Women in the Brexit debate: still largely confined to ‘low’ politics

Despite a few more women making an appearance in the TV referendum debates, the campaign continues to be dominated by male ‘experts’ and a presumption that women will vote on the basis of emotive issues of special interest to them, such as maternity leave policies, write Toni Haastrup, Katharine Wright and Roberta Guerrina. But true gender equality considers the impact of social policy on every part of society. We can and must challenge the perception of “high” and “low” politics that marginalises particular discussions and effectively sidelines women

Is it really that difficult to find women to talk about the EU Referendum?

The significant absence of expert women’s voices from media debates and academic events related to the EU Referendum has been widely reported. Roberta Guerrina, Toni Haastrup, Katharine Wright share a list of women EU experts and argue there are in fact many women voices on these issues and they are not difficult to find. More work needs to be done by political institutions, campaigns, and the media to engage women experts and their contributions in a mature and meaningful way

Is it really that hard to find women to talk about the EU?

The significant absence of expert women’s voices from media debates and academic events related to the EU Referendum has been widely reported. Roberta Guerrina, Toni Haastrup, Katharine Wright share a list of women EU experts and argue there are in fact many women voices on these issues and they are not difficult to find. More work needs to be done by political institutions, campaigns, and the media to engage women experts and their contributions in a mature and meaningful way

Brexit: gendered implications for equality in the UK

How can we seek to unpack the complex and gendered dynamics of Brexit amid a deeply divisive and fast-paced debate? We argue that to not address this question is a cost too high. The challenge, given the scope of our intervention here, is to disentangle the work that gender is doing as a structure of power that shapes every aspect of our daily lives. As feminist scholars, we know that gender structures and norms will permeate the myriad possibilities for what Brexit might look like. Therefore, we take as our starting point the nature of the process itself, both pre- and post-referendum, to consider whose voices and what issues have been prioritised. This, we argue, is our best opportunity to consider what the final settlement is likely to look like and how it might shape gender regimes in the UK in future. We also consider current government responses to the crisis, in particular, austerity and its impact on gender equality, arguing that if austerity has been gender-blind, Brexit will be too.Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin

Living up to the Women, Peace and Security agenda? Gender must be a core element of Brexit negotiations

Of course, most policies have some kind of gender dimension; well apart from Brexit or security or defence”. This is the sentiment that accompanies many of the public discussions of Brexit as a political process or as a juncture for European and British politics. Moreover, where the gender is discussed in relation to Brexit it is in relation to the impact on the UK, rather than the EU. Roberta Guerrina (University of Bristol), Katharine A. M. Wright (Newcastle University), and Toni Haastrup (University of Stirling) dispel such statements in their contribution to the Politics and Governance special issue that looks at the way Brexit will impact the ability of the EU to be a gender actor in external affairs

Bringing Gender In? EU Foreign and Security Policy after Brexit

In this article, we identify Brexit as a critical juncture, wherein the EU has had the opportunity to reflect on and reinforce its identity, as a promoter of gender issues within the security domain. It draws on this identity from a foundational myth of the EU as gender equality polity, resulting in the creation of a socio-legal order and sustained discourse on gender inclusivity in all policy areas. Existing scholarship has drawn attention to the EU’s particular success in gender equality promotion in the areas of social inclusion at member state level, including in the UK. But, is the EU’s reach comprehensive beyond this policy sphere? We examine the ways in which gender is manifested in the area of foreign policy, an area where the UK has consistently shown some leadership on the integration of gender perspectives in its foreign policy through its international development programmes and the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. It is therefore timely to consider what impact Brexit has on EU policies, practices and the promotion of gender equality in this policy domain. Using a critical feminist lens, this article looks at the evolution of gender equality as a dimension of EU foreign and security policy in the context of EU–UK relations, and the divergences, opportunities and constraints that are crystallised by the Brexit process

17β-Estradiol Is Required for the Sexually Dimorphic Effects of Repeated Binge-Pattern Alcohol Exposure on the HPA Axis during Adolescence

Alcohol consumption during adolescence has long-term sexually dimorphic effects on anxiety behavior and mood disorders. We have previously shown that repeated binge-pattern alcohol exposure increased the expression of two critical central regulators of stress and anxiety, corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) and arginine vasopressin (AVP), in adolescent male rats. By contrast, there was no effect of alcohol on these same genes in adolescent females. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that 17β-estradiol (E2), the predominant sex steroid hormone in females, prevents alcohol-induced changes in CRH and AVP gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus. To test this hypothesis, postnatal day (PND) 26 females were ovariectomized and given E2 replacement or cholesterol as a control. Next, they were given an alcohol exposure paradigm of 1) saline alone, 2) acute (single dose) or 3) a repeated binge-pattern. Our results showed that acute and repeated binge-pattern alcohol treatment increased plasma ACTH and CORT levels in both E2- and Ch-treated groups, however habituation to repeated binge-pattern alcohol exposure was evident only in E2-treated animals. Further, repeated binge-pattern alcohol exposure significantly decreased CRH and AVP mRNA in Ch-, but not E2-treated animals, which was consistent with our previous observations in gonad intact females. We further tested the effects of E2 and alcohol treatment on the activity of the wild type CRH promoter in a PVN-derived neuronal cell line. Alcohol increased CRH promoter activity in these cells and concomitant treatment with E2 completely abolished the effect. Together our data suggest that E2 regulates the reactivity of the HPA axis to a repeated stressor through modulation of the habituation response and further serves to maintain normal steady state mRNA levels of CRH and AVP in the PVN in response to a repeated alcohol stressor

An Audience-Centric Approach for Museums Sustainability

therefore, in order to become sustainable, museums should pay attention to audience and its internal diversity. In this way, a cultural site can plan tailored strategies to increase the number of visits and re-visits and to achieve community support. For this reason it is necessary to understand the cultural needs of visitors, acquiring appropriate monitoring tools, such as qualitative and quantitative ones. Generally, quantitative analyses are more reliable and complete, even if they require a considerable number of observations for the reliability of the results. Moreover, qualitative analysis provides more in depth information, even if their data do not allow us to make generalizations. The qualitative and quantitative methods for the detection of satisfaction are usually used separately, but their integration may bring significant added value in terms of the wealth of information. This study follows the analysis of the potential of the integration of qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques customized with respect to different types of targets. The results of the experimentation performed on ethnographic museums shows a consistency of the results obtained by the two different tools that increase the capacity information of survey instruments

The Relation between Collaborative Consumption and Subjective Well-Being: An Analysis of P2P Accommodation

The present paper investigates the relationships between Collaborative Consumption (CC) and well-being. Specifically, the study aims to understand the antecedents of subjective well-being (SWB) in peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation services. The research adopts a mixed-method approach by integrating qualitative (focus groups) and quantitative (survey) methods with sequential logic. A conceptual model was developed and validated through structural equation modelling (SEM). The model confirms that the SWB, which has three indirect antecedents (the social, environmental and economic dimensions), was positively influenced by the attitude towards P2P accommodation services, and the relation between this construct and SWB emphasizes the originality of the study. This research contributes to the current sharing economy debate, unveiling theoretical advances on the link between collaborative services and well-being

The Role of Chlamydia trachomatis Polymorphic Membrane Proteins in Inflammation and Sequelae among Women with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

Chlamydia trachomatis polymorphic membrane proteins (Pmps) may increase genital tract inflammation and play a role in virulence. Antibody levels for PmpA, PmpD, and PmpI, measured in densitometric units, were assessed among a pilot sample of 40 C. trachomatis-infected women with mild-to-moderate clinical PID. Women who expressed antibodies to PmpA were less likely to achieve pregnancy (40.0% versus 85.7%; P = 0.042) and less likely to have a live birth (0.0% versus 80.0%; P = 0.005) compared to women who did not express antibody to PmpA. Women who expressed antibodies to PmpI were more likely to have upper genital tract infection (61.5% versus 20.0%; P = 0.026). However, seropositivity to PmpI and PmpD did not modify the risk of reproductive sequelae or inflammation. Seropositivity to chlamydial PmpA may represent a biomarker of increased risk of sequelae secondary to infection with C. trachomatis