Getting Out of Our Own Way

This paper, a follow-up from a 2009 panel discussion at ABCT's Annual Convention, focuses on the choices that women make (or don't make) that can affect their careers. Women are particularly prone to feeling guilty about their choices, and while a few decades ago there was a great deal of sexism in the workplace, at this point in time, I believe that we are more likely to make assumptions that impede our careers rather than face external barriers. The paper covers some “stuck points” that stop women from advocating for themselves or results in guilt regardless of their choice.     

How Being Female Influenced My Professional Experiences and Growth

In this paper I describe some of my professional experiences as a female, both as a graduate student and throughout my career. My own experience was unique because I began graduate school a few months after arriving in the U.S. with limited knowledge of English in a very competitive and demanding program , in addition to the fact that I was a faculty wife in that department.     

Research trauma in incarcerated spaces: Listening to incarcerated women's narratives

This paper discusses researcher emotional experiences evoked while conducting narrative interviews in a research project that explored the rehabilitation experiences of 18 incarcerated women. I highlight the significance of listening as a methodology in spaces of incarceration. The importance of retrospective reflexivity in locating experiences of trauma encountered during the research process is discussed. The paper also brings to the fore the transformative power of stories for listeners as I share how my prejudices and attitudes regarding incarcerated women, as people who are framed as dangerous, were challenged. Experiences with interviewing and connecting with the incarcerated women further emphasised the importance of proactive self-care for researchers, with the significance of reflexivity as a self-care tool when doing qualitative research with vulnerable populations.     

Is the hijab protective? An investigation of body image and related constructs among British Muslim women

Previous studies have reported equivocal findings concerning the impact of wearing a hijab, or Islamic head‐ and body‐cover, on Muslim women's body image. Here, we sought to examine that impact using a larger sample of Muslim women than has been relied upon and a wider range of body image measures. A total of 587 British Muslim women completed a battery of scales assessing their frequency and conservativeness of hijab use, body image variables, attitudes towards the media and beauty ideals, importance of appearance, and religiosity. Preliminary results indicated that 218 women never used the hijab and 369 women used some form of the hijab at least rarely. Controlling for religiosity, women who wore the hijab had more positive body image, lower internalization of media messages about beauty standards, and placed less importance on appearance than women who did not wear the hijab. Among women who wore the hijab, hijab use significantly predicted weight discrepancy and body appreciation over and above religiosity. These results are discussed in terms of the possible protective impact among British Muslim women of wearing the hijab.     

Do Religious Affirmations,Religious Commitments,or General Commitments Mitigate the Negative Effects of Exposure to Thin Ideals?

Western pressures for thinness tell women that having a thin body makes a person worthy. Two factors that may provide alternative means of self‐worth are religion and general commitment to a meaningful goal. This study experimentally tested whether religious‐affirming statements buffered against exposure to thin models for everyone, or only for women with strong religious commitment. It also examined the relationships among religious commitment, general commitment, and body satisfaction. One hundred eleven women at a religious‐affiliated college completed the commitment scales and baseline body measures. They were later randomly assigned to read one set of affirming statements, after which they then completed body measures again. Results showed that religious commitment buffered against exposure to ultrathin models. Women who were strongly religiously committed and who read religious statements that affirmed the body showed higher body esteem. Correlation results showed that general commitment was positively related to body esteem, body satisfaction, and healthy dieting. Religious commitment was positively related to body esteem and body satisfaction. Results are discussed in relation to schemas and depth of processing. Practical implications are discussed.     

Religious Bias Among Religiously Conscious Black Christians in the United States

Research with White participants has demonstrated religious intergroup bias; however, religious identity may be different for Black Americans. Only religiously conscious Black Christians demonstrated a preference for Christian targets over Muslim and Atheist targets. Future research should consider what factors result in a person becoming conscious of other's religion.     

REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES IN CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM

Reproductive medical technology has revolutionized the natural order of human procreation. Accordingly, some have celebrated its advent as a new and liberating determinant of kinship at the global level and advocate it as a right to reproductive health while others have frowned upon it as a vehicle for “guiltless exchange of sexual fluid” and commodification of human gametes. Religious voices from both Christianity and Islam range from unthinking adoption to restrictive use. While utilizing this technology to enable the married couple to have children through the use of their own sexual material is welcome, the use of third party, surrogacy, and reproductive cloning are not in keeping with the sacrosanct principles of kinship, procreation through licit sexual intercourse, and social cohesiveness for building a cohesive family as uphold by both Christianity and Islam. To examine such larger issues emanating from these new ways of human procreation, beyond the question of legality, is a point which legal scholars in both Christianity and Islam, when issuing religious decrees, have not anticipated sufficiently. The article proposes to be an attempt to that end through a qualitative critical content analysis of selected literature written on the subject.     

Can Muslims Befriend Non-Muslims? Debating al-walāʾ wa-al-barāʾ (Loyalty and Disavowal) in Theory and Practice

This article analyzes the polemic on the concept of al-walā? wa-al-barā? (commonly translated as “loyalty and disavowal”). While existing academic literature focuses on the usages of this concept by jihad activists, the article centers on the role “loyalty and disavowal” plays in debates between contemporary salafī and wasa?ī jurists and theologians, specifically in their conflicting agendas for Muslims living as minorities. Salafīs, relying on several qur'anic verses and Prophetic traditions, promote an understanding of “loyalty and disavowal” that requires Muslims to refrain from befriending or loving non-Muslims, or imitating their beliefs and customs. Relying on counter-verses and traditions, in particular Q 60.8, wasa?īs have interpreted the concept of “loyalty and disavowal” more narrowly, arguing that it applies only to non-Muslims who fight against Muslims; as part of their integration-oriented doctrine for Muslims in the West, they have in recent years dedicated considerable efforts to refuting the salafī interpretation of al-walā? wa-al-barā?. The article examines the juristic methodologies utilized in the debate, and how it has affected religious decisions (fatwās) on Islamic life in Western societies.     

PTSD,Posttraumatic Growth,and Coping Among Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Battered Women in Israel

This study examined the association between posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, posttraumatic growth (PTG), and coping styles in a very unique and difficult-to-access Jewish ultra-Orthodox population. The study was conducted with 88 women who spent time in the only shelter in Israel for battered women from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community; data were collected almost 6 years on average after they left the shelter. No association was found between PTS symptoms and PTG. In addition, coping style was not found to have an indirect effect on the relationship between these variables. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.