Woman Culture Research Articles

Effect of Vitamin C Exposure to Fibroblast Cells on Woman Uterosacral Ligament Culture

Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) occurs when the uterosacral ligaments weaken. Vitamin C plays a major role in forming the extracellular matrix (collagen) and stimulates fibroblast cell proliferation. This study aimed to examine how a woman's uterosacral ligament culture was affected by vitamin C exposure to fibroblast cells. A straightforward experimental design investigation that is non-blind and includes analysis after exposure (Post-test control group design). This study's sample used uterosacral ligament from a woman who underwent at least two vaginal deliveries through a hysterectomy procedure. Several doses of vitamin C were given and repeated for 72 hours, followed by examining the number of fibroblast cells; then, the data was analyzed starting with the parametric prerequisite test and the one-way ANOVA test. There was a significant effect of vitamin C exposure on fibroblast cells of the uterosacral ligament at a dose of 50 μg/ml and 100 μg/ml. In contrast, at doses of 150 μg/ml and 200 μg/ml, there was no significant effect. From this study, it is hoped that the administration of vitamin C according to the optimal dose found in the study (significant impact at doses of 50 μg/ml and 100 μg/ml, can increase the proliferation of fibroblast matrix supporting the sacrouterine ligament in women, to prevent prolapse of the pelvic organs in women, and can maintain the quality of life of women.

<em>“All I Do is Win . . . No Matter What”: Low-Income, African American Single Mothers and their Collegiate Daughters’ Unrelenting Academic Achievement</em>

In 1965 Daniel Moynihan, on behalf of United States, declared single-mothered home the source of most of aberrant, inadequate, or anti-social behavior that . . . serves to perpetuate cycle of poverty and deprivation (p. 30) among African Americans. Damning family a matriarchy, Moynihan (1965) fueled charred minds of national constituents concerned with Negro woman's familial position and alleged dominance. Fifty years later, scholars extoll single-mothers as stalwart household leaders (Jones et al., 2007) fostering independence (Mandara, Varner, & Richman, 2010), resilience (Billingsley, 1974; Brodsky, 2000), and strength (Hill, 1999; Turnage, 2004), particularly among their daughters (J. W. Scott, 1993; K. Scott, 2003; Shook et al., 2010).While research exists unmasking African American single mothers, their likely trials, as well as their rearing 51% of African American children (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013), little research explains how these mothers instill academic excellence in their collegiate daughters. Without such an analysis we remain subject to superficial education policies and mis-educating African American children, which fosters a cyclical breeding ground for ineffective teaching practices, misunderstanding, and inequity. This article seeks to support recent research by exploring heretofore hidden affair between single-mothers' parenting acts and their daughter's unrelenting academic achievement. Essentially, this inquiry ascertains collegeenrolled daughters' interpretations of their African American single mother's parenting acts, and how they win despite confounding circumstances.BLACK FEMINIST THOUGHTHistorically, society has suppressed Black woman's notion of truth due to its lacking an association with a conceptually validated epistemological premise. Black Feminist Thought (Hill Collins, 1989) validates Black woman's lived experiences as unique, distinct, and knowledge-based, despite their incongruence with mainstream White masculine thought. Furthermore, Black Feminist Thought seeks to discredit dominant group metanarrative by rearticulating and validating view and interpretations of world through Black woman's culture and traditions. Theories are based on interests and cultural perceptions of its creator (Hill Collins, 1989); therefore, need for Black female scholars to research and interpret experiences of Black women. Such is framework from which this inquiry is based.THE LITERATUREAfrican American Single-MotherhoodAfrican American families encompass an estimated 9,808,000 households across nation, 37% of which are led by single mothers raising their own children (U. S. Census Bureau, 2013). Between 2010-2011 single African American women gave birth at rates twice as high as their married peers (U. S. Census, 2012), resulting in over 51% of these 11,086,000 children residing in single-mothered households (U. S. Census Bureau, 2013). These mothers, averaging 38.4 years of age (U. S. Census Bureau, 2013), unquestionably bear brunt of raising African American progeny.More than 49% of African American daughters are raised by their single mother (U. S. Census Bureau, 2013). Scholars declare mother-daughter relationship is one of strongest, closest, and most impactful in human relationships-greatly influencing daughter's self-esteem, autonomy, abstention from illicit substances and sex, family loyalty, and marriage among other factors (De La Rosa et al., 2010; Gilford & Reynolds, 2011; Merten & Henry, 2011; Morris, 2007; Townsend, 2008). Single African American mothers are noted for differentially socializing their sons and daughters, resulting in varying degrees of maturity. While sons are encouraged to exemplify egalitarianism, and permitted to embrace their household freedom, daughters assume increased household responsibilities, hold higher educational expectations, and endure abridged freedom (Mandara, Varner, & Richman, 2010). …

Midwifery Provision of Home Birth Services: American College of Nurse-Midwives.

