USB Journals (Univ. Köln)
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“Lessons to Learn”: Constructions of Femininity in Popular Magazine Breast Health Narratives
Get PDFPersonal narratives associated with breast health are prominent in women’s magazines. Within the personal stories are themes and frames that reinforce traditional femininity, support narrow beauty ideals, and emphasize women’s roles as mothers. This article analyzes personal narratives about breast health published in the October issues of forty women’s magazines from 2005 through 2008. Feminist theorizing about breast cancer grew out of the women’s health movement which recognized that paternalistic thinking and scientific discourse have worked to disassociate women from knowledge about our bodies as a form of control. Breasts have social and cultural significance related to motherhood and sexuality, which additionally complicates the discourses surrounding breast health. Magazine content related to breast health is created and produced within a cultural context that devalues women. Building on a critical analysis of personal narratives about breast health this article argues for a more nuanced understanding that recognizes the potential for empowerment that the inclusion of women’s lived experience provides while being critical of narrow gender constructions supported by mainstream breast health narratives.
Frontmatter and Editorial
No full textIn lieu of an abstract, here is the first paragraph of the frontmatter and editorial:
In a manner rare in literary studies, our interest in the eccentric has its origin in our discussions of one specific contribution to gender studies: Ina Schabert’s massive Englische Literaturgeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts: Eine neue Darstellung aus der Sicht der Geschlechterforschung (2006). In it, she establishes for the first time the artistic and aesthetic coherence of a group of authors and their works, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Stevie Smith, Elizabeth von Arnim, and Virginia Woolf among them, who emerge from classic modernism but who also seem to have a place all their own, a place so curiously unclassifiable that they often find themselves in the category of the quirky, the odd, the sui generis, the eccentric (152-171).1 Their work is characterized not so much by an oppositional (or for that matter: affirmative) attitude to norms but rather by a calculated indifference to them. Their work often features characters who appear “odd”: old maids who stubbornly refuse to submit to the regime of having to be either “tragic” or “comic,” missionaries forgetful of their missions, narrative voices which weave in and out of various topics in a mode of the spoken, the merely incidental, the chatty. And always: texts which seem to refuse taking up a position which can be firmly determined, “fixed” as it were in any one place, summarized.
“Being Cool About It”: Performing Gender with Eddie Izzard
Get PDFEddie Izzard in every single performance, just as Michel Foucault in his inaugural lecture, has got an obligation to begin. But, I would argue that within Izzard’s discourse predominantly structured according to the conventions of stand-up comedy, he is able to also incorporate other discourses that were started before that performance and that he actually takes part in from a subversive point of view. Izzard’s position within that discourse is a position of strength, as he – from a position of power as the person on stage – presents his interpretation which, according to him, is the way the world will look at things in the future anyway. There is no anger or bitterness in his analysis of the society as it is today, but he rather presents a position of sovereignty and a strong belief in the generations to come. When Foucault talks about other people’s “desire to find themselves, right from the outside, on the other side of discourse, without having to stand outside it” (1971: 7), the way Eddie Izzard deals with the topic of gender in his stand-up performance as a transvestite might give pointers for what Foucault is talking about.
Ungendered Interactions and the Practice of Aikido
Get PDFIn lieu of an abstract, here is the first paragraph:
Although the martial arts are often understood as fundamentally patriarchal and male-dominated activities, it has been our experience that in the Japanese martial art called Aikido (pronounced, eye-key-dough) because of the unique philosophy and conditions of practice, gendered norms can be challenged. Our initial aim was to interrogate and depict the manner in which the gendered structure of a martial arts dojo framed and limited the experience for both women and men. However, during the course of writing this paper, we came to realize that, in fact, something unexpected and unanticipated regarding gender was taking place when we practiced Aikido. We have labeled this experience an “ungendered interaction.” We define ungendered interaction as a noncompetitive experience shaped by cooperation rather than domination that facilitates and depends on an awareness of the connection of energy (ki or chi) between participants that, in turn, leads to power that is neither masculine nor feminine. In such an interaction, the gendering of self that is enforced and structured on multiple levels of self and society becomes secondary while an experience apparently beyond gender can occur. In the process of examining the critical attributes of this concept, we challenge important assumptions regarding gendered bodies, opening new avenues of inquiry into the meaning and manifestations of “gender.
