Pub Date : 2022-08-01DOI: 10.1177/09593535221104877
Sharon Tugwell
This article focuses on the practice of breastfeeding selfies, as a relational practice within online breastfeeding groups. I suggest that despite breastfeeding being upheld as the most superior infant feeding method, the practice has a paradoxical relationship to discourses of the “good mother” and the idealisation of motherhood more generally. This is due to the unashamed boldness of the practice, which flies in the face of notions of discretion, with their subsequent links to respectability. Breastfeeding selfies can be understood as gestures for something outside of the mother-infant dyad, therefore insisting on recognising the desire, needs and sociality of the mother. Furthermore, they move to position breastfeeding as a social, rather than an individual or solitary act. The desire for women to share their mothering experiences with other women challenges the individualising notion of the exclusive mother and, furthermore, can be understood as an invitation for intimacy with other women. Whilst the practice has the potential to be interpreted in a way which challenges much of the pernicious “good mother” discourses, it continues to be a practice marked in Whiteness, revealing the inequitable nature of online public spaces.
{"title":"Online breastfeeding publics: Sociality, support and selfies","authors":"Sharon Tugwell","doi":"10.1177/09593535221104877","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535221104877","url":null,"abstract":"This article focuses on the practice of breastfeeding selfies, as a relational practice within online breastfeeding groups. I suggest that despite breastfeeding being upheld as the most superior infant feeding method, the practice has a paradoxical relationship to discourses of the “good mother” and the idealisation of motherhood more generally. This is due to the unashamed boldness of the practice, which flies in the face of notions of discretion, with their subsequent links to respectability. Breastfeeding selfies can be understood as gestures for something outside of the mother-infant dyad, therefore insisting on recognising the desire, needs and sociality of the mother. Furthermore, they move to position breastfeeding as a social, rather than an individual or solitary act. The desire for women to share their mothering experiences with other women challenges the individualising notion of the exclusive mother and, furthermore, can be understood as an invitation for intimacy with other women. Whilst the practice has the potential to be interpreted in a way which challenges much of the pernicious “good mother” discourses, it continues to be a practice marked in Whiteness, revealing the inequitable nature of online public spaces.","PeriodicalId":47643,"journal":{"name":"Feminism & Psychology","volume":"8 1","pages":"318 - 335"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85791008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-01DOI: 10.1177/09593535221107842
A. Locke, R. Capdevila, L. Lazard
This Special Issue sets out to consider gendered family relationships in digital spaces. These spaces, including social media, digital media, streaming services, and web pages, have increased access to family-focused content online. Drawing on critical feminist psychological perspectives that question the prioritisation of essentialist and normative conceptualisations of family and gender, this special issue examines the phenomenon of digital mothering within families (Lazard, 2022). Through a feminist lens focusing on gender and relationships, it considers the manifold ways in which mothering is embedded in familial constructions, practices, and representations. Engagement in digital spaces has notably subject in both academic and popular arenas. sel e posting practices typically whilst posting ” social and ’ these linguistically gender-neutral characterisations obscure the fact that these practices are, in the context of online platforms, highly gendered and feminised et al., 2015).
{"title":"Digital families: Gendered relationships in online spaces","authors":"A. Locke, R. Capdevila, L. Lazard","doi":"10.1177/09593535221107842","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535221107842","url":null,"abstract":"This Special Issue sets out to consider gendered family relationships in digital spaces. These spaces, including social media, digital media, streaming services, and web pages, have increased access to family-focused content online. Drawing on critical feminist psychological perspectives that question the prioritisation of essentialist and normative conceptualisations of family and gender, this special issue examines the phenomenon of digital mothering within families (Lazard, 2022). Through a feminist lens focusing on gender and relationships, it considers the manifold ways in which mothering is embedded in familial constructions, practices, and representations. Engagement in digital spaces has notably subject in both academic and popular arenas. sel e posting practices typically whilst posting ” social and ’ these linguistically gender-neutral characterisations obscure the fact that these practices are, in the context of online platforms, highly gendered and feminised et al., 2015).","PeriodicalId":47643,"journal":{"name":"Feminism & Psychology","volume":"9 1","pages":"310 - 317"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87434184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-01DOI: 10.1177/09593535221107832
R. Capdevila, C. Dann, L. Lazard, Sandra Roper, A. Locke
Images and representations of parenting, and particularly mothering, have become commonplace on social media platforms over the past decade. These displays, however, take place in the context of popular contemporary discourses around gender and parenting that are in many ways prescriptive. This paper explores the constructions of mothering online through an analysis of posts about mothers on Mother’s Day from 2018 to 2020. Data were collected from Instagram and Twitter using hashtags such as #mothersday, #happymothersday and #motheringsunday. Both content and thematic analyses were conducted. This paper will consider three main themes that were identified in the data: “Beauty & biology”; “Grief & loss” and “Care (& COVID)”, with a focus on constructions of gendered parenting and family through the explicit celebration of the lives and roles of mothers. The findings provide insight into normative constructions of gender and how these are mediated through the affordances of social media platforms in a neoliberal context.
