Side Of Women Research Articles

THE SEXISM IN JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

This study deals with The Sexism in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. This study was aimed as analyzing the types of sexist language that was consisted in the story of the novel Pride and Prejudice and to show the discrimination of sex in the novel Pride and Prejudice. This research used qualitative research. The data was taken from the sentences in the novel Pride and Prejudice. The research deals with the theory which was conducted by Janet Holmes (2001), where she said there were three types of sexist language. There were three types of sexist language found in the novel Pride and Prejudice, they were English Metaphors (10,60 %), Marked and Unmarked (89,02 %), and Generalization (0,38 %). It was find that the Marked and Unmarked (89,02 %) dominantly used in the novel Pride and Prejudice to shows that there are discrimination, especially found in women side as the discriminated sex in the novel Pride and Prejudice.

Effect of orthodontic treatment involving first premolar extractions on mandibular third molar angulation and retromolar space

BackgroundThird molars present more problems than other teeth because they are the last teeth to erupt, and so it is important to assess their development when designing an orthodontic treatment plan. The aim of this study was to compare the angulation of the mandibular third molar and retromolar space before and after orthodontic treatment in cases involving first premolar extraction.Material and Methods76 patients, 59 women (77.63%) and 17 men (22.36%), were recruited from the Orthodontics Clinic at Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (Mexico). Panoramic radiographs were analyzed before and after orthodontic treatment that included first premolar extractions, measuring retromolar space (RS) and the angles formed by the intersection of the axes of the third and second molar (α) and the intersection of the axis of the mandibular plane and third molar (β).ResultsThe data obtained underwent statistical analysis. The angle α and β showed statistically significant differences on the left side in women. In men, only the right side α angle showed significant differences. Retromolar space increased significantly on both sides for both sexes.ConclusionsThird molar angulation presents different behaviors between men and women, with greater verticalization in women. Key words:Third molar, retromolar space, orthodontics.

Ink and Tears: Memory, Mourning, and Writing in the Yu Family by Rania Huntington

Reviewed by: Ink and Tears: Memory, Mourning, and Writing in the Yu Family by Rania Huntington Cathy Silber (bio) Rania Huntington. Ink and Tears: Memory, Mourning, and Writing in the Yu Family. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2018. xxv, 275 pp. Hardcover $68.00, ISBN 978-08-24-86709-6. How do we remember our beloved dead? How are our remembrances shaped by the language, genres and practices at hand, even as, in changing times, these change and are changed by our very use of them? How do we find comfort and meaning in our endeavors to compile and transmit the textual, material [End Page 118] and ephemeral traces left by our loved ones? How do these efforts make us into mourners who may be one day in turn commemorated for this? Where is the proper focus of mourning, upon the mourner or the mourned? Who are the real and imagined audiences for remembrances? This book explores such questions through a remarkable trove of texts produced by the Yu family and their kin by marriage, "generations of interrelated clans of the aspiring scholar official class and educated professional class, primarily in the Hangzhou and Suzhou area" (p. xviii), from the 1870s through the first half of the twentieth century, with focus on the period 1875–1897. Bracketing these generations are the renowned Yu Yue (1821–1907) and his equally renowned great-grandson, Yu Pingbo (1900–1990). Both men were among the most prominent scholars of their day. Yu Yue was known for his philological scholarship on the classics and his many protégés as head of Hangzhou's prestigious Gujing jingshe for over thirty years. His own examiner had been Zeng Guofan, a piece of whose calligraphy remains a Yu family heirloom. Educated in childhood by his great-grandfather, Yu Pingbo was the founding Redologist singled out in 1954 for criticism by Mao and rehabilitated in the 1970s. In addition to his scholarship and other writing in both classical and modern genres, Yu Pingbo took seriously his responsibility to carry on the family tradition of memory writing. After what must have been years of painstaking archival research, visits to sites preserved and lost, and conversations with descendants who now carry on the family tradition by welcoming those who would transmit it, Huntington leads us on a masterfully curated tour of Yu family remembrances. Writings in many genres include poetry and lyrics, of course—rhymes matched and themes shared across generations, and also tici, diary entries, biji, letters and strange tales, in their many compilations and compendia. Inevitably, much of the subject matter of these texts becomes the memorial endeavor itself, writing about writing and about the preservation and transmission of writing, about compiling for publication the copious verse of those women who left a corpus, or retrieving scraps from others of the work of women who chose to burn it instead. We read too about material memorials, the family's retreats and abodes around West Lake, next to graves for bodies and graves for texts (spoiler alert: they rotted)—and even, famously, one for teeth, as well as photographs, and descriptions of dreams and of paintings of dreams. Ink and Tears is a trove in its own right of translated primary sources that address the same instances and anecdotes of family history—and especially women's lives—not just from a variety of perspectives but in a variety of genres and across a span of time. Huntington is at her best when she judiciously reads across genres, pointing to their limits, showing us where those limits stretch or burst, reminding us of the varying preoccupations and priorities of various actors in choosing what to say, how to say it, and especially, what not to say at all. [End Page 119] The richness of all the texts and relationships captured in this book defies a simple summary, because the family's fame itself compelled the preservation, publication and sheer quantity of the texts and deeds described, including those showing heartfelt emotions both following and exceeding expectations for certain social roles and relationships, especially among in-laws and women's side kin. Mourning is above all about relationships, and so...

