Women Of South Asian Descent Research Articles

Stranded: Indian Travelling Ayahs Negotiating Waiting and Repatriation

The expansion of the British Empire facilitated movement across the globe for both colonisers and colonised. This article focuses on the experiences of travelling ayahs (servants and nannies) who travelled with colonial families both within and outside the British Empire. This study expands on the previous literature to focus on the experiences of ayahs in Britain and the rest of Europe under unusually difficult situations of waiting brought about by events at both global and individual levels: at the global level, the outbreak of the world wars and at the individual level, the actions of irresponsible employers who abandoned their ayahs in foreign countries. In so doing, the article contributes to a nuanced understanding of how the ayahs navigated waiting as gendered subjects, and simultaneously, how they actively attempted to craft their repatriation in the context of the highly gendered expectations attached to women of South Asian descent on the move.

The genetic risk of gestational diabetes in South Asian women.

South Asian women are at increased risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Few studies have investigated the genetic contributions to GDM risk. We investigated the association of a type 2 diabetes (T2D) polygenic risk score (PRS), on its own, and with GDM risk factors, on GDM-related traits using data from two birth cohorts in which South Asian women were enrolled during pregnancy. 837 and 4372 pregnant South Asian women from the SouTh Asian BiRth CohorT (START) and Born in Bradford (BiB) cohort studies underwent a 75-g glucose tolerance test. PRSs were derived using genome-wide association study results from an independent multi-ethnic study (~18% South Asians). Associations with fasting plasma glucose (FPG); 2 hr post-load glucose (2hG); area under the curve glucose; and GDM were tested using linear and logistic regressions. The population attributable fraction (PAF) of the PRS was calculated. Every 1 SD increase in the PRS was associated with a 0.085 mmol/L increase in FPG ([95% confidence interval, CI=0.07-0.10], p=2.85×10-20); 0.21 mmol/L increase in 2hG ([95% CI=0.16-0.26], p=5.49×10-16); and a 45% increase in the risk of GDM ([95% CI=32-60%], p=2.27×10-14), independent of parental history of diabetes and other GDM risk factors. PRS tertile 3 accounted for 12.5% of the population's GDM alone, and 21.7% when combined with family history. A few weak PRS and GDM risk factors interactions modulating FPG and GDM were observed. Taken together, these results show that a T2D PRS and family history of diabetes are strongly and independently associated with multiple GDM-related traits in women of South Asian descent, an effect that could be modulated by other environmental factors.

This Is Who I Am: Instagram as Counterspace for Shared Gendered Ethnic Identity Expressions

Dominant media stereotypes, oppression, and cultural expectations within diasporic communities exert pressure on Western women of South Asian descent. This research examines the way these individuals use Instagram as a counterspace to create and share gendered ethnic identity (GEI) expressions to counter oppression and promote well-being. In doing so, this study answers the call to advance research on genders, markets, and culture by exploring GEI as a sociocultural, intersectional construct. Based on visual data analysis and the extant literature, we posit a framework of social media as a counterspace for shared GEI expressions. This framework introduces three novel challenging processes (acts of intragroup questioning, acts of intragroup alliance, and narratives of possibility) that participants use to foster just representation and collective well-being.

An evaluation of dietary intakes of a selected group of South Asian migrant women with gestational diabetes mellitus

ABSTRACT Background: Women of South Asian descent have an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to Caucasian women. Dietary advice provided by health practitioners to this group has been found to be culturally inappropriate. The aim of this study was to describe the dietary intakes of South Asian women with gestational diabetes and use this information to develop culturally appropriate dietary models for education and support of dietary management. Method: An in-depth diet and lifestyle survey was administered with 13 eligible women. Dietary histories were collected for pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and post-GDM diagnosis to evaluate changes in dietary intake, diet and health beliefs and traditional foods consumed during pregnancy. Results: The diets of participants did not meet nutrient requirements for pregnancy; specific areas on concern were dietary fibre, calcium, iron, folate and iodine. Vegetarians were particularly at risk with regards to energy and protein intake. Generally dietary intakes of these women with GDM were not consistent with guidelines for management of GDM. Confusion about what they should eat for GDM, health practitioner advice and conflict with cultural expectations about foods to consume during pregnancy was evident. Conclusion: The dietary information collected from these women was used to model sample menus for GDM that were culturally appropriate and consistent with vegetarian and non-vegetarian eating patterns.