{"title":"#mothersday: Constructions of motherhood and femininity in social media posts","authors":"R. Capdevila, C. Dann, L. Lazard, Sandra Roper, A. Locke","doi":"10.1177/09593535221107832","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535221107832","url":null,"abstract":"Images and representations of parenting, and particularly mothering, have become commonplace on social media platforms over the past decade. These displays, however, take place in the context of popular contemporary discourses around gender and parenting that are in many ways prescriptive. This paper explores the constructions of mothering online through an analysis of posts about mothers on Mother’s Day from 2018 to 2020. Data were collected from Instagram and Twitter using hashtags such as #mothersday, #happymothersday and #motheringsunday. Both content and thematic analyses were conducted. This paper will consider three main themes that were identified in the data: “Beauty & biology”; “Grief & loss” and “Care (& COVID)”, with a focus on constructions of gendered parenting and family through the explicit celebration of the lives and roles of mothers. The findings provide insight into normative constructions of gender and how these are mediated through the affordances of social media platforms in a neoliberal context.","PeriodicalId":47643,"journal":{"name":"Feminism & Psychology","volume":"3 1","pages":"336 - 356"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87091428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-07-27DOI: 10.1177/09593535221109040
M. O’Reilly, Amelia Talbot, Deirdre Harrington
There has been growing concern about rising physical inactivity levels in female adolescents, with schools taking some responsibility to address this. Programmes designed for and by girls are increasingly being used by developing or delivering a programme of change and consultation to improve physical activity, physical education, and sport in school. However, to build an understanding of the nuances of such interventions, and better appreciate any gendered benefits and challenges, girls’ voices need to be heard. Based on data from 16 focus groups from 8 schools participating in a female-focused intervention trial (“Girls Active”), we explored adolescent girls’ views of this type of intervention. We used reflexive organic thematic analysis to understand key issues. Four themes were developed: stereotypes; choice; empowerment and voice; and equality. Our feminist approach centralised adolescent girls’ voices, thereby recognising that physical activity is rooted in patriarchal constructions that position girls as naturally uninterested in sport and activity. We suggest gender-focused interventions can actively address stereotypes by listening to girls.
{"title":"Adolescent perspectives on gendered ideologies in physical activity within schools: Reflections on a female-focused intervention","authors":"M. O’Reilly, Amelia Talbot, Deirdre Harrington","doi":"10.1177/09593535221109040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535221109040","url":null,"abstract":"There has been growing concern about rising physical inactivity levels in female adolescents, with schools taking some responsibility to address this. Programmes designed for and by girls are increasingly being used by developing or delivering a programme of change and consultation to improve physical activity, physical education, and sport in school. However, to build an understanding of the nuances of such interventions, and better appreciate any gendered benefits and challenges, girls’ voices need to be heard. Based on data from 16 focus groups from 8 schools participating in a female-focused intervention trial (“Girls Active”), we explored adolescent girls’ views of this type of intervention. We used reflexive organic thematic analysis to understand key issues. Four themes were developed: stereotypes; choice; empowerment and voice; and equality. Our feminist approach centralised adolescent girls’ voices, thereby recognising that physical activity is rooted in patriarchal constructions that position girls as naturally uninterested in sport and activity. We suggest gender-focused interventions can actively address stereotypes by listening to girls.","PeriodicalId":47643,"journal":{"name":"Feminism & Psychology","volume":"33 1","pages":"175 - 196"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2022-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82000302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-07-25DOI: 10.1177/09593535221113648
Antonis Sapountzis, Lia Figgou, Ioannis Michos
Conspiracy theories have recently come under the scrutiny of social psychology. While some theorists have treated them as a deficient way of thinking, others have considered them as a form of political rhetoric with important social implications. We focus on conspiracy theories in the context of online public deliberation on legislation allowing registration of self-defined gender in Greece. Employing the tools of Critical Discursive Psychology, we analyse comments posted on the Ministry of Justice's website created for public consultation about the law change. We focus on the mobilization of conspiracy theories by people who oppose Law 4491/2017 (“Legal Recognition of Gender Identity – National Mechanism for the Development, Monitoring and Evaluation of Action Plans on Children's Rights and Other Provisions”). These commentators often argued that powerful groups are behind the proposed legislation, aiming at decreasing Earth's population, disrupting moral order, and violating humanness. We demonstrate how these constructions helped participants to perform various tasks, such as delegitimizing the legislation while at the same time avoiding the stigma of prejudice, promoting far-right political practices, and rebutting accusations of political partisanship. The results are discussed in relation to conspiracy theories’ role in countering “gender ideology” and in promoting cisgenderism and heteronormativity.
