Social and Gendered Readings of Illness Narratives

This essay recognizes that the interactions that define medical care are problematic and that narrative is invoked to overcome these strains. Being grounded in science, medicine, too, might be influenced by a particular world-view that arose in the natural philosophy of the Scientific Revolution. If narrative responds to this sort of medicine, it may retain traces of this mindset. A feminist approach responds to this viewpoint and may used beneficially to analyze both the story of medicine and the stories within medicine. Tensions discussed from this perspective are those between sickness and health and those between patient and provider; also questioned are suitable form(s) of narrative and whose narratives are valued. Suggestions for broadening narrative to address these issues include letting the body speak for itself, overcoming the power differential in the patient/provider interaction and using standpoints to foster a more equal and just medical system.     

Communities of Denial: The Co-Construction of Gendered Adolescent Violence

Neutralization theorists argue that techniques of neutralization bridge the gap between deviant behaviors and mainstream norms. While acknowledging this fundamental outcome, this article examines the role of broader communities in upholding neutralizations, specifically those that foster violence. Based on in-depth interviews with 25 adolescents and their mothers (N = 50), I find that neutralizations are developed around rigid gender ideologies, are differentially employed across genders, and reify gender differences in violent behavior. Techniques of neutralization are co-constructed within communities and built on mainstream norms, values, and expectations. This study demonstrates how neutralizations can perpetuate and escalate violence among adolescents.     

Gendered Training: Men and Men's Issues in Marriage and Family Therapy Programs

Few studies examine men's experiences in becoming a therapist. Only a modicum of attention appears to be paid to men's professional training needs in MFT training programs as expressed in the family therapy literature. Five recommendations, based on the author's experiences and male student voices, are provided for how to best meet the needs of male students in MFT training programs. These recommendations are (1) be aware of men's experiences and don't assume silence means disinterest, (2) develop depth in clinical training on men's issues, (3) incorporate theories of masculinity into curriculum, (4) engage male students in the training process, and (5) provide support to male students through mentorship and support groups.     

Gendered Racial Identity of Black Young Women

In order to understand the experience and identity development of Black adolescents and young women, it is important to understand the intersection of race and gender, or gendered racial identity development. The study sought to unpack aspects of social identity particularly gendered racial identity from the phenomenological perspective of participants. This study included dyadic focus groups of 17 African American young women between the ages of 15?C21. Participants were asked about meaning and salience of gendered racial identity. Results suggest that gendered racial identity had greater salience for the participants as compared to the separate constructs of racial or gender identity. The participants identified with negative stereotypes and images of African American women, issues of colorism and standards of beauty. They also emphasized the importance of self-determination. Furthermore, when asked directly about the meaning of race and gender in their lives participants indicated that race and gender simultaneously influenced their perceptions of themselves. The findings that emerge from this study further the discourse regarding limitations that may occur when using single identity factor models to understand identity development among ethnic minority youth. Implications for prevention programs and areas for future research are included.     

Evaluating Agency and Responsibility in Gendered Violence: African American Youth Talk About Violence and Hip Hop

The results of this study provide insights into the ways that African American adolescents think about gendered interpersonal violence. African American high school students were invited to discuss images and incidents from contemporary urban music culture (events based on incidents with famous hip hop figures and lyrics from rap music) in a focus group format. We explored how African American youth perceived and responded to examples of gendered violence portrayed in vignettes and musical lyrics. The main analyses focus on the question of how youths’ perceptions of hip hop images, hypothetical stories, and lyrics were linked to their views of “normative” gender interactions and interpersonal relationships for their racial group.     

The Impact of Gendered Stereotypes on Perceptions of Violence: A Commentary

Sex Roles - The present commentary explores the impact of gender role stereotypes on perceptions of both intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual violence. Two papers published in this issue of...     

The Impact of Welfare Reform on Men's Violence against Women

Welfare reform is likely to have a profound effect on the lives of poor women who are being abused. This article proposes exchange theory and the feminist backlash hypothesis as frameworks with which to assess the impact of welfare reform on violence levels in abusive relationships. Exchange theory suggests that if a woman leaves welfare and obtains employment that increases her economic resources, violence against her will decrease. The backlash hypothesis makes a different prediction: Violence will increase as men attempt to compensate for women's enhanced status or independence. Both approaches are examined in light of current data. As demonstrated here, the incorporation into social policy analyses of feminist thinking about dominance and power will enrich our understanding of the impact of social policy changes on people.     

Putting in Work: The Application of Identity Theory to Gang Violence and Commitment

ABSTRACT

Research has seldom examined how identity mechanisms facilitate violence among gang members. Relying on life history interviews with self-identified former gang members, we use identity theory to explore the relationship between commitment to the gang identity and violence. Results indicate that the relationship between commitment and violence is complex. Specifically, for individuals with a high degree of cognitive commitment to the gang identity, violence will be used to achieve positive and confirming reflected appraisals. However, once gang members have achieved congruence between reflected appraisals and identity standards, a threshold is reached where violence is no longer required.     

