Self-image Of Women Research Articles

Islamic Cultural Nationalism and Gender Politics in Iran

Over two decades of women's resistance and ceaseless efforts to overcome gender barriers in post-revolutionary Iran demonstrate that developmentalist policies of the ancien régime positively changed women's self-image and expectations. Regardless of the incomplete, deformed and debased character of modernisation forces, they opened possibilities for women that the new regime has not been able to take back through re-Islamisation policies, whether by persuasion or coercion. More important than small successes in pushing back the Islamists’ offensives is women's new-found confidence in challenging the Muslim reformists’ position on issues of women's rights, exposing the limits of reforms achievable under a religious state.

A Recipe for Remembrance: Memory and Identity in African-American Women's Cookbooks

This essay explores how recipes and associated text validate African-American women's self-image and resist dominant cultural memory in three cookbooks produced by the National Council of Negro Women in the 1990s. The aim is to establish how these cookbooks function rhetorically as memory texts: to memorialize both individuals and community, to invoke "memory beyond mind," and to generate a sense of collective memory that in turn shapes communal memory.

Moving away from facades: in-depth interviews with subjectively healthy women diagnosed with distress

Objectives: To gain a deeper understanding of why women, diagnosed with mental distress, reported good physical and mental health. What could the reason be and how did they feel four to five years later? Method: In-depth interviews were conducted with seven women; age 33 to 52, who worked in a Swedish male-dominated industry. The methodological approach relied on grounded theory. Results: A conceptual model was generated in the analysis, describing a temporal process of change in the women's self-image. Three core concepts illuminated this process: (1) maintaining an ideal self-image, (2) waking up/reappraising health and (3) struggling for a realistic self. The women were moving away from facades of meeting social expectations and pleasing others toward trusting and setting boundaries for themselves. Moving away from symptoms such as asthma, migraine and infections, as well as family problems, they felt and hoped that they had more control over their lives. Conclusions: A conceptual model was proposed to illustrate a temporal change in women's self-image related to their changing perception of health. Women's new way of life challenges the support system within organizations and society.

Healthy Living and Keeping Busy

Menopause is a complex time in the lives of mid-aged women, and this contributes to the diversity of attributions of menopausal experience. In this study, participants' comments on a survey of attitudes about menopause were analyzed discursively to consider how mid-aged women account for their own and other women's experience of menopause. Two discourses drawn upon to make attributions about menopausal experience were identified. Women account for menopausal experience either by reporting a range of healthy habits such as good diet and exercise or by suggesting women can overcome menopause with a “get-on-with-it” approach to life. These discourses construct women as social actors within a moral order in which the absence of menopausal symptoms is an indicator of virtuous behavior, and health is a moral imperative. The way these attributions of menopausal experience position mid-aged women has important implications for women's self-image and health-seeking behaviors.

South Asian Canadian Women: A Contemporary Portrait

Themes emerging from a comprehensive review of empirical studies of South Asian immi grant women in Canada are identified. These reflect on the dynamics of the women's cultural adaptation and evaluation of self-image, placed within the perspective of Canada's historic attitudes toward South Asian immigration and recent demographics. The four sources of change in the women's self-image include their new dualistic world-view, described by psych ologist Josephine Naidoo, involving both traditional values in family life and western values of personal development. Naidoo's conceptualisation parallels Harry Triandis' collectivist- individualist "balance" and John Berry's integrative acculturation. For sociologist Helen Ralston, the trauma of migration increases the saliency of religion in "sacralising" the women's identity. Intergenerational conflict arises from a preference for arranged over romantic marriages in South Asian cultures. The emotional strain on immigrant brides and their parents impacts on the self perceptions of both. Similarly, gender oppression, sex exploitation, classism and racism rooted in ancestral-host cultures also impact on the women's self perceptions. The article suggests drawing on indigenous concepts in studying South Asian cultures. It asserts that Canada's historic accommodation of diversity assures a promising future for South Asian Canadian women.