{"title":"Conspiracy theories in online deliberation on gender identity legislation: Dilemmas of prejudice and political partisanship and implications for LGBTQI+ claims","authors":"Antonis Sapountzis, Lia Figgou, Ioannis Michos","doi":"10.1177/09593535221113648","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535221113648","url":null,"abstract":"Conspiracy theories have recently come under the scrutiny of social psychology. While some theorists have treated them as a deficient way of thinking, others have considered them as a form of political rhetoric with important social implications. We focus on conspiracy theories in the context of online public deliberation on legislation allowing registration of self-defined gender in Greece. Employing the tools of Critical Discursive Psychology, we analyse comments posted on the Ministry of Justice's website created for public consultation about the law change. We focus on the mobilization of conspiracy theories by people who oppose Law 4491/2017 (“Legal Recognition of Gender Identity – National Mechanism for the Development, Monitoring and Evaluation of Action Plans on Children's Rights and Other Provisions”). These commentators often argued that powerful groups are behind the proposed legislation, aiming at decreasing Earth's population, disrupting moral order, and violating humanness. We demonstrate how these constructions helped participants to perform various tasks, such as delegitimizing the legislation while at the same time avoiding the stigma of prejudice, promoting far-right political practices, and rebutting accusations of political partisanship. The results are discussed in relation to conspiracy theories’ role in countering “gender ideology” and in promoting cisgenderism and heteronormativity.","PeriodicalId":47643,"journal":{"name":"Feminism & Psychology","volume":"50 1","pages":"197 - 214"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2022-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73544918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-07-25DOI: 10.1177/09593535221114541
Ö. Uluğ, Y. Acar
{"title":"Book Review: A feminist companion to social psychology by Madeleine Pownall and Wendy Rogers","authors":"Ö. Uluğ, Y. Acar","doi":"10.1177/09593535221114541","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535221114541","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47643,"journal":{"name":"Feminism & Psychology","volume":"59 1","pages":"588 - 592"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2022-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73491644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-07-03DOI: 10.1177/09593535221104874
Lilith A. Whiley, Lukasz Walasek, Marie Juanchich
Inspired by similar methods shown to be effective in reducing online racist harassment, we designed two tweets aimed at reducing online gender harassment. Our interventions were based on the principles of social re-norming and appealing to harassers’ empathy. In a sample of 666 Twitter users engaging in sexist or misogynist tweeting, we found that our intervention tweets did not reduce the number of sexist slurs or sexist users, either 7 days or 31 days after being sent. Our attempts also affected neither the valence nor the arousal of subsequent tweets posted by our sample of Twitter users. We discuss the conceptual, methodological, and ethical challenges associated with activist research aimed at reducing online gender harassment and discuss some of the implications of our attempts to do so.
{"title":"Contributions to reducing online gender harassment: Social re-norming and appealing to empathy as tried-and-failed techniques","authors":"Lilith A. Whiley, Lukasz Walasek, Marie Juanchich","doi":"10.1177/09593535221104874","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535221104874","url":null,"abstract":"Inspired by similar methods shown to be effective in reducing online racist harassment, we designed two tweets aimed at reducing online gender harassment. Our interventions were based on the principles of social re-norming and appealing to harassers’ empathy. In a sample of 666 Twitter users engaging in sexist or misogynist tweeting, we found that our intervention tweets did not reduce the number of sexist slurs or sexist users, either 7 days or 31 days after being sent. Our attempts also affected neither the valence nor the arousal of subsequent tweets posted by our sample of Twitter users. We discuss the conceptual, methodological, and ethical challenges associated with activist research aimed at reducing online gender harassment and discuss some of the implications of our attempts to do so.","PeriodicalId":47643,"journal":{"name":"Feminism & Psychology","volume":"153 1","pages":"83 - 104"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2022-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79646789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-07-03DOI: 10.1177/09593535221106653
I. Giovannelli, T. Mannarini, Federica Spaccatini, M. Pacilli
Despite societal changes in Western countries, abortion continues to be morally stigmatized. While research on abortion stigma targeted both at people who seek or voluntarily terminate their pregnancy and abortion providers has been conducted, stigma directed at those who advocate abortion rights has remained under-researched. The purpose of this study was to deepen understandings of abortion stigma in relation to Italian cisgender female pro-choice activists. Accordingly, a qualitative study was conducted to examine how participants experienced, perceived, and internalized stigma, as well as the strategies they employed to manage it. The sample included 34 Italian cisgender female pro-choice activists who were actively engaged in movements at the time of the study, including organizations or unions that publicly defend the right to abort. The findings revealed that participants perceive they are targets of negative stereotyping and behaviors. Nevertheless, they do not internalize the stigma and use different strategies to manage it, such as speaking openly about their activism.