Man Up: Young Men's Lived Experiences and Reflections on Counseling

The author interviewed 6 young men about their perceptions of masculinity and their experiences with counseling. Through a phenomenological approach, 3 themes emerged: characteristics of men, perceptions of social expectations, and experiences with counseling. All participants characterized men as emotionally reserved, protective and supportive, powerful, sexually motivated, honorable, and goal oriented. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and counseling implications.     

Survivor of That Time, That Place: Clinical Uses of Violence Survivors' Narratives

Narratives by survivors of abuse offer compelling entries into the experiences of abuse and its effects on health. Reading such stories can enlarge the clinician's understanding of the complexities of abuse. Furthermore, attention to narrative can enhance the therapeutic options for abuse victims not only in mental health arenas, but also in other medical contexts. In this article we define the genre of survivor narratives, examine one such narrative in particular (Push by Sapphire, 1996), and explore the clinical implications of narrative in abuse victims' clinical care.     

An Examination of Gendered Violence and School Push-Out Directed Against Urban Black Girls/Adolescents: Illustrative Data,Cases and a Call to Action

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on Black girls/adolescents, a frequently neglected group, given a dominant focus on Black males and their risk status within the school-to-prison pipeline. This article provides a framework for the analysis of the gendered violence to which Black girls/adolescents are subjected while urging a shift in focus from individual-level behavior to a focus on social contextual, structural, and social determinant factors; this means a shift from focusing on proximal factors to distal or upstream factors operating as underlying mechanisms. Both illustrative data and cases are presented and analyzed to highlight how racial disparities in suspension, expulsion, and discipline—which disproportionately negatively impact Black girls/adolescents compared to White girls/adolescents—necessitate a major call to action to close these disturbing gaps.     

Community Matters: Intimate Partner Violence Among Rural Young Adults

Drawing on social disorganization theory, the current study examined the extent to which community-level poverty rates and collective efficacy influenced individual reports of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration, victimization, and bystander intervention among a sample of 178 young adults (18–24; 67.4 % women) from 16 rural counties across the eastern US who completed an online survey that assessed demographic information, IPV perpetration, victimization, bystander intervention, and collective efficacy. We computed each county’s poverty rate from the 2007–2011 American Community Survey. Generalized estimating equations demonstrated that after controlling for individual-level income status, community-level poverty positively predicted IPV victimization and perpetration for both men and women. Collective efficacy was inversely related to IPV victimization and perpetration for men; however, collective efficacy was unrelated to IPV victimization and perpetration for women. Whereas IPV bystander intervention was positively related to collective efficacy and inversely related to individual-level income status for both men and women, community-level poverty was unrelated to IPV bystander intervention for both men and women. Overall, these findings provide some support for social disorganization theory in explaining IPV among rural young adults, and underscore the importance of multi-level IPV prevention and intervention efforts focused around community-capacity building and enhancement of collective efficacy.     

Gendered Appearances among Young Children and in the Media: An East-West Cultural Comparison

Sex Roles - Many young children often exhibit a strong desire to wear extremely gender-typed clothing (appearance rigidity), reflecting their emerging gender identities. However, research on...     

Social Change Movements and the Struggle Over Meaning-Making: A Case Study of Domestic Violence Narratives

Social movement theorists have emphasized the important role of meaning-making for social change movements (e.g., D. A. Snow and R. D. Benford, 1992, In: A. D. Morris & C. M. Mueller (Eds.) Frontiers in social movement theory. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, pp 133-155; C. M. Mueller, 1992, In: A. D. Morris & C. M. Mueller (Eds.) Frontiers in social movement theory. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, pp 3-26). Using the domestic violence movement as a case study, this study undertakes a close analysis of advocates' narratives about the phenomenon of domestic violence. This analysis sheds light on the current status of the movement as a social change movement attempting to promote alternative understandings of domestic violence as a social, rather than individual, problem. Study findings provide some evidence that the domestic violence movement has become increasingly de-politicized by documenting a range of narratives that convey an apolitical, degendered, individual-level analysis of domestic violence.     

Dating Violence Prevention: A Didactic Support Group for Young Women

The authors discuss the social problem of dating violence and present a didactic support group model designed to empower young women to see themselves as “choice makers” with the ability to make informed decisions in their own best interest. They also present research findings that support the content of the group model and articulate some of their experiences in conducting this group in both high school and college settings. Finally, they discuss the potential impact of the group according to feedback from participants.     

Gendered Division of Digital Labor in Parenting: A Qualitative Study in Urban China

Sex Roles - The gendered division of domestic labor is a key topic in gender and family studies. While there has been extensive discussion of time use and the division of physical, emotional, and...     

基督教青年会与民国时期的职业指导

青年会是基督教的外围组织,倡导基督教的服务与献身精神,它的活动涉及教育、文化、医疗、慈善等诸多方面,职业指导便是其中之一.20世纪20、30年代,中国基督教青年会不仅发起了许多职业指导活动,而且还创立了一些职业指导机构,为青年择业、就业提供服务.基督教青年会是近代中国职业指导事业发展中的一支重要力量.