bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
C
hristianity and Homosexuality
Authors: Isherwood Lisa
Published: April 2016

Christianity has struggled with issues of the body, particularly those involving sexuality, because of the way in which it has understood a number of biblical texts. In addition, the birth of Jesus has been understood as not requiring sex which has through the centuries been taken to mean that celibacy is the ideal Christian state. Those who marry have been variously advised that sex should be open to procreation and therefore prohibitions have been in place even in terms of a married couple. Homosexuality has therefore challenged Christian understandings of the purpose of sex, the natural moral law as well as gender dynamics and power issues. Christian treatment of homosexuals has often been brutal. During the twentieth century, theologians and biblical scholars began to cast doubt on traditional readings of scripture and the theology they underpinned. Often using the methods of liberation theology, gay and lesbian theologians began to offer new readings of the Christian tradition.
Visual Culture
Authors: Lakämper Judith
Published: April 2016

The term visual culture has been used to describe both the visual aspects of different cultures and an emerging academic interdisciplinary field studying them. Ranging from religious imagery and painting to photography, film, television, and digital images, the topics that are of interest to visual culture studies invite a number of different analytical lenses, including art history, semiotics, psychoanalysis, media studies, and phenomenology. These various approaches to visual culture allow for a complex and in‐depth understanding of the way in which visual representation contributes to and reflects on our perception of the world, both synchronically and diachronically.
Women Travelers
Authors: Prideaux Bruce , Glover Petra
Published: April 2016

This entry focuses on solo independent women travelers defined as women who choose to travel independently without a packaged tour and without a companion. The entry examines a range of issues related to this group of women, including those related to travel risks and the types of activities they participate in.
B
uddhism
Authors: Gross Rita M.
Published: April 2016

Buddhist attitudes toward gender involve two contrasting views. The more normative view is that the enlightened mind is beyond gender, neither male nor female, and that women and men have equal spiritual capacities. The more popular view is that men have distinct advantages over women. Buddhist institutional practices have followed the popular attitude more frequently than the normative attitude. Regarding sexuality, Buddhism has two distinct standards, one for monastics and another for laypeople. For monastics, celibacy is the norm. For laypeople, sexual pleasure is legitimate, though sexual misconduct is to be avoided. Standards for sexual misconduct vary, but the most basic guideline is that one's sexual activities must avoid harming either one's partner or oneself.
Gender Identity, Theories of
Authors: Warner Leah R.
Published: April 2016

Gender identity is defined as a person's self‐understanding of their gender. Gender identity theories are diverse and rooted in conflicting epistemological assumptions. Some theories focus on origins, specifically extent to which gender identity is an internal, biologically driven versus sociocultural characteristic, and the interplay between these two origins. Other theories reject explorations of origins, and instead focus on the performative nature of gender identity, its participation in social power structures, and its mutually constitutive relation to other social identities. Theories also conflict in the conceptualization of gender identity as a fixed binary (man or woman) and as separable from sex; critics problematize this process of categorization, and instead emphasize gender identity as a fluid expression that depends on context and other social factors.
Earner–Carer Model
Authors: Keisu Britt‐Inger
Published: April 2016

The earner–carer model is a welfare state approach based on the ideological, gender‐egalitarian premise that men and women are equally involved in both paid labor and unpaid care work. Different welfare state policy structures divide into those that support either women's paid work within the labor market or the traditional division of male breadwinner/female homemaker. Hence, policy measures produce different incentives for families to divide up paid work and unpaid care work. During the 1990s, many feminists studying welfare state issues criticized the overlooked gendered aspects, and stressed the importance of including unpaid care work and all socially constructed properties in the analysis. Throughout the twentieth century, the traditional male breadwinner/female full‐time homemaker ideal of family life was dominant in the Western welfare states, but during the second half of the century it became less pronounced, along with women's increased participation in the labor market.
Sexual Violence and the Military
Authors: Cyr Heather D.
Published: April 2016

Sexual violence within the armed forces became public knowledge as a result of the 1991 Tailhook scandal. Since that time the widespread prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual assault within the United States military has continued to plague both male and female soldiers. This entry briefly highlights the incidence of sexual violence within the armed forces with a focus on the legal outcomes of several highly publicized cases as involving violence toward US soldiers.
Regulation of Queer Sexualities
Authors: Kinsman Gary
Published: April 2016