A brief herstory of living and dying in a collection of poems Until the Next Death by Senka Maric

Senka Marić, an acclaimed Bosnian and Herzegovinian poetess, has written a brief 'herstory' of female living and dying in her 2016 collection of poems Until the Next Death. Unlike history - seen as HIStory, meaning that history is mainly written by men - HERstory reveals a woman's side of the world through her personal story. Until the Next Death is, in many ways, an autobiographical collection, so it can be seen as a poetic memoir of Senka Marić. One of its many poetic levels is her own genesis, both as a poetess and a woman. Also, it could be seen as a lyrical novel depicting her female ontology. Accordingly, this paper analyses the concepts of female 'being' and 'not-being' in Senka Marić's book Until the Next Death, as well as the elements of autobiographisation and mythologisation of herstory, including elements of matrilineality in all these cases.

Scapulothoracic and Glenohumeral Motions During Functional Reaching Tasks in Women With a History of Breast Cancer and Healthy Age-Matched Controls

Purposes: (1) To determine differences in scapulothoracic (ST) and glenohumeral (GH) motions between women with and without breast cancer (BrCa); and (2) to determine association between ST and GH motions and shoulder pain and disability. Methods: Thirty women with BrCa and 30 women without BrCa participated in this observational study. ST and GH kinematic data were collected during 5 repetitions of unilateral unweighted overhead reaching, weighted overhead reaching (0.91 kg), and simulated hair combing in a research laboratory. The involved side in women with BrCa was matched by hand dominance with the appropriate side in women without BrCa. Shoulder pain and disability were measured using the Penn Shoulder Score. Separate 1-way multivariate analysis of variance tests were conducted to determine whether differences existed. Pearson correlations were used to determine association between ST and GH motions and shoulder pain and disability. Significance levels were set at .05. Results: There were no significant differences in ST and GH motions between women with and without BrCa. Specific ST and GH motions were significantly correlated (r = 0.36-0.57) with shoulder pain and disability. Conclusion: Lack of significant differences in ST and GH motions suggests that the majority of women with BrCa in our study had sufficient motion to accomplish the functional tasks. Several ST and GH motions were weakly to moderately associated with shoulder pain and disability among women with BrCa. However, it is not clear whether these ST and GH motions are compensatory strategies or contributing factors to the development of shoulder pain and disability.

From Culturazing Nature to Naturalizing Culture: The Differing Function of Animal Imagery in Defining Bodies from Homer’s Odysseus to Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad

Feminist authors have long been trying to alter the patriarchal structure of the Western society through different aspects. One of these aspects, if not the strongest, is the struggle to overcome centuries long dominance of male authors who have created a masculine history, culture and literature. As recent works of women authors reveal, the strongest possibility of actually achieving an equalitarian society lies beneath the chance of rewriting the history of Western literature. Since the history of Western literature relies on dichotomies that are reminiscences of modernity, the solution to overcome the inequality between the two sexes seems to be to rewrite the primary sources that have influenced the cultural heritage of literature itself. The most dominant dichotomies that shape this literary heritage are represented through the bonds between the concepts of women/man and nature/culture. As one of the most influential epics that depict these dichotomies, Homer's Odysseus reveals how poetry strengthens the authority of the male voice. In order to define the ideal "man", Homer uses a wide scope of animal imagery while forming the identities of male characters. Margaret Atwood, on the other hand, is not contended with Homer's poem in that it never narrates the story from the side of women. As a revisionist mythmaker, Atwood takes the famous story of Odysseus, yet this time presents it from the perspective of Penelope, simultaneously playing on the animal imagery. Within this frame, I intend to explore in this paper how the animal imagery in Homer's most renowned Odysseus functions as a reinforcing tool in the creation of masculine identities and how Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad defies this formation of identities with the aim of narrating the story from the unheard side, that of the women who are eminently present yet never heard.