Peri- and postmenopausal changes--body awareness, sexuality, and self- image of the middle-aged and older woman

INTRODUCTION, METHODS: For the first time a study has been made, in a German urban population, of sexuality, body awareness and self-image of women between 50 and 82 years. A special anonymous questionnaire was designed by female gynaecologists and psychologists for this cross-sectional study in Munich. It focuses on body awareness, self imagery, sexual activity and psychological and physiological sexual feeling in their biographic context. 102 women took part. 53.9% are sexually active and 74.5% think of themselves as "a knowing woman", "middle aged" or "in the best years". Self perception of the body as being attractive correlates highly significantly with the psychological well-being. There is no correlation between women's psychological well-being and the perception of their general beauty. Women who find their body attractive think of themselves as more sensual than those, who do not find their body attractive. General and bodily perception of beauty are negatively correlated to the body mass index. Here, 61.8% of the women think they are overweight, but only 41.2 % have a body mass index over 25. 12.9% were sexually abused, and another 8.8% do not want to answer this question. There is a strong correlation between fear and sexual abuse. Only about 50% of the women speak about their sexuality and, of them, only 9.8% speak with their gynaeclologist. Sexuality is very important for the middle-aged and older woman, their body perception is as sensitive as in younger women and is of enormous importance for their psychological well-being. A Sexual history should be obligatory for older women. Fear of the examination can be a hint towards sexual abuse and should be taken seriously. All therapeutic interventions such as medication or operations should be discussed, and the patient's sexual wishes and expectations have to be taken into consideration.

The bottom line: Care of the perineum must be improved

In the UK, around 750000 women will give birth each year. Of these, 525000 (approximately 70%) will sustain perineal trauma and will require stitches (Kettle and Johanson, 2000a). It is generally accepted that most of these women will experience perineal pain immediately after delivery and in the short term. What is not generally known is that long-term perineal pain and dyspareunia can affect around 20% or 120750 women who have sustained perineal trauma a year (Kettle and Johanson, 2000a). This may impact on a woman's self-image, her sexuality, her relationship with her baby and can ultimately adversely affect the couple's relationship. This article will focus on this ill-researched but highly pertinent issue of women's health. It includes possible methods of preventing perineal trauma, the continuing debate concerning episiotomy versus spontaneous tearing and issues surrounding repair of the perineum. A future article will discuss the treatment of perineal pain and discomfort and practical help for women suffering dyspareunia.

The breast reconstruction advocacy project: One woman can make a difference

I n 1996, an estimated 182,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, making it the most common form of cancer among women in the United States. Statistics show a woman’s lifetime risk of contracting breast cancer, if she lives to be 85, is one out of nine, or 11% of our population. It is estimated that 46,000 women will die of breast cancer in 1996, making it the second major cause of death among women after lung cancer. Recent advances in breast cancer management have allowed most women to be treated with the breast-conserving technique of lumpectomy followed by radiation. However, a significant percentage of women with breast cancer must undergo mastectomy, or amputation, of their breasts to treat their disease most appropriately. Some women adapt well to the breast amputation, but some feel desperately mutilated. It is not a question of age or beauty, as many older women are more devastated by the loss of a breast than a younger woman. Because of its role as a secondary sexual organ, the breast plays an important role in the self-image of women. For many women, therefore, the loss of a breast as a result of cancer can also mean a loss of part of their sexual identity. For these women, breast reconstruction is extretnely itnportant to restore their sense of wholeness and well-being. In 1993, 2 years after I started my plastic surgery practice, a 34-year-old woman came to me as a patient requesting bilateral breast reconstruction following her bilateral mastectomies. The insurance company denied payment for the procedure, stating that it was not medically necessary. Soon afterward, another patient was denied coverage for breast reconstruction. This time the insurance company justified the denial by contending there was no reason to restore an organ that has no function. At this point I felt that something needed to be done. Insurance companies will pay for reconstruction of other body parts, such as an ear, nose, hip, or a knee after an accident or cancer surgery. The breast is the only body part that is subjected to this discrimination. I therefore began looking into the possibility of passing federal legislation to guarantee that women can receive insurance coverage for breast reconstruction. After the Federal Health Care Reform Plan failed in 1995, however, it became evident that