The regulation of queer sexualities in a global context addresses the social regulation of diverse groups engaging in erotic and gender experiences that rupture with institutionalized heterosexuality (including in contexts where this is still in formation) and the imposition of a two‐gender (male/female) way of doing gender on their lives. Sexual regulation is the complex web of relations and practices that define and regulate people's erotic lives. This regulation, originally articulated within the framework of nation‐states, is increasingly global in character. This includes regulatory strategies ranging from criminalization to limited toleration of queer sexualities in “private” to only accepting “responsible” and “respectable” queers. These various regulatory strategies provoke diverse forms of resistance that oppose oppressive strategies of sexual regulation but also point toward non‐oppressive sexual regulation where institutionalized heterosexuality and the two‐gender system have been removed from the practices of sexual regulation.
Poverty in Global Perspective
Authors: Sharpe Rhonda Vonshay , Swanson Kendal
Published: April 2016

Globally, be they single, mothers or seniors, women consistently comprise the majority of those who are in poverty. The historical overrepresentation of women in the pool of poverty suggests that there is a feminization of poverty. Societal laws about asset ownership, defects in the labor market, and the fact that motherhood reduces experience, thereby influencing wages, all work in tandem to condemn women to poverty. While the definitions of poverty are gender neutral, poverty operates on women in ways that put them more at risk for domestic violence and sexual exploitation and that erodes their equality of rights.
Colonialism and Sexuality
Authors: Taraud Christelle , Pensack Miriam
Published: April 2016

By no means an anecdotal or peripheral element within the political establishment of colonialism, sexuality is, to the contrary, a central issue in colonial Africa, Asia, and Oceania as early as the beginning of the nineteenth century. From the role of Europeans within the colonial context to the presence of sexual diversity (mixed couples, sexual relations between men, prostitution) and the question of virility, colonial administrations, whether French, British, Belgian, Dutch, German, Italian, or Portuguese, have all theorized and tested certain mechanisms of sexual supervision and regulation. This entry proposes to analyze them.
Women in Combat
Authors: DeLance Lisa
Published: April 2016

The question of whether women should be allowed to participate in combat operations has become more salient as nations are waging long‐term wars on multiple fronts. Arguments, both for and against women in combat, are based on psychological, biological, and moral grounds. Historically, women have been combatants in many wars, rebellions, and revolutions, but frequently become marginalized once fighting has ceased. Current research into the masculinization of female soldiers demonstrates that the female embodiment of militarized masculinization can have negative effects on the way women are perceived in the military. Major changes in the way war is waged have provided opportunities for women to engage in close‐quarter combat in which they have not only repeatedly excelled as soldiers, but also gained accolades for bravery. This entry examines the history of, current debates, and possible future directions for women in combat.
Chastity
Authors: Janssen Diederik F.
Published: April 2016

Deeply ingrained in ancient and Christian concepts of the ideal woman, chastity denotes adherence to prescribed notions of sexual morality as it relates to marriage, especially abstinence from premarital and extramarital liberties. Circumscription of female chastity is associated especially with Abrahamic religions, and more broadly with the primacy of the conjugal bond or/and the sanctity of patrilineal hierarchy, that is, with high interest in certainty of paternity.
Sexual Instinct and Sexual Desire
Authors: Regan Pamela C.
Published: April 2016

Sexual instinct or sexual desire is the motivational component of human sexuality. Although it is closely related to, and often occurs with, other sexual responses (such as sexual arousal and sexual activity), desire is considered to be a separate component of the human sexual response cycle. Research reveals that a wide array of personal, interpersonal, and environmental factors are associated with the ability, motivation, and opportunity to experience and express sexual desire. These factors include demographic attributes (e.g., age, gender), mental and physical health (e.g., chronic illness, mood disorders), hormonal processes (e.g., testosterone levels) and hormonally mediated life events (e.g., menstruation, pregnancy), relationship health and function (e.g., interpersonal conflict, communication, satisfaction, levels of passionate love), and physical and social environmental variables (e.g., drugs, stressors, sociocultural norms). Sexual desire is a complex, multiply determined response that is affected by (and that in turn has implications for) virtually every aspect of a person's life.
Alternative Medicine and Therapies
Authors: García José E.
Published: April 2016

The concept of alternative medicine refers to a broad set of practices and procedures used in the field of healthcare that proceed from a wide range of cultural and intellectual traditions and theoretical approaches, from Chinese and Tibetan medicine to the indigenous cultures of Latin America. For its effective application, alternative medicine uses different modalities of intervention known as alternative therapies. These include alternative medical systems, mind–body interventions, biologically based therapies, manipulative and body‐based methods, and energy therapies. Alternative medicine is used as a substitute to scientific medicine and is more widespread in popular sectors. Its influence has also spread to psychiatry, clinical psychology, and psychotherapy. The main difficulty faced by this form of therapy is its scarce validation and the lack of guarantees of its use for the health of populations. The entry concludes with some brief considerations concerning gender and sexuality in reference to alternative therapies.
Feminism,Latina
Authors: Acosta Katie L.
Published: April 2016

