Zealand Women Research Articles

Mother and the Other: Situating New Zealand Women’s Captivity Narratives in a Transcolonial Settler Culture of Anxiety

This article analyses nineteenth-century women’s captivity narratives in the white settler colony New Zealand. It asks how white femininity and indigenous masculinity are represented and how these notions relate to representations of white masculinity and indigenous femininity. Moreover, the article examines the relationship between colonial gender identities and British bourgeois ideals of respectable gender images. By comparing the New Zealand case with the early modern North American narrative of Mary Rowlandson and the Australian Eliza Fraser stories, the author argues that New Zealand can be included in a transcolonial culture of captivity, as it shares a transcolonial repertoire of discursive rhetorics, strategies and anxieties.

"No country for old men": A note of the Trans-Tasman Income Divide

Although much work has been done analysing the possible causes of the New Zealand- Australian income gap, to date there has been little analysis of the extent to which this gap differs by gender and age. Using New Zealand and Australian employment and census data we examine these differences and find that (1) over the last 25 years the incomes of New Zealand women have declined less rapidly than those of New Zealand men, relative to Australian incomes; (2) this poor relative performance of New Zealand males was felt most by those in middle age; and (3) the stronger relative income growth of New Zealand females appears to be largely driven by increased public sector wage growth, and as such, its long term sustainability is questionable.

‘No Country for Old Men’: A Note on the Trans-Tasman Income Divide

Although much work has been done analysing the possible causes of the New Zealand-Australian income gap, to date there has been little analysis of the extent to which this gap differs by gender and age. Using New Zealand and Australian employment and census data we examine these differences and find that (1) over the last 25 years the incomes of New Zealand women have declined less rapidly than those of New Zealand men, relative to Australian incomes; (2) this poor relative performance of New Zealand males was felt most by those in middle age; and (3) the stronger relative income growth of New Zealand females appears to be largely driven by increased public sector wage growth, and as such, its long term sustainability is questionable.

Negotiating Competing Discourses: The Decision to Take Menopausal Hormone Therapy Following Surgical Menopause

The aim of this study was to examine women's reports of negotiation and decision-making regarding use of menopausal hormone therapy after hysterectomy. Women who have experienced surgical menopause have more intense menopausal symptoms than women who have natural menopause and are often prescribed menopausal hormone therapy. Over the past decade acceptance of use of menopausal hormone therapy has been challenged by publications indicating its associated risks. Foucauldian discourse analysis was used to examine the discourses influencing women's experiences of early menopause precipitated by surgery and their decision-making regarding the use of menopausal hormone therapy. The project investigated via semi-structured interviews the perceptions and experiences of 30 New Zealand women aged 45–65 years who had undergone surgical menopause. The predominant discourses within which the participants' descriptions of their experience were embedded were: (a) new public health, (b) medical, and (c) lay moral judgment. Their health keeping/management practices were influenced by moral imperatives for quality of life, managing risk, and taking care of oneself. The use of menopausal hormone therapy for surgical menopause provides an example of the infiltration of public health discourse into lay judgments and influenced people to identify potential lifestyle problems and direct them to medicine and pharmacology as moral imperatives; and how women resist these discourses in various/particular ways.

Ladies in the laboratory III: South African, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian women in science: nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: a survey of their contributions

Ladies in the laboratory III: South African, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian women in science: nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: a survey of their contributions

Counselling Women Whose Lives Have Been Seriously Disrupted by Depression.

This article presents some of the wisdom emerging from a study of the narratives of 18 New Zealand women whose lives had been seriously disrupted by depression. While a huge body of research exists addressing recovery from depression, most of it has focused on the dominant professional solutions of medication and therapy. In this study, the knowledge comes from women who found support for recovery outside the "expert" mainstream. Counsellors can learn from the "lay" solutions and understandings experienced by these women. The major conclusions drawn from the analysis of the stories are discussed in this article. These emphasise the gendered and holistic nature of depression and recovery, and the importance of distinguishing between "chocolate" solutions that address the symptoms, and "meaning-making" solutions that address the deeper matters that often underpin depression. The findings also challenge the need to distinguish between a major depressive disorder and dysthymia when supporting women to find their own formulae for recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Zealand Journal of Counselling is the property of New Zealand Association of Counsellors and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Juxtaposing Beliefs and Reality: Prevalence Rates of Intimate Partner Violence and Attitudes to Violence and Gender Roles Reported by New Zealand Women

This study documents the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) for four ethnic groups and explores ethnic-specific differences and similarities in women's attitudes. Data are from a cross-sectional survey of 2,674 ever-partnered women aged 18 to 64 years. High rates of IPV among all ethnic groups reinforce the need to retain and expand current prevention and intervention efforts. Violence was not regarded as normative for any ethnic group. All women, but Pacific and Asian women in particular, would benefit from interventions that reinforce women's acceptance of seeking and utilizing outside intervention in cases of partner maltreatment.

Feminizing the boardroom

PurposeChanges to government policy, deregulation and corporatization in New Zealand have influenced the number and status of women on boards of directors. Using company records, archival material and interviews, this paper seeks to examine gender equity on boards of directors in New Zealand and compare the progress of women on the boards of corporate companies in the private sector with those on crown company boards in the public sector.Design/methodology/approachThe paper includes interview material from women who have successfully achieved directorships and examines the approaches they adopted. The paper uses company records and interviews to achieve this aim.FindingsWhile increasing numbers of New Zealand women are entering the business arena, they continue to be underrepresented in the boardrooms and there exists a clear disparity between gender representation on the boards of crown and corporate companies with women being disadvantaged in the private sector.Originality/valueThe paper outlines some positive steps to assist women in the bid for corporate directorship, but suggests that the challenge of changing corporate and societal attitudes remains.

Influence of an iron intervention on the zinc status of young adult New Zealand women with mild iron deficiency

Interventions to combat mild Fe deficiency in women of childbearing age may affect Zn nutriture. We used dietary and laboratory indices to assess change in Zn status during a 4-month partially blinded placebo-controlled Fe intervention in women with low Fe stores (serum ferritin < 20 microg/l and Hb > or = 120 g/l) from Dunedin, New Zealand. Subjects aged 18-40 years were randomly assigned to three groups: dietary advice (diet group; DG; n 29), daily Fe supplement with meals (supplement group; SG; n 23; 50 mg Fe as amino acid chelate) and placebo (placebo group; PG, n 26). A validated semi-quantitative FFQ (SFFQ) was administered at baseline, and at 4, 8 and 15 weeks; fasting morning blood samples were assayed for serum Zn, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and C-reactive protein at baseline, and at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks; hair Zn and taste detection thresholds by electrogustometry were measured at baseline and at 16 weeks. Intakes of flesh foods and vitamin C but not Zn or Fe increased, whereas phytate and phytate:Zn molar ratios decreased (all P < or = 0.01) in the DG compared with the PG and SG, based on three SFFQ. Serum Zn increased in both the DG and PG (adjusted, P < or = 0.002), so the between-group difference was not significant; the lack of a parallel rise in the SG was significant when compared with the PG (P = 0.02). ALP activity (but not hair Zn or taste acuity) followed a similar trend. In conclusion, Zn status was not improved compared with placebo by an Fe-based dietary intervention. However, a daily moderate-dose Fe supplement with meals appeared to lower Zn status in these young adult women.

CVD treatment gap amongst at-risk New Zealand women

CVD treatment gap amongst at-risk New Zealand women

'Going-to-have-cancerness': a study of living with increased risk of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations for six South Island women

Mutations in the BRCA (breast cancer) 1 and 2 genes are thought to lead to 5-10% of breast cancers. A qualitative study to explore six New Zealand women's experiences of living with increased risk for a genetic susceptibility to breast cancer. Six women were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, to explore their experiences of living at high risk for developing breast cancer due to familial and/or individual genetic susceptibilities. Results were analysed using thematic coding. After a three-year interval, interviewees were contacted again to discuss their experiences (although two were lost to follow-up). The women held fatalistic views on developing cancer and drew on family experience as much as biomedical research to assess their situation. They became increasingly immersed in biomedical screening and prophylaxis without accompanying improvement to their peace of mind and with unrealistic ideas of it 'preventing' cancer. The biomedical management options and advice they reported receiving was factually inconsistent and a discrepancy emerged between women's expectations of breast cancer health services (including genetic testing) and the delivered support and services. This small sample group cannot be used to draw implications on the views of the wider group of higher risk patients, but for these six women, genetic testing, screening and prophylaxis have not provided peace of mind; rather the reverse has occurred. The findings are provocative as they challenge the biomedical idea of patients' experience of managing their genetic risk information as routinely positive.

A Dissident Voice in New Zealand Wartime Sex Education

Sex education in wartime New Zealand focused primarily on adults and was concerned with community stability in aberrant times. In 1943 Dr. Clara Lee's bold move to ask a group of New Zealand women candidly about their sexual experiences caused her dismissal as lecturer in sex hygiene to military women. This encounter provides an important counter discourse to the dominantly held contemporary sex education framework of marital love and premarital chastity.

The Nature of Nature: How New Zealand Women in Middle to Later Life Experience Nature-Based Leisure

This article explores how women in middle to later life from Aotearoa-New Zealand understand and experience nature in the context of their outdoor leisure. Using a qualitative gender-informed methodology, multiple interviews were conducted with 11 women. Three key themes were revealed: First, nature was more than words, with women transgressing mechanistic conceptions of nature. Second, nature was understood as a sensory experience, defined by the five senses as well as through spiritual description. Finally, for these women, nature was expressed as “a part of me,” demonstrating a deep connection to the outdoors. The study findings help to rethink traditional conceptions of nature-based recreation.

Warning labels on alcohol containers as a source of information on alcohol consumption in pregnancy among New Zealand women

Background The addition of a warning label on alcohol containers is a policy measure yet to be adopted in New Zealand. The current study aims to report the rating of a national sample of 16–40-year-old non-pregnant New Zealand women on a warning label on alcohol containers as a source of information on risks associated with alcohol consumption in pregnancy. Methods A nationwide, cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2005 on a random sample of 1129 non-pregnant women aged 16–40 years. Data were collected via an interviewer-administered questionnaire using a Web-assisted telephone interviewing system. Results Overall, the survey achieved a response rate of 65%. Just over half of the women surveyed (53%; 95% CI 50.2–56.0) gave a high rating for a warning label as a source of information on alcohol consumption in pregnancy. Women below 30 years of age and who were of non-European ethnicity were more likely to give a high rating compared with older women and European women, respectively ( p < 0.05). Conclusions Introduction of a warning label on alcohol containers in New Zealand may be effective in increasing awareness of the risks associated with alcohol consumption in pregnancy among at-risk drinkers, namely, younger women and New Zealand women of Maori and Pacific ethnicities. However, to accentuate behavioural change, other prevention approaches within a health promotion framework may be needed to complement this approach.

The association of maternal diet and dietary supplement intake in pregnant New Zealand women with infant birthweight

To investigate the association of infant birthweight with maternal diet and supplement intake. Prospective cohort study of 504 European and Polynesian urban and rural pregnant volunteers recruited from northern New Zealand clinics. Subjects were visited in months 4 (mth4) and 7 (mth7) of pregnancy when height, weight and skinfolds were measured, questionnaires to determine personal details administered, and diet assessed by a 24-hour recall and 3-day food record. After adjusting for confounders nutrients accounted for up to 5.0% of the total variance in birthweight. Ethnicity was not a significant confounder. A quadratic relationship existed between birthweight and % total energy (%TE) from carbohydrate, fat and protein, most significantly with carbohydrate energy (P=0.002). Birthweight was greatest (approximately 3600 g) when carbohydrate %TE was 48%, fat 35% and protein 17%. Birthweight was reduced with high beta-carotene intakes (mth4, P=0.009) and with both high retinol and beta-carotene intakes in mth4 and 7 (average). Birthweight was positively associated with increasing pantothenic acid/biotin ratios (P=0.011), magnesium (P=0.000) and vitamin D (P=0.015) intakes in mth4; with biotin (P=0.040) and B(12) intakes above the RDI (P=0.006) in mth7; and with pantothenic acid intake in mth4&7 (P=0.002). Dietary supplement usage was associated with increased birthweight, most significantly iron supplementation (P=0.006). Birthweight was associated with the %TE from carbohydrate, fat and protein, and with beta-carotene, retinol, vitamins D and B(12), pantothenic acid, biotin and magnesium intakes and iron supplementation. More research may be required on some dietary recommendations for pregnancy.

Cohesive Narratives: Dissolving Aotearoa/New Zealand's Heroines of Water

In this paper, the biographical sporting narratives produced about a selection of New Zealand's most successful women swimmers are interrogated and analyzed. It is argued that biographical narratives, ironically, pay insufficient attention to the complexity and fluidity of ‘character’. As such, it is suggested that the interrogation of fictional characters is a useful way of exploring the cultural conditions of possibility which shape the (re)production of sporting heroines. To this end, the narrative of a fictional swimmer, Alex, is compared and contrasted to the biographical sports narratives of New Zealand women swimmers, and the untapped political possibilities of a fictional sports heroine are discussed.

A comparison of teenage views on journalism as a career in Australia and New Zealand

Australian and New Zealand journalism programmes report a disproportionate number of female students and the industry in both countries is becoming increasingly feminised. Densem (2006) explored the reasons for the popularity of journalism as a career among young New Zealand women and the relative lack of appeal for young men. This article reports upon preliminary results from an Australian study convering some common ground and offers some comparisons and contrasts with the New Zealand findings. This article uses the high school student responses from a larger study as the basis of comparison with similar data in the Densem (2006) study.

Degrees of separation? Early women principals in New Zealand state schools 1876–1926

As a British colony, New Zealand had early to grapple with how best to implement a state system of schooling. Inspectors of primary schools and governing boards of secondary schools were responsible for appointing school principals. This paper examines the ways in which they dealt with new situations: in the case of the primary schools where there were few suitable male applicants and in the case of the secondary schools where they were responsible for appointing the very first principals of girls’ schools. It argues that within a small colony with emerging bureaucratic structures, lone officials and autonomous governing boards were able to engage in flexible decision making when making principal appointments to enable schools to open and remain open. Central to the appointment of women as early principals was the importance of their own social networks and personal connections. It was in this way that the non‐traditional school principal began to emerge. She was female, either Māori or European, either non‐graduate or graduate, either single, married or widowed, and sometimes from working‐class origins. This paper highlights the appointments of several of the first women principals in New Zealand across the three state school sectors – Native Schools, primary schools and secondary schools. These were women who carved out new professional identities for themselves, and modelled alternative vocational pathways for the next generation of New Zealand women.

The 'goss' on Paul and Heather: Attitudes to celebrity and divorce in three NZ women's magazines

In recent years the range of mass media available in New Zealand and the Pacific generally has come under increasing attention from scholars, notably in this journal. However, New Zealand women's magazines, although widely read, have not received the same depth of scholarly attention. On the social constructionist principle that close analysis of written texts can suggest much about the society in which they are embedded and the social functions they perform, this article examines 34 items about the separation of Paul McCartney ad Heather Mills from the New Zealand Women's Day, and New Idea from 3 June to 30 December 2006, to investigate the nature of gossip's appeal in general, and the magazines' attitudes to divorce in particular.

Gynaecologic cancer patients' needs and experiences of supportive health services in New Zealand

Psychosocial care across the cancer continuum is a core component of quality gynaecologic cancer services. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify needs for supportive care in a sample of New Zealand women and to understand to what extent they feel their needs are being met by health services. Purposive sampling was used to recruit women (n=28) diagnosed with a gynaecologic cancer. Unstructured interviews were conducted and a thematic analysis was performed. Interviews revealed a range of shared and unique needs and support experiences. Three themes emerged reflecting participants' sense of control, need for validation of the cancer experience and organisation of their care. Findings suggest issues of continuity and coordination of care result in unmet support needs across the continuum of care, but primarily after treatment finishes. While broadly consistent with previous results, findings highlight the need for a patient-focused, comprehensive, integrated approach to supportive cancer care encompassing diagnosis, treatment and long-term recovery.