Feminist Geopolitics: Material States

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Book review: Feminist Geopolitics: Material States, by Deborah P. Dixon

Book review: Feminist Geopolitics: Material States, by Deborah P. Dixo

Women's Movements

This review of women’s movements and activism around the world focuses on the less visible, less publicized women’s initiatives in non-western countries that are not usually addressed in western social movement studies. We consider previous analyses to review focal points in the discussion about identities (namely, women’s, feminist, and/or gender) and assess how these identities shape different social movements. Following these analyses, we explore the relationship between women’s movements and dominant approaches to social movements that tend to downplay gender. In this context, employing a feminist transnational approach helps us understand the relevance of multi-situated networks and alliances in contemporary social action. Finally, we also draw on intersectional feminist theory to examine the stratified axes of oppression and propose a relational policy that challenges hierarchies evident within and across different women’s movements

Common variation in PHACTR1 is associated with susceptibility to cervical artery dissection

Cervical artery dissection (CeAD), a mural hematoma in a carotid or vertebral artery, is a major cause of ischemic stroke in young adults although relatively uncommon in the general population (incidence of 2.6/100,000 per year)(1). Minor cervical traumas, infection, migraine and hypertension are putative risk factors(1-3), and inverse associations with obesity and hypercholesterolemia are described(3,4). No confirmed genetic susceptibility factors have been identified using candidate gene approaches(5). We performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in 1,393 CeAD cases and 14,416 controls. The rs9349379[G] allele (PHACTR(1)) was associated with lower CeAD risk (odds ratio (OR) = 0.75, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.69-0.82; P = 4.46 x 10(-10)), with confirmation in independent follow-up samples (659 CeAD cases and 2,648 controls; P = 3.91 x 10(-3); combined P = 1.00 x 10(-11)). The rs9349379[G] allele was previously shown to be associated with lower risk of migraine and increased risk of myocardial infarction(6-9). Deciphering the mechanisms underlying this pleiotropy might provide important information on the biological underpinnings of these disabling conditions