Social and cultural influences on tobacco-related health disparities among South Asians in the USA

ObjectiveTo explore and understand key cultural contexts of tobacco use among South Asian communities in the USA.DesignFocus groups, with homogeneous compositions of gender, generational status and length of time in...

Surveillant staring: Race and the everyday surveillance of South Asian women after 9/11

This article explores young South Asian women’s accounts of being subject to surveillance within a post-September 11th United States political framework, using a combination of surveillance studies and a postcolonial studies attention to practices of racialization and belonging. It looks at non-technological practices of person-to-person surveillance of South Asian women by non-authoritative white Americans. The article discusses young women’s accounts of feeling ‘stared at’ by other Americans in public space, and examines how the effects of this surveillance relates to young women’s identities as South Asians in America. The article argues that citizen surveillance practices have racialized outcomes for young women of South Asian descent that sometimes consolidates a South Asian racial subjectivity within the US. The fieldwork also uncovers an extension of arguments about racialized surveillance to consider cultural bodily practices and clothing artifacts alongside racial identity.

Situating middle class identities: American college women of South Asian descent

This article explores the ways in which American college women of South Asian descent discuss their positioning as middle class. The article analyses participants' talk around class as evidence of embeddedness in American class discourses and a complex and contradictory scheme of identification that implicates other identities like gender, race and culture. Respondents often articulated class using the American Dream, where the social capital their parents immigrated with is left unexamined in favour of a narrative of ‘rags to riches’. Young women also used other constructs like ‘stability’, ‘race’ and ‘resources’ to make reference to class, but also to participate in an American discursive silence around it. Finally, the notion of a drive towards professionalism as an immigrant goal is examined, and it is suggested that this serves to further deflect discussions of class. This article synthesises theories of diaspora, ‘translocational positioning’ and habitus, and examines the production of American class discourse as a performance of an American middle class habitus.

Book Review: Gangoli, G. (2007). Indian Feminisms: Law, Patriarchies, and Violence in India. London: Ashgate Publishing. das Dasgupta, S. (Ed.). (2007). Body Evidence: Intimate Violence Against South Asian Women in America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press

Reviews the books, Indian feminisms: Law, patriarchies, and violence in India by G. Gangoli (2007) and Body evidence: Intimate violence against South Asian women in America by S. das Dasgupta (2007). In the first book, the author both informs and enlightens readers about multiple feminist movements in India--a strongly patriarchal society with a long history of violent oppression of women--and the possible negative impact of legislative efforts designed to protect the rights of women. He illustrates the evolution of the movement as occurring simultaneously with the 1920s women's movement in the United States, but being separate and largely uninfluenced by Westernized feminist movements. The second book, describes intimate violence against women of South Asian descent who have migrated to the United States. In the reviewer's opinion, the essays are well written, informative, and provocative, and as a whole they bring to light the deleterious effects of violence suffered by women in the South Asian community. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Hypoadiponectinaemia in South Asian women during pregnancy: evidence of ethnic variation in adiponectin concentration.

People of South Asian descent face an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and coronary artery disease (CAD) compared with other ethnic groups. One candidate factor underlying this risk may be adiponectin, as circulating levels of this adipocyte-derived protein are reduced in both Type 2 DM and CAD. In a recent study, we assessed the relationship between adiponectin and gestational diabetes (GDM), a potential model of early events in the natural history of Type 2 DM. Here, we report the impact of ethnicity on plasma adiponectin concentration in that study. A cross-sectional study was performed in 180 women undergoing oral glucose tolerance testing in late second or early third trimester to investigate the relationship between adiponectin and glucose tolerance in pregnancy. Based on self-reported ethnicity, participants were stratified into three groups: (i) Caucasian (n = 116), (ii) South Asian (n = 31), and (iii) Asian (n = 28). Median adiponectin concentration was much lower in the South Asian group (9.7 micro g/ml) than in Caucasians (15.8 micro g/ml) or Asians (16.1 micro g/ml) (overall P < 0.0001). With adjustment for age, prepregnancy body mass index, weight gain in pregnancy, previous history of GDM, family history of DM, fasting insulin and glucose intolerance, mean adiponectin remained significantly lower among South Asians compared with either Caucasians (P < 0.0001) or Asians (P = 0.0034). Women of South Asian descent exhibit significantly reduced plasma concentrations of adiponectin in pregnancy compared with Caucasian and Asian counterparts. This observation raises the possibility of hypoadiponectinaemia as a potential factor contributing to the increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in South Asians.

Modification of the relationship between simple anthropometric indices and risk factors by ethnic background

Current targets for body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) may not be appropriate for those of South Asian origin. The objectives of this study were to determine whether the relationship between BMI and WC with risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the same for men and women of South Asian and European descent. Apparently healthy men and women of European (n = 88) and South Asian (n = 93) descent were recruited from 3 hospital communities and assessed for BMI, WC, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), blood pressure (BP), lipids, insulin, glucose, and CRP. The study cohort was stratified by sex, and regression analyses were performed with individual risk factors as outcomes and ethnicity with either BMI or WC as predictors adjusting for age and height (WC only). BMI and WC were similar between the European and South Asian men and women. South Asian men had significantly higher values for total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol:high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and CRP, and significantly lower values of HDL-C. South Asian women had significantly higher values for TG, TC:HDL-C and CRP and significantly lower values of HDL-C, glucose, systolic BP and diastolic BP. In men, ethnicity was an independent predictor for all risk factors except for glucose and insulin, after adjusting for either BMI or WC independent of age and height. For women, ethnicity was an independent predictor for all risk factors except for total cholesterol (WC model only) and insulin (BMI model only), after adjusting for either BMI or WC independent of age and height. The relationship between BMI or WC and risk factors is such that men and women of South Asian descent present with a more adverse risk profile than those of European descent at the same BMI and/or WC.

Vaginal thrush: perceptions and experiences of women of south Asian descent.

It is estimated that 75% of all women will, at some time in their lives, experience at least one episode of vaginal thrush. This paper reports the perceptions and experiences of women of South Asian descent living in England, who were suffering or had suffered from thrush. The paper draws upon data collected during 20 semi-structured interviews. The women reported that thrush sometimes had a considerable impact on their lives, making some of them feel 'dirty', embarrassed, depressed and stigmatized. Some women delayed seeking professional help even if they had access to a female General Practitioner. Access to professional care was sometimes hampered by language barriers, but more often by structural factors of gender and social class. Although almost all the women came originally from Gujarat (or had parents who were born in Gujarat), they reported a wide range of experiences. Since vaginal thrush causes much distress and since it is often preventable, the findings presented here have implications for clinical practice. The paper concludes with suggestions for future developments.

Menorrhagia: women's perceptions of this condition and its treatment.

This paper reports a qualitative study of women's perceptions and experience of menorrhagia. Having obtained ethics committee approval, and informed written consent, interviews were conducted with 30 women who reported that they were suffering from menorrhagia. The sample included 13 women of South Asian descent. Some of those interviewed did not want medical treatment for menorrhagia. Other women were quite satisfied with the treatment they received when they consulted their doctors. However, it appears that some general practitioners failed to recognize women's need for treatment and were slow to comply with requests for referral to a gynaecologist. Although in the past there has been justifiable concern about women who undergo unnecessary treatment for perceived menorrhagia, this study suggests that health care professionals should be aware that some women may experience menorrhagia for long periods of time without receiving effective health care. It is possible that those who volunteered for the study were those most likely to have experienced problems with their treatment. However, the results of this study have implications for nurses, who may be in a position to give help and advice to women who want information about possible alternative treatments and sources of help for menorrhagia.

Interviewing women from an ethnic minority group: finding the sample, negotiating access and conducting semi- structured interviews.