Maternal mortality at Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania in the year 2011.

BackgroundImproving maternal health is one of the eight millennium development goals adopted at the millennium summit in the year 2000. Within this frame work, the international community is committed to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by 75% between 1990 and 2015. The objective of this study was to determine the maternal mortality ratio, classify causes of maternal deaths and assess substandard care factors at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania.MethodsA retrospective review of all maternal death records of cases that occurred from 1st January to 31st December 2011 was done.ResultsThere were 10,057 live births, 155 maternal deaths and hence MMR of 1,541 per 100,000 live births. Direct causes of maternal deaths were classified in 69.5% of the maternal deaths. Of the direct causes, preeclampsia/eclampsia was the major cause (19.9% of all deaths), followed by post partum haemorrhage (14.9%), abortion complications (9.9%) and sepsis (9.2%). Among the indirect causes anaemia was the leading cause (11.3%) of all deaths, followed by HIV/AIDS (9.9%). Substandard care factors contributing to deaths were identified in 116 (82.3%) of all cases. Among these 28 had patient factors only, 71 medical service factors while 17 had both patient and medical service substandard care factors. The common factors from the woman’s side included delay in seeking care (73.3%) and complete lack of antenatal care (11.1%). Of the medical service factors, inadequate (26.1%) or no blood for transfusion (19.3%), delay in receiving treatment (18.3%) and mismanagement (17%) were the common factors.ConclusionThere is a high maternal mortality ratio at MNH. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, post partum haemorrhage and anaemia are the leading causes of maternal deaths in this institution. Multiple substandard care factors identified both at individual and health care service levels that contributed to maternal deaths. There is a need for increasing efforts in the fight to reduce maternal deaths at the institution. A more pro-active role from the referring facilities in the region is needed.

The Other Side of the Story and Alternative Scripts: Dones, Nosotras and Homes

The Other Side of the Story and Alternative Scripts:Dones, Nosotras and Homes Kathleen M. Glenn Jo sóc de la generació dels Beatles, una generació que va trencar amb tot: amb la música, amb la pintura, amb la literatura... Els de la meva edat no tenim gaires tabús i no ens espantem per res. - Isabel-Clara Simó, Domínguez Interview Feminist critics, in particular, have pointed out that the language and values of the powerful differ from those of the powerless and readers need to be sensitive to such differences. Years ago Judith Fetterley wrote of the importance of being a resisting reader and not letting oneself be co-opted by the values presented in male-produced literature. Rip Van Winkle may have considered his wife a shrew because she wanted him to be responsible and support his family, but readers need not buy into his (and Washington Irving's) masculinist prejudices.1 Writers too can offer resistance, and in her 1989 book Molly Hite draws attention to a strategy frequently utilized by contemporary women authors: that of showing the other side of what historically has been considered "the" story (male-authored, male-centered) and offering alternative versions which express different emphases. This other side, Hite declares, "has a venerable history of being the woman's side, the version that discloses how the heroine is constrained by a set of narrative givens not of her own making" (6). The concepts of the other side of the story and readerly resistance are important to the fiction of Catalan writer Isabel-Clara Simó, who has been a resisting [End Page 51] reader of male-centered literary and social scripts, which she has reformulated.2 Reflections on and portrayals of women's status are a constant of her fiction and constitute the essence of the collection of short stories Dones (1997). The present essay concentrates on several narratives that subsequently are woven together in the film Nosotras (2000) and then briefly discusses the film and Simó's Homes (2010).3 Simó emphasizes in Dones that all women are not alike ("Cada dona és un individu, no és l'espècie" [back cover of Dones]), and her tales depict a diverse group of characters and situations. The age and socioeconomic situation of the women differ, as does their civil status: single, married, divorced, "kept." Some are strong and some weak, some rebellious and others passive, some liberated and others not, some victims and some victimizers. Simó examines their values - which vary considerably - and the roles imposed upon them, in addition to their relationships with one another, with their boyfriends, husbands, lovers, or johns, and with their children. She subverts stereotypes and hackneyed ideas not only as to what women are like but also as to what they are capable of and what they want. In the process she employs diverse techniques and narrative structures, different focalizations and voices, and uses humor, hyperbole, irony, and colloquial language as effective strategies of subversion. Proceeding on the principle that not just by their fruits but also by their words ye shall know them, Simó has her characters speak for themselves. What they say and how they say it produces revealing portraits of self, with dialogue becoming the vehicle for often unwitting self-exposure. Readers are cast in the role of listeners who eavesdrop on a series of oral exchanges and, as in real life, determine the significance as well as the reliability of what others say. A number of feminist critics have shown that humor is a weapon that the powerless can wield against the powerful and a means of voicing principles and goals that differ from those of the dominant, male culture. In A Very Serious Thing: Women's Humor and American Culture, Nancy A. Walker declares that women tend to be storytellers rather than joke tellers. Humor functions for them more as a means of communication than as a means of self-presentation, a sharing of experience rather than a demonstration of cleverness. Related to this is the fact that women's humorous expression is almost never purely comic or absurd. Even when, as is frequently the case, it points to...

