Societal Ideals Research Articles

Animals on display: animal motifs, human-animal relations and social semiotics in the Bronze Age rock carvings from Enköping and Norrköping, Sweden

Animals make up one of the most common motif groups in south Scandinavian Bronze Age rock art, with depictions of pigs and horses, as well as wild animals like red deer and wild boar, occurring in almost all rock art areas. Despite their ubiquity, their treatment in previous research has been inadequate. In this article, the display of animals in the rock art tradition is mapped out and discussed from a perspective based in human-animal relations and social semiotics. The animal figures are analyzed in terms of species, sex, human practice and regional articulations, as well as in relation to the wider archaeological record. The results reveal that animal motifs probably had a dual role during the Bronze Age, showing both the biological reality and the social and symbolic values that were connected to animals. In addition, the animals depicted in rock art also worked as carriers of semiotic resources, which manifested human social and societal ideas and ideals.

Orbiting Two Worlds: Shifting Conceptions of Giftedness Amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

ABSTRACT This article investigates conceptions of giftedness amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. It adopts a qualitative case-study methodology involving 14 participants associated with a scholarship program aimed at developing the academic potential of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth from remote and disadvantaged communities. Using semistructured interviews and a grounded-theory analytical approach, a number of themes were identified. These included an egalitarian basis to the construct, an avoidance of the gifted label, an understanding of giftedness as having learned and innate dimensions as well as a relative view of giftedness. Associations with achievement motivation also were highlighted amongst participants suggesting that views of giftedness have been shifting away from traditional associations. Results further revealed a perception of giftedness linked more to leadership and progress than to previously identified associations with elitism, individualism, and broader Australian societal ideals.

From Deconstruction to Reconstruction: Indian and Nigerian Nationalism and Colonial Encounter in Comparative Perspective

The article converses how the culture and history of the Indians and Nigerians were mutilated by the colonists by creating the adverse stereotypes of the indigenous people as uncivilized whose history and societal ideals were annulled as mock and vicious that required the instructive mediation of the Europeans and, correspondingly how the dramatists of the two said countries interrupt and oust overriding and tyrannical European data. I have explored in the article through which technique the biculturalism in Rabindranath Tagore and Wole Soyinka's temperament and background enabled them both to develop a style of syncretic dramaturgy for the cultural relations that imperialism created in their nations. Primarily expert in abilities that empowered them to accomplish noteworthy functions in the lives of their countries, together Tagore and Soyinka was particularly ingrained in their specific cultures. Though the authors did not discard the past, they did not urge a return to it.

Civilizing infrastructure

ABSTRACT Over the past decade, commercial social media platforms have scaled up, in terms of the number of users, and scaled out, in terms of integration into public life, taking on infrastructural significance. This paper adapts sociologist Norbert Elias’s conceptualization of the civilizing process to examine the role of social media in society, arguing that social media platforms establish socially sanctioned categories of people and modes of conduct. Taking Facebook as an exemplar, the paper analyzes the pedagogical, punitive, and incentivizing practices through which platforms produce social norms and societal ideals. From the company’s ambition to become the social infrastructure of the globe and its expansionist history, to policy documents and moderation practices, to formatted interactions and incentive structures, Facebook universalizes appropriate conduct and emotional expression in accordance with the interests of brands and advertisers. With its integration of information technology and automated decision making, Facebook takes over tasks traditionally associated with institutions like the home, the school, and the workplace and acts as a civilizing infrastructure in a double sense: first, infrastructure itself is civilized by the ability to sense and judge people and actions, and second, infrastructure becomes a civilizing force in the world on the basis of these abilities. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion of the implications of civilizing infrastructure for our understanding of civility, Facebook, and infrastructural politics.

Associations of observer\u2019s gender, Body Mass Index and internalization of societal beauty ideals to visual body processing

We examined whether visual processing mechanisms of the body of conspecifics are different in women and men and whether these rely on westernised socio-cultural ideals and body image concerns. Twenty-four women and 24 men performed a visual discrimination task of upright or inverted images of female or male bodies and faces (Experiment 1) and objects (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, both groups of women and men showed comparable abilities in the discrimination of upright and inverted bodies and faces. However, the gender of the human stimuli yielded different effects on participants’ performance, so that female faces, and male bodies appeared to be processed less configurally than female bodies and male faces, respectively. Interestingly, the reduction of configural processing for male bodies was significantly predicted by participants’ Body Mass Index (BMI) and their level of internalization of muscularity. Our findings suggest that configural visual processing of bodies and faces in women and men may be linked to a selective attention to detail needed for discriminating salient physical (perhaps sexual) cues of conspecifics. Importantly, BMI and muscularity internalization of beauty ideals may also play a crucial role in this mechanism.