While interviewing GPs in 1995 and 1996 about their referral decisions for women with menorrhagia, I became aware that some areas in the UK may have relatively poor gynaecology services ( 1 ). Moreover, in one town with a large ethnic minority (15.4 per cent of the population) GPs informed me that they believed that women of South Asian descent with menorrhagia had particular difficulties in obtaining treatment, mainly because of the shortage of female doctors ( 2 ).

Iron deficiency anaemia in women of south Asian descent: A qualitative study

Objective. Menorrhagia is thought to be the commonest cause of iron deficiency anaemia in women of reproductive age living in Britain. However, it has been suggested that the high prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia in women of South Asian descent living in Britain is due to religious and cultural restrictions on certain foods. While lack of iron in the diet, or poor iron absorption may well be reasons for this prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia, there may be other complex reasons why South Asian women suffer particularly from this complaint. This study aimed to explore reasons for the relatively high level of iron deficiency anaemia found in South Asian women living in Britain. Method. A qualitative study using semi‐structured interviews with women of Indian and Pakistani descent living in a town in North West England. Findings. It appears that some South Asian women value a relatively heavy menstrual blood flow because such blood is thought to be ‘dirty’ and ‘impure’ and because a scanty period is thought to result in abdominal weight gain and pain. When menstrual blood loss is thought to be ‘excessive’, women tend to avoid ‘hot’ foods such as meat, fish and eggs, thus denying themselves a valuable source of iron. When South Asian women believe that they have a serious problem of menorrhagia they may not seek medical help because of the shortage of female general practitioners. Poor communication with doctors and other health care professionals may also affect illness behaviour. Conclusion. This study suggests that attitudes to menstruation and menstrual blood may help to account for the relatively high levels of iron deficiency anaemia found in women of South Asian descent living in Britain. Since most of the women interviewed during this research had families who came from Gujarat in Western India, more research is needed to explore the values and beliefs of women coming from other parts of Southern Asia.

General practitioners' perceptions of the illness behaviour and health needs of South Asian women with Menorrhagia

Objectives. A study of general practitioners’ (GPs) perceptions of the health needs of women of South Asian descent who suffer from menorrhagia. Method. A qualitative study using semi‐structured interviews with 50 GPs in two British towns. Findings. This study suggests that some women of South Asian descent may not consult their GPs even though suffering severe menorrhagia. Moreover, some GPs perceive that women may suffer from anaemia as the result of such illness behaviour. One reason for this reluctance to consult for menorrhagia may be the fact that some women of South Asian descent prefer to be examined by female doctors, yet may attend practices that lack a female partner. The study also shows that South Asian women, who consult male GPs for menorrhagia, are sometimes referred to hospital outpatients without internal examinations, and that women may be reluctant to keep their hospital appointments because of the lack of female gynaecologists. The study also indicates that a shortage of female interpreters may make communication difficult between some health care professionals and their patients, particularly when a complex and sensitive subject such as menorrhagia needs to be discussed. Conclusion. Women of South Asian descent may suffer serious problems such as iron deficiency anaemia, partly due to untreated menorrhagia. Since this was a study of GPs’ perceptions of the health needs of South Asian women, it is now important to interview women themselves, to learn more about their perceptions of menorrhagia, and their perceptions of any subsequent contact with health care professionals.

Stereotypes of women of Asian descent in midwifery: some evidence

The subject of this paper is part of a larger study which investigated the delivery of maternity care to women of South Asian descent in Britain (Bowler, 1990). An ethnographic approach was used and the main method of data collection was non-participant observation in antenatal clinics, labour and postnatal wards in a teaching hospital maternity unit. These observations were supported by data from interviews with midwives. It was found that the midwives commonly use stereotypes of women in order to help them to provide care. These stereotypes are particularly likely to be used in situations where the midwife has difficulty (through pressure of time or other circumstances) in getting to know an individual woman. The stereotype of women of Asian descent contained four main themes: communication problems; failure to comply with care and service abuse; making a fuss about nothing; a lack of normal maternal instinct. Reasons for stereotyping are explored. Effects on service provision in the areas of family planning and breast feeding are highlighted.