La réécriture du mythe dans La femme sans sépulture d’Assia Djebar

Rewriting of the myth in “The Woman Without a Burial Place”by Assia Djebar
 In this article, we propose to study the rewriting of one of the founding myths: "Ulysses and the Sirens". Indeed, with literature, mythical data are transformed first into matters of analogy, then of confrontation, and finally of analysis and reconstruction. The challenge that makes the passage from myth to literature lies in the word "creation" that Assia Djebar works through a concerted rewriting with several voices, more than one language, more than one meaning. Through myth, the author sheds light on the past, inserting forgotten events into the present of fiction, thus giving life to buried voices.This research allows us to consider that Assia Djebar replaces Ulysses in the epilogue. She is Ulysses in the feminine; "the traveler", "the foreigner" who has spent her life traveling the world. She has traveled from one continent to another, from North Africa to Europe to the United States. She seems to like this life full of nomadism, Hania the heroine's daughter addresses her words: "O you who took a long time to come back, she continues in a wavering voice, you Houria's niece died next door from our home, you've done, it seems almost around the world, but what to blame you for, you came back to us, isn't that the main thing? ». She returned the narrator / author to Caesarea to recharge her batteries, to recover her past, a forgotten piece of history. She does the same as the Homeric Ulysses who aimed to recover his past as a present. She returns to the patios of the women of Caesarea, today's sirens, she listens to their hidden words, these voices that tell the story of Algeria on the women's side, inside the houses, cloistered. These women reconstruct the past down to the smallest detail. They meditate in the space of silence, remember the past, build the puzzle little by little and make the story of Zoulikha the anthem of all the women of Algeria, those who died for their country."The visitor", "the foreigner not so foreign" listens to this word, this song, without being attached to the mast and assigns herself the task of transcribing the song of these women filled with tenderness and sadness in writing. The author is consumed by the desire to preserve the story of her women from oblivion to the point where she materializes this gesture by putting it on paper.These sirens of Caesarea are all messengers who come to say what we don't know, what we don't see, What happened inside the patios and in the streets of Caesarea, what is forgotten, what is hidden.Inside the houses, these women ensure the chain of transmission, fight against oblivion. However, the major oversight that arises in this novel is that of the women's fight for independence, their resistance, their mourning. History is the prerogative of the women of Algeria that Assia Djebar "Ulysses in feminine" has given herself the mission of saving her from "oblivion" because it turns out that it is the real death. Assia Djebar's story is constructed to make room for this word, to give it the impetus to take flight, to go beyond the walls of the patios, to reach us. Like the Homeric story that was able to transcend the ages to arrive at the center of the work "La Femme Sans Sepulture".

“Keeping the Boogie Man Away”: Medication Self-Management among Women Receiving Anastrozole Therapy

The oral hormonal agent anastrozole improves clinical outcomes for women with breast cancer, but women have difficulty taking it for the five-year course. The unique medication-taking experiences related to self-management of anastrozole therapy for women with early stage breast cancer are not known. Our purpose was to describe the medication-taking experiences for postmenopausal women with early stage breast cancer who were prescribed a course of anastrozole therapy. Twelve women aged 58 to 67 years, midway through therapy, participated in audio-recorded interviews. Women's medication-taking experiences involved a belief in their importance and an imperative to take anastrozole. We found that women's side effect experiences, particularly menopausal symptoms, were significant, but only one woman stopped anastrozole due to side effects. Medication-taking included routinization interconnected with remembering/forgetting and a storage strategy. Some women noted a mutual medication-taking experience with their spouse, but most felt taking anastrozole was something they had to do alone. Our results provide insight into the way some women with early stage breast cancer manage their hormonal therapy at approximately the midpoint of treatment. Next steps should include examinations of patient-provider communication, potential medication-taking differences between pre- and postmenopausal women, and the effects of medication-taking on clinical outcomes.

