudes or the tendency to exoticise. These tensions will be exemplified through works by Alfons Goldschmidt, B. Traven, Egon Erwin Kisch, Ludwig Renn and Gustav Regler, using novel sources and calling into question some of the established truths in the literature about German exiles in Mexico. In particular, I will show why Goldschmidt was considered by fellow exiles to be Humboldt's successor, insofar as both gave a political and ethical dimension to scientific practice.

Relational Egalitarianism and Democracy

Abstract Relational egalitarians argue that democratic institutions are justified by appeal to relational equality. According to the skeptical challenge, equality of political power is not required for relational equality, and the relational egalitarian case for democracy fails. I defend the relational egalitarian justification of democracy. I develop an analysis of social status and show that inequalities of power will not entail inequalities of status. I then show that inequalities of power will robustly cause inequalities of status and argue that this vindicates the relational egalitarian case for democracy, because such theories have a much more pragmatic standard of success for the justification of democracy than conceptual necessity. I consider the objection that if inequalities of power robustly cause inequalities of status, then relational egalitarians should also oppose democratic institutions, because officials such as legislators or judges will have more power than citizens. In reply, I argue that relational egalitarians are only opposed to inequalities of status that mark a failure of recognition respect, and that inequalities of status that follow from democratically licensed inequalities of power will not mark such a failure. I conclude that the skeptical challenge is unsuccessful, and that the relational egalitarian justification of democracy is sound.

Luck Egalitarianism and Disability Elimination

AbstractLuck egalitarianism’s commitment to neutralizing brute luck inequalities is thought to imply that the elimination of disabilities is an appropriate way to eliminate the unchosen disadvantage that often accompanies disabilities. This implication is not only intuitively objectionable to some, especially those concerned with disability justice, but is subject to objections from relational egalitarians that should be taken seriously. This article defends the claim that disability elimination is not a natural implication of luck egalitarian theories of justice and that luck egalitarians can avoid the related relational egalitarian objections. I take this to be the case because luck egalitarians can consistently endorse three commitments that, together, take disability elimination off the menu of possible ways to redress the disadvantage of persons with disabilities. These three commitments are: (a) the rejection of the view that disability intrinsically makes a person worse off; (b) the endorsement of the fundamental equality of all persons; and (c) the view that luck egalitarianism advances a theory about the arrangement of social institutions.

"No More Insecurities": New Alternative Masculinities' Communicative Acts Generate Desire and Equality to Obliterate Offensive Sexual Statements.

To justify attraction to Dominant Traditional Masculinities (DTM) and lack of attraction to non-aggressive men, some women defend opinions such as “there are no frigid women, only inexperienced men”. Such statements generate a large amount of sexual-affective insecurity in oppressed men and contribute to decoupling desire and ethics in sexual-affective relationships, which, in turn, reinforces a model of attraction to traditional masculinities that use coercion, thus perpetuating gender-based violence. New Alternative Masculinities (NAM) represent a type of masculinity that reacts to reverse such consequences with communicative acts, in which they state that women who support such discourses have never met a NAM man or have never experienced a successful sexual-affective relationship where passion, love, desire, and equality are all included. This article presents data analyzing these communicative acts (exclusory and transformative; language employed and consequences) to ultimately find the key to NAM communication that would contribute to changing attraction patterns. The data was collected using communicative daily life stories of three heterosexual white men and one heterosexual white woman, between the ages of 30 and 40. Findings emphasize the importance of self-confidence manifested by NAM men when communicating about sex and facing these offensive mottos in the presence of other men and women. Findings also demonstrate that supportive egalitarian relationships encourage the emergence of self-confidence in NAM men and that NAM men's self-confident communicative acts foster healthy relationships and obliterate coercive ones.

A cluster analysis of dynamics in adolescent romantic relationships

IntroductionWhile several studies involving adolescents have addressed issues related to romantic relationships and dating violence, there is a limited understanding of adolescent romantic relationship dynamics. Typological analyses have been useful to provide targeted interventions and to simplify our understanding of complex phenomena. MethodsThis study explored dynamics in adolescent romantic relationships, considering the interaction between romantic partner characteristics to identify dyadic profiles. A sample of 90 heterosexual dyads of Canadian adolescents (Mage = 18.44 years, SD = 1.47) completed a self-reported questionnaire. A hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted based on the dimensions of the Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems (i.e., cohesion, flexibility, and communication; Olson & Gorall, 2003). ResultsAnalysis revealed four profiles of romantic relationship dynamics: 1) balanced dynamic (51.0% of the sample); 2) hampered dynamic (8.3%); 3) entangled dynamic (20.8%); and 4) rigid dynamic (13.5%). Taking into account the variations between and within dyads, results highlight the diversity of romantic experiences and offer a better understanding of the intricacies of different adolescent romantic relationship dynamics. Correlates indicated that the profiles can be distinguished by different personal and interpersonal characteristics. ConclusionThis study emphasizes the importance of integrating a more person- and dyad-oriented framework in our understanding of adolescent romantic dynamics, since a unique approach to prevention and intervention may not address the needs of all adolescents. The results provided important insight into the identified profiles, guiding dating violence prevention efforts and programs and promoting harmonious and egalitarian romantic relationships.

Do Spousal Intimate Relationships Affect Fertility Intentions and Preferences?

The fertility influence of spousal intimate relationships is unknown. Drawing on the Giddens’s theory of transformation of intimacy, this study proposed a hypothesis that couples supporting egalitarian intimate relationships, with a greater risk profile attached to the relationship, and having less attachments to the external normative pressures shaping marital relations, are more likely to have low-fertility intentions and preferences. Using data from a self-administered pilot survey (n = 375 prospective grooms and brides) designed by the authors, and employing multivariate regression models, we found that the lower attachment to external social forces in mate selection was associated with the lower ideal number of children, and those with a greater spousal relational egalitarianism and a higher risk profile attached to their relationships preferred lower number of children and were less likely to intend to have children after marriage. The study sheds new light on the determinants of low fertility.