Societal Messages Research Articles

Sex-typed or Androgynous: Gender Representations in One Sentence Is Ten Thousand Sentences and The Blind Assassin

Abstract Although the gender landscape has been experiencing a significant amount of change and flexibility in many parts of the world over the past few decades, societal messages regarding gender roles and expectations can still remain conventional. It is likely that such a perplexing paradox becomes reinforced while portraying male or female characters in fiction. Inspired by Sandra Bem’s gender schema theory introduced in 1981, this research aims to examine gender representations in the protagonists of two novels, namely The Blind Assassin and One Sentence Is Ten Thousand Sentences. Iris Chase and Yung Baishun (Wu Moxi) are analyzed according to a modified version of The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BRSI) to see whether they’re sex-typed (masculine or feminine) or androgynous. The results calculated in an “androgyny ratio” (AR) indicate that while Atwood’s character is marked as feminine, Yung Baishun is characterized as androgynous according to BRSI.

Testing Different Message Styles about Unnecessary Antibiotics Using an Online Platform.

Patients' expectations are a major contributor to the unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics, yet limited research has examined how physicians can calibrate these expectations. The studies we conducted tested how varying messages could impact patients' expectations for antibiotics and their experience of medical appointments. All the participants read a short scenario about an appointment for mild sinusitis symptoms, with the patient's expectation of antibiotics. In Study 1, the participants (n = 1069) were randomly assigned to read a positively framed, neutral, or negatively framed message regarding unnecessary antibiotics. In Study 2, the participants (n = 1073) read a message emphasizing either the societal or personal harms of unnecessary antibiotics, or a message without additional rationale. None of our pre-registered hypotheses were supported, but our exploratory analyses indicated that the societal message increased concern about antibiotic resistance. The participants who were more concerned about resistance were less likely to ask for antibiotics, more satisfied when the physician did not prescribe them, and more likely to recommend the physician to a friend. Discussing the consequences of the different courses of action did not appear to negatively impact physician-patient rapport. These studies demonstrate an inexpensive method with which to pre-test various messages about antibiotic consumption, and suggest that such messages are not negatively received by patients.

Exploring adolescents’ perspectives of single-sex schooling: teetering amongst competing views

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the perspectives of adolescents attending a private Christian single-sex secondary school. The research literature into the impact of single-sex schooling upon learners, while plentiful, is equivocal and few scholars have delved into the views of adolescents in such contexts. To demonstrate their perspectives of single-sex schooling, the findings are represented as poetry clusters, grouped together to highlight the ways in which the adolescents teetered amongst competing views. Better understanding the related formative presence of societal messages and gendered expectations shaping single-sex learning environments offers possibilities for teachers to disrupt these norms.

Satir’s Experiential Model Informed by Critical Theory: A Trans-Inclusive Case Study Analysis

Research surrounding queer populations has been extremely limited, especially for couples that include transgender individuals. This paper will have a clinical focus on how Satir’s Experiential Model can be integrated with Intersectional Feminist Theory and Queer Theory to create a trans-affirming treatment approach. The fusion of these models allows therapists to challenge traditional power dynamics and societal messages in therapy. This article provides practical ways that clinicians can adapt traditional experiential interventions in critically informed ways. Using a session-by-session overview, the case study demonstrates how a clinician might integrate these approaches. Recommendations for clinicians, students, and the field are included.

Resisters: An illustrated project addressing shame among women

This article presents a research-based illustration project titled ‘Resisters: An illustrated project addressing shame among women’ self-authored as a semester-long postgraduate project at the Department of Design, IIT Delhi. The project began with understanding shame and shameful experiences of women aged 18–30 years, including college students and working professionals, through qualitative data collection and interviews. Anchored in visual communication design, it evolved into publication design and related collaterals to support the design brief. The publication serves as a resilient voice to be heard, read, shared and understood, delving into complex themes of shame and belonging. The inquiry-driven project stands at the intersection of societal messages and creative practice, validated through public display and critical feedback. Illustration as a communicative practice is crucial in today’s visually overstimulating environment, with such projects challenging the status quo within academic illustration practice.