Exploring the relationship between young people, body dissatisfaction and aesthetic procedures

Physical appearance has long been documented to influence almost every aspect of an individual's life. The importance placed on physical attractiveness, combined with the pervasiveness of idealised bodies and appearances in Western societies, may result in dissatisfaction with appearance. Subsequently, individuals may explore methods and ways to alter their appearance in line with societal beauty ideals. An increasingly popular method of body modification is via aesthetic procedures. Thus, with the ever-rising exposure, popularity and affordability of such procedures, the associations between body image, aesthetic procedures and mental health are worthy of exploration.

Who Marries Whom on Silver Screen? Religion and Social Class in Marriage Patterns in Contemporary Indonesian Films

Popular culture, where cinema is part, is an important site where ideas of acceptable and unacceptable marriage pairing is confirmed and/or contested. In any cinema tradition, including Indonesian, romance films offer a rich site to investigate broader societal ideals around who should or should not marry whom. In this article, we report our study on conjugal pairing patterns in Indonesian blockbuster films produced and released between 2008 and 2018. We investigate how protagonists in the films decide whom they marry; this question then led us to critically examine the extent to which religion and social class shape marriage decisions. The findings show that marriage pairing patterns on Indonesian silver screen during the period are largely assortative; the characters in the selected films tend to marry people adhering to the same religion and belonging to the same social class as themselves. The increasingly visible trend of religious endogamy and the sustained trend of class homogamy are inseparable from the heightened Islamization in the post authoritarian era, the improving economic outlook at the macro and micro levels in the post Asian financial crisis, as well as the promotion of gender equality during the period.

Perceptions of Female Genitalia Following Labiaplasty

ABSTRACT Labiaplasty – a common form of female genital cosmetic surgery involving the removal of portions of the labia minora – is becoming increasingly popular, yet little research has examined perceptions of postoperative labia relative to perceptions of unaltered labia. The purpose of this study was therefore to examine perceptions of preoperative and postoperative labia. A sample of 4513 participants – 42% women, 56% men, and 3% non-binary (Mage 27.01, SD age = 9.97) – was shown a randomized series of “before-and-after” images of labiaplasty procedures. Participants rated each image on how well it matched societal ideals, their personal ideal, and perceived normalcy in appearance. Our hypothesis that postoperative labia would be evaluated more favorably than preoperative labia on these constructs was supported. Individuals who specified their gender outside of the binary rated labia more positively overall; women rated labia more negatively than participants of other genders. Ratings were consistently low overall for both pre- and postoperative labia, suggesting critically negative perceptions of female genitalia. Our findings highlight a need for interventions and education to encourage more positive and accurate views of women’s bodies.

Reprogramming consent: implications of sexual relationships with artificially intelligent partners

ABSTRACT The growing cultural conversation about sexual consent comes at a time in which new technologies with potential implications for sexuality norms are also beginning to emerge in the marketplace. ‘Sex robots’ – anthropomorphic sex toys ‘brought to life’ by artificial intelligence – are one such innovation. Critics suggest that making sex dolls more lifelike but not necessarily more realistic could erode cultural norms around sexuality, particularly regarding consent. Using qualitative content analysis, this study examined user discourse on the ‘Club RealDoll’ forum to investigate how Harmony, the artificially intelligent Android-based app behind Abyss Creations’ sex robot technology, engendered particular normative values and uncovered users’ preconceived attitudes about consent. These data ultimately revealed how the app’s gamified format promotes a set of flawed internal ethics, incompatible with broader societal ideals for positive and respectful sexual experiences. The results also suggested, however, that with purposeful design intervention, this technology could be ‘reprogrammed’ to provide clarity on the role of consent. Although the experience of using a physically integrated sex robot may intrinsically vary from that of the standalone digital app, these findings make a critical contribution to the conversation around emerging technologies and their effect on sexual relationship norms.