{"title":"Fighting for abortion rights: Strategies aimed at managing stigma in a group of Italian pro-choice activists","authors":"I. Giovannelli, T. Mannarini, Federica Spaccatini, M. Pacilli","doi":"10.1177/09593535221106653","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535221106653","url":null,"abstract":"Despite societal changes in Western countries, abortion continues to be morally stigmatized. While research on abortion stigma targeted both at people who seek or voluntarily terminate their pregnancy and abortion providers has been conducted, stigma directed at those who advocate abortion rights has remained under-researched. The purpose of this study was to deepen understandings of abortion stigma in relation to Italian cisgender female pro-choice activists. Accordingly, a qualitative study was conducted to examine how participants experienced, perceived, and internalized stigma, as well as the strategies they employed to manage it. The sample included 34 Italian cisgender female pro-choice activists who were actively engaged in movements at the time of the study, including organizations or unions that publicly defend the right to abort. The findings revealed that participants perceive they are targets of negative stereotyping and behaviors. Nevertheless, they do not internalize the stigma and use different strategies to manage it, such as speaking openly about their activism.","PeriodicalId":47643,"journal":{"name":"Feminism & Psychology","volume":"1 1","pages":"105 - 125"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2022-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80718649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-21DOI: 10.1177/09593535221105687
E. Georgaca, Vasiliki Fenekou, Aikaterini Katsouli, Evangelia Kyriakou-Chatziapostolou
This paper describes a pattern regarding the relationship between feminine sexuality, religiousness and psychotic distress that was discerned in two independent multiple case studies in Greece. One study utilized grounded theory to develop a model of therapeutic change through recording the development of voice hearers’ understanding and coping with their voices during a therapeutic intervention. The other study applied biographical and thematic analysis to interviews with persons with psychosis and their families, in order to explore family narratives regarding life with a family member with psychosis. A common pattern was detected for all the female participants, whereby following a religious upbringing in childhood and pursuing independence from the family together with social and sexual exploration in early adulthood, the onset of psychosis marked a return to the family home and a religious frame of reference. The psychotic experiences seemed to resemble engrained experiences of shaming regarding sexual and gender norms. Moreover, they had the effect of re-signifying female identity and sexuality, bringing them into line with conservative religious principles. This pattern suggests that psychotic experiences may not only express culturally prescribed female gender norms but also may serve to regulate women’s sexuality in conservative religious cultural environments.
{"title":"Feminine sexuality, religiousness and psychotic distress: Tracing a pattern","authors":"E. Georgaca, Vasiliki Fenekou, Aikaterini Katsouli, Evangelia Kyriakou-Chatziapostolou","doi":"10.1177/09593535221105687","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535221105687","url":null,"abstract":"This paper describes a pattern regarding the relationship between feminine sexuality, religiousness and psychotic distress that was discerned in two independent multiple case studies in Greece. One study utilized grounded theory to develop a model of therapeutic change through recording the development of voice hearers’ understanding and coping with their voices during a therapeutic intervention. The other study applied biographical and thematic analysis to interviews with persons with psychosis and their families, in order to explore family narratives regarding life with a family member with psychosis. A common pattern was detected for all the female participants, whereby following a religious upbringing in childhood and pursuing independence from the family together with social and sexual exploration in early adulthood, the onset of psychosis marked a return to the family home and a religious frame of reference. The psychotic experiences seemed to resemble engrained experiences of shaming regarding sexual and gender norms. Moreover, they had the effect of re-signifying female identity and sexuality, bringing them into line with conservative religious principles. This pattern suggests that psychotic experiences may not only express culturally prescribed female gender norms but also may serve to regulate women’s sexuality in conservative religious cultural environments.","PeriodicalId":47643,"journal":{"name":"Feminism & Psychology","volume":"10 1","pages":"144 - 162"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2022-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89153139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}