This entry traces the origins of Latina feminism in the United States. It also outlines two key areas of research, Latina/o sexuality and Latinas and work, that have been prominent in this field.
Gendered Innovations in Science, Health, and Technology
Authors: Schiebinger Londa
Published: April 2016

Gendered innovations have brought significant change to science, health, and technology in terms of personnel, institutions, scientific insights, and technology design. Three approaches to gender equality have been taken by governments, universities, and individual scientists and engineers over the past three decades: Fix the Numbers of Women, Fix the Institutions, and Fix the Knowledge. The third approach employs sex and gender analysis to stimulate excellence in scientific knowledge and technology design. Science and engineering are self‐reinforcing systems, and change will require addressing each component of those systems. Recommendations are provided for policymakers, peer‐reviewed journal editors, university and industrial hiring committees, and educators. Realizing the full potential of gendered innovations will require deep international and interdisciplinary collaborations between gender experts, social and natural scientists, and engineers.
Cross‐Cultural Gender Roles
Authors: Harvey Courtney C. C. Heard
Published: April 2016

This entry provides a discussion of factors that may contribute to the development of gender roles that are applicable cross‐culturally. The concept of intersectionality is used to frame the discussion related to layered identities and their influence on gender roles.
Anarchism and Gender
Authors: Ackelsberg Martha
Published: April 2016

As both political theory and social movement, anarchism challenges hierarchical authority relationships in all their forms, aiming to establish a society grounded in equality, reciprocity, and mutuality. In its commitment to a multidimensional understanding of power and oppression, and in its insistence on the need for consistency between means and ends in the revolutionary process, anarchism offers important resources to those engaged in challenges to gendered hierarchies. At the same time, few anarchist movements have actually lived up in practice to the ideals of gender equality to which their writings have given voice.
Scientific Sexism and Racism
Authors: Clough Sharyn , Orozco Julio
Published: April 2016

The ideal of science is one of objectivity in the service of advancing knowledge. However, as feminist and anti‐racist scholars have documented, the institutions and practices of science often serve instead to maintain a political status quo in the service of white, male social elites. People with marginalized social identities continue to be inequitably represented among science students, researchers, and funded fellows; they are discouraged from producing science; they are misrepresented as objects of science; and in extreme but not unusual cases, their participation as subjects in science leaves them maimed, poisoned, or dead. While the identification of racist, sexist features of science is more easily made in retrospect, contemporary cases of scientific research that are both empirically weak, and also map on to available sexist and racist narratives, deserve critical attention.
W
omen's
W
orlds
C
onference
Authors: Golańska Dorota
Published: April 2016

Women's Worlds Conference, known also as Women's Worlds, International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women (IICW), or Women's Worlds Congress (WWC), is a widely recognized feminist event that takes place every three years in different locations across the globe. It regularly brings together feminist academics, artists, activists, NGOs representatives, women's interest groups, women's studies groups, as well as public officials and politicians. Since its inauguration in 1981, WWC has traveled globally and has involved a total of over 40,000 people from all parts of the world and of different backgrounds. This makes it the largest feminist global event.
Feminism, Poststructural
Authors: Giblin Holly
Published: April 2016

Poststructuralist feminisms refer to a collection of feminist critical engagements with questions of knowledge, language, power, identity, and difference. They are commonly associated with a shift in feminist praxis during the 1980s and early 1990s away from viewing women as a homogenous group, and towards acknowledging the plurality of gendered identities and subjectivities. The development of poststructuralist feminisms is heavily indebted to feminist critical engagement with postmodernist, structuralist, and psychoanalytic frameworks. In deconstructing and reworking these frameworks, a particular target for poststructuralist feminist critique has been ‘traditional’ disciplines and theories regarding knowledge creation, gender and sexuality, and identity formation. Key figures discussed include Sigmund Freud, Claude Lévi‐Strauss, Jacques Lacan, Luce Irigaray, Jacques Derrida, Judith Butler.
Family Wage
Authors: Wartenberg Julia
Published: April 2016

The most traditional notion of family wage refers to a nuclear family where the male is cast in the breadwinner role and is ideally the single‐wage earner, while the female is cast in the caregiving role responsible for domestic duties. Both the woman and the children are dependent upon the man for economic resources, meaning that a foundational premise of this model is that a man's wages are sufficient to meet the needs of his family. This model is increasingly complicated and has been falling out of date as family composition changes. Much of the initial critique for family wage originated from the feminist movement.
Declaration of the Rights of Women
Authors: Davis R. Casey
Published: April 2016