The Influence of Television Images on Black Females' Self-Perceptions of Physical Attractiveness

This article examines the role television images play in African American women's perceptions of their own physical attractiveness. The significance physical attractiveness can carry, in general, is discussed in relation to age, gender, and race. Several studies investigating the psychological effects of idealized media images of beauty are presented and reviewed. In general, these studies indicate that a woman 's self-image and satisfaction with her own appearance can be influenced by these media images. However, the bulk of the research conducted within this area hasfailed tofocus on these issues with regard to Black women, and anecdotal and inferential data, as well as literary sources, strongly suggest that many African American women painfully struggle with the present culturally sanctioned, exclusionary images of beauty. The purpose of this article is to raise awareness and stimulateformal investigation into the possible psychological effects of media images in relation to African American women. Several research questions are posed. Suggestions are outlined that may assist parents, educators, and clinicians in prevention of transmitting this toxic, pervasive issue.

The content of mother stereotypes

Although there is considerable empirical support for the existence of social stereotypes about different types of mothers, the content of those stereotypes is less clear. The purpose of this study was to identify the content of stereotypes related to different “types” of mothers. Stereotyped attributes of married mothers, stepmothers, divorced mothers, and never married mothers were generated by several samples and combined into one list. A subsequent sample was asked to indicate the percentage of each type of mother possessing each characteristic. The content of mother stereotypes was examined, and the results discussed in light of effects on social interactions, the self-image of women, and future attempts to assess family-related stereotypes.

An Evaluation of the Impact of a Cosmetics Class on Breast Cancer Patients

This article reports the findings from an evaluation of Ihe "Look Good, Feel Better" program, a cosmetics class designed to restore the appearance and self-image of women with cancer. The participants were 121 women who were hospitalized for breast surgery. A quasiexperimental design was used in which 45 patients (experimental group) who participated in a class in early afternoon were compared with 76 patients who had not yet participated in a later class. The results indicated that patients in the experimental group reported significantly greater improvements in their mood and perceptions of their attractiveness when compared with the control group. These findings provided preliminary support for the benefits of the program for breast cancer patients.

Physical activity and adolescent female psychological development

This study explored the relationship between self-reported past and present physical activity levels and high school adolescent women's self-image, sense of mastery, gender role identity, self-perceived physical ability, and self-perceived attractiveness. The Offer Self-image Questionnaire and the Bem Sex Role Inventory were administered to 149 high school adolescent women who were categorized as either physically active, physically inactive, decreasing in physical activity, or increasing physical activity. Results indicated the physically active group members reported self-image and coping characteristics that were significantly more positive than those reported by the physically inactive group members. They also reported significantly more masculine and feminine characteristics and higher physical ability ratings than inactive group members. The decreased activity group did not differ from any of the other groups. These results suggest that physical activity in adolescence, in comparison with physical inactivity, is associated with healthier emotional expression and emotional control, and higher levels of perceived mastery and coping skills for adolescent women. A decrease in physical activity over the course of adolescence does not necessarily result in psychological distress for adolescent women.

Gender role biases on Indian television.

