Order For Women Research Articles

Manipulating Virginity: Digital Defloration in Midrash and History

Women are born virgins. Physically, this means that there is a hymen blocking their uterus. In order for women to copulate and become pregnant, this hymen has to be removed. This normally happens during a woman's first sexual penetration, and it results in bleeding, which is understood to indicate that the woman was a virgin and has now lost her virginity. Typically, women lose their virginity as a result of being penetrated by a penis. However, the hymen can also be removed by other means, such as an intentional digital defloration, whereby the husband, or someone else, inserts a finger into the woman's vagina and ruptures the hymen. This paper traces this practice in Jewish society in late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Readers may find it surprising that Jews (or anyone, for that matter) found it necessary to digitally deflower maidens. I thus begin this paper with some sporadic and by no means conclusive ethnographic, anthropological and psychoanalytical observations on this practice, in general. I will then assemble accounts of such a practice from Jewish sources and comment on its historical significance. Digital defloration has been attested to in various nineteenthand twentieth-century societies. Thus, for example, a study from the midtwentieth century reports that among the Bedouin of Cyrenaica, the groom deflowers his bride as part of the wedding ceremony, after wrapping part of his toga around one of his fingers; he then raises the bloodstained cloth aloft for public display. The anthropologists who observed

The Myth of Universal Patriarchy: A Critical Response to Cynthia Eller’s Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory

In The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory, Cynthia Eller describes a dangerous, ‘ennobling lie’ that must be overturned in order for women to have a viable future. The so-called matriarchal myth which she attempts to debunk is the idea that human societies have not always supported male domination in social structure and religious practice and that societies have existed in which women and the entire natural world were honored. This article examines Eller’s stated assumption that such ideas are utopian inventions and that male dominance is the most reasonable, scientifically sound approach to an interpretation of prehistory.

Reading the Catsuit

During the 2002 U.S. Open, Serena Williams received a great deal of attention for wearing an outfit described as ”a body-clinging, faux leather, black cat-suit.” It was not necessarily the catsuit itself that the popular media found especially controversial but rather the visibility of her physique the outfit provided. The ways in which Serena Williams, the outfit, and her body were discussed offers a particular site at which to interrogate the production of blackness in 21st-century, U.S. society. This article argues that the processes of differentiation the popular media used to characterize her are located within racialized discourse. By representing Williams through oppositional rhetorics, that is, setting her multiple identities in contradistinction to other women on the tour, accounts concerning her appearance in the catsuit reproduce the hegemonic racialized order in women’s tennis.

Gossiping Endurance: Discipline and Social Control of Filipina Helpers in Malaysia

nation of people, goods and information across geographical borders. Further, the proliferation of transnational business, production and human man agement enhances the expansion of the international labour market, includ ing the female labour force. Much of the work on transmigration and the international division of labour, however, has been either (a) gender biased: focusing on men as productive human resources, predominantly when those from less developed countries flock into highly industrialized and devel oped economies; or (b) that migratory practices/purposes were largely based on calculations of economic returns; or (c) to do with maintaining homes at multiple locations, therefore, sustaining multi-stranded social relations.2 Women's participation in transmigration and their experiences on a daily basis, their social relations with other women, and their coping mecha nisms while abroad were, more often than not, ignored. In this paper, I attempt to examine some of the implications of female transmigration because of work, particularly for Filipina domestic helpers in Malaysia. I will focus on the contexts of transmigration, social control and discipline embedded in their experiences of working in others' house holds. The examination is largely grounded on women's social interactions and communication in the household (or the workplace, for transmigrants) and in public spaces. These experiences and interactions might be con sidered mundane or trivial for some; nonetheless, how do these interac tions represent the mechanism of control and discipline in their daily transnational social reproduction? In addition, what are the ways and means used to sustain normative behaviours and order in women's (migrants and employers) interactions? In Malaysia, foreign domestic helpers are subordinated and subjected to surveillance, which indicates that control and discipline are considered (by employers, state authorities and employment agencies) to be necessary for maintaining social order. Whereas, in public spaces, interaction is mainly

Higher C-reactive protein concentration and white blood cell count in subjects with more coronary risk factors and/or lower physical fitness among apparently healthy Japanese.