This entry explores the Declaration of the Rights of Women, which was penned by a popular French female playwright, Olympe de Gouges, in 1791. The document was written as a response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man published during the French Revolution. While her document was popular at first, it eventually led to de Gouges' public execution by the guillotine.
Feminist Consciousness in Historical Perspective
Authors: Kiernan Linda
Published: April 2016

The notion of feminist consciousness seeks to reveal how women, both individually and collectively, sought to question and challenge their rights, roles, and status in pre‐modern society. Pre‐dating the emergence of the term “feminism” (c. 1830s), feminist consciousness allows historians, literary critics, and others, to more fully understand proto‐feminism, uncovering both trends and individual responses to the medieval and early modern status quo. Feminist consciousness can be traced in numerous sources from personal accounts to police records, thus enriching our understanding of the history of gender relations, the construction of gender identity and consciousness, and the emergence of a self‐aware and recognizable feminist movement in the modern era.
Lesbian Popular Music
Authors: Savage Ann M.
Published: April 2016

Lesbians have long played an influential role in the production and performance of popular music. Although sometimes difficult to document due to the discrimination against queers in the twentieth century, lesbians have made contributions to blues, folk, rock, and queercore. From Bessie Smith to Cris Williamson to Beth Ditto of the Gossip, lesbian love and desire has been sung loud and proud to audiences across the world. This entry is limited to English‐speaking artists in North America.
Prostitution/Sex Work
Authors: Connelly Laura , Sanders Teela
Published: April 2016

This entry reviews the past and current state of the discipline that theorizes and studies the commercial sex industry. We set out the nature and characteristics of sex work and prostitution, before describing the theoretical boundaries of feminist thought that have attempted to make sense of the phenomenon. We also consider the less familiar topics such as men who purchase sex, the shape of the sex markets, female sex consumers, and more global issues such as migrancy and mainstreaming of the sex industry. In turn we look at the shape of the policy arena in relation to the regulation of sex work through legislation, decriminalization, and criminalization. Finally we hint at future research and methodological agendas.
Gender Transgression
Authors: Ansara Y. Gavriel , Quick Freyja L.
Published: April 2016

The term “gender transgression” describes behaviors that are viewed as contravening gender norms or as “wrong” ways of doing gender. Gender transgressions can incur severe penalties. The classification of behaviors as gender transgressions varies widely across cultures and time periods. In the field of gender studies, scholars have taken diverse approaches to the concept of gender transgression. Some scholars have focused on identifying forms of gender transgression and their ideological impact, whereas others have critiqued applications of gender transgression for mischaracterizing people of trans and/or non‐binary experience, enacting ethnocentrism and overlooking individual experiences such as the internal and unexpressed aspects of gender.
Women's and Feminist Activism in
L
atin
A
merica
Authors: Lebon Nathalie
Published: April 2016

In Latin America, autonomous women's/feminist organizations, and women's formalized groups embedded in social/labor movements, and political, cultural, religious, or social organizations and institutions, have played a vital role over the past 100 years in improving equity in gender and sexual power relations, but also contributed to deepening democracy by bringing in new political actors, nationally and internationally.
Women's and Feminist Activism inAustralia andNewZealand
Authors: Grey Sandra
Published: April 2016

Feminism is one of the most influential political philosophies and social movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ). Centered on the empowerment of women, it has challenged cultural practices and led to major changes in the political and civil rights of women. Women's movement activism in both nations is presented in academic and populist literature as having come in three waves. The waves begin with a focus on the political and legal rights of women; move to liberation goals; and, finally into recognizing the diversity of gender oppression and its intersection with other forms of subjugation. This trajectory saw the movements in both nations making gains under the social democratic consensus of the mid‐twentieth century. Women's movement activists at this time were able to utilize political and cultural repertoires of action, including the building of feminist spaces within the state, to advance the position of women in both the economic and social spheres. However, the hegemony of a free market approach to state and society has resulted in the gains of both women's movements attacked and even rolled back in the late twentieth and early twenty‐first centuries.
Entrepreneurship
Authors: Bruni Attila
Published: April 2016

Until the beginning of the 1980s entrepreneurship studies concerned themselves almost entirely with men, and gender was seen as an irrelevant issue. In fact, entrepreneurship is historically located in the symbolic universe of the male and its practices are strongly related to that of hegemonic masculinity (competitiveness, self‐promotion, authoritarianism). In this way, it has been argued, entrepreneurship turns into an entrepreneur‐mentality, producing its own (gendered) subject:
entrepreneur
and not
entrepreneuse
. As for gender studies, strands of research in gender and entrepreneurship can vary, but they can be divided into three main approaches: the essentialist (1970s/1980s), the feminist (1980s/1990s), and the poststructuralist (1990s/2000s). Although different, these approaches have challenged the wider mainstream theory on entrepreneurship, underlining how entrepreneurship can be a critical area of activity for fostering social change.
Abortion, Legal Status in Global Perspective on
Authors: Fine Johanna B.
Published: April 2016

