State business: gender, sex and marriage in Tajikistan

This article examines the relation of the state to masculinity and sexuality by way of an exploration of the sexual problems of a young man and his wife in Tajikistan at the end of the Soviet era. It suggests that the regime’s inattention to this kind of issue was bound up with the importance to the state of projecting appropriate versions of masculinity. It further posits the idea that the continued refusal of the independent Tajik state to offer appropriate treatments for sexual dysfunction is consistent with the image of modernity President Rahmon wishes to present to the world. The article shows that as masculinity discursively occupies the superior gender position, with men expected to dominate, the state is itself impotent to respond when they are, in fact, unable to do so in sexual practice. However, the myth of male dominance persists to the point that it may prevent women from seeing beyond their subordination and finding mutually beneficial solutions in their familial and sexual relationships

Dual Routes from Social Identity to Collective Opposition against Criminal Organisations: Intracultural Appropriation Theory and the roles of Honour Codes and Social Change Beliefs

Italian criminal organisations (COs) are a serious global threat. Intracultural Appropriation Theory (ICAT) holds that such groups exploit cultural codes of masculinity and honour to legitimise and lower resistance to their actions. Such codes are an important feature of Southern Italian group membership. A large survey (N = 1173) investigated the role of two previously under-examined facets of honour cultures – personal concerns for reputation, and female honour ideology. In addition, drawing on social identity theory, and testing a dual route hypothesis, this research investigated the role of beliefs about the necessity of social change in the articulation between identification, honour, and collective action intentions. Consistent with ICAT, and with previous research, male-honour related values uniquely predicted collective action intentions against criminal organisations. In addition, consistent with the dual route hypothesis: a) regional identification positively predicted social change beliefs which in turn explained stronger intentions to oppose COs collectively, and, b) regional identification was also positively associated with masculine honour which in turn predicted weaker intentions to oppose COs. The evidence supports the idea that social identity can have opposing effects on collective action in the same context, depending on which beliefs are mobilised

Stigma narratives: LGBT transitions and identities in Malta

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website at the link below. Copyright @ 2011 A B Academic Publishers.This article considers narratives of transition experiences of a group of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) young people in Malta. The article draws on Goffman's concept of stigma and uses this to explore transitions in a society that retains some traditional characteristics, particularly the code of honour and shame, although mediated by aspects of modernity. Interviews were undertaken with 15 young people with the goal of producing narratives. The article analyses the experience of stigma, its effects and how young people manage its consequences. It concludes by drawing attention to the pervasive nature of stigma and the importance of structure, agency and reflexivity in youth transitions. In particular stigma remains an important feature of societies in which hetero-normative sexuality remains dominant

The beginning of time? Evidence for catastrophic drought in Baringo in the early nineteenth century

New developments in the collection of palaeo-data over the past two decades have transformed our understanding of climate and environmental history in eastern Africa. This article utilises instrumental and proxy evidence of historical lake-level fluctuations from Baringo and Bogoria, along with other Rift Valley lakes, to document the timing and magnitude of hydroclimate variability at decadal to century time scales since 1750. These data allow us to construct a record of past climate variation not only for the Baringo basin proper, but also across a sizable portion of central and northern Kenya. This record is then set alongside historical evidence, from oral histories gathered amongst the peoples of northern Kenya and the Rift Valley and from contemporary observations recorded by travellers through the region, to offer a reinterpretation of human activity and its relationship to environmental history in the nineteenth century. The results reveal strong evidence of a catastrophic drought in the early nineteenth century, the effects of which radically alters our historical understanding of the character of settlement, mobility and identity within the Baringo–Bogoria basin

Female homicide in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

This study aimed to assess the female homicide rate due to aggression in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, using this as a "proxy" of femicide. This was an ecological study which correlated the female homicide rate due to aggression in Rio Grande do Sul, according to the 35 microregions defined by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), with socioeconomic and demographic variables access and health indicators. Pearson's correlation test was performed with the selected variables. After this, multiple linear regressions were performed with variables with p < 0.20. The standardized average of female homicide rate due to aggression in the period from 2003 to 2007 was 3.1 obits per 100 thousand. After multiple regression analysis, the final model included male mortality due to aggression (p = 0.016), the percentage of hospital admissions for alcohol (p = 0.005) and the proportion of ill-defined deaths (p = 0.015). The model have an explanatory power of 39% (adjusted r2 = 0.391). The results are consistent with other studies and indicate a strong relationship between structural violence in society and violence against women, in addition to a higher incidence of female deaths in places with high alcohol hospitalization

Honor and the Stigma of Mental Healthcare

Most prior research on cultures of honor has focused on interpersonal aggression. The present studies examined the novel hypothesis that honor-culture ideology enhances the stigmatization of mental health needs and inhibits the use of mental health services. Study 1 demonstrated that people who strongly endorsed honor-related beliefs and values were especially concerned that seeking help for mental health needs would indicate personal weakness and would harm their reputations. Studies 2 and 3 showed that honor states in the U.S. South and West invested less in mental healthcare resources, compared with non-honor states in the North (Study 2), and that parents living in honor states were less likely than parents in non-honor states to use mental health services on behalf of their children (Study 3). Together, these studies reveal an overlooked consequence of honor ideology for psychological well-being at the individual, social, and institutional levels.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Don’t Tread on Me: Masculine Honor Ideology in the U.S. and Militant Responses to Terrorism

Using both college students and a national sample of adults, the authors report evidence linking the ideology of masculine honor in the U.S. with militant responses to terrorism. In Study 1, individuals’ honor ideology endorsement predicted, among other outcomes, open-ended hostile responses to a fictitious attack on the Statue of Liberty and support for the use of extreme counterterrorism measures (e.g., severe interrogations), controlling for right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and other covariates. In Study 2, the authors used a regional classification to distinguish honor state respondents from nonhonor state respondents, as has traditionally been done in the literature, and showed that students attending a southwestern university desired the death of the terrorists responsible for 9/11 more than did their northern counterparts. These studies are the first to show that masculine honor ideology in the U.S. has implications for the intergroup phenomenon of people’s responses to terrorism.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Naming Patterns Reveal Cultural Values: Patronyms, Matronyms, and the U.S. Culture of Honor

Four studies examined the hypothesis that honor norms would be associated with a pronounced use of patronyms, but not matronyms, for naming children. Study 1 shows that men who endorse honor values expressed a stronger desire to use patronyms (but not matronyms) for future children, an association that was mediated by patriarchal attitudes. Study 2 presents an indirect method for assessing state patronym and matronym levels. As expected, patronym scores were significantly higher in honor states and were associated with a wide range of variables linked previously to honor-related dynamics. Study 3a shows that following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, patronyms increased in honor states, but not in non-honor states. Likewise, priming men with a fictitious terrorist attack (Study 3b) increased the association between honor ideology and patronym preferences. Together, these studies reveal a subtle social signal that reflects the masculine values of an honor culture.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline