The Naked Goddess: Pornography and the Sacred

Abstract

In this article it is argued that contemporary forms of pornography represent an assault upon important sacred traditions which venerated female generative power and saw sexuality as a means of participating in the divine. The pornographic representations of the feminine in Western culture are part of systems of domination which not only support the abuse of women but also the colonization of peoples and the exploitation of nature. A celebration of the sexual cosmologies, which can still be found in cultural performances and ritual acts, is a means of countering this domination. So too is the process of speaking from the vulva; reclaiming the female genitals as a source of intelligent power that both manifest in and signify the creative forces that animate the universe.     

The Appropriation Process of the Belief in a Just World

Research on the belief in a just world (BJW) has been developing since the mid 60s. However, studies have been mainly developed from an individual differences perspective. As a consequence there are no studies that analyze the cognitive processes implied in the appropriation of the BJW during the socialization processes that occur in infancy and onwards. The main purpose of this paper is therefore to analyze this psychological process from childhood to adolescence. The study was carried out with a convenience sample of children and adolescents (N?=?216) from Buenos Aires, between 6 and 17 years old, who participated in an interview guided by the piagetian clinical method. Results indicate that during the appropriation process of the BJW participants reconstruct this belief to make it coherent with hypothetical deductive thinking. This is expressed in three different justifications that the individuals give to justify their BJW: immanent justice, social reciprocity and personal merit. Yet, the appropriation process is incomplete. In the majority of the adolescents a magical thinking remains, constituting a state of cognitive polyphasia expressed in oscillating answers. In conclusion, the BJW is not a previous social condition transmitted from one generation to another. Its appropriation goes beyond the mere reproduction of social beliefs and involves a conceptual reconstruction.     

Feminists,Spirituality, and the Twelve Steps of Alchoholics Anonymous

No abstract available for this article.     

Just Think About It: Mindfulness, Sexism, and Prejudice Toward Feminists

This study examined the relation between mindfulness, sexist motivations and beliefs, and prejudice toward women who violate traditional gender roles—namely feminists. In a preliminary study, 672 (251 men, 421 women) undergraduates from a United States Midwestern university completed a measure of mindfulness and warmth toward feminists and consistent with hypotheses, more mindfulness was associated with more warmth toward feminists. Extending this initial finding to the main study, 653 (273 men, 380 women) undergraduates from a U.S. Midwestern university completed measures of mindfulness, motivation to respond without sexism, ambivalent sexism, and warmth toward feminists. Consistent with hypotheses, compared to women participants, men participants were lower on internal motivation to respond without sexism, higher on hostile and benevolent sexism and less warm toward feminists. Also consistent with hypotheses, for men participants, more mindfulness was associated with higher internal motivation to respond without sexism, less benevolent sexism, and more warmth toward feminists. In contrast, for women participants, more mindfulness was only associated with less hostile sexism. Finally, a path analysis revealed that the positive relation between mindfulness and warmth toward feminists for men participants was partially mediated by more internal motivation to respond without sexism (i.e., a significant indirect effect), but not by less sexist beliefs. Implications for mindfulness, sexism, and prejudice more generally are discussed.     

Power,Empowerment, and Equality: Evidence for the Motives of Feminists,Nonfeminists, and Antifeminists

Both feminists and antifeminists claim they do not seek to dominate others, and accuse their ideological opponents of an insidious desire for power. The purpose of this study was to examine the motives of feminists, nonfeminists, and antifeminists by assessing their values in a context in which they would not feel that their motives regarding feminism were being scrutinized. Participants were 126 mostly European-American students. Antifeminist men placed more emphasis on their own power than did other men; but antifeminist, nonfeminist, and feminist women did not differ in emphasis placed on power. Among both men and women, antifeminists placed little importance on equality. Feminist women placed more importance on equality than did nonfeminist women, who in turn placed more importance on equality than did antifeminist women.     

The teleological stance: Past,present, and future

We review the support for, and criticisms of, the teleological stance theory, often described as a foundation for goal‐directed action understanding early in life. A major point of contention in the literature has been how teleological processes and assumptions of rationality are represented and understood in infancy, and this debate has been largely centered on three paradigms. Visual habituation studies assess infant's abilities to retrospectively assess teleological processes; the presence of such processes is supported by the literature. Rational imitation is a phenomenon that has been questioned both theoretically and empirically, and there is currently little support for this concept in the literature. The involvement of teleological processes in action prediction is unclear. To date, the ontology of teleological processes remains unspecified. To remedy this, we present a new action‐based theory of teleological processes (here referred to as the embodied account of teleological processes), based on the development of goal‐directed reaching with its origin during the fetal period and continuous development over the first few months of life.     

The Appropriation of Difference: State and the Construction of Ethnic Identities in Nigeria

With an analysis of the construction of ethno-political identities in Nigeria, in this article I show that ethnic identities in postcolonial, multicultural societies are often constructed by the state and the elites that control it and use state power for accumulation and to maintain distributional inequities. With its roots in the character of colonial rule, this construction has been an important strategy of Nigeria's elites and the state in political struggles, and competition over power, economic resources, and prestige. In Nigeria's case, state managers, under pressure from domestic groups, international financial institutions, and governments, engage in contradictory processes of trying to promote a "national" identity while also promoting ethnic/regional identities, which subvert the former. In doing this they borrow freely from the values and beliefs held by particular groups about themselves and others, which as cultural meanings, help mobilize action. In this sense, ethnic identity in Nigeria does not merely reflect the material base but rather helps shape that base and is internationalized. Perspectives, which only stress the primordiality of ethnic identity and struggles or see ethnicity as merely a reflection of class struggles or merely the result of the nature of colonial oppression, are seen to be inadequate. In this article I show that a reduction of destructive ethnicity in Nigeria requires a more equitable redistribution of resources and more inclusive cultural, including educational policies and practices that allow for fair and equitable representation of and respect for various cultural traditions and other forms of difference in the country.     

The Careers Service: Past, Present and Future

The history of the Careers Service is divided into a number of phases: pre-1919, the inter-war years, the early post-war phase, and 1973 onwards. The latter period is analysed in particular detail. External influences upon the service-including developments in the education sphere, theories of vocational guidance, and legislative changes are reviewed. Changes in economic orthodoxy which have influenced developments in economic policy and thereby the operation of the labour market are emphasised. The potential future role of the Careers Service is considered.     

Perception,Memory, and Duration: The Binding Problem and the Synthesis of the Past

Theories of perception and of memory are closely allied. The binding problem (which considers how bits of perception are reassembled by the brain) leads to neurophysiological subjectivism. This could be outflanked by arguing with Bergson that perceiving consciousness is out in the world. Thus the brain would bind only behavioral “maps.” In turn, consciousness would retain our personal pasts. Such personal (episodic) memories both help us to recognize present objects and to perform creative acts. Memory, although retentive, is also creative. This is important in rethinking biological and evolutionary memory.     

The Albert Ellis Institute: Past,Present and Future

The Albert Ellis Institute founded in 1959 by Dr. Albert Ellis is the bedrock where Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) was born. During these 55 years the Institute has become the neuralgic center from where REBT develops and disseminates trough the affiliated international centers all over the world. Nowadays it is chartered by the University of the State of New York and it has a professional team directed by Dr. Kristene Doyle deeply committed to promote emotional health spreading REBT, a short-term therapy with long-term results. Dr. Kristene Doyle talks about her experience in the Institute under Dr. Ellis mentorship and also about the current activities in the Institute and the plans for the future.     

The Development of the Counseling Profession in Japan: Past,Present, and Future

The authors provide a sociohistorical overview of the development of the counseling profession in Japan. They describe Japan's major social, cultural, and political changes; growing psychological problems in Japanese society; and an increased need for counseling services. Historical overviews and the current state of counseling are presented with a particular focus on the definition of counseling, professional associations, certifications and credentials, counselor education, and counseling practices. The authors also examine future challenges and opportunities for professional counselors in Japan.     

Creation and Construction: On the Theological Appropriation of Postmodern Theory

Postmodern theory can be appreciated by theological anthropology along the following lines: it interprets the cultural conditions that shape personal identity, including the elements of construction and contingency in identity-formation. It emphasizes the necessity for a multifaceted approach to the question about what it means to be human, and for avoiding closure. This is expressed in the doctrine of the human as created, as sinner and as restored—as none of these perspectives captures the whole picture. Postmodern theory also focuses on the importance of otherness for establishing identity, thereby offering a new way of interpreting human beings as created in the image of God.