Validity of the Fingertip-To-Floor Test and Straight Leg Raising Test in Patients With Acute and Subacute Low Back Pain: A Comparison by Sex and Radicular Pain

Ekedahl KH, Jönsson B, Frobell RB. Validity of the fingertip-to-floor test and straight leg raising test in patients with acute and subacute low back pain: a comparison by sex and radicular pain. Objective To use self-reported disability (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire [RMDQ]) to assess the criterion validity of straight leg raising (SLR) test and flexion range of motion (ROM) (fingertip-to-floor test) before and after stratification by sex and presence/absence of radicular pain. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Outpatient physical therapy clinic. Participants Subjects with acute/subacute low back pain with (n=40) and without (n=35) radicular pain. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures We examined the relationship between RMDQ (reference variable) and SLR test and fingertip-to-floor test. The sample was stratified by presence/absence of radicular pain (categorized by the dichotomous slump test). Results In the entire sample, fair correlations were found between both physical impairment tests (ie, SLR test and flexion ROM) and self-reported disability (.27< r>.44). After stratification by sex, the correlation between RMDQ and flexion ROM and between RMDQ and nonside-specific SLR test increased in women but decreased in men. In those with radicular pain, good correlations were found between RMDQ and flexion ROM ( r=.68 for men and r=.70 for women), and moderate correlation was found between the RMDQ and SLR tests of the affected side in women ( r=.60), but only fair correlation was found between the RMDQ and SLR tests of the affected side in men ( r=.28). Conclusions After stratification by sex and presence/absence of radicular pain, the present study supports a good validity of the fingertip-to-floor test for both men and women with radicular pain. The SLR test, however, was of less value as an indicator of self-reported disability after stratification, especially for men.

After axillary surgery for breast cancer – is it safe to take blood samples or give intravenous infusions?

To investigate the occurrence of complications after a needle puncture or intravenous injection in the ipsilateral arm of women who have undergone axillary lymph node clearance for breast cancer. After axillary lymph node clearance in patients with breast cancer, some women experience lymphoedema and recurrent infections. To reduce the risk of these postoperative complications, most women are advised to not have intravenous infusions in, or blood samples taken from, the arm in the operated side. Very little published data are available regarding the incidence of lymphoedema after intravenous procedures under clean conditions in the hospital setting. This study set out to investigate the occurrence of complications after a needle puncture or intravenous injection in the ipsilateral arm of women who have undergone axillary lymph node clearance for breast cancer is therefore important. Descriptive. Self-reported questionnaire. Most of the reported complications were minor, including itching, bruises and vomiting at the time of the intravenous procedure. The most serious complication was infection in one patient needing antibiotic treatment and subsequent arm swelling. This study indicates that if a blood sample is taken or intravenous injection is given according to the current Swedish guidelines for health care professionals, there should be a very low risk of complications. If intravenous procedures are performed without any disadvantage in the arm of the operated side in women who have undergone axillary surgery, the clinical problem of finding a proper vein and the psychological concern of the women can be reduced.

Anorexia mental e feminilidade

Pretende-se discutir a anorexia e sua incidência preponderante em jovens mulheres, extraindo da teorização da experiência indicações para a direção do tratamento psicanalítico. Discute-se a anorexia como sintoma contemporâneo e examina-se a hipótese de uma estratégia de paridade entre os sexos. A resposta anoréxica é articulada à problemática da sexuação no ensino de Jacques Lacan, sendo tal resposta circunscrita ao impasse relativo à inexistência do universal das mulheres. Com um fragmento de caso, interroga-se a manobra de instituir uma exceção no lado mulher da partilha sexual e aponta-se a função da angústia nesta clínica.

Telephone contact intervention in women undergoing treatment for breast cancer

The chemotherapy received by breast cancer patients is complicated by many side effects. At our centre, a health care professional is accessible at all times, yet we hypothesize that most breast cancer patients suffer in silence rather than phone for assistance. This study sought to assess the value of and perceived need for a telephone call to breast cancer patients following the initiation of chemotherapy. The women's side effects were also documented, and the level to which they were educated about symptoms to expect and available assistance was evaluated. Overall, the weekend calls were well received because they provided information and support to the patients. It was determined that further research is required to determine if and how such a call should be best implemented at our cancer centre.

Psicodinâmica do trabalho e relações sociais de sexo: um itinerário interdisciplinar. 1988-2002

A psicodinâmica do trabalho se define como a análise dos processos psíquicos mobilizados pelo encontro entre um sujeito e os constrangimentos da organização do trabalho. Nos anos 1980, as pesquisas realizadas nos meios de trabalho masculino permitiram descobrir a existência de estratégias coletivas de defesa contra o sofrimento no trabalho. A partir de 1988 iniciou-se um importante trabalho interdisciplinar com as sociologias do trabalho. Trata -se de saber se a psicodinâmica do trabalho era heurística para analisar igualmente as situações das mulheres no mundo do trabalho e de reexaminar os conhecimentos preexistente, sobre o sofrimento dos homens no quadro de uma problemática sexuada. O artigo relata os principais determinantes que conduziram a criar as relações sociais de sexo e de seu desafio, a divisão sexual do trabalho, uma dimensão central da pesquisa clínica, a teoria e a metodologia em psicodinâmica do trabalho. Um ponto importante do artigo é a situação das enfermeiras a partir da qual são constituídos os principais conhecimentos sobre as relações entre saúde e trabalho do lado das mulheres.

Women of the Wall: Claiming Sacred Ground at Judaism's Holy Site (review)

Composed of the reflections of more than thirty women who have been involved with of the Wall, this volume serves both as a rich introduction to the political and halachic issues at stake in the on-going straggle of these women to pray as a group at the Kotel in Jerusalem, and as a platform for the women to share the spiritual and emotional insights that bring them to the Kotel despite the best efforts of the Israeli rabbinate and government to keep them away. The volume is divided into four sections: Women Who Pray at the Kotel: In Their Own Words, Legal and Political Analysis, Denominational View, and Halakhic Theory and Ritual Objects. Complementing the eclectic essays, a collection of photographs of of the Wall taken at the Kotel are included as well. of the Wall chronicles how a group of women have held onto a vision of peace, equality, and spiritual fulfillment in the face of traditional biases and current violence against women. Adamant about both the holiness of the Wall and their right to pray there, the of the Wall repeatedly choose the path of non-violence and of religious and cultural pluralism. Bonna Haberman in the opening chapter Drama in Jerusalem writes: We had no intention of degrading ourselves by participating in cursing and shoving. Our vision was to share the sacred space, honoring the dignity and beauty of multiple Jewish communities of prayer. This vision echoes clearly throughout the volume. The more personal essays are, to my mind, the most compelling, with the authors eloquently recounting their experiences of exaltation and terror at the Wall. In A Wall That Matters and Others That Don't, Shulamit Magnus recalls the rocky history of her own relationship to the Kotel. Magnus explains why, until she was invited to join of the Wall, she had stopped visiting the gender-segregated Kotel on her trips to Jerusalem. was there [at the Kotel] and a bar mitzvah happened, and I saw the mother of the boy straining from a chair on the women's side, attempting to see and hear what was going on, on tiptoes and with craned neck.... To see degradation at a place of ultimate spiritual connection was too painful a contradiction and perversion. To have to choose between fullness as a Jew and self-respect as a woman, to have to bifurcate that which is whole and interwoven, felt like an act of inner violence. Several of the essays document the overt violence committed against of the Wall, and the Women's complex reactions to it. …

Men, male sexuality and HIV/AIDS: Reflections from studies in rural and urban East Africa