The number of women in the United States choosing to give birth at home has risen substantially in the past decade, creating an increased need for understanding of the evidence regarding the provision of midwifery care to women and families considering this option. The safety of home birth has been evaluated in observational studies in several industrialized nations, including the United States. Most studies find that women who are essentially healthy at term with a singleton fetus and give birth at home have positive outcomes and a lower rate of interventions during labor. Although some studies have found increased neonatal morbidity and mortality in newborns born at home when compared to newborns born in a hospital, the absolute numbers reported in both birth sites are very low. The purpose of this clinical bulletin is to review the evidence on provision of care to women and families who plan to give birth at home, including roles and responsibilities, shared decision making, informed consent, and ongoing assessment for birth site selection.

Menopause.

Menopause is an inevitable component of ageing and encompasses the loss of ovarian reproductive function, either occurring spontaneously or secondary to other conditions. It is not yet possible to accurately predict the onset of menopause, especially early menopause, to give women improved control of their fertility. The decline in ovarian oestrogen production at menopause can cause physical symptoms that may be debilitating, including hot flushes and night sweats, urogenital atrophy, sexual dysfunction, mood changes, bone loss, and metabolic changes that predispose to cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The individual experience of the menopause transition varies widely. Important influential factors include the age at which menopause occurs, personal health and wellbeing, and each woman's environment and culture. Management options range from lifestyle assessment and intervention through to hormonal and non-hormonal pharmacotherapy, each of which has specific benefits and risks. Decisions about therapy for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women depend on symptomatology, health status, immediate and long-term health risks, personal life expectations, and the availability and cost of therapies. More effective and safe therapies for the management of menopausal symptoms need to be developed, particularly for women who have absolute contraindications to hormone therapy. For an illustrated summary of this Primer, visit: http://go.nature.com/BjvJVX.

Cultural Production of a Decolonial Imaginary for a Young Chicana: Lessons from Mexican Immigrant Working-Class Woman's Culture

Chicanas and Mexican women share a history of colonialism that has (a) sustained oppressive constructions of gender roles and sexuality, (b) produced and reproduced them as racially inferior and as able to be silenced, conquered, and dominated physically and mentally, and (c) contributed to the exploitation of their labor. Given that colonialism has also come to shape the way young women of Mexican heritage learn in mainstream US schools, informal education from everyday women's conviviality and solidarity becomes a pivotal context in which they can learn how to reconstitute colonial legacies. We examine how a group of Mexican working-class immigrant women at home and in a sweatshop fashion a girl named Ana, the main character in the popular film Real Women Have Curves, into a confident young woman who engages in what Pérez (1999, 2003) refers to as empowering and dynamic decolonial ways of seeing, knowing, doing, being, and reconstituting. In spite of its contradictions that, at times, assist in reproducing Ana as an oppressed laborer, it is their doing that helps produce her as a woman who engages in decolonial practices by facilitating her to deftly negotiate an oppressive economic and patriarchal space, a mainstream feminist space, and a space where their embodiments and creative cultural discourse, practices, and beliefs shine. As such, the film provides a powerful counterstory (Delgado 1989) that disrupts the chokehold of the logic of colonialism and how it seeks to classify, stereotype, and control young women like Ana.

Risk factors for breast cancer in East Asian women relative to women in the West

AbstractThe incidence of breast cancer in women of East Asian ancestry (Chinese, Japanese and Korean) is lower than in women of European ancestry but is currently rising. This review explores potential reasons for this inter‐ethnic difference in incidence by profiling breast cancer risk factors reported for East Asian and Western women. Factors such as endogenous hormone exposure, lifestyle choices, diet and genetic predisposition are associated with breast cancer risk in both East Asian and Western women. However, the relative exposure to these risk factors may vary according to a woman's geographical ancestry and culture. For example, age at menarche and menopause, parity, breast‐feeding history, low fat and high soy consumption as well as the prevalence of high risk genetic alleles may vary with a woman's geographical ancestry and/or culture. Differences in exposure to these risk factors in East Asian and Western women are consistent with the inter‐ethnic differences in breast cancer incidence observed. Understanding the underlying factors contributing to differences in the profile of breast cancer across populations is important when considering screening and prevention programs for East Asian women resident in the East or the West.