“Para no vivir en perpetua afectación de un sexo mentido”. Normas de género y travestismo en las primeras décadas del siglo XIX chileno
Get PDFThis article analyzes gender norms and their negotiation in Chilean society at the beginning of the 19th century. Based on a notorious case of homicide that occurred in 1845, it proposes that the transvestism of masculine identity was tolerated and justified when it was transitory and did not discuss the representation of the masculine identity as superior to the feminine. The study of judicial sources, press, books about the case and correspondence, allows to observe how the adoption of the female identity by a man did not necessarily imply the denial of masculinity, focusing public interest on the honor of the individuals involved.This article analyzes gender norms and their negotiation in Chilean society at the beginning of the 19th century. Based on a notorious case of homicide that occurred in 1845, it proposes that the transvestism of masculine identity was tolerated and justified when it was transitory and did not discuss the representation of the masculine identity as superior to the feminine. The study of judicial sources, press, books about the case and correspondence, allows to observe how the adoption of the female identity by a man did not necessarily imply the denial of masculinity, focusing public interest on the honor of the individuals involved.Este artículo analiza las normas de género y sus posibilidades de negociación en la sociedad chilena en las primeras décadas del siglo XIX. A partir de un connotado caso de homicidio ocurrido en 1845 se propone que el travestismo de la identidad masculina no solo era tolerado, sino también justificado cuando este era transitorio y no vulneraba la representación de lo masculino como identidad superior a la femenina. Desde el estudio de fuentes judiciales, prensa, libros sobre el caso y correspondencia de las partes involucradas, se constata cómo la adopción de la identidad femenina por un hombre no implicaba necesariamente la negación de la masculinidad, pudiendo centrarse el interés del público en torno al honor de las partes involucradas
La audacia y la prudencia. El liberalismo moderado ante la moralidad y la tolerancia religiosa: 1844-1848
Get PDFDer Artikel untersucht die politische Sprache der gemäßigten Gruppe in Mexiko zwischen dem Fall von Antonio López de Santa Anna (1844) und dem Ende des Krieges mit den Vereinigten Staaten (1847) im Hinblick auf religiöse Elemente wie Moral und Toleranz gegenüber Kulten. Basierend auf Recherchen in Broschüren, Zeitungen und offiziellen Dokumenten bietet es ein Panorama, in dem Kühnheit und Besonnenheit in einer fernen Mischung aus Zweifel und Unbestimmtheit zusammentreffen. So waren Persönlichkeiten wie Luis de la Rosa und José María Lafragua die ersten, die von Regierungsstellen eine gewisse Toleranz gegenüber Kulten und eine Perspektive ethischer Pluralität forderten. Der Text schlägt eine Neubewertung des gemäßigten Denkens als Option für Veränderungen angesichts des juaristischen Reformismus vor.The article explores the political language of the moderate group in Mexico between the fall of Antonio López de Santa Anna (1844) and the end of the war with the United States (1847) on religious elements such as Christian morality and cult tolerance. Based on an investigation in brochures, newspapers and official documents, it offers a panorama where audacity and prudence converge, in a mixture equidistant from doubt or indeterminacy. Thus, moderates such as Luis de la Rosa and José María Lafragua were the first to propose from governmental instances a certain tolerance of cults and a perspective of ethical plurality. The text proposes a reassessment of moderate thought as an option for change in the face of Juarista reformism.El artículo explora el lenguaje político del grupo moderado en México entre la caída de Antonio López de Santa Anna (1844) y el ocaso de la guerra con Estados Unidos (1848) sobre elementos religiosos como la moralidad y la tolerancia de cultos. A partir de una investigación en folletos, periódicos y documentos oficiales, ofrece un panorama donde convergen la audacia y la prudencia, en una mixtura distante de la duda y la indeterminación. Así, figuras como Luis de la Rosa y José María Lafragua fueron los primeros en proponer desde instancias gubernativas una cierta tolerancia de cultos y una perspectiva de pluralidad ética. El texto propone una revaloración del pensamiento moderado como opción de cambio transicional ante el reformismo juarista
"La ley general no deroga del privilegio": resistencia y negociación en el Corregimiento de Querétaro, 1786-1795
Get PDFIn the tradition of Hispanic government, the system of consultations and memorials was a resource widely used by authorities to make evident the exceptionalities of their territories and negotiate the implementation of new regulations out of doubt. A practice sanctioned by a jurisdictional and political culture that extended to the Bourbon government model. The article explores the political, regulatory and jurisdictional resources of the community of councilors of the city of Querétaro to defend their privileges in the context of the changes promoted by the Ordenanza de Intendentes. The defense of privilege in the city government is analyzed from the category of resistance that allows the councilors discourse to be read as a resource to build a space for negotiation and exceptionality of their city and therefore of their forms of government.In the tradition of Hispanic government, the system of consultations and memorials was a resource widely used by authorities to make evident the exceptionalities of their territories and negotiate the implementation of new regulations out of doubt. A practice sanctioned by a jurisdictional and political culture that extended to the Bourbon government model. The article explores the political, regulatory and jurisdictional resources of the community of councilors of the city of Querétaro to defend their privileges in the context of the changes promoted by the Ordenanza de Intendentes. The defense of privilege in the city government is analyzed from the category of resistance that allows the councilors discourse to be read as a resource to build a space for negotiation and exceptionality of their city and therefore of their forms of government.En la tradición de gobierno hispánico el sistema de consultas y memoriales fue un recurso ampliamente utilizado por parte de las autoridades para hacer evidente las excepcionalidades de sus territorios y negociar desde la duda la ejecución de nuevos ordenamientos. Una práctica sancionada por una cultura jurisdiccional y política que se extendió al modelo de gobierno borbónico. El artículo explora los recursos políticos, normativos y jurisdiccionales de la comunidad de regidores de la ciudad de Querétaro para defender sus privilegios en el contexto de los cambios promovidos por la Ordenanza de Intendentes. La defensa del privilegio en el gobierno de la ciudad es analizado desde la categoría de resistencia que permite leer el discurso de los regidores como un recurso para construir un espacio de negociación y excepcionalidad de su ciudad y por lo tanto de sus formas de gobierno