109 research outputs found
âDoes Feminism have a generation gap?â:blogging, millennials and the hip hop generation
This article explores a number of instances when generation is invoked and discussed in three feminist blogs: the UK The Vagenda (2012â), the US-based Crunk Feminist Collective (2010-), and the UK Feminist Times (2013â14). More specifically, it examines how generation is discussed in terms of a feminist identity, especially in relation to intergenerational conflict. I contextualize a textual analysis of these blogs within a conjunctural and intersectional understanding of generation. That is, I look at how these narratives of intergenerational feminism are produced or emerge from specific UK and US historical conditions, and the organization of social forces within them. I also look at how they map on to popular media discourses about generation. In addition, this article explores the ways in which generational identity intersects with categories of race, gender, class, sexuality and place
âIf Female Envy Did Not Spoil Every Thing in the World of Womenâ: Lies, Rivalry, and Reputation in Lady Elizabeth Craven's Travelogues
This chapter demonstrates that Mitchison's decision to publish her eyewitness account in the form of a diary was neither feminine caprice nor intellectual idleness, but instead a carefully conceived strategy that disguised the main political purpose of her writing in a domestic, and intentionally more accessible, format. Politics and truth are a notoriously unlikely couple, particularly in the 'low dishonest decade' of the 1930s, when the powers that be all conspired to occlude the truth of what was happening on the geo-political stage. The narrative structure of Vienna Diary invokes the past, present, and the future, but it seems to obey the form of its chosen genre by offering not an overview of historical events, but rather momentary insights. The travel writer performs in a volatile space which is embroiled in a process of constant negotiation with the dominant political discourses shaping their travels, their perceptions, and both the form and reception of their writing
Generation: the politics of patriarchy and social change
In this first instalment of our Soundings series on critical terms, we look at the idea of 'generation', a term which has become highly prevalent within political discourse since the financial crisis. As with all the concepts in this series, the idea of generation is differently mobilised by different political actors. Right-wing thinkers use generation in a sense that can be traced back to Edmund Burke to mean the transmission of property and culture through time, while other commentators draw on meanings derived from Mannheim to refer to the experiences of particular cohorts at times of rapid political change. For activists on the left, it is important to distinguish between these different connotations of generation. The Burkean approach has regressive implications, for example in the justification of austerity as a way of protecting future generations from debt; and the Mannheimian understanding, although not as conservative, needs to be connected to an intersectional analysis that looks at other identity markers alongside those of age - such as class, race, gender and sexuality-so as to avoid flattening differences within cohorts and impeding solidarities between generations
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Feminism and Childcare: A Roundtable with Sara de Benedictis, Gideon Burrows, Tracey Jensen, Jill Rutter and Victoria Showunmi
This is an edited transcript of a roundtable event held at City University London in late 2014.1 The point of this seminar was to ask: what progress have we made towards men and women equally sharing the childcare? Rearranging the domestic division of labour was a crucial issue foregrounded by second-wave feminism: but how much progress has actually been made since then
Why the idea of 'generation' needs to be articulated more carefully in politics
Ben Little and Alison Winch explain the different meanings of generation in political culture and highlight the tension that exists between them. They argue that a successful application of the concept is able to mark both continuity and difference, turning the power of conservative thought to radical ends
Mediating American hospitality: Mark Zuckerbergâs challenge to Donald Trump?
In 2017, Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, travelled America with a former White House photographer who took pictures of him sharing meals with families, workforces and refugee communities. These were then posted to Zuckerbergâs Facebook page, usually with a post by Zuckerberg drawing attention to socioeconomic issues affecting different American communities. This article argues that Zuckerberg is mediated on this tour as a worthy populist contender to Donald Trump, albeit of a centrist, liberal, corporate kind. In particular, divisions along the lines of race, migration and class, which have been appropriated and emphasised by Trump, are apparently bridged and resolved through the representation of Zuckerberg, and the promotion of Facebook as a mediated fulcrum for civil society. Zuckerberg is pictured sharing food with, for example, Republican voters in Ohio and Somali migrants in Minnesota. We investigate how the differences projected between Zuckerberg and Trump pivot on the commodification of hospitality, particularly the mediation of shared meals, American hospitality, masculinity and âdiversity workâ. We contextualise this analysis within an understanding of how Silicon Valleyâs monopoly capitalism perpetuates inequalities in its workforces and through its product design. We also attempt to make sense of the different social actors involved in Zuckerbergâs mediated âYear of Travelâ, including the PR team, the people in the photographs, the commenters, as well as the users of Facebook. Through these contextualisations, we argue that this mediated contestation of hospitality â who is welcome in American society, who is not and why â is central to understanding the tensions in contemporary American political culture
âRoundtable: An Intergenerational Feminist Media Studies?â with Rosalind Gill, Hannah Hamad, Mariam Kauser, Diane Negra and Nayomi Roshini
This is the edited text of a roundtable held at City University London, UK in November 2014, organised by Alison Winch and Jo Littler. The event aimed to pay attention to the ways in which age and generation shape mediated conversation about feminist politics: to problematise the dominant media representations of intergenerational âcat fights,â or feminist bickering, while simultaneously interrogating the ways in which mediated conflicts and connections shape the potential to work together to enact feminist social change. It therefore aimed to explore a number of different questions in relation to this issue, including: what kind of shared conversations do women have across age groups, and how do these circulate in media cultures? How can intergenerational alliances be built while still remaining sensitive to differences of experience? How are feminist connections being formed by digital media, technology, and platforms? How is feminist conflict mediated, and how might it operate productively
'Drinking a dish of tea with Sapho' : consumer spaces/Sapphic retreats in the poetry and prose of Anne Finch and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Reported infant feeding practices and contextual influences on breastfeeding: qualitative interviews with women registered to MomConnect in three South African provinces
Abstract
Background
Global guidelines recommend exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 6 months of life. South African EBF rates have steadily increased but still only average 32% for infants below 6Â months of age. Malnutrition and developmental delays continue to contribute substantially to the morbidity and mortality of South African children. MomConnect, a national mHealth messaging system used to send infant and maternal health messages during and after pregnancy, has a specific focus on improving rates of breastfeeding and has achieved high rates of population coverage.
Methods
For this qualitative study, we interviewed women who were registered to MomConnect to investigate their breastfeeding and other infant feeding practices, decision-making pre- and post-delivery, and the role of the health system, family members and the wider community in supporting or detracting from breastfeeding intentions. Data were collected from FebruaryâMarch 2018 in South Africaâs KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Gauteng provinces. Framework analysis was conducted to identify common themes.
Results
Most women interviewed had breastfed, including HIV-positive women. Even when women had delivered by caesarean section, they had usually been able to initiate breastfeeding a few hours after birth. Understandings of EBF varied in thoroughness and there was some confusion about the best way to cease breastfeeding. Most women felt well-equipped to make infant feeding decisions and to stick to their intentions, but returning to work or school sometimes prevented 6Â months of EBF. Advice from the health system (both via clinics and MomConnect) was considered helpful and supportive in encouraging EBF to 6Â months, although family influences could thwart these intentions, especially for younger women. Mothers reported a range of breastfeeding information sources that influenced their choices, including social media.
Conclusions
Efforts to improve EBF rates must include consideration of the social and economic environment surrounding women. Interventions that focus only on improving womenâs knowledge are valuable but insufficient on their own. Attention should also be paid to infant behaviors, and how these affect womenâs breastfeeding choices. Finally, although there is strong local policy support for EBF, more rigorous implementation of these and other broader changes to create a more enabling structural environment ought to be prioritized
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