Scrutinizing the Myth of Kumunity: The Semiotics of the Philippines’ Pinoy Big Brother Season 10

In applying Roland Barthes' semiotic theory to the analysis of Pinoy Big Brother Season 10 (Dyogi, Katigbak, Vidanes & Andrada, 2021-2022), this study delves into the intricate layers of meaning embedded in the show's 'Kumunity' concept, a term created by the fusion of 'Kumu,' a social media entertainment app, and "community." The primary focus is on unraveling the myth that the 'kumunity' symbolizes within the broader context of the reality television landscape in the Philippines. The investigation meticulously scrutinized selected components of the show—images, music, and dialogues—to elucidate the orders of signification, exposing the nuanced and multifaceted meanings conveyed. The 'kumunity' is portrayed as mirroring a tangible community with shared goals among housemates, showcasing a cohesive objective reminiscent of a localized collective. However, beneath this surface portrayal, this study uncover a rich tapestry of implicit meanings. These include subtle assertions of authority and power dynamics, the reinforcement of cultural nuances, the elevation and glorification of resilience as a virtue, and instances of disunity within the overarching support system. The study, through extensive analysis, goes beyond the apparent and reveals the intricate web of hidden ideologies within the signs presented in Pinoy Big Brother Season 10. It sheds light on the subtle yet impactful societal messages that permeate the realm of reality television, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the show's influence on cultural perceptions and dynamics. Keywords: Kumu, kumunity, Pinoy Big Brother, Roland Barthes, semiotics.

Protective Factors that Yield Empowerment for Black Girls’ Mathematical Brilliance

Black girls are marginalized and often experience barriers to accessing advanced mathematics, which affects their socialization and identity. Little is known about the experiences of Black girls who have gained access to advanced mathematics programs. The participants in this study were 11 middle school Black females enrolled in advanced mathematics, a course with a curriculum at a higher grade level and a faster pace compared to their same-age peers. Using a qualitative methodology, we use collective memory writings, individual and focus group interviews, and the researcher’s journal data to examine how girls’ perceptions of societal messages work to impact and empower Black girls enrolled in advanced mathematics coursework and extend current research on this topic. We conclude that Black girls have various protective factors--innate characteristics that yield positive outcomes, influencing their self-efficacy. The themes uncovered as a result were that Black girls are motivated by engaging in valuable mathematics that is meaningful to them; their perceived mathematical identity represents a protective factor. This research study illuminates that Black girls are brilliant, but only those with prominent protective factors are often recognized in educational institutions for their merit.

Promoting Honesty in Children, or Fostering Pathological Behaviour?

Promoting Honesty in Children, or Fostering Pathological Behaviour?

Infertility Among Counselor Education and Supervision Doctoral Students: Expectations, Experiences, and Knowledge

Females are disproportionately affected by infertility, and Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) doctoral students are predominantly female. Using phenomenological approach female CES doctoral students with infertility diagnoses were interviewed. Six themes emerged from the interviews: younger is better for conception; familial and societal messages; infertility knowledge; triggers; academics and infertility; something wrong with me, regret, and others don’t understand. Clinical implications and future directions are provided to promote social justice by bringing awareness and amplifying the voices of people suffering from a disability and a disease that is rarely recognized as either.

Face first: Way Bandy, cosmetics and AIDS

This article explores the design work and life of the New York based make-up artist Way Bandy. The beauty iconography created by Bandy is an important cultural record as it was imbricated within the larger glamour tropes of the 1970s and the draped, dancing luxury of disco divahood (explored through practice-led research in this article as well). Modes of dress, display and deportment often reflect much larger societal messages and meanings, and I would include the creation and presentation of the contemporaneous face within this cultural mythmaking. Make-up and cosmetics are vital components of that potent matrix, and Way Bandy designed the beauty aesthetic that reflected the sensual glamour of the disco era: glistening lips, alluring beckoning eyes and liquid silhouettes all echoed the promises of liberatory ease and an empowered sexuality for anyone who dared. His engagement with cosmetics was far more than ‘skin deep’ though, as he also engaged with the holistic and therapeutic roots of his artform: cosmetics (a history also explored in this article). Unfortunately, as one of the first fashion celebrities whom we lost to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), his life also must stand as a tragic metonymic of his troubled times, and the theoretical explorations of Susan Sontag from AIDS as Metaphor are included as a way of analysing the application of epidemiological meanings and the consequences of those processes. Ultimately, this research seeks to reclaim the importance of the Bandy legacy as his oeuvre was marginalized after his death, as happened with so many brilliant designers and artists whose deaths from AIDS overshadowed truly amazing careers.