Intentional weight gain efforts among young Canadian adults aged 17–32 years

Research related to body weight management often focuses on weight loss but attempts to gain weight may be common given societal ideals related to body shape and size. The objectives of this study were to examine the prevalence and correlates of intentional weight gain attempts and to characterize weight gain strategies reported among young Canadian adults. Cross-sectional data were drawn from a 2017 online survey of young adults, aged 17 to 32 years, recruited from five large cities (n=976, 493 men and 483 women). The prevalence of weight gain attempts and specific strategies used were estimated, with multivariable logistic regression used to examine correlates of intent to gain weight. Over one in five men (23.1%) and approximately one in twenty women (6.0%) reported attempting to gain weight in the past 12 months. Men, those who perceived themselves as underweight (compared to “just about right”), and those who reported one or more racial/ethnic identity or did not state their race/ethnicity (compared to white only) had higher odds of reporting attempting to gain weight. Individuals who perceived themselves as overweight or who self-reported heights and weights corresponding to a BMI between 25 and 29.9 had lower odds of reporting attempting to gain weight. Those attempting to gain weight reported using three strategies on average, with the most prevalent among both men and women including eating more overall, eating more protein, and exercising/weightlifting. The results suggest that, while less common than dieting, weight gain attempts are not rare, especially among young men.

Abstract B028: The stages of change model approach to reducing endocrine-disrupting chemical exposures linked to breast cancer risk for Black women

Abstract In the US Black women (BW) are more likely to die from breast cancer (BC) than White women. Research increasingly supports the association between ingredients found in hair and personal care products and BC risk, linked to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). BW spend more money on hair products (HPs) containing EDCs than other racial groups. Some scholars posit that for many BW, hair is synonymous with identity. To further explore the complex interplay between hair, identity, and breast health we developed and validated the Black Identity, Hair Product Use, and Breast Cancer Scale (BHBS). The purpose of this study is to provide direction on the utility of the scale in capturing sociocultural factors related to BC risk and HPs use for intervention planning. Methods: The 11-item BHBS scale includes two subscales, one measuring sociocultural perspectives about hair and identity (5-items) and the other perceived breast cancer risk related to HPs (6-items). Response options strongly disagree/disagree are categorized as “low importance” and strongly agree/agree as “high importance”. Analysis includes descriptive and inferential statistics. Survey data was analyzed using SPSS Version 25. Results: Participants (N=185) were African/Caribbean and African American women ages 29 to 79. Eight percent (n=15) had been diagnosed with BC. Forty percent had a mammogram previously and 59.5% intended to have a mammogram in the future. BW (89.5%) who are concerned about BC and intend to watch the ingredients of products were more likely to intend to have a mammogram in the future (p=0.02). 46.6% of BW who are concerned about BC and intend to watch the ingredients of the products they use, felt pressure from their female friends to straighten their hair (p=0.04). On the contrary, 84.6% women who plan to adjust how they use HPs because of their concern about BC: 1) did not think it necessary for BW to have their hair straight in order to be successful in business (p=0.03) and 2) did not think BW needed to straighten their hair in order to attract Black men (p=0.003). Furthermore, 92.4% of women who wanted to learn more about the health risks of HPs (88% of all), agreed that BW needed to straighten their hair to attract Black men (p=0.03). Overall, participants were interested in learning more about BC risk and HPs use through social media (88.1%) and from their stylist (82.2%). Discussion: In the US straight hair for BW continues to represent Eurocentric ideals of beauty and acceptance resulting in BW using HPs containing EDCs. While many of our participants intend (contemplation) to watch ingredients or learn (contemplation) more about HP related health risks, they felt pressure (friends, partners) to straighten their hair. However, those who worry (contemplation) about ingredients or plan (preparation) to adjust their HPs use, felt less need to submit to peers, or societal ideals of success and mate selection linked to straight hair. Thus, the stages of change model maybe used to develop health-related behavior interventions for our participants. Citation Format: Dede K Teteh, Phyllis Clark Clark, Eudora Mitchell, Rick Kittles, Susanne Montgomery. The stages of change model approach to reducing endocrine-disrupting chemical exposures linked to breast cancer risk for Black women [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr B028.

Marching Forwards or Backwards? Physical Education and the Army in Early Twentieth-Century Ireland

This article examines systems of physical education implemented in Ireland in the period 1890-1939, their origins and underlying messages. The systems used to train children’s bodies were not ideologically neutral but reflected wider societal ideals surrounding health, fitness, warfare and modernity. There is a particular focus on the first decade of the twentieth century when systems of military drill based on British Army practice were brought into Irish classrooms, and also on the 1930s, when the Irish Free State Army and some Irish schools, briefly trialled the Sokol System of Physical Culture from Czechoslovakia. While the motivations for introducing these programmes reflected changed circumstances, the underlying messages spoke to much greater continuities. There is a particular emphasis on the symbolic function of physical education in Ireland in the four decades spanning independence and partition. It was seen as a means of protecting the nation’s health, improving children’s intelligence and as a defence against undesirable aspects of social change.