Sand's La Mare Au Diable, Awakening through "Evil" and the Hero's Journey

The theme of evil implicit in Sand's title and confirmed by her quotation from Genesis found above a woodcarving of Holbein points to the hero's journey in La Mare au diable (1846). This narrative device explains the transformation of Germain in the devil's pond as the shock of awakening from depression and from a false innocence by an encounter with the Shadow. Sand's portrayal of evil as a necessary encounter in the journey to maturity shows intuitive insight. The transformation of her hero upon exiting from the woods is confirmed by his acceptance of rejection and by his subsequent realization of a Warrior's energy in the defense of Marie, a precondition to attaining the Lover's stature. His service to love and the mediation of woman's culture lead to marriage and to self-integration celebrated in a closing scene of poetic union between earth and heaven bearing witness to Germain's new consciousness of nature's beauty and the gift of life.

Screening and early detection among racial and ethnic minority women.

To highlight sociocultural factors reported to influence and strategies to promote breast and cervical cancer screening and early detection behaviors of racial and ethnic minority women. Published articles, book chapters, and reports. The most successful strategies for promoting screening and early detection among racial and ethnic minority women are collaborative and include approaches that are culturally sensitive and appropriate. Intercultural and intracultural differences in racial and ethnic minority women challenge nurses to explore strategies that focus on the health care provider, the health care delivery system, and the individual woman within the context of the woman's culture.

‘Sable venus’, ‘she devil’ or ‘drudge’? British slavery and the ‘fabulous fiction’ of black women's identities, c. 1650–1838

In this article, the author addresses the problem of how much historians can understand about the identities of individuals living in a different epoch in time, in relation to what has been termed the ‘fabulous fiction’ of black women's identities in slavery and freedom. A central argument is that stereotypes of black women were highly gendered and clustered around contradictory representations, particularly the ‘Sable Venus’, ‘She Devil’ and passive ‘drudge’. Thus, the persistence of an African-centred ‘woman's culture’ and strategies of resistance, collaboration and survival are vital to understanding black women's self-defined (as opposed to white attributed) identities. The first section examines the relationship between gender, race and culture in the mediation of African and slave women's identities. This is followed by a critical deconstruction of the ‘Sable Venus’ and interrelated black and white gendered identities in colonial slave society. The final section analyses the importance of the ‘She Devil’ in representing the resistant slave woman who defied the ‘fabulous fiction’ of white stereotyping of black women. A wide time span is adopted in order to analyse how black women's relationship to the gendered power structures underpinning colonial slavery shifted over time, as did ‘white visions’ of their identities. Unifying themes are the central location black women had in the development of colonial relations between black and white and the implications of contact at the harsh interface of African and European cultures for black women's gendered identities.

The reign of peace.

This commentary on A New Chance of Human Peaceableness? affirms Elise Boulding as an eminent scholar, educator, advocate, practitioner, and believer in a God of peace. There are two parts to this commentary: (a) peace is in the heart, and (b) peace is at hand. The first part takes up the concepts of peace, harmony, and conflict from a feminist viewpoint. It cites how inner peace is achieved in the healing process of survivors of exploitation. It gives credit to Elise Boulding as a peace educator who draws from traditional practices and woman's culture. The second part focuses on the signs of hope that substantiate Kenneth Boulding's statement, What exists is possible. These are current happenings such as (a) taking a stand as citizens, (b) mobilizing grass-roots, advocacy and service-oriented nongovernmental organizations, (c) forging global partnerships to meet supranational challenges, (d) having wider support for a stronger United Nations; and (e) imaging among faith communities.

Promoting gynecologic health in young and middle-age women.

A holistic approach to gynecologic health addresses more than the physical problems associated with the reproductive organs and breasts. The article presents information about selected gynecologic health issues for young and middle-age women (17 to 60 years) in a context that considers other aspects of the client, such as the woman's age, life style, health behaviors, culture and ethnicity, and education. Strategies to promote gynecologic health are discussed in relation to these aspects.