The body satisfaction and psychological well-being of retired women athletes: A long-term qualitative analysis of bodies in motion

We conducted a qualitative evaluation of Bodies in Motion (BIM), a dissonance, mindful self-compassion-based program that addresses the unique experiences and needs of female athletes with respect to their bodies and their well-being. Using semi-structured interviews, 12 collegiate female athletes (retired 2 – 6 years) reflected and provided feedback on the enduring impact of BIM on their body image, relationship to food and exercise, and overall psychological well-being. Through thematic analysis, we found that these retired athletes, extending from their initial program learning, reported increased awareness of sport and societal messages and their impact on body image, shifted perspectives in their view of themselves and their bodies, and used learned skills to manage body image in their lives. Further, with the passage of time, athletes emphasized how what they had learned in BIM remained essential as they navigated challenging life transitions, such as their retirement from collegiate sports. Our findings indicate that the benefits female athletes report accruing in the immediate aftermath of BIM remain with them, even growing and becoming more salient as they continue to reflect on the program and its impact on their body awareness and how they navigate their lives as women and former athletes.

From protection to non-protection: A mixed methods study investigating movement, posture and recovery from disabling low back pain.

Movement and posture are commonly believed to relate to low back pain (LBP). Yet, we know little about how people make sense of the relationship between their LBP, movement and posture, particularly after recovery. We aimed to qualitatively explore this understanding, how it changes and how it relates to quantitative changes. A mixed method study in the context of an existing single-case design involving 12 people with disabling non-specific LBP. Interviews were conducted before and after a 12-week physiotherapy-led Cognitive Functional Therapy intervention, and qualitative findings from these were integrated with individualized, quantitative measures of movement, posture, psychological factors, pain and activity limitation. Strong beliefs about movement and posture were identified during the baseline interviews. Lived experiences of tension and stiffness characterized the embodiment of 'nonconscious protection', while healthcare and societal messages prompted pain-related fear and 'conscious protection'. Through varied journeys, most participants reported improvements over time with less protective movement and postural strategies. For some, being less protective required focused attention ('conscious non-protection'), but most returned to automatic, normal and fearless patterns ('nonconscious non-protection'), forgetting about their LBP. One participant reported no meaningful shift, remaining protective. Greater spinal range, faster movement, more relaxed postures and less back muscle EMG accompanied positive changes in self-report factors. The findings offer a framework for understanding how people make sense of movement and posture during the process of recovery from persistent, disabling non-specific LBP. This involved a re-conceptualisation of movement and posture, from threatening, to therapeutic. Findings from qualitative interviews before and after a Cognitive Functional Therapy intervention in 12 people with disabling low back pain highlighted an individualized recovery journey from conscious and nonconscious protection to conscious non-protection for some, and nonconscious non-protection for many. Pre and post-quantitative measures of movement, posture, psychological factors, pain and activity limitation integrated well with the qualitative findings. The findings suggest movement and posture may form part of a multidimensional pain schema.

The Effect of Message Framing and Focus on Reducing Food Waste

ABSTRACT This research aimed to understand the effectiveness of food waste prevention messages. Two studies utilized a 2 by 2 experimental design (environmental versus societal message focus; positive versus negative message framing) to examine participants’ perceived importance, attitudes, and behavioral intention toward reducing food waste in the dining facilities. The results from the two studies indicate that only message framing had a significant effect on participants’ attitude toward food waste prevention messages. With respect to message focus, neither environmental nor societal, influenced participants’ perceptions and behaviors differently. This research contributes to the literature regarding theories of pro–environmental communication in food waste reduction.