Unmet Needs in Sex Education—What Adolescents Aim to Understand About Sexuality of the Other Sex

PurposeSex education programs need to modify their focus in light of changing societal norms and increasing exposure to pornography. This study investigates what adolescents want to know about the sexuality of the opposite sex. This will allow practitioners to adjust sex education curricula to the needs of adolescents, thereby supporting the establishment of healthy, respectful, and sexually fulfilling relationships. MethodsTwo thousand three hundred forty-three adolescents from the age of 11–19 years (123 classes) were asked to formulate questions addressed to the opposite sex as part of peer-led sex education classes, where girls and boys were divided into separate groups. Groups of 10–12 individuals each formulated about 11 questions, resulting in a total of 2,625 questions. The questions were categorized using content analysis. ResultsThe largest portion of questions addressed sexual interaction (35.8%), with many questions further addressing sexual preference (e.g., oral sex, sex positions) and the logistics and qualitative aspects of first-time sexual intercourse. Adolescents were also interested in questions about the body (e.g., anatomy, body hair, 15.2%), relationships (e.g., love, dating, 13.9%), ideal characteristics of men/women (10.5%), masturbation (10.1%), and pornography (7.3%). ConclusionAdolescents show a high degree of interest in understanding the feelings and perceptions of the opposite sex. Acquiring this knowledge could be beneficial in building emotionally and physically fulfilling relationships. To increase adolescents' sexual and relationship competence, sexual education curricula should encompass pleasure and desire aspects of sexuality, initiating and managing relationships, societal ideals, and addressing pornography, in addition to sexual and reproductive health knowledge.

Associations between Physical Self-Concept and Anticipated Guilt and Shame: The Moderating Role of Gender

Body-related emotions have been identified as important predictors of mental and physical health. Evaluations of the physical self are inextricably linked with body-related emotions. However, little research has addressed how physical self-concept is associated with anticipated emotions and how associations may differ between men and women. The current study examined associations between physical self-concept and anticipated guilt and shame and examined gender as a moderator of these associations. The sample consisted of 353 Canadian undergraduate students (55% female; Mage = 21.94. range = 18–64). Participants read a hypothetical scenario commonly associated with guilt and shame experiences and were asked to anticipate their emotional experience when imagining themselves in the scenario. Participants also indicated their gender and completed a measure of physical self-concept. Gender moderated the relationship between physical self-concept and anticipated shame but not guilt. Specifically, there was a negative association between physical self-concept and anticipated shame for women but not for men. Findings are consistent with the notion that gender role socialization shapes the emotional experiences, specifically feelings of shame, of men and women differently. The results demonstrate that even imagining a situation that runs counter to societal ideals for women’s bodies as thin and toned coincides with the anticipation of shame among adult women with more negative physical self-concept.

Sociology as a Vital Instrument in Establishing Curriculum, Educational Objectives and Goals of Education

This survey examines the contribution of sociology to education. The researcher explores sociological foundation with respect to socio-cultural forces in society that influence education. Against this backdrop, education can be viewed to perform two functions. First, education is a socializing agent-a process that enables perpetuation of societal ideals from one generation to the next. Secondly, education is an embodiment of values, skills and practices that are required to revitalize society. Because of this inextricable relationship between sociological foundation and education, the former plays a key role in determining educational decisions, objectives and goals in the sense that it permeates all dimensions of education. Sociology therefore underpins education as its socio-cultural component. All the socio-cultural and undertones evident in education systems world -wide can only be properly explained through a thorough understanding of sociology as a discipline. This research therefore endeavors to unravel the link between sociological forces and education.

The Irish Sandow school: physical culture competitions in fin-de-siècle Ireland

ABSTRACTBeginning with an examination of Ireland’s turn of the century interest in physical culture, this article highlights the case of Eugen Sandow’s “Great Competition” and its Irish contestants. Seen as a precursor for today’s bodybuilding competitions, Sandow’s contest enjoyed submission photographs from hundreds of half-naked men – many of whom were Irish – posing in Greco-Roman pose. In studying this topic, the article addresses two pressing issues. In the first instance, the article examines how and why physical culture competitions became a competitive outlet for Irishmen in the first decade of the twentieth century. Secondly, it argues that these contests were often connected to broader societal ideals surrounding acceptable forms of masculinity. The article thus examines a previously unexplored but nevertheless important part of sporting and athletic behaviour in early twentieth-century Ireland.

Understanding User Practices When Drawing up Requirements-The Case of Designing Assistive Devices for Mobility.

Patients with orthopedic problems often use assistive devices, e.g., ankle-foot orthoses and therapeutic footwear, to support their mobility. However, many users are not satisfied with their devices or do not use them at all, resulting in a decrease of quality of life. It has been shown that a main cause for dissatisfaction and non-use lies in the process of drawing up requirements. It appears that orthopedic engineers have too little insight in the different areas of life of patients leading to deficient design requirements. In this article a general approach—the so-called Triple I model—is presented to understand the different areas of life of patients. This model offers, in line with and directed by the intention of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model three perspectives or ‘pairs of lenses’ to analyze these areas of life: the identity, the interests of key stakeholders or social actors, and the underlying societal ideals. The Triple I model is elaborated for assistive devices and offers an associated methodology to orthopedic engineers to systematically map the different areas of life of patients, to understand the requirements for every area, and to explore the conditions. In case of assistive devices five different areas of life have to be investigated: daily living at home, work, transport, social and spiritual activities, sport and leisure.

Stability and change in personal fertility ideals among U.S. women in heterosexual relationships

Background: Demographers typically ask about societal, not personal, fertility ideals. Societal ideals are probably more stable than personal ideals. Assessing whether personal fertility ideals are as stable as societal ideals could inform models of population fertility change and models of well-being associated with fertility outcomes. Methods: We use the two-wave National Survey of Fertility Barriers (NSFB) to model stability and change in fertility ideals among 879 women in heterosexual couples that persisted for both waves. Results: Personal fertility ideals are stable for most (69%) women, but roughly one-third adjust their ideal number between waves. Of the women who changed their personal fertility ideal, approximately half increase and half decrease their personal fertility ideal over time. Multinomial logistic regression indicates that women with a higher fertility ideal at Wave 1 had higher odds of increasing and lower odds of decreasing their fertility ideal by Wave 2. Higher education was associated with lower likelihood of increasing fertility ideals. In addition, full-time employment at the initial interview was associated with higher likelihood of decreasing fertility ideals. Conclusions: Individual characteristics, attitudes, life course, and social cues are associated with changes in personal fertility ideals. More characteristics were associated with decreases than increases in personal fertility ideals. Contribution: By demonstrating that many women change personal fertility ideals over three years, the current study advances understanding of variations in fertility experiences. Importantly, these findings can also inform policies and interventions designed to support child and maternal health.

Navigating motherhood and maternal transitional infant feeding: Learnings for health professionals

Given the lifelong associations between infant diet and weight, understanding maternal transitional infant feeding decisions can assist efforts to establish healthy eating habits early in life. Feeding experiences were explored using semi-structured interviews with 15 first-time mothers who were selected based on their concerns about their infants' weight in an infant feeding survey. Thematic synthesis of the interview transcripts identified three main themes: (1) Expectations of a “responsible mother”, (2) Trusting oneself and trust in others, and (3) From stress to successful feeding. Dominant social ideals of motherhood and infant behaviour influenced feeding practices, some of which are associated with obesity. Judgments of mothers' infant feeding practices and infant size alongside feeding and weight gain ‘checklists’ undermines maternal transitional feeding knowledge. Family-centred, non-judgmental guidance from peers, family members and health professionals would better support mothers to navigate the day-to-day reality of feeding and caring for an infant throughout the first year of life that is based on achievable personal goals rather than societal ideals.

Changing Ideographs of Motherhood: Defining and Conscribing Women’s Rhetorical Practices During World War I

This essay uses Michael McGee’s concept of the ideograph to discuss the ways that <motherhood>was used both by and against women in World War I. Regardless of whether women sided with the peace or the preparedness movements, their participation was defined by their status as mothers (either actual or metaphorical). Their participation was also conscribed by societal and governmental ideals of motherhood, conveyed through a shifting ideographic definition. Women’s rhetorical practices during the war were, therefore, both constrained and defined by notions of motherhood.