Poetry and Women's Culture in Late Imperial China: Editor's Introduction

POETRY AND WOMEN'S CULTURE IN LATE IMPERIAL CHINA: EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION Charlotte Fürth The essays which make up this symposium were first presented at a daylong meeting of the Southern California China Colloquium gathered at UCLA on October 20, 1990.1 It brought together for the first time in the Anglophone scholarly community feminist researchers who were exploring writings by Chinese from the late Ming and early to mid-Qing dynasties (c. 1600-1800). If scholarship on gender issues in China before the twentieth century is no longer a novelty, the present research breaks new ground in its recovery of a very substantial body of literary production by late imperial upper-class women. The collaboration of historians and literary scholars makes it possible for us to hear the literary "voices" of these women through the classical poetry they wrote, and so to explore their intellectual and social worlds in new depth.2 The introduction of women's self-representations makes possible a more sophisticated analysis of historical discourses in which women were involved and gender was constructed, while also opening up new avenues for cross-cultural comparison. The Problem of "Women's Culture" To talk of "women's culture" is to raise basic interpretive questions about the place women have occupied in the creation and transmission of the culture of a major historical civilization like that of China. Women alone neither produced such historically-dominant cultures, nor as subordinates have they shared in them in an unambiguous way. The term "women's culture" as it emerged in American feminist discourse in the 1970s carried with it holistic connotations—implying that women as a gender are a solidarity group like a 1FOr their sponsorship of the original symposium, thanks are owed to the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies, the USC East Asian Studies Center, the UCLA Center for the Study of Women, the UCLA Center for Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Studies, and the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation. 2Research in English has built upon work in the 1980s by scholars in China, notably Hu Wenkai. Besides the contributors to this issue, Kang-i Sun Chang, Grace Fong, Paul Ropp, Pauline Yu and others are already actively adding to the English language scholarship on learned and literary Chinese women. Late Imperial China Vol. 13, No. 1 (June 1992): 1-8© by the Society for Qing Studies 1 2 Charlotte Fürth social class or a race and that these other social cleavages do not fundamentally divide them. It was part of a rhetoric of protest: the search in separation for a sphere of autonomy, a wellspring of creativity, or alternatively an arena where protest or subversion might deploy. The feminist concept of "separate spheres," on the other hand, is more accommodative. It draws attention to those activities and creations of women which men have had no special interest in—whether women's religious activities, rituals, crafts, social networks or domestic skills. Further, it points to those activities of women marked as legitimate in a social/cultural division of labor approved by patriarchial or other male-dominated orthodoxy. In choosing the umbrella of "women's culture" in this symposium, we have had to ask questions about these fundamental problems of the relationship of male and female spheres. Research about women writing in late imperial China places them in an arena which is at the center of the production of Confucian civilization. Writing, for Chinese men, was an ontologically central and civilization-defining activity. It was also a public social practice which legitimized careers and through which men competed for status. Therefore women entering this arena were especially dependent upon a language which they did not create. As writers, women had to define themselves in terms of a long established canonical literary tradition (poetical genres like ci and shi, traditions of classical scholarship like those surrounding the Book of Odes, and even tropes like willow and plum). Here we found it especially difficult to talk about a separate woman's culture or even sphere. What the literary production itself—the poems and letters—appeared to reveal was the presence of a woman's voice or voices. A major theme of all four essays...

African-American Women's History and the Metalanguage of Race

PT-P HEORETICAL DISCUSSION in African-American women's history begs for greater voice. I say this as a black woman who is cognizant of the strengths and limitations of current feminist theory. Feminist scholars have moved rapidly forward in addressing theories of subjectivity, questions of difference, the construction of social relations as relations of power, the conceptual implications of binary oppositions such as male versus female or equality versus difference-all issues defined with relevance to gender and with potential for intellectual and social transformations.l Notwithstanding a few notable exceptions, this new wave of feminist theorists finds little to say about race. The general trend has been to mention black and Third World feminists who first called attention to the glaring fallacies in essentialist analysis and to claims of a homogeneous womanhood, woman's culture, and patriarchal oppression of women.2 Beyond this recognition, however, white feminist scholars pay hardly more than

Culture et pouvoir des femmes : essai d'historiographie

Les « traversées du désert » et les formes d'existence actuelles de l'histoire des femmes rendent compte de façon explicite de sa place dans la discipline historique ; elles éclairent en partie le choix des objets qu'à présent l'histoire se donne, et sa façon particulière de les traiter. Depuis dix ans, des déplacements importants se sont opérés dans la façon d'identifier et d'analyser les objets historiques. A l'intérieur de ce large mouvement, sur lequel jusqu'à ce jour peu de réflexions ont été menées, l'histoire des femmes a été ballottée entre des systèmes très variés d'exclusion, de tolérance et à présent de banalisation, dont il semble important de rendre compte.