The legal status of abortion is an important indicator of women's ability to access abortion services under safe conditions. Globally, a trend toward the liberalization of abortion laws has emerged, which has been driven by public health and human rights concerns. Nevertheless, women continue to experience significant obstacles to abortion access including gaps in the implementation of abortion laws and procedural barriers that are placed in the way of abortion services.
Kibbutz/Kibbutzim
Authors: Palgi Michal
Published: April 2016

Kibbutzim (plural of “kibbutz”) are collective communities in Israel whose original aim was to implement values of equality, democracy, identical worth of all types of work, and mutual aid to all their members. This setting seemed to be ideal for gender equality, but in reality was only partially achieved because of the traditionally defined division of labor between men and women. Neoliberal changes that occurred during the last two decades have increased career opportunities for young, educated women in the kibbutz, while decreasing them for middle‐aged women. These changes also made women more vulnerable to the injustices existing in the general society.
Internet Sex
Authors: Griffiths Mark D.
Published: April 2016

The advent of the Internet has enabled people's engagement in a wide variety of online sexual behaviors. The late 1990s and early 2000s saw a proliferation of studies investigating how human sexual behavior is enacted on the Internet. Sex on the Internet is particularly viable because of the inherent qualities of the Internet including accessibility, affordability, anonymity, convenience, and escape. Compared to offline sex, the Internet appears to offer the possibility to engage in cybersex anytime and anywhere for little financial cost. Therefore, research studies have found individuals are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors on the Internet than offline.
Feminisms, Postmodern
Authors: Bartholomaeus Clare
Published: April 2016

Postmodern feminisms as a group have perhaps been the most widespread academic feminist perspective since the 1990s. While there are a range of postmodern feminisms, common features include critiquing grand narratives and universal theories, critiquing the concept of a universal woman, critiquing the idea that there is a “truth” waiting to be uncovered, viewing language as constructing “reality” rather than representing it, and focusing on an understanding of power as productive. Key postmodern feminist perspectives are diverse, ranging from post‐Lacanian psychoanalytic “French feminism” (Irigaray, Cixous, Kristeva) to feminism influenced by Freud and psychoanalytic theories (Flax) to corporeal feminism (Grosz) to postcolonial feminist work using deconstruction (Spivak) to strong versions of social constructionism theorizing the performativity of gender (Butler).
Women's and Feminist Activism in the
C
aribbean
Authors: Mohammed Patricia
Published: April 2016

The attempt to confine feminist activism in the multilingual Caribbean region over the last century to distinctive waves comprised only of the actions of self‐avowed feminists is misleading. Feminist activism in the twentieth century onward is a response to the anti‐colonial and political struggles of the region, it has engaged equally committed men, and is constantly adapting to varied class, ethnic, generational, and national needs. This entry discusses the categories that may cover the range of feminist activism from the early twentieth century to the present. These are self‐defined feminist and non‐governmental women's organizations, the state machinery and gender, and tertiary‐level teaching and research in gender studies.
Creation Stories
Authors: Stopler Gila
Published: April 2016

In the book of Genesis there are two alternative creation stories, the story of Adam and Eve and the story of Adam and Lilith. The story of Adam and Eve has become one of the founding myths of Western civilization and of the Judeo‐Christian religious tradition, and serves as a theological justification for women's inferiority and subordination. The alternative egalitarian creation story of Adam and Lilith has been largely suppressed and forgotten, while Lilith's image and her assertion of her equality and free sexuality have been demonized and vilified in order to sustain the patriarchal social order.
Ethic of Care
Authors: Bridgeman Jo
Published: April 2016

This entry explains the origins and key features of the ethic of care and recognizes some of the critiques addressed to it. It identifies the range of disciplines and issues to which the ethic has been applied, highlighting the normative and empirical importance of the ethic of care.
Intimate Partner Abuse
Authors: Messing Jill Theresa
Published: April 2016

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects approximately 30% of women in their lifetime, with deleterious health and mental health consequences. IPV disproportionately affects women and, often, women who experience IPV face oppression across multiple domains. Feminist advocates have successfully increased awareness and services; yet, for women in abusive relationships, becoming and remaining violence free is challenging. It is important that interventions focus on survivor strengths and attend to women's self‐determination.
Cisgenderism
Authors: Ansara Y. Gavriel , Berger Israel
Published: April 2016