Gender role biases in Indian television have served to reinforce and even enhance the degradation of women in the broader society. A content analysis of 20 news programs, 20 fictionalized serials, and 100 commercials conducted over a 3-week period in 1988 indicated that women are portrayed as victims, caretakers, and sex objects while men are presented as masters, doers, and intellectuals. Of the 400 hours of news programs studied, men newsmakers accounted for 71% of the content while women were featured in only 10% of the segments. Even then, women's portrayal in the news tended to center on their roles as beneficiaries of welfare schemes, victims of accidents, or as the wives of male dignitaries. Fictionalized dramas reinforced the sex role stereotypes of men as decisive, assertive, dominant, and career- oriented, and of women as emotionally dependent, eager to please, sentimental, and primarily concerned with family relationships. Female characters in these series were most often housewives, secretaries, teachers, or nurses. Women were featured more often (56% of content) than men in Indian commercials, yet were shown performing stereotyped female activities such as shopping, preparing meals, and dressing to obtain the sexual approval of men. This sex role stereotyping in the media is seriously impeding the struggles of women in India to achieve economic and political autonomy. To promote more positive role modeling and change women's self-image, Indian television must move immediately to portray women achieving self-realization through their careers and social participation and to depict cooperation between men and women in performing household chores.

Single Mothers in Canada: An Analysis

This paper explores the social context of single mothers in Canada. Areas of concern in the literature include role strain (both at home and at work), poverty, employment, and the inaccessibility of child care. Past interventions for single mothers at the governmental, organizational, and individual levels are discussed. These include strategies to reduce the numbers of single-parent families living below the poverty line, to ensure greater flexibility for single mothers in the workforce, and to improve the overall self-image of women through further education, assertiveness training, and confidence building. Finally, the authors make recommendations for policy changes and future interventions, proposing a strategy which combines elements of the Employment Resource Program, an innovative model used in a mid-size Ontario city, and the former Vancouver Opportunities program. The model employs self-help techniques, career counselling and job training, child care and financial assistance.

Ovarian carcinoma: Management of stress in patients and physicians

A discussion of the management of ovarian cancer invariably involves the problems of death and dying faced by the patient, her family, and her physician. This paper attempts to deal with the general fears, anxieties, and problems of terminality, and also places attention on specific issues involved in living with the ongoing disease and its treatments. Focus is on the effects of the disease on the woman's self-image, on her family and relationships, on life outside the hospital, and on her relationship with her attending physician. Specific problems relating to the periods of (1) diagnosis, (2) operative management and treatment, and (3) terminality are discussed. Understanding the psychosocial realities of the patient provides the physician with added insights into methods to assist the patient in adaptation and coping with this ultimately fatal disease.

Psychological androgyny and aspects of self-image in women and men

Although psychological androgyny has been theoretically related to greater interpersonal and situational adaptability, the relationship between the two has not been articulated. The present study hypothesized that the superior adaptability of psychologically androgynous persons would be evidenced in a coping style characterized by high self-monitoring, internal locus of control, and positive expectations of achievement and affiliation success. To assess this relationship, the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and seven self-report measures were completed by 236 college men and women. Analyses of variance, with participants categorized according to sex-role style, and multiple regression analyses of the BSRI femininity and masculinity scale scores for females and males on each of the self-report measures were conducted to test androgyny theory and alternative predictions. The analyses indicated that the predominance of masculine traits accounted more often than a combination of masculine and feminine traits for the more adaptive scores for both women and men. Only for expectations of affiliation success among women was there clear support for psychological androgyny theory.

Evil necessity? The meaning of benzodiazepine use for women patients from one general practice

Recently there has been rising concern about the cost to the National Health Service of widespread prescribing of psychotropic drugs like benzodiazepines.' The possibility that the latter drugs are being used beyond what is considered to be their pharmacologically effective life and are addictive^ raises all sorts of questions about their meaning for the patients who consume them so persistently'' and for the GPs who repeatedly prescribe them.* The meaning of use from the patients' point of view has rarely been explored in the literature, two notable exceptions being studies by Helman^-* and Cooperstock and Lennard'' of chronic benzodiazepine users of all ages. Helman interviewed GPs' patients using a standardised questionnaire and focused in one article,^ on how these patients came to see taking beni^odiazepines as acceptable. He suggested that they used such drugs to enable themselves to sustain a rather idealised view of their social roles. Cooperstock and Lennard similarly concluded that their groups of volunteers who discussed benzodiazepine use saw it as enabling them to manage being wives and mothers. In a more recent article^ Helman went further in investigating the relationship long-term users had to benzodiazepines. He classified the drugs' function as being one of either fuel, food or tonic and pointed out that these drugs do not have unitary meaning for patients. The interim findings reported here come from a pilot study which is part of a larger, DHSS-funded project on the meaning of benzodiazepine use, now in the final stages of completion. We decided to publish these findings at this point because we feel they are of interest and because they seem to be borne out by subsequent data we have gathered. We have selected middle-aged, white,* women patients (aged 40-59 years) to study, because they represent one of the largest categories of benzodiazepine user.' Our approach differs from the studies referred to above in three main ways: first, we compare inductively established types of benzodiazepine 'users' with 'non-users';'" second, we are concerned to

Some correlates of women's Self-Image and Stereotypes of Femininity

An expanded version of the Gordon Self-Image and Stereotypes of Femininity scale was administered to a sample of 362 female nursing personnel. Factor structure of the scale was found to closely approximate that of the Gordon sample. Numerous significant relationships of self-image dimensions to affective responses, experienced role stresses, demographic measures, and personality indices were isolated. However, perceptions of males' image, doctors' image, and own image of a feminine woman were generally unrelated to these measures. Further, examination of discrepancies between self-image dimensions and self and others' stereotypes of a feminine woman along these dimensions did not aid in explaining variance in affective responses or experienced role stresses. Implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.

Forced Motherhood in Italy

When men do favor birth control (usually for purely economic reasons) they seek to control every phase of it. A thirty-twoyear-old Roman woman with six children, seven abortions, and fifteen years of marriage told this story: Last week my husband and I fought because he said that there were some vaginal suppositories missing from the box. I told him that was impossible. You know what he did? He locked up those damned suppositories and he keeps the key on him.7 In spite of male opposition, many women do take contraception into their own hands. The pill is preferred because it can be taken in secret. However, taking the pill in Italy does not mean that your contraceptive problems are over. Italian doctors prescribe the pill in the following manner: three months on the pill followed by one month off to give the ovaries a rest. There is no scientific evidence to prove that this way of taking the pill is beneficial to women. Many women become pregnant during the rest period. Although they are told to be careful, women are not usually given alternative forms of contraception. The rest period is beneficial only to doctors who seem to need the reassurance that the ovaries of their patients are still functioning properly and that their patients are fertile. Although younger women often know quite a lot about birth control, they are still deeply influenced by the traditional image of Italian women. The idea that pregnancy is a woman's natural state has left its mark on them. There are two important factors influencing this idea: the Catholic concept of sin, and women's self-image. The Catholic idea that sex is sinful has been popularly reinterpreted to mean that somehow it is less sinful when one runs the risk of pregnancy or abortion. Besides this, many young women fear to use birth control because they are afraid that they might be sterile. They seem to need pregnancy to prove to themselves that they are fertile. Even if they have no intention of having a child, fertility still remains the yardstick of womanhood. Italian women have been brought up to center their lives on men. They accept male pleasure and sexual standards as their own. They defend their man's idea that intercourse should be spontaneous and natural and that mechanical birth control devices get in the way, while at the same time frequently admitting that they are terrified of the idea of pregnancy. A twentythree-year-old woman who had an unwanted child and an abortion, both within two years' time was asked at a self-help meeting why she didn't use contraception. Her answer: I'm afraid to take

Where Are We Now? Some Thoughts on the Current Scene

Although not as yet fully implemented, laws, executive orders, administrative rulings, and court decisions are now available for dealing with the more blatant forms of discrimination against women. But we do not as yet have protection against the subtler forms–the exclusionary “stag effect,” for example, and the putdown–which can have equally damaging effects. Research is called for to document just how the self-image of women is injured by these forms of behavior and how their professional careers are prejudiced by them. Collective coping mechanisms are called for. Recourse to the courts may be called for in some cases, but in others these subtle forms of bahvior that have discriminatory consequences for women are inadvertent and require primarily that we call attention to them.