Men, male sexuality and HIV/AIDS:Reflections from studies in rural and urban East Africa Margrethe Silberschmidt (bio) Introduction Empowering women to prevent HIV/AIDS has received much lip service in recent years. However the time has come for a real focus on changing male attitudes and behaviours. In the past the focus has been on the women's side and what they should be doing, but we need to focus on the other side of the gender equation and correct men's misconceptions and behaviour. At the moment male power is almost synonymous with multiple relations and power over women. (Helen Jackson, UN Population Fund Advisor to IRIN NEWS, September 3, 2002) In spite of numerous prevention activities during the past decade in sub Saharan Africa, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is still spreading (Fitzgerald and Behets 2003). Heterosexual men are often seen as the driving force behind the epidemic. The view is that gender inequalities permit men to dictate the terms of sexual intercourse and this results in unprotected sex with women being the major victims. This article offers a different view of the respective positions of men and women within the AIDS epidemic by exploring some of the less stereotyped reasons why men now seem to be driving the epidemic. It investigates the gendered effects of socio-economic change, the implications of these for male identities, masculinities and sexualities. Finally, it addresses lessons to be drawn from the research findings regarding HIV/AIDS prevention activities and campaigns. According to Caldwell (2000:126) 'Africans have been educated by AIDS programs to know that the disease is deadly and is largely spread among them by high-risk sexual activities. The epidemic cannot be defeated [End Page 42] by more education'. This sweeping (and pessimistic) claim needs to be qualified by noting that HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns that lead to behaviour change will only be successful if proper attention is given to the wider socio-economic context, and to issues of gender, gender relations and sexuality. In order to understand the role of male sexual behaviour in the AIDS epidemic the focus should fall on the social and cultural context in which sexual activity is shaped and constituted (Parker 2001; Parker and Gagnon 1995). Based on my research from rural and urban East Africa, the aim of this article is to elucidate how socio-economic changes differentially have impacted on women's and men's social roles, social value, self-esteem and perceptions of self. The focus will be on the way in which masculinity and male sexual behaviours have been affected. The research was first carried out by the author in Kisii, rural Kenya, at different periods from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Research in urban Dar es Salaam took place during one year (1996-97). The Kisii research consists of both survey data (723 women and 200 men in their reproductive years) and qualitative data collection, life histories and focus group discussions with a selection of men and women from two villages included in the survey. The vast majority had not completed primary education. Most women referred to themselves as housewives and the majority of men referred to themselves as farmers. The qualitative data collection in urban Tanzania took place in three low-income squatter areas of Dar es Salaam: Mabibo, Vingunguti and Buguruni. In-depth interviews were carried out with 38 women and 53 men also at reproductive age by means of structured, semi-structured and open-ended interviews. Unlike the Kisii informants, the majority had completed a primary education. While seven out of the 53 men had attended secondary school, only one of the 38 women had been to secondary school. The vast majority of men said they were casual labourers, self-employed or involved in petty business (selling cold drinks, dried fish, etc). Women said they were housewives and at the same time involved in petty business. In addition, 13 focus group discussions were conducted with different groups of men and women of different age but with similar backgrounds. Socio-economic change and gender change in East Africa While the causes are still contested, there is no doubt that people in East Africa have...

Prevalence of Pubococcygeus Muscle Detachment from the Pubic Bone in Women with Symptomatic Anterior Vaginal Compartment Prolapse

Objective This study, part of a larger investigation into the outcome of surgery for female pelvic organ prolapse, was performed to determine the prevalence of pubococcygeus muscle detachment from the pubic bone on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in women with symptomatic anterior vaginal compartment prolapse. Methods Axial T2 weighted pelvic MRI was performed on 70 women with symptomatic anterior vaginal compartment prolapse and 18 continent nulliparous normal references. The images were analyzed by 2 observers using a structured grid system to record the attachment of the pubococcygeus muscle (PCM) to the pubic bone, and continuity of the muscle from its origin. Results Pubococcygeus muscle detachment from the pubic bone was seen in 39 (56%) of the women with anterior vaginal compartment pelvic organ prolapse. PCM detachment appears more common on the right compared with the left side (49% versus 32% respectively). All the asymptomatic continent nulliparous women had intact muscles. Conclusion Pubococcygeal muscle detachment from the pubic bone on MRI is common, and occurs more often on the right side in women with symptomatic anterior vaginal compartment pelvic organ prolapse. The high prevalence of pubococcygeal muscle detachment in women with anterior vaginal compartment prolapse shown in this study may provide an explanation for the high recurrence of anterior vaginal compartment prolapse following anterior vaginal repair.