Although the term cisgenderism was initially used synonymously with the word “cisgender” to describe people who were “not transgender” (cf., transgenderism), it has more recently been used to describe the ideology that delegitimizes people's own understanding of their genders and bodies. Forms of cisgenderism that have been explored in empirical research include pathologizing, which refers to constructing or treating people's genders, bodies, and experiences associated with their genders and bodies as disordered (e.g., “gender identity disorder,” “gender dysphoria,” and “disorders of sex development”), and misgendering, which misclassifies people's genders and bodies (e.g., describing a woman who was assigned as male as “a man”). In contrast to approaches that treat “cisgender” and “transgender” people as essentially distinct types of people, the assumption that all people fit into a “transgender/cisgender” binary is understood in the cisgenderism framework as an essentializing form of cisgenderism that excludes a variety of people from consideration, including, but not limited to, intersex people and women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
A
V
indication of the
R
ights of
W
oman
Authors: Logan Barbara Ellen
Published: April 2016

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects
(1792) by Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) is a treatise written between the storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789) and before the “Terror” (September 5, 1793–July 27, 1794) in response to trends in social‐contract theory. Although developments in the French Revolution sparked some of the texts that
Vindication
is in conversation with, the larger context includes Anglo‐Liberal and Franco‐Republican theories of citizenship, the nation state, public versus private education, property rights, religious freedom, morality, rationality, and class and sexual difference.
Intersectionality
Authors: Bassel Leah
Published: April 2016

Scholars of intersectionality have drawn our attention to the simultaneous and interacting effects of systems of oppression on the basis of gender, race, religion, class, sexual orientation, and national origin as categories of difference. They have advanced a powerful critique of mutually exclusive categories such as “woman” or “black” that serve to mask intersecting and interacting relations of domination and inequality. Decades of research and a recent explosion of work show the concept to be exciting and open‐ended, generating fierce debate even among its advocates. This entry explores origins, uses, and key debates.
Assisted Reproduction
Authors: Shalev Shirley
Published: April 2016

A general overview is given of assisted reproduction and some of the considerable social and ethical implications that its increasing use may potentially have on women, men, and offspring in contemporary society, as well as its potential contributions to the changing landscape of women's reproductive freedom, social status, sexuality, and health.
Sexualizing the State
Authors: Puri Jyoti
Published: April 2016

For the most part, the state is seen as an institutional, territorial, and sovereign form of power that impacts our sexual lives through policies and discourses, while sexuality is understood primarily as an attribute of individuals or groups and a social problem. Thus, it appears commonsensical that states would regulate sexuality, which is also what makes them obvious sites of activism, rights, and redress – for example, legalizing gay marriage, introducing laws and policies against sex trafficking, making stricter the laws curbing and punishing sexual violence. What receives less attention, however, is the extent to which sexuality is not simply an object of state regulation but a domain upon which the state relies, that is, inasmuch as states impact sexuality, they are impacted by it. Extending this view, sexualizing the state investigates the ways that regulating sexuality affirms the state and state‐based governance as essential and indispensable aspects of social life.
Radical Lesbianism
Authors: Winter Bronwyn
Published: April 2016

Radical lesbianism is an intellectual and political movement that has as its core an analysis of heterosexuality as a system of domination and lesbianism as the political resistance to that system. It positioned itself in distinction to feminism, either as separate from it or as its revolutionary vanguard. It is most famously associated with France and Québec, in particular with the theoretical writing of Monique Wittig, but it has also had expressions in the Western English‐speaking world.
Single‐Sex Education and Coeducation
Authors: Kessels Ursula
Published: April 2016

The debate concerning the advantages and disadvantages of single‐sex education versus coeducation is addressed. A short overview on both the history and status quo is presented, the most important methodological problems of empirical studies comparing single‐sex and coeducational settings are highlighted, and the core arguments given by supporters and opponents of single‐sex education programs are summarized.
Fictive Kin
Authors: Muraco Anna
Published: April 2016

The concept of kinship is commonly discussed in social science disciplines, most notably in anthropology and sociology. Fictive kin, also known by the terms fictive kinship, voluntary kin, and chosen family, connotes a relationship that exists outside of the normative definitions of families, both biological and legal, unless actions are taken to formalize the bond; thus, the concept of fictive kin theoretically relies upon a social constructionist framework.
Religion and Homophobia
Authors: Wilets James D.
Published: April 2016

The roots of the various religious views towards same‐gender relations and homophobia are discussed. Religious attitudes are themselves informed by the cultural and societal mores in which those religions exist. Religious views on homophobia have also been heavily influenced by colonialism and racism, and the interactions among these factors are both more numerous and complex than this section can fully explore. Some of these issues are explored more fully in other entries.
Technosexuality
Authors: Bardzell Shaowen , Bardzell Jeffrey
Published: April 2016