Perspectives on Social Media from Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer

Background: Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer use social media in unique ways throughout treatment. The purpose of this article is to describe the social media experiences of AYAs with cancer as a means of exploring the potential impact of social media on AYA psychosocial development after diagnosis and throughout cancer treatment. Methods: Seven AYAs treated for cancer, aged 15–20 years, completed a semi-structured interview regarding their social media preferences and habits. Each interview was transcribed verbatim and de-identified. Data were coded and themes were identified via latent thematic analysis. Results: Four themes emerged regarding social media experiences for AYAs with cancer: (1) changes in audience and feedback after diagnosis; (2) attitudes about body image and peer support; (3) control over personal, familial, and societal messages about illness; and (4) maintaining normalcy despite hospital stressors. Discussion: Social media appear especially useful for promoting social and identity development as AYAs undergo cancer treatment. Specifically, social media provide spaces to negotiate body image and sense of self, to manage peer relationships, to reclaim control and independence, and to maintain normalcy. Understanding these experiences will prepare healthcare providers and caregivers to assess ongoing psychosocial development and adjustment throughout cancer treatment.

The ethnic identity of transracially placed foster children with an ethnic minority background: A systematic literature review

AbstractBackgroundEthnic minority foster children are frequently placed in families with ethnic majority backgrounds. In the international literature these placements are most commonly called transracial placements.AimsWith this study, we aim to obtain an encompassing view of the empirical scientific literature on how transracial placements may affect the ethnic identity of foster children.Materials and methodsTo gain insight into the ethnic identity of transracially placed foster children and the way they are ethnically socialized, we conducted a systematic literature review. We thereby followed the guidelines of the PRISMA statement.ResultsTransracially placed foster children may experience higher fluctuations in their racial/ ethnic identity over time than adolescents with a minority background in the general population. They also seem to be prone to experience disconnection from, or on the contrary, connection with the birth network; and some transracially placed foster children struggle with societal messages they receive about minority ethnicity and race. They may have an increased awareness of their minority ethnic background because of different physical appearances between themselves and the foster family. Foster parents can play a pivotal role in these processes, since culturally competent foster parents may guide foster children in their ethnic identity development by being open towards children’s cultural minority background as well as being self‐reflective regarding their own cultural values and beliefs.DiscussionThe ethnic development of transracially placed foster children seems to be influenced by intersecting mechanisms of being in foster care and having a minority ethnicity. Although the selected articles assume that foster parents impact the ethnic identities of their ethnic minority foster children, none of them measured the impact of foster parents’ skills and knowledge on foster children’ s ethnic identity development directly.ConclusionBeing transracially placed impacts the ethnic identity of foster children. Foster parents need to be cultural competent to encourage their foster children’s ethnic identity development.

The development of gendered health-related support dynamics over the course of a marriage

ABSTRACT For married adults with chronic illnesses or functional limitations, informal support from a spouse is often essential for their well-being, but support around health issues is not confined to later life. Attention to processes of support throughout the entire intimate relationship can provide insight into support dynamics in later life. Additionally, health-related support from a spouse tends to be gendered with women providing more support. Our analysis of relationship timeline interviews with 23 older adult couples demonstrates that these gendered support dynamics develop and are sustained throughout a marriage. We identify three patterns of support: (1) acknowledged gender inequality in support in which women readily provided support when their husbands had health issues but men provided support less consistently for their wives‘ health issues throughout the relationship; (2) mutual support in which both spouses provided support for the other whenever there were health needs; and (3) independence, in which men and women provided relatively little support to one another, viewing each other as responsible for their own health and well-being. These support patterns are established early within marriages and continue as health issues intensify. These patterns of spousal support are linked to broader systems of gender inequality and societal messages about gender. Our study moves away from conceptualizations of support provisions around health issues as only being situated in later life. We instead show how dynamics of support are developed and normalized throughout a marriage and suggest that spousal support studies should take into account long-term marital dynamics.

The clean vagina, the healthy vagina, and the dirty vagina: Exploring women’s portrayals of the vagina in relation to vaginal cleansing product use

Vaginal cleansing products such as douches, sprays, wipes, powders, washes, and deodorants are part of a growing $2 billion industry in North America. Part of the appeal of these products is supposedly attaining vaginal cleanliness, which is marketed in association with product use. Although these products are promoted as healthy, medical research indicates potential health risks for some of these products (e.g. yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, and disruption of the vaginal microbiota). Despite these risks, many women use these products. In this paper, we draw on interviews with women who use vaginal cleansing products to examine the ways in which particular portrayals of the vagina are connected with broader societal messages about female genitalia and with motivations to use vaginal cleansing practices. These portrayals include the healthy vagina, the clean vagina, and the dirty vagina. We show that although participants in our study valued both a clean vagina and a healthy vagina, when tension occurred between these two portrayals, participants prioritized vaginal cleanliness over vaginal health. We argue that this prioritization of the idealized clean vagina is connected to societal pressures of needing to attain unrealistic standards of vaginal cleanliness.