Of 2,722 people (1.876 men, mean age: 51.3+/-10.3 years; 846 women, mean age: 51.4+/-11.1) who underwent the fitness check program at Aichi Prefectural Center for Health Care, the concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP) and the white blood cell count (WBC) were investigated in relation to the number of coronary risk factors, maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) quartiles and physical fitness score. CRP was measured by conventional latex immunoturbidimetric assay. Both CRP and WBC were higher in those who had more risk factors. In men the lowest mean CRP was 0.07 mg/dl in those with only one risk factor (RF1) and the highest was 0.29 mg/dl in RF6 (p<0.0001). The lowest mean WBC was 4,868/mm3 in RF1 and the highest was 7,096/mm3 in RF6 (p<0.0001). In women the lowest mean CRP was 0.073 mg/dl in those with no risk factors (RF0) and the highest was 0.22mg/dl in RF5 (p=0.0379). The lowest mean WBC was 5,065/mm3 in RF1, and the highest was 6,792/mm3 in RF4 (p=0.0001). A similar relationship was noticed when the groups were analyzed by VO2max quartile or fitness score. CRP and WBC both showed a stepwise increase or decrease in men, but was generally in order in women in accordance with the number of risk factors, VO2max level or fitness score. In apparently healthy Japanese subjects, elevated inflammatory indices (ie, higher CRP and WBC) were associated with more coronary risk factors and poorer physical fitness. Therefore, high-risk coronary subjects might be screened by conventional measurement of CRP.

'POGMINGA'—THE 'PROPER DAGARA WOMAN': AN ENCOUNTER BETWEEN CHRISTIAN THOUGHT AND DAGARA CONCEPTS

AbstractTo retain respect among members of their own society, urban professional women originating from northern Ghana maintain a rural concept of proper women. This article explores how, historically, both Catholic missionaries and the Dagara people changed this concept. To the women, the ability to speak their minds and be self-confident, attributes accorded to the concept mainly by the Catholic women's orders, help them in their professional careers. In meetings with their own people, they still know how to revert to the quiet, reserved and humble person that a woman from their home area is supposed to be, at least in public.

The lay sister in educational history and memory

A tiered and hierarchical system of membership has in the past characterized many Catholic religious teaching orders.1 In women's orders, those who undertook domestic duties were usually referred to as lay sisters. Those who undertook teaching and administrative duties were called choir nuns. Histories of Catholic education have tended to include scant references to the system and virtually no systematic exploration of its meaning in the culture of Catholic schools. The aim of this paper is to provide an exploration of the construction of lay sisters in a particular religious order and school setting. The exploration is informed by poststructuralist theory; in particular, notions of ‘discourse as practice’, the symbiotic and hierarchical relationship between the binary oppositions, individual consciousness as the site of the discursive struggle, and investment in discourse. These notions are drawn upon to explore the construction of the category of lay sister within educational histories, texts that pertain to the order in question and interviews undertaken with choir nuns, one lay sister, ex-students and ancillary staff. The narrative of one lay sister is explored in order to locate her understanding of the construction.

323 Risk assessment and risk management in familial predisposition to breast cancer

Risk factors for breast cancer are usually expressed as relative rates, but is essential in counselling women that the relative risks are translated into absolute values in order for women to plan their lives appropriately and in the cost benefit analysis of the various preventive regimes that might be considered. Thus at one extreme there might be a 30 year old woman whose mother developed breast cancer at around the menopause and has a late first pregnancy whose relative risk might be considered 2.5 which in absolute terms might translate into a 5% hazard for developing breast cancer before the age of 50. At the other extreme would be a woman of a similar age where genetic linkage studies suggest there is a dominant gene inherited through the germ line with an 80% pene-trance. She would have a 40% chance of developing breast cancer before the age of 60 and thus about a 1 in 5 chance of dying of the disease. In the first instance with appropriate counselling the woman in question might choose to live with the risk whereas at the other extreme the woman might rationally accept the offer of prophylactic mastectomy. Of course these decisions become somewhat easier once genetic testing becomes available. As far as interventions that might be employed prophylactic mastectomy would only be considered for these extreme cases and even this intervention cannot guarantee 100% protection. Mammographic screening for the pre-menopausal women where the familial predisposition tends to express itself is of unproven value. Finally a good prospect for intervention for familial predisposition to breast cancer would be chemoprophylaxis. Trials of tamoxifen are currently under way but these may be more appropriate to post-menopausal women. For the pre-menopausal women I am of the opinion that we will one day be able to develop a safe and effective contraceptive regimen that will incidentally reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Mission and Memory: A History of the Catholic Church in Arkansas by James M. Woods

BOOK REVIEWS107 Copious notes followed by a thorough bibliography are proof of sound scholarship. All are deeply indebted to Father Ennis, now deceased. R.I.P. Hugh J. Nolan Wayne, Pennsylvania Mission and Memory: A History of the Catholic Church in Arkansas. By James M. Woods. (Little Rock: August House, Inc., Publishers for the Diocese of Little Rock, P.O. Box 3223, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203. 1993. Pp. 415. 824.95.) The year 1993 marked the 1 50tii anniversary of the erection of the Diocese of Little Rock in 1843. Mission andMemory is the history commissioned for the occasion. Many important details concerning the Church in Arkansas appear for the first time. Catholicism came to the Arkansas territory with the expedition of Hernando de Soto in 1541. Until the territory passed under the control of the United States in 1803, the Church was under Spanish and French ecclesiastical jurisdiction . During this "colonial" period it barely survived. There was little religious activity, small population, few clergy, immense distances, and slow travel. Yet a Catholic presence was preserved. Once a part ofthe United States, die Church in Arkansas had to start anew. Most settlers in the Early National period were English-speaking Protestants, and Arkansas became a state which even now has a Catholic population of only about three percent of the total population. Mission and Memory begins with two chapters of prediocesan development , hitherto little known. With the appointment of the first bishop, Andrew Byrne, the story continues, built around each bishop. Two chapters capture me era of Bishop Byrne; two chapters continue the story of Bishop Fitzgerald; diree chapters are devoted to the church under Bishop John Morris, and one chapter each outlines the contributions of Bishop Albert Fletcher and Bishop Andrew McDonald. This centering around the bishop is one of the merits of this book. The most significant bishop is Edward Fitzgerald (1867-1907). Fitzgerald is largely known because of his voting against the constitution on papal infallibility in the First Vatican Council and the "rumor" that he was under a cloud at die Vatican for the rest of his life. Here Bishop Fitzgerald emerges as a human, energetic, and respected man in church and state. The author shows that Fitzgerald was not "condemned" to remain a bishop of a remote diocese but turned down considerations for appointments to Cincinnati , New Orleans, and Kansas City to remain in his first diocese. In 1893 he was asked to administer the diocese of Dallas and the same year was chosen to represent the New Orleans Province in greeting the newly-elected Leo 108BOOK REVIEWS XIII. In 1884 he was chosen to give the opening address at the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. Immigrant Irish, Germans, Italians, Polish, and Czechs formed the largest groups of Catholics. The Irish forged the way until after the Civil War. In more recent decades Hispanic and Vietnamese Catholics have left their marks on Arkansas Catholicism. Dr. Wood studies the immigrant era interestingly comparing the proportions offoreign-born Catholics with the general population. Chapter XI, "Sisters, Schools and Services: Some Catholic Contributions to Arkansas, 1838—1992," outlines this phase of Catholic life and ministry from die arrival of the Sisters of Loretto around 1840. A minor criticism might be that religious orders of men receive recognition in chapters on the regular development of the church, whereas the orders of women, for the most part, are treated in this chapter. Bishop Andrew J. McDonald has written in his prologue: ". . . We have opened our hearts and our archives to Professor James M. Woods of Georgia Southern University. A native Arkansan, he is a man of integrity and honesty, and a professional historian." Mission andMemory is a valuable contribution to American Catholic history. Hugh Assenmachhr, O.S.B. Subiaco Abbey Subiaco, Arkansas Religion and Society in Frontier California By Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp. (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. 1994. Pp. x, 241. 825.00.) This book is a remarkable piece of scholarship. It draws on a wide variety of primary sources including the letters and diaries of gold-seekers, sermons, the records of home mission societies, and other sources to present an innovative interpretation of the attempt of four...

Historia del Carmelo Español. Vol. II: Provincias de Cataluña y Aragón y Valencia, 1563-1835. Vol. III: Provincias de Costilla y Andalucía, 1563-1835 by Balbino Velasco Bayón, O.Carm, and: Los Carmelitas: Historia de la Orden del Carmen. Vol. IV: El Carmelo Español (1260-1980) by Balbino Velasco Bayón, O.Carm

Historia del Carmelo Espanol. Vol. II: Provincias de Cataluna y Aragon y Valencia, 1563-183 Vol. III: Provincias de Castilla y Andalucia 1563-1835. By Balbino Velasco Bayon, O.Carm. Textus et Studia Historica Carmelitana, Vols. XVIII and XM. (Rome: Institutum Carmelitanum. 1992, 1994. 4. 679; 712. Paperback) Los Carmelitas: Historia de la Orden del Carmen. Vol. IV: El Carmelo Espanol (1260-1980). By Balbino Velasco Bayon, O.Carm. (Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos. 1993. Pp. xlvi, 457. Paperback) The Carmelites began as a group of lay hermits on Mount Carmel ca. 1200, became a mendicant order by 1247, were joined by a Second Order of women in 1452, contributed through Teresa of Jesus and John of the Cross classical texts to the Western mystical tradition, became two separate orders with the creation of the Discalced Carmelite Order in 1593, and gave the Church one of its most popular saints ever in Therese of Lisieux (d. 1897). Yet, the history of this order that will soon celebrate its eight hundredth anniversary has been tardily told with much research yet to be done. However, Father Velasco's prodigious published research on Carmelite men and women in Spain has made the Iberian Carmelites the envy of the rest of the order. A review of Velasco's first volume, Historta del Carmelo Espanol...c 1265-1563 has already appeared in this journal: LXXVIII (October, 1992 644-645. Velasco's decision to begin the story of the various Spanish provinces in 1563, the year in which the Council of Trent concluded its work, is a surprise. Would not 1593, the date of the definitive break between the Calced and Discalced Carmelites, have been a more logical date to begin a story which deals exclusively with the history of what Velasco calls the old order, the O.Carm.'s, not the O.C.D.'s (the Discalced Carmelites). Velasco's histories of the Spanish provinces conclude in 1835 at the time of the suppression of religious houses in Spain. The subtitles of these two volumes indicate Velasco's administrative divisions of his research. Each province receives monograph-length coverage. Vesco has amassed a staggering amount of historical detail about Carmelite life in these regional divisions. The Spanish historian's volumes contribute a verifiable encyclopedia of Carmelite history and culture in Spain. Velasco covers numerous facets of Carmelite life not treated in more narrowly conceived histories of religious orders. Each of these two volumes contains a long list of manuscript sources from many locations along with an extensive bibliography of printed sources and secondary works. Of immense help to researchers who find themselves only tangentially involved in the complex world of Spanish Carmelitana are the very full indices which take up thirty-five pages in Volume I and forty-nine pages in Volume II. …

Residence Stability and Decline in Roman Catholic Religious Orders of Women: A Preliminary Investigation

Previous research on lifestyle changes within U.S. Catholic religious orders has neglected to examine the extent to which their members still live communally. In this study, the archives of eight religious congregations of women were examined for 1964 and 1990 to determine changes in living patterns. When compared with 1964, sisters in 1990 lived in much smaller groups and in apartments rather than convents. The composition of the 1990 groups was also much more stable over time. Possible reasons for these changes are explored

Who Needs Training: Women or Organisations?

The need for special training programmes for women in management is discussed. Traditionally, the assumption has been that, in order for women to succeed in the firm, they require special educational and development opportunities. Prior to undertaking such initiatives, it is suggested that organisations examine the philosophy underlying the demand for special training programmes which focus on assisting women in overcoming “sex‐related deficiencies”.

The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Third Division: Nashim (The Order of Women)

Book Review| December 01 1983 The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Second Division: Moed (The Order of Appointed Times)The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Third Division: Nashim (The Order of Women)The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Fourth Division: Neziqin (The Order of Damages)The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Fifth Division: Qodoshim (The Order of Holy ThingsThe Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Sixth Division: Tohorot (The Order of Purities) The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Second Division: Moed (The Order of Appointed Times).The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Third Division: Nashim (The Order of Women).The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Fourth Division: Neziqin (The Order of Damages).The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Fifth Division: Qodoshim (The Order of Holy Things.The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Sixth Division: Tohorot (The Order of Purities), Jacob Neusner. Stefan C. Reif Stefan C. Reif Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Journal of Biblical Literature (1983) 102 (4): 660–663. https://doi.org/10.2307/3260889 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Twitter Permissions Search Site Citation Stefan C. Reif; The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Second Division: Moed (The Order of Appointed Times)The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Third Division: Nashim (The Order of Women)The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Fourth Division: Neziqin (The Order of Damages)The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Fifth Division: Qodoshim (The Order of Holy ThingsThe Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew. Sixth Division: Tohorot (The Order of Purities). Journal of Biblical Literature 1 December 1983; 102 (4): 660–663. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/3260889 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveSBL PressJournal of Biblical Literature Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

The Relationship between Information Search in the Childbearing Decision and Life Satisfaction for Parents and Nonparents

The relationship of information search in the childbearing decision to life satisfaction was investigated. In Women over age 30 residing in the San Francisco Bay area; 62 women who were mothers who had their 1st child near the age of 30 and 23 voluntarily childless women in their 30s responded to a questionnaire concerning their childbearing decision. The study investigated kinds of information search reported by subjects in making the childbearing decision and the relationship of information search to measures of present life satisfaction. Decision strategies included whether there was a conscious process whether the search was a active one and questions asked (about goal attainment future life satisfaction or impact on others). Difficulty in reaching the decision and certainty of rightness of decision were also measured. Life satisfaction measures consisted of general marital and work satisfaction measures. For mothers parenting satisfaction and performance were also examined. Results indicated that information search is related to positive outcomes for women who become mothers. For voluntarily childless women information search was negatively related to life satisfaction. The implications of the results for the decision process in parents and nonparents are discussed. A satisfying career may be related to nonmotivation for having children. In order for women to perceive that parenting and a career are not exclusive society needs to provide flexible career development models childcare facilities and changes in the workplace. More attention to parenting in educational institutions would aid individuals in making better decisions and facilitate effective parenting. Greater acceptance by society of a childfree lifestyle or a dual career option would enable greater freedom of choice.

A Guide to Research in Archives of Active French Women's Orders

The archives of French Catholic secular women's orders have been known to historical scholars, if at all, as an inaccessible treasure or as a forbidding labyrinth. Now a guide to them has become availableCharles Molette's Guide des sources de l'histoire des congregations feminines franraises de vie active (Paris: editions de Paris, 1974), and it will be an indispensable tool to scholars interested in the history of French education, social work, Catholic proselytism, and delivery of health care. The French diocesan archives were inventoried in the 1960s, and a guide published in 1971 (Jacques Gadille, Guide des archives diocesaines frangaises [Paris, 1971]), but work on secular archival material lagged. The holdings of secular women's orders, the Abbe Molette believed, were most urgently in need of a survey, for the lack of qualified personnel-the lack of a scholarly appreciation of their holdings, in fact-threatened the loss of these treasures to the fireplace, the dustbin, the mice. Some 400 secular women's orders, with about 100,000 members, now hold the keys to this source material. In the preface to Molette's volume Guy Dubosq, director general of French Archives, appeals to religious houses and persons to preserve their documents, considered as private property since the separation of Church and state, to inventory them, and to render them accessible to scholars. He promises the government's perfectly objective collaboration to ensure the preservation of this segment of the historic French patrimony. In Molette's Guide an Historical Introduction of 100 pages precedes the 270-page Sources and Bibliography. This learned introduction explains the astounding multiplicity and variety of active women's orders in France. In 1860, for example, there were 4,932 communities attached to 922 authorized congregations, . . . and 2,870 unauthorized communities attached to some 250 unauthorized congregations. Local initiative in founding orders was encouraged throughout the centuries by men of the regular clergy, members of

Pulmonary capillary blood volume in women: normal values and the effect of oral contraceptives.

Pulmonary capillary blood volume (Vc) was determined in 30 young women, 14 of whom were taking oral contraceptives. Duplicate estimates of Vc in the 16 women not taking contraceptives showed a significant increase in the second half of the menstrual cycle. Formulae for prediction of Vc in women were derived for the first and second halves of the cycle. Vc was shown to be of the same order in women taking contraceptives containing oestrogen and progestogen as in those in the premenstrual phase of the cycle. Possible causes of these findings and their relevance to the diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolic disease are discussed.

Review of Book: Witness and Consecration — Women's Orders Today

Review of Book: Witness and Consecration — Women's Orders Today