Technosexuality refers to the overlap between human sexuality and technology. It has two common formulations. The first is based on an expansive cultural notion, in which technology is viewed as a social force that shapes or configures human sexuality. The second is a more narrow notion, referring to a human's sexual attraction to technologies. Research on technosexuality has focused on embodied interactions, online performance of the self, the roles technologies have in constituting sexual experience, sexual simulation (e.g., sex robots and virtual reality), and emergent sexual practices and attitudes that arise from innovations in this domain.
Gender Difference Research
Authors: Kosterina Elena , Horne Sharon
Published: April 2016

This entry provides an overview of the history and origins of gender differences/similarities research in psychology and related disciplines, including an overview of key masculinity/femininity scales. It examines the work of significant feminist authors in the field of psychology from the early twentieth century and their views on the purpose of gender difference research, as well as their critiques of initial research on gender differences.
Monasticism
Authors: Davis Stephen J.
Published: April 2016

Monasticism is a form of religious life characterized by withdrawal and ascetic renunciation, with different social configurations, from solitary to communal. As evidenced by the Upanisads, monastic retreat had its origins in ancient India in the first millenniumbce. Early Jain and Buddhist monastics emphasized detachment, non‐violence, and celibacy. Some were peripatetic, others lived in settled communities. The late ancient Mediterranean world saw the development of Christian monasticism. Solitary hermits were celebrated in literature such as theLife of Antony. As in Buddhism, monastic communities governed by common rules became centers of economic activity, healthcare, and scholarly learning. Most monastic literature historically has been produced by men and thus gives expression to patriarchal/misogynist assumptions, portraying women as “other” and authorizing policies of segregation as a means of social control. Such binary oppositions are complicated in practice, however, with divergent viewpoints on bodies, gender identity, and sexuality.
Matrilineal and Matrilocal Systems
Authors: Mattison Siobhán M.
Published: April 2016

Matriliny is a relatively rare system of kinship in which kin on the maternal side are recognized more strongly than kin on the paternal side in defining social organization. Matrilineal kinship was once considered problematic by scholars focused on the tensions felt by men whose allegiance was split between natal and affinal kin groups. More recent scholarship focuses on the benefits afforded by matrilineal kinship, including its association with harmonious relationships among natal kin and the benefits to parents of transmitting property along the female line.
Sterilization
Authors: Mottier Véronique
Published: April 2016

This entry provides a definition of sterilization and discusses the worldwide rise of sterilization leagues in the twentieth century. It explains the links between eugenics and sterilization movements, and examines the promotion of sterilization by post World War II family planning associations. Historical examples of coerced sterilization programs in Western and non‐Western contexts are examined, highlighting gender, race, and class differences in sterilization practices.
Maquiladora
Authors: Wilets James D.
Published: April 2016

This entry discusses the definition and history of the maquiladora, including its original basis in US and Mexican tax law and the economic incentives for its creation. It also discusses the gendered consequences of this form of production.
Children's Literature and Gender
Authors: Bubriski‐McKenzie Anne , Gonzalez‐Guittar Stephanie
Published: April 2016

A large part of children's learning and everyday life includes reading illustrated children's books. Children's literature is one of many agents of socialization in children's lives. Gender images in children's books influence children's gender socialization. Research on gender representations within children's literature has increased significantly since the 1970s. Overall, research suggests that there are many gender disparities in the way female and male characters are represented in children's books. Most research on gender images within children's books focuses on award‐winning and popular children's literature from the twentieth and twenty‐first centuries in the United States. Although there have been notable improvements in the equality of gender images within children's books over time, most research concludes there are still many gender stereotypes represented and male central characters are disproportionately represented more than female central characters.
Trans Theorizing
Authors: Klimczuk Andrzej , Bieńkowska Małgorzata
Published: April 2016

Trans is usually defined as the set of practices and identities outside of the binary gender system and includes individuals who identity as genderqueer, transgender or transsexual. Trans theories refer to a range of approaches including medical and psychiatric theories, performativity and social constructionist theories, and queer theory, that are used to explain transgender practices and identities.
Borderlands
Authors: Segura Denise A. , Zavella Patricia
Published: April 2016

Borderlands theory offers new ways of exploring relationships of power and domination, resistance and agency among women and men hitherto cast as marginalized others. One of the most influential borderland theorists, Gloria Anzaldúa argues that borderlands have multiple meanings. Our review of key theoretical and methodological characterization of borderlands identifies a strong emphasis on transnational social formations, how migrants engage in economic, political, or sociocultural activities that transcend national borders and “deterritorialize,” or span, international boundaries. Their discussion contextualizes Mexican and Chicana women's experiences as forms of adaptation and resistance to linguistic and cultural terrorism. Borderlands provide fertile ground from which individual and collective action arises which leads us to consider the transnational nature of borderlands that emphasizes coalitions with other women across the US–Mexico geopolitical border.