TRAINING CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPETITIVE MASTERS ROWERS

Masters rowing is the fastest growing segment of competitive rowing, and representative of the growth of masters sport in general. However, little is known about the background and training habits of these older athletes. PURPOSE To survey the athletic background of competitive masters rowers and quantify their training load. METHODS A comprehensive electronic survey was developed in cooperation with the FISA Masters Commission and published on the Internet in English, German, and French for a period of ∼ 8 months. The survey was promoted at two major international masters regattas, in addition to the website of the International Rowing Federation (FISA) and other rowing websites. RESULTS 709 men (47 ± 10, 27–83 yrs) and 305 women (43 ± 9, 27–68 yrs), primarily from Europe (46 %), North America (31 %), and Oceania (20 %) completed the survey. Of all respondents, 73 % had competed in national or international masters competitions, with the remainder competing at the local or regional level. Among males and females respectively, 55 and 35 % had competed successfully at the national level prior to reaching masters age, including 12 and 11 % who were former international finalists. Only 14 % of males reported first competing at the masters level, compared to 41 % of females. Females reported training slightly more frequently (95 % CI for mean = 4.6–4.8 vs 4.9–5.3 sessions/wk respectively) and more hours per week (95 % CI for mean = 8.4–9.1 vs 9.3–10.5 hrs/wk) than males. Mean training frequency remained between 4 and 5 days per week across age groups. However, total weekly training hours declined by about 25 % between age 30–39 and 60–69 (95 % CI = 9.3–10.5 vs 6.9–8.2 hrs/wk respectively). CONCLUSION Men's masters rowing is dominated by former high-level rowers, while the women's side is growing at a faster rate due to new recruitment. Training loads reported by competitive masters rowers are similar to that of good junior athletes and declines surprisingly little with age. Supported by the International Rowing Federation (FISA).

The (In-)Appropriateness of Using the Feminine as Paradigm

Kierkegaard has not escaped a recent tendency of feminist theory to reexamine in a positive light texts in which a male thinker privileges the feminine for both sexes.1 First identified in-or adopted by-practitioners of deconstruction, the positioning has increasingly been projected back onto philosophers of past centuries-particularly on those who have proffered a complementary ideal, to wit, a harmonious balancing of masculine and feminine qualities in individuals of either sex. Indeed, over against the notion of a subject capable through knowledge and action to exercise control and mastery over the object-the world and the other-the Danish philosopher, both directly and indirectly via his Christian pseudonyms. sought to release the feminine from women and to extend its solicitation to men as well. In Sickness unto Death (1849), Anti-Climacus. the pseudonym closest to Kierkegaard, declares the basic structure of selfhood, hence the task of achieving a balanced synthesis of the elements constitutive of the self, to be the same for both sexes. This little book, which Kierkegaard acknowledges as editor, has much to impart through its gender based. and perhaps also gender biased, analysis of despair: however. the focus of the following pages will not be the modalities of the self, but Anti-Climacus's presentation of the feminine mode of relating as the pattern for Christian life. To this text must be added The Woman Who Was a Sinner (1850), its natural complement insofar as Kierkegaard in person expresses much the same thought. In the Poetic Venture (23-48) of Philosophical Fragments (1844), Johannes Climacus2 shows via his parable of the king and the maiden how to bring about the ideal of a less hierarchically structured, hence feminine (in the traditional acceptation of the term) relationship between God and human beings, between human beings among themselves. Because the vertical relation binding individuals to the divinity is a two-way relation, the highest pseudonym and his author logically concentrate their attention on the ascending movement. the non-Christian pseudonym on the descending one. Our analysis will therefore have to take this dual process into consideration. Ever since Simone de Beauvoir, some feminists have been saying: us develop our masculine side and let the men develop their feminine side. Let us abolish a difference has only served to exploit us. Why is it. we wish to ask, that at the moment when something positive occurs on the woman's side. there immediately arises a discourse of androgyny. of non-sexual difference? By an unexpected twist, a corollary of this position has been the lavishing of much praise by neo-. as well as by classical, feminists, on male writers who have tendered, or at least been thought to tender, an androgynous model of selfhood. But can the desire to view Kierkegaard as a protodeconstructionist and favorably to interpret his injunctions (in person, or in persona) to heed the feminine voice be dissociated from a questionable reliance on metaphysical assumptions perpetuate the roles traditionally assigned to the sexes? Can men (and women) be encouraged to adopt a feminine position without the underpinning being a compulsory dyadic value system which ultimately relies on the dimorphic structure of human anatomy and on the distinction between the male and the female roles in reproduction? What happens to actual women when the feminine first assigned to them becomes an ethico-religious category shared by both sexes? Feminine as Paradigm for the Human-Divine relation In the crucial footnote of Sickness unto Death where he declares the sexual difference erased in the God-relationship and the realization of full selfhood equally available to women and men, Anti-Climacus shows the proper way for the self to acquire selfhood: It holds for men as well as for women devotion is the self and in the giving of oneself the self is gained. …