Fat Indigenous Bodies and Body Sovereignty: An Exploration of Re-presentations

This article explores re-representations of fat Indigenous bodies and subsequently the ways in which access becomes restricted through multiple systems of oppression and biopower. I suggest a move away from body positivity movements in favour of body sovereignty as a response to racism, sexism, fatism and biopolitics. While body sovereignty and Indigenous sovereignty are not mutually exclusive, and body sovereignty is not a new phenomenon in Indigenous communities, it is proposed as a means to seek equitable rights of access for all bodies, particularly marginalised bodies. A Kaupapa Māori and Mana Wāhine perspective on body sovereignty is outlined and a discussion around how these understandings can conflict with societal messages is touched upon also. Utilising an account of Hine-Nui-Te-Pō, this article explores re-presentations of Indigenous women and our bodies.

Social and Object Attention Is Influenced by Biological Sex and Toy Gender-Congruence in Children With and Without Autism.

Emerging research suggests social attention in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) girls is enhanced relative to ASD boys but may also be affected by the type of social and nonsocial content presented. This study examined how biological sex and gender norms interact to influence visual attention in 79 school-aged children observing scenes that included gender-associated toys and actors of both sexes. Attention to social (faces) and object activity (hands with toys) stimuli was measured. Previously described distinctions between social attention in ASD boys and girls were replicated, with ASD girls looking more at faces than ASD boys. Irrespective of diagnosis, males and females attended more to actors that shared their same sex, and attended more to toys with gender-associations that were consistent with their own sex, suggesting that social and object salience increases for children under sex-consistent conditions. Importantly, ASD and typically developing (TD) children increased their gaze to faces when male actors were shown playing with female-associated toys, suggesting that both groups of children are sensitive to societal messages about the acceptability of males playing with female-associated toys. Our findings provide further evidence of heightened attention to faces in ASD girls relative to ASD boys, and indicate that social attention in ASD and TD children is influenced by who (male or female actor) and what (male- or female-associated toy) is being observed. Collectively, these results present a nuanced profile of attention in ASD that adds to a growing body of research indicating subtle phenotypic differences in ASD girls that may impact identification, assessment, and intervention. Autism Res 2020, 13: 763-776.. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Sex differences observed in typical development may also be present in individuals with autism. In this study, we developed an eye-tracking paradigm featuring videos of boys and girls playing with toys that varied in their gender associations. Attention to faces differed between autistic and non-autistic children but was also influenced by the sex of the actor and gender-association of toys. Autistic females demonstrated subtle attention differences that distinguished them from autistic males and may influence referral, diagnosis, and intervention.

Lesbian women disrupting gendered, heteronormative discourses of motherhood, marriage, and divorce

Despite shifts in societal attitudes, lesbian women who separate and divorce still must cope with recriminating societal messages that blame and condemn them for not conforming to the gendered heteronormative dictate of married motherhood. Guided by feminist theory, we conducted a qualitative analysis of narratives from 17 adoptive lesbian mothers who had dissolved their relationship. The women’s narratives revealed five cultural discourses that they variously embraced, resisted, or disrupted: (1) the ideology of the good mother; (2) divorce is bad for children; (3) marriage is the ideal way to live; (4) couples should stay together for the children; and (5) lesbian ex-lovers should be lifelong friends. All women embraced the cultural belief in “the good mother,” which is the linchpin of gendered oppression, but they were much more disruptive regarding the remaining four discourses surrounding marriage, divorce, and lesbian relationships. Their assessments of life after separation revealed that divorce can actually be better than marriage for their children; marriage is often overrated; having children can complicate a marriage; and remaining friends with one’s ex-partner is not always desirable. The feminist tenet that oppression and agency coexist was revealed as the women both engaged and resisted dominant cultural narratives in order to navigate the dilemmas of crafting a new life for themselves and their children post-divorce.