Borderlands theory makes gender and gender oppression central in studies of migration and globalization. By exploring multiple sites of gendered control and contestation, borderlands research reveals the multifaceted representations, experiences, and identities that women create within the context of globalization and transnational migration. Within these structural and socially violent discourses, women continually challenge confining notions of citizenship and strive to develop resilience and create community within and across national borders.
Work–Family Balance
Authors: Klimczuk Andrzej , Klimczuk‐Kochańska Magdalena
Published: April 2016

The concept of work–family balance was introduced in the 1970s in the United Kingdom based on a work–leisure dichotomy, which was invented in the mid‐1800s. It is usually related to the act of balancing of inter‐role pressures between the work and family domains that leads to role conflict. The conflict is driven by the organizations' views of the “ideal worker” as well as gender disparities and stereotypes that ignore or discount the time spent in the unpaid work of family and community. Solutions for balance include legislation, flexible workplace arrangements, and the market care services.
Dual Labor Market
Authors: Klimczuk Andrzej , Klimczuk‐Kochańska Magdalena
Published: April 2016

The dual labor market theory is one of the primary explanations for the gender differences in earnings. It shows that gender inequality and stereotypes lead to employment of men and women in different segments of the labor market characterized by various incomes. This theory is based on the hypothesis that such markets are divided into segments, which are divided by different rules of conduct for workers and employers. Differences also include production conditions, terms of employment, productivity of employees, and the characteristics of the workers' jobs. This labor division is related to employee characteristics such as gender, age, and race that define their work environment and lifestyle.
Queer Anglophone Literature
Authors: Zapasnik Jonathon
Published: April 2016

Queer anglophone literature refers to writing that concerns itself with the transgression of gendered and/or sexual norms. It developed out of the activist and scholarly climate of the late 1980s, primarily in the United States, drawing attention to the inherent limitations of identity politics and the discursive construction of sexuality categories. While it is a loaded and problematic category to define, this entry traces the emergence of queer literature through several of the key themes that have defined it as an object of study over the last few decades: anti‐normative representations of family, the AIDS epidemic and its cultural legacy, the ethical commitment to transgression, and the intersection of transgender experience and subjectivity. An emphasis, where possible, will be placed on the Australian context and examples.
Domestic Violence in the
U
nited
S
tates
Authors: Klostermann Keith
Published: April 2016

Between 2003 and 2012, domestic violence accounted for 21 percent of all violent victimizations. This type of abuse can appear in several forms including physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, or economic. Domestic violence includes rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault committed by intimate partners, immediate family members, or other relatives. Individuals affected by domestic violence encompass all cultures, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds, and victims can be women, men, children, and the elderly. The act determines the crime, but the relationship between the victim and perpetrator determine whether the interaction is domestic. Each state dictates the laws regarding domestic violence and so the determining variables can vary from state to state. The costs of domestic violence are systemic, impacting not only the family, but society as a whole. Because of the complexity of this issue, addressing and understanding the dynamics of domestic violence has multiple challenges and perspectives.
Girls' Peer Cultures
Authors: Harris Anita , Pavlidis Adele
Published: April 2016

Research into girls' peer cultures has focused on subcultural activity, leisure and sport, and friendship groups. Girls' peer cultures have often been rendered invisible in studies of youth. However, with increased participation in life outside of the home and greater scholarly attention since second‐wave feminism, the visibility of girls' peer cultures has increased. This increased visibility has also brought increased scrutiny, interest in, regulation, and governance of these peer cultures.
Gender, Politics, and the State inLatinAmerica
Authors: Franceschet Susan , Thomas Gwynn
Published: April 2016

Scholarship on gender, politics, and the state in Latin America has focused on the role of gender ideologies in creating and maintaining political power and authority, and the role of states in creating and reproducing intersecting hierarchies of gender, race, and class through its institutions and practices as well as through law and public policy. Research has challenged traditional accounts of Latin American politics and state development beginning with the process of colonization through the current neoliberal democratic era.
Self‐Defense and Violence against Women in theUnitedStates
Authors: Saunders Daniel G.
Published: April 2016

Feminist jurisprudence has helped expand “reasonable man” standards of self‐defense to account for women's history of discrimination and trauma histories. When using violence in intimate relationships, help‐seeking women are more likely to be motivated by self‐defense than men. Recently enacted “stand your ground” statutes do not generally benefit women because they would normally not be required to retreat